Sundowners and Spice and all things nice!

Welcome, mind travellers, to our next installment. So back to Tanga. I forgot to mention that during our matatu journey from hell to reach this city our fellow female travellers were positively grinning at me throughout their experience, which was a much less comfortable one than ours, although I don't think Dave noticed otherwise he may have enjoyed it more too! Once in Tanga we pretended we were prepared to walk to our hotel of choice 'Ocean Breeze' (which we were most certainly not) and ended up paying local taxi prices which was good. We settled into our nice, big, comfy hotel with sea view and cheaper than Kenya and after showering had a beer in the bar downstairs. At this point it's worth mentioning how to grade a hotel/guest house on arrival. A good hotel has running water and it's quality if it's got a fan and a net too. But you know you've found the Hilton if it provides loo roll (this was a Hilton AND we were given soap). Went for a stroll to find food as we hadn't eaten all day but everywhere except a bar was closed, so we had another beer instead! Feeling nicely mellow we chatted to some very friendly Tangalites and after establishing that they were Arsenal and Liverpool supporters, inofrmaed them that I was an Arsenal supporter and Dave a Spurs supporter, neither of which was true (but has become so for the duration of travels) but it keeps the converstaion going! They recommended the swimming club restaurant for food so we set off for a stroll. Twenty minutes or so later, and almost fainting with hunger, we found the 50s style lido type building, although without a lido but right on the seafront. A most pleasant setting so we paid the 25 pence non-member entrance fee each and relaxed with a beer. I had an absolutely enormous and delicious veggie curry with paneer and rice and naan bread and Dave enjoyed his chicken pili pili (chilli) and chips. We've decided that chucks are always free range round these parts so Dave's happy to eat them. Feeling hugely stuffed we walked back and felt slightly less uncomfortable on arival at the hotel. After avery heavy night's kip, Dave awoke to find two large dead cockroaches and put them on the balcony (he knew they were dead he told me because they were lying on their backs with their legs in the air - I had to agree on hearing this). We ate probably our least substantial breakfast so far (two pieces of bread with jam and a banana and coffee) and headed out for a fun trip to the market. Just outside our hotel was quite a big under-cover market with lots of meat at one end and loads of fruit, veg and spices at the other and chickens running round at your feet (always free range). We stocked up with fruit and veg and headed to the expensive (mzungu and rich people) supermarket for coconut cream powder, Tanzanian Firewater (Konyagi (similar to gin) and mango juice and red wine (our first bottle since arriving in Africa as it's been too expensive up until now). Now well-stocked up (including a hunting knife Dave decided was essential) we dropped supplies at the room and continued our explorations. Tanga is a revelation in terms of African cities (a town really) with German architecture in relatively good condition and really wide spacious roads. Most noticeable is the lack of people, making Tanga avery peaceful place. We found an old man making Zanzibar pizzas which is a chipati filled with either veg or meat folded up and fried, so we had one each and sat by the roadside to eat them. Very mellow. Meanwhile Dave's beard is coming on a treat. Uncle David - any advice or handy tips on beard care for men would be most appreciated! He is now able to make funny, rythmnic facial expressions and it looks like there's a very fat dancing caterpillar on his top lip. The next day we found a bank, bought ferry tickets to Zanzibar via Pemba Island on an overnight ferry and I had an internet session leaving Dave to go back to room. On my return I was greeted by wonderful aromas coming from the balcony and found Dave making a delicious curry with our market ingredients. Yum yum. We'd eaten lots of the fruit the day before. We are certainly not going hungry. Tuesday 6th December (the start of a journey never to be repeated) - We boarded the ferry at 8am, although Dave insists it wasn't a ferry it was a cargo ship, and it left at 10 prompt. Good so far. We had been pushed into what was probably 1st class, an area off the main passenger deck, seaprated by a 3 ft gate. It gradually became obvoius that first class was not exclusive and we had the same amount of space as everyone else. Fine so far, we weren't really cramped or anything but you really had to fight to keep your space. Africans don't have a concept of personal space and my neighbour was happy to use my feet as a pillow for a while. This ferry had to be the slowest sea-going vessel we've sailed on and the heat inside is just made bearable by strategically placed electric fans. People were stretched everywhere, so there was little space to stretch your legs without causing a commotion. On arriving in Pemba 6 hours later (for roughly a 30km journey), we decided to find somewhere to eat. Paranoia set in as we couldn't bear the thought of carrying our rucksacks onto shore (we'd been told it was akm or so to a cafe) we set about transferring all valuables into our daysack while trying to lose the touts who had found us on board. Along the walk into Wete (main port town) I couldn't help but think we'd come across children wearing various items of our clothing! Eventually we found a little cafe with a really tasty, and I can now say hygenically cooked, meal of rice, beans and spinach. Dave passed and settled for a sprite. Wete is not somewhere either of us would wish to return to, very run down. We made it back to our seats to find bags intact. Nothing to worry about (but it's hard not to when you've seen little urchins running round the boat curiously peering into open bags). We have noticed the litter problem along our travels (I think we've mentioned this already) but nothing like the ferry cleaners. A little boy had just laughed at me as I stood over the railing waiting for the cargo to be unloaded and then swiftly threw his paper plate into the sea. I gave him a dissapproving look as he took his sister's and was about to do the same. His mum returned and he didn't throw it. I walked round the corner to see all the litter (loads of it) that had been swept into piles being thrown over the side - horrifying. I'm going to write a letter to the Zanzibar authorities. During the night we managed a few hours of hot sweaty sleep (only because we now had 1st class to ourselves) with children crying, hens clucking, cocks a-cock-a-doodle-dooing, men arguing and Dave chasing cockroaches and left the port at about 5.30am headed for Zanzibar. This bit was probably the hardest because it just never seemed to end (made worse by the stifling heat, the noise, the smells - the mens' loo was underneath us - nice. I had already dabbed copious amounts of Dave's mini Ted Baker after shave on my upper lip). Once land was spotted I couldn't help looking at my watch. By now we had been joined by another lady who was the proud owner of 2 cockrels tightly wrapped in plastic carrier bags, feet firmly tied together, poor things. They would be still for most of the, occassionally going mad trying to walk and making a racket. By the end of the journey we also had rather a lot of chicken poo at our feet. But hooray, finally at last we arrive on Zanzibar, lovely, lovely island (and to be honest it could have been the Isle of Dogs and we'd have been just as happy) and found the Flamingo Guest House (back in the Hilton). The buildings are arabesque with huge wooden doors studded with spikes to prevent the war elephants from India knocking the doors down. Stone Town is really old, with lots of narrow lanes. Even Dave's usually wonderfully accurate inner Radar has gone to pot here. Mine's rubbish in the Brighton Lanes - this is about 10 times more confusing! The wealth evident in the decoration of the buildings came from the slave trade. We showered (much needed) and headed for the Africa House Hotel, recommended by Andy and Cheryl and our book for sundowners. It was fantastic. As Dave said, in the glorious setting waiting for the spectacle of the sunset, it was just like being in the Restaurant at the End of the Universe! Albeit without the talking pig. My passion fruit Margarita went down a treat. After dark we wandered along to the Forodhani Gardens along the seafront to the night food market. Lots of stalls selling fish and meat kebabs, spicey potato balls, samosas, chipatis, octopus legs, squid,lobster - a great buzzing atmosphere (once you'd got through the stall-holders telling you their neighbour's fish was at least a week old). We managed to stuff our faces for about 3 dollars between us. Stayed awake long enough to make it back to the Flamingo and slept extremely well. A general notice - on our return we are going to need to buy a car as our's blew up shortly before leaving. So if anyone knows of a good del nearer to the end of April we'd love to hear from you. We're talking very cheap but unlikely to break down! Tracy and Tarela - if you'e wanting a change, we'll have yours!! Steve, the car you gave us broke, can we have a new one please. We ate at the Forodhani Gardens again last night but, not wanting to push our luck, we think tonight we'll splash out in restaurant tonight. Maybe the one you recommended Gem, Monsoon, or maybe Mercury's named in honour of Freddie who was born here. We're off to Paje on the east coast tomorrow to find a campsite that's advertising abeach party in the evening. Hopefully via a forest in the centre of the island with a friendly troop of Colobus monkeys!