After all the traveling, we were happy to take some time doing absolutely nothing on the island of Zanzibar — an small island just off the coast of Tanzania. We came here after a recommendation from our UK friends, Tom and Lynne.

It took us about an hour to get to our hotel at the tip of the island — a very remote place on the island. Once we arrived at our hotel, we were in heaven! It was beautiful!

The ocean waters around the island remain at about 80 degrees year round. This was very warm for us when comparing to the ocean water in South Africa and in some ways did not feel all that refreshing especially with the 100% humidity. Additionally, the tides were some of the biggest we’ve seen! By 10 AM, the tides were about 3 football fields from the shore then within a matter of hours, the tide would smash against the cement wall (see picture below). It was fascinating to watch and pretty unique!

On our way to the airport, our taxi driver got stopped 5 different times by the police. At the final stop, the police wrote him a “ticket” for his front windshield (apparently, it was too dark). When the driver got back in the car, he told us that bribes with the police are a fairly common practice on the island. He had to pay them off to continue driving! It didn’t stop there… once we arrived at the airport, we were checking in and the person taking our bags would not stop staring at Rob. Rob was smart enough not to make eye contact. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice and walked around towards the gate when he stopped me and asked for a tip to “ensure our bags were looked after”. When I told him I didn’t have any cash on me he seemed disappointed – which made me worried about our bags even making it! Next, once we paid the export tax, I went to get a bottled water inside/ near the gate. The store owner asked if I was American. When I responded yes, he began by explaining how I could help him with a problem he’s been having for years. He then proceeded to take out a one-hundred dollar bill and explained that the corner was ripped and therefore he could no longer use it. Since he could not access an American bank, he asked if I could replace his one-hundred dollar bill with a crisp one-hundred dollar bill that I had. I honestly laughed out loud. I couldn’t believe he was asking me to basically give him $100 – as his was clearly counterfeit! By this point, I was ready to leave and get back “home”…

Minus the few minor issues we had getting to the airport, Zanzibar was a beautiful place to visit. We had a great time .. doing nothing!