Something Simple

 After my beaded belt endeavor, I needed a little break.

So I made this necklace.  

It took me all of five minutes, but it was a great five minutes for my alter ego (Beading Stacey).

Stonetown Pastime

In Stonetown it's pretty common to see kids swimming in the harbor.

Stonetown kids like to jump off this ledge into the ocean for fun.

This kid jumped over and over and over.

He had the uncanny "skill" of making himself parallel to the water's surface.  He bellyflopped EVERY single time.

Strike a pose!

They climb out and do it all over again.

The Hobbits Are Going To Zanzibar: Part 3

In Zanzibar there are dhows (Zanzibari boats) scattered across the water at all times of day.

This shot makes me think of a toy boat.  I really like it because it's not photoshopped at all, I just played with the film speed to make the image more sensitive to light.

This is the same boat, but the picture is taken with a different speed.

In Stonetown we saw a slavery memorial.  

Right next to the memorial is an Anglican church.  The church probably has more information concerning the slave trade than the memorial.  Before the altar is a variation in the floor tile color.  The circle represents the location of the whipping post, the black tile symbolizes the skin of the African people, and the red mixed in is the blood that was shed for slavery.  

On a different note, Derrick took this photo.  

This is Stonetown as seen from one of our hotel rooms.  

Derrick had a pair of nifty leather sandals custom made while in Stonetown.  The cobbler actually already took the measurements, but he insisted that I take a photo of the momentous event.  So this shot is entirely posed and nothing is actually happening except Derrick stepping on a piece of paper.

The sandals were finished only a few hours later!

I thought this shop was really cool.

View from a hammock.  

The Hobbits Are Going To Zanzibar: Part 2

We spent close to two weeks in Zanzibar, so I have quite a few photos to share.  I'll be doing multiple posts to cover everything.  

We ate at a restaurant called "The Rock."  It's basically a restaurant plopped down on top of a rock in the sea.  During high tide the water surrounds the entire building and people have to take boats to get to it.  Unfortunately we visited during low tide and stormy weather, but it was still pretty neat to see.  

The ocean!  Some of the days were cloudy, but we got some really beautiful days as well.  

Zanzibar is uber touristy.  Most beach-side properties are owned by people managing hotels or restaurants.  The hotels along the beach are pretty isolated as well.  There isn't really a "town" to go into for drinks or activities, so travelers tend to just walk up and down the beach visiting different hotel restaurants for variety.

Breakfast was included in the hotels we stayed at.  I don't eat eggs, but Derrick does so I always ordered something and he would just eat both of ours.  One day he decided to be experimental and have me order poached eggs, something neither of us have ever had or seen.  They didn't get eaten.  

Our waiter also insisted on saying "enjoy your nice meat" EVERY time he served anything on the table (breakfast, lunch, or dinner).  He pours some water "enjoy your nice meat", he serves some eggs "enjoy your nice meat", he brought us some bread "enjoy your nice meat."  I had to try VERY hard not to laugh.  

This dog winked at me.

'

Seafood is extremely popular on Zanzibar.  We had octopus, calamari (a lot), prawns.  Here we had "slipper" lobster.  I don't know what slipper means, but it was delicious.

Stonetown has a huge seafood market.  I saw them carving open a shark, but I was told not to take photos, so I got a shot of this guy.

Spices galore!

We ate at a restaurant at the top of a hotel in Stonetown.

Avocado smoothie!  I know that some of you are avocado haters and have raised your eyebrows at my avocado experiments, but this was a drink after my own heart and it was great.  

The Hobbits Are Going To Zanzibar! (Dec 16 - 29)

 Finally, we arrive at Zanzibar.  We spent the first few days of our trip in the island's main city called Stonetown.  Stonetown has a lot of Arab influence and is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight.  The city is scattered with Arabesque architecture and narrow winding streets.

Derrick is making his "I don't want my picture taken" face.  The composition of this photo shows how I feel about that face.

Close to the harbor is the House of Wonders.  Named such because it was the first building in Stonetown to have electricity, the House of Wonders is a hotspot for learning about Zanzibari culture and history.

We watched the sunset.

When you wish upon a star...

Cane juice and The CLAW!  We became slightly addicted to cane juice (made from sugar cane).  Most cane juice vendors make it right in front of you, rolling stalks of sugar cane through a press by hand and catching all the juice in a pan.  They add ginger and lemon for a yummy kick.  

The beach!

Stonetown windows.

Derrick talking up the ladies. 

Just kidding, we met a lot of really lovely people while traveling and these girls were some of them.  

Derrick getting artsy with the camera.

This might have been our hotel...

Nature's offerings from our spice tour.  In touristy circles Zanzibar is known as the "Spice Islands."  Yes, plural because there are many islands that make up Zanzibar, but one is large and the others are itty bitty little neighbors.  Anyways, spices like cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon flourish on Zanzibar.  On our tour we got to see how they grow and much more.  

Like I said before, Zanzibar was once a hub for Arab traders, including slave traders.  In the U.S. we tend to hear more about the West African slave trade, which is where American slaves came from.  However, Zanzibar was the main transit point for slaves out of East Africa going North to the Persian Gulf and India.  This cave is known as the "slave cave" as it is where traders kept their slaves as they made ready to leave the port.  

Dar in Sepia

I love how the mundane becomes mysterious and intriguing when viewed in sepia.  That's why for different cities that I've visited I'm also going to include a post with images in sepia.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Dec 15 aka Derrick's bday)

Dar es Salaam is a neat city that likely would have gotten more of my attention if I hadn't been en route to Zanzibar.  Alas, I guess I'll just have to go back some day.  

For dinner we went to a bbq place on the corner that was probably the best meat we had on our entire trip (granted, we were mostly eating seafood in Zanzibar).

They flavored the meat really well and had really enthusiastic service.  We met up with our friend Zach here.  

Our hostel was painted all blue, depicting puffy clouds and bright seascapes.  It was basically the concept for my 9-year-old self's bedroom.  

Derrick in the morning.