After 7 months working on the sailing ship in the Netherlands, a good 2-month tour through Europe and then mainly through Germany, followed by the trip to Kilimanjaro and two weeks with the veterinarian in Arusha, I needed something like a holiday. It’s not often that I allow myself that, but it was about time. So I set off for Zanzibar where I will enjoy two weeks of summer, sun, beach and sea.
The journey was not necessarily the destination
I like to travel by train in different countries and I found out that there is a train from Arusha to Dar es Salaam. After two tries, I was sold a ticket. Some of the locals were surprised when I told them about my plans. Either because they didn’t know that there was a train or because they wanted to advise me against it. But I didn’t let them stop me and regretted it shortly after departure.
Even the departure times were a bit confusing. The train was supposed to leave at 6pm, but I was supposed to be there at 2pm. 4 hours to wait? I couldn’t believe it. But my private motor taxi driver was already getting nervous around 2:15 pm, when I was still buying provisions and charging my phone with new GB? His nervousness was not without reason, because I just managed to catch the train. And then the wild ride began. It rumbled and banged so that you could neither sit still nor understand your own words. I had booked a bed in a compartment because the journey was to last overnight. But first it went to Moshi to stand there for four hours. In the end, the train set off at 8 pm, heading for Dar es Salaam.
Together with two women, a small child and a drunken policeman, I shared a compartment. During the whole night, neither the lights were switched off nor the loudspeaker from which music sounded tinny. It was scorching hot and only a small fan was supposed to cool us down. A joke. Sleep was not really important for my fellow passengers. They were constantly going in and out and talking loudly. Especially the policeman. I hardly slept a wink and already booked a flight ticket back to Arusha on the way to Moshi. I won’t do that to myself a second time.
A good 22 hours later, the train pulled into Tanzania’s largest city. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get rid of the policeman and together we made our way to the ferry that would take us to Zanzibar. It was just hectic at the ferry terminal and I wondered the whole time why everyone was so stressed. After a lot of back and forth, both I and my strange companion stowed the luggage and were now waiting for boarding. The policeman said goodbye shortly afterwards because he wanted to charge his phone and I should look after his things. He also spoke of a different departure time than the one on our tickets. I have never seen him since because when everyone was boarding, it was more important for me to get the ferry than to look after his things.
Two hours later, the ferry docked at Stone Town harbour in Zanzibar and I struggled with both the entry forms and getting my luggage, as well as the many taxi drivers. By now I had been on the road for 24 hours. I decided to take a motorbike taxi. Unfortunately, I had no idea how far away Jambiani was, so I didn’t know that there was another 45 minutes of riding in the back of the motorbike ahead of me. I was exhausted. But then it was finally about to begin. My, in my opinion, well-deserved holiday.
Enjoy the view
The following film consists almost exclusively of beach pictures, but I have tried to show you a bit of Zanzibar. Especially on a dingy rainy day, this film is a little sunshine for the soul. And maybe a little inspiration for your next holiday.
I really enjoyed the two weeks and flew back to Arusha full of energy. Flight duration one hour. Doris picked me up and it was a bit like coming home. But unfortunately only for a very short time, because three days later I left Tanzania after a good two months. And while Kenya awaits me, my heart was still with all the people in Tanzania who had enriched my time there so much and, as with every farewell, I ask myself when I will ever see them again?