We left for Zanzibar on Tuesday morning on a, unfortunately, very stressed out note. After a morning of long goodbyes with our friends at Mwangaza emotions were very high. This did not improve after we arrived at the airport and quickly discovered that our flight to bliss and paradise was not strong enough to carry all of the passengers and our massive luggage. Basically we had to agree to allowing our bags to come on the next flight to Zanzibar which would arrive in 18-24 hours. Honestly, there was nothing standing in the way of us and a peaceful vacation, so we grabbed our swimsuits from our suitcases and said sayonara to our belongings.

Sure enough when we arrived in Zanzibar about 13 of us did not have our suitcases. After some time making claims, etc… we FINALLY got on the bus to our resort – SMILES BEACH HOTEL! Believe me, it really did bring smiles. The hotel was on the Nungwi beach area of Zanzibar which is a pretty resort heavy place. It was interesting to drive there and recognize how much of real life Zanzibar we were missing in this small resort oasis. After being so immersed in life in Arusha, being whisked away from the life in Zanzibar to a closed off resort was a bit unnatural. However, the vacation was needed and we were all grateful for its arrival. 

Upon arrival it was raining on and off and our bus had to essentially water raft through the puddles to get us to our hotel. Fortunately it wasn’t raining when we got to the resort! In the blink of an eye we (most) were in our suits and jumping in that gorgeous ocean. The bright blue water was salty, warm, and wonderful. We washed off all of our stresses and after a swim at the beach and in the pool we were all new people – prepared to tackle our days in India, China, and Argentina. 

After our lovely swim and rest we enjoyed a very interesting dinner… First of all, at Mwangaza in Arusha we were used to being welcomed to dinner right away at 6:00pm, greeted by a wide array of food items ready for us to load our plates and eat our cares away. When we had heard dinner would be at 7:30 pm we were already anxious of the later time since our bellies were on strict schedules, but when we got there and realized our order still had to be taken and food prepared the hangry-ness ensued. It only got worse… Around 8:00 pm we all received about two spoonfuls worth of soup – granted it was fantastic but very very minimal… Around 8:30 tensions began rising. We began to wiggle around in our seats, hoping that every time someone stepped out of the kitchen it would be our hot, steamy, fresh meals. But alas, with each waiter coming in and out or hopes and dreams were dwindling. Finally, Elizabeth, our saving grace, asked what the deal was and the answer was no less disappointing. “Oh sorry the meat and fish were frozen and we have been defrosting them.” Alas, the food did come and although not knock your socks off fantastic, we were all so hungry we would’ve eaten anything. 

We spent the entire day on the beach on Wednesday. We had prepared for rain all day, but instead it was all beautiful blue skies. We read by the beach, we swam in the ocean, we walked along the beach, we did it all. Many of us went for a group lunch at a beachside restaurant and as we waited for our food to come we could swim in the wonderful water. 

Following our lunch we had a small 15th birthday celebration for Isaac Leer! It was belated by a few days – his actual birthday was the day before our final exam – but we decided a party on the beach would be much more fun. Everyone came to the pool to play pool games, listen to music, lounge, and celebrate 15 years of an awesome person! Isaac was very satisfied with this celebration from what I could tell. 

Next on our agenda was a boat ride in the ocean! We had reserved a very interesting boat ride from some guys that owned a boat tour company and at 4:00 pm they rolled up with their pirate ship looking boat. We were able to get everyone on the boat who wanted to join, including Annika and her broken foot! With a lot of help from Joel and Patric, we were able to carry her on to the boat safe and sound. Once we all got on the boat we floated around and got to see a lot of the island. It was beautiful. The water was so so so blue and the sand so so so white. The boat drivers had brought us tons of fresh fruit for the ride and played a great array of various Justin Bieber songs over the speaker. After the boat ride and some showers we arrived again for dinner and this time we were much more satisfied. Topped off by another wonderful evening with wonderful people – Wednesday in Zanzibar came to an end. 

Our final stop before going to the airport for our flight to India was a tour of the Anglican church in Stone Town. This is one of the sites where slave auctions were held during the transnational slave trade. I am very glad we went to see this site, and I think I would’ve regretted not having learned something about this area’s history. Also, coming from a country which took part in the slave trade I feel that it is really important to expose myself to this shameful piece of world history. We saw the tiny cellars where the captors held slaves. This trip provided a deeper lense into the history of Zanzibar which is easy to ignore out on the beaches, however it is extremely important for us to recognize the impact that slavery has had on this area. I am grateful we made a stop here and provided a little more perspective to our vacation. 

Thanks for following along on all of our crazy adventures! See you in India 🙂 

— Zibby Trewartha-Weiner ’21