honeymoon: zanzibar

the last leg of our honeymoon was a week long stay on the island of zanzibar. total relaxation and pampering on the white sand beach.  the water is like jacuzzi warm, crystal clear, and showing off every shade of turquoise and blue.  it's breathtaking.

when we arrived at the tiny, make-shift airport, we were finally, asked for our yellow fever cards. we were excited that they finally came of use!

we spent our first night in stone town to explore the historical city, before heading off to our beach resort for the rest of the week. stone town itself is cute and has some beautiful, old buildings lining these narrow, windy alleys. it's like a typical island town meets persian and indian influences, really pretty.

 it is small enough to be walked in a matter of hours, so we spent the first evening touring the alley ways, and seeing some of the sights. we walked by the shore, shopped in boutiques, and spent the evening in the forodhani gardens, where the locals hang out.  everyone comes here to feast from a network of street food stalls, that are dishing up super cheap and delicious food! we tried zanzibari pizza, had sugar cane juice, and bib was even adventurous enough to try some grilled octopus and calamari head with me.

unfortunately, we were warned about the local papasi, or fake guides who will constantly bug you to buy something, or let them be your guide.  apparently these papasi are drug addicts, and should be avoided completely.  that said, we were also advised not to stay out past 9pm. 

the next morning, we made the 2 hour trek to our hotel on the east side of the island.  we stayed in a private villa at our beautiful resort.  it was a lazy week, where our toughest and most serious moments were spent reviewing the lunch menu.  our day revolved around the tide, so we pooled when the tide was low, and swam in the ocean when the tide was high enough.

on our last night, the hotel hosted a 'zanzibar night,' which was the highlight of our stay!  we ate local dishes, which were so good, we regret that they served us continental food all week!  and they had a bad sing pop cover songs and african beats.  after a few songs in, bib was begging me to get up and dance--- can you believe it!?  bib, he who never danced, was begging me to dance!  so soon enough, we were all dancing and learning how to shake it like an african woman.  wow, can they move their butts!  we absolutely loved it!  in fact, since we've returned, we've been trying to find some of the songs that they sang, but are struggling with our search based on our loose understanding of the language.  

the next day, we flew back to nairobi and spent the rest of the day, awaiting our flight back to cairo.  we were really happy to end the honeymoon in kenya, since we loved it so much.  we arrived in nairobi at 7pm, and had to be back at the airport by 1am for our flight.  so we decided to spend the whole night at carnivore.  after our meal, we waddled next door to the simba saloon, where they were hosting rumba night.  it was packed with middle aged kenyans, dancing their butts off to the beats.  we loved the music and the atmosphere!  it was the best way to end the trip!