Off to Zanzibar -- Part I

Over the years, hearing about a place called Zanzibar conjured up a tropical far away and strange island.  I remember as a kid talking about trying to dig to China- which for me and my dorky friends meant digging a hole all the way through the earth and ending up on the other side. Well it turns out, without doing any digging, we have gotten to within 600 miles of being on the other side of the world! The actual spot is in the Indian Ocean, and not China!

Zanzibar, an island off of the coast of Tanzania- and part of that country- is actually made up of 54 islands, about 45 of them are only inhabited by wildlife. And as we have seen throughout Rwanda and Tanzania, Zanzibar is a study in contrasts  Many people live in poverty- dirt floor huts, small villages with no running water and a family goat or two- which isn't their pet!  Driving from the airport to the hotel, we kept looking at each other, a bit nervous about whether there was actually a nice hotel at the end of the road.

Tanzania is 93% Muslim, so the most of the men and women dress in traditional clothing.  It is so hot and humid that I can't imagine living under all those layers of fabric.

Then, we finally arrived, and wow, what a place Rob found! Winnie gave us these four days as an anniversary present and it has been fantastic! The Melia Zanzibar is the fanciest place I've ever been! The service is over the top! And the pools, ocean, grounds and the food are out of this world.  We chose the "all inclusive " package so all the meals and  drinks are included.

Each night is a themed buffet, from Indian, to a barbecue on the beach, to Mediterranean to Arabian style food.

The Indian food buffet! Amazing!

This was the barbecue night on the beach.  It was so fancy! It seemed like we were crashing a Hollywood wedding reception.  They sat us at communal tables, and we got to know a couple from Israel, and a couple from Germany.  Thankfully they all spoke perfect English!

This is the Gabi Beach restaurant- also part of the hotel.  We watched fishermen bring in their catch as we had beers and pizza and tropical salads! Pinch me, am I dreaming!?