We literally hit the ground running upon our arrival in Dar Es Salaam! We had a mere two hours to clear the customs, pick up our bags, and head to the ferry towards Zanzibar. It was no easy feat to weave through the traffic and we were slipping and sliding like hot butter in between two pieces of toast. It was only in the bus that we realized how hot the weather was, but coming from the frozen lands of Sweden, we had promised that we wouldn’t complain about the weather! Some local people were coming up to us selling grapes and water and other fruits when our bus stopped at traffic lights, and it was also quite a shock sometimes to see a head suddenly bobbing by the side of the window unexpectedly. We were surprised how nice the ferry was and it looked like a small cruise ship. The ferry was followed by another hour of daladala ride (the local form of taxi) on Zanzibar. The Daladala ride was a ride of a lifetime, and all of us were packed into a small truck with open sides and our luggage on top.
The hard benches were harassing our asses throughout the 1,5 hour trip. The driver was speeding as hell as he had somebody chasing us. Some cars were trying to pass our daladala very dangerously. We were joking that there will be news in the Swedish press about 20 killed Chalmers students. Not sooo nice…
And finally, after a total of 28-hours, we arrived to the village of Paje! Despite the fact that there was no electricity on the island, or that we were sleeping in hot stuffy rooms, feeling the sand beneath our feet and gazing at the thousands of stars twinkling at us in the cloudless sky, it was no doubt we have arrived on a paradise on earth!
/Kati, Jan and Markus
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