Jambo Jambo Zanzibar

29 December 2009: Zanzibar, 11:00; after an uneventful flight, even though we left Bari two hours late, here we are; the heat is unbearable, but maybe that's because we're wearing down jackets and boots. The airport is a fright: small, dirty, packed with locals who ask you for money even just to move your luggage a metre; luckily here comes the tour operator's representative, who gets us onto a minibus with air conditioning and off we go towards the Palumbo Village at Uroa. Looking out of the window you immediately realise you're in Africa and you ask yourself how it's possible that there are people living in houses (2m x 2m) built of mud with no electricity or water, and yet they smile? Hakuna Matata!...They have nothing, and yet for all the Zanzibaris....

Hakuna Matata! We arrive at the village, where some Masai welcome us; after sorting out the usual formalities, here we finally are in a comfortable room — not luxurious but clean...the four-poster bed surrounded by a mosquito net is lovely...and then the scent of flowers scattered on the beds. At last we can shed our winter clothes and put on something more suited to 32°...and here we are wandering around the village, but above all here we are by the sea. The whiteness of the sand and the glare of the sun are blinding; before our eyes appears a landscape that is perhaps unique.

We'd heard about it, but none of us could have imagined it would be like this: "I'm talking about the tides..." the sea has withdrawn more than a kilometre, and far out it takes on extraordinary colours, from an almost transparent white to blue, passing through every shade of azure Unfortunately it's lunchtime and we can't linger to admire this paradise, but we've only just arrived and we'll have time to appreciate these beauties. After a lunch that's a mix of Italian and local cuisine, in the afternoon we decide to go straight back to the beach...but the tide has turned, and from low it becomes high tide, and to be honest, at this stage it isn't so lovely; the sea is "normal", a bit choppy, and there's even a bit of seaweed. The alternative during these high-tide hours is a lovely pool.

30 December: a day of relaxation, but above all we're eager to go to the beach and visit that sea which, as it withdraws, leaves wonders behind. And so, under the scorching sun — and that's not just a figure of speech — we start our walk along the beach, or rather along that part of the sea that has withdrawn. The sand is soft and it's pleasant to walk on it...in reality you don't know where to look: on one side there's the beach with its coconut palms, which contrast with the whiteness of the sand, then there's this part of the sea we're walking on, where you find splendid shells and above all enormous starfish of different colours, and then, at the bottom, the sea. When you finally arrive, all you can do is lie down and enjoy these lagoons of crystal-clear water; if you want a good swim, though, you have to get a fisherman to take you on the classic "dhow" towards the coral reef.

Walking on the sand you also come across, now and then, seaweed farms which in some stretches almost turn the sea into a marsh and give the landscape an almost surreal appearance; the inhabitants of Zanzibar harvest the seaweed, dry it and send it to Asia, and together with spices it's their main source of income. Wherever you go there are always children coming up to you, wanting anything at all...but then, really, what do they do with it...their life is surprisingly very simple, hard to understand by our standards of living...but that too is the beauty of Zanzibar! The children's eyes shine with a different light from our own children's.

31 December: the last day of the year...while waiting for the big end-of-year party we went to visit an aquarium in the north of the island with some turtles, but above all we went to Nungwi beach to see the sunset; this is one of the few beaches on the island where the tides don't occur...evocative but unfortunately not very romantic, because of the presence of many people. And here we are back at the village, just time for a shower, and off the party begins. A lovely evening, good dinner, entertaining animation, tombola, but above all dancing together with all the staff and the Masai....a special hello to Marco and Raffaello, 2 Masai friends whom I saw doing world-championship jumps after we'd given them 70 euro...and to round it off, a swim in the pool at midnight. 1 January 2010: sunbathing and swimming.

2 January: we went to visit a spice plantation; our guide is Giorgino.."as he says, a name is a guarantee"...so funny!!! Seeing the lemongrass plants, or the cinnamon or nutmeg trees, the cloves...picking them and smelling their fragrance...walking in the green of the plantation and receiving gifts made from coconut leaves isn't something that happens every day for us Western city-dwellers. Then a visit to Stone Town, the capital, or rather the only urban settlement on the island. Unfortunately, despite several nice things to see such as the slave market, now an Anglican church, the House of Wonders, the house where Freddie Mercury was born, the market and several carved and decorated doors, the city looks chaotic and dirty...tin shacks or ruined houses are everywhere.

3-4 January: two days of complete relaxation, retracing the kilometres of enchanting beach in the company of friendly Masai whose stalls, their colourful kemba, the beaded bracelets on their wrists and ankles, and their dances make this holiday cheerful and unforgettable. 5 January: return to Italy, with many organisational problems at an airport that is too small and inadequate to allow the travel of thousands of people. All this and more that remains in the heart is.... Zanzibar...Jambo!!! I'll leave you with the famous, cheerful little song and its translation: Jambo jambo Bwana (Hello hello sir) Habari gani nzuri sana (how are you? Very well!) Wageni wakaribishwa (tourists welcome) Zanzibar yetu hakuna matata (in our Zanzibar, no problem)