For the past five days I’ve been staying at the Sunset Bungalows on the northern tip of the island of Zanzibar, near the village of Nungwi. Initially, things did not go smoothly. On my first day I had lunch at the resort’s restaurant on the beach and tried to charge the meal to my room, … Read more

The original owners of the grand Arab houses in Stone Town competed with each other over the extravagance of their dwellings. This former glory is still evident in the brass-studded, carved, wooden doors of Zanzibar that adorn many of the homes along the narrow streets and alleyways that make up the Old City. There are … Read more

Although technically a part of Tanzania, Zanzibar has a much different feel than the mainland. Here the pace is slower and the smiles of Zanzibar come easy – just take a look at a few of the happy people I met on my strolls around town:

From the rooftop terrace of the Clove Hotel in Stone Town, I looked out over a sea of rusting tin roofs atop old coral and mortar buildings streaked with black mold. At the edge of town ancient dhows – fat, wooden sailing vessels – bobbed on the gentle waves of the Indian Ocean. As the … Read more

During my week-long safari and subsequent three-day Maasai home stay I had three showers – suffice it to say that I was definitely ripe by the time I got back to a town. While I would have loved to stay with my Maasai friends for a few more days (and indeed they invited me to … Read more