The One Where Break Began (12/13/2012)

My Christmas break has officially begun! After three long days of trucks, busses and a ferry I have finally made it to Zanzibar (an Island off the coast of Tanzania).  I have a conference here for WorldTeach beginning Saturday but Dahlia and I (as well as most other volunteers) decided to come a few days early and soak up the sun and local culture.  We arrived today at about noon on the ferry from Dar Es Salaam and were met by Ashley who took us to drop off our bags.  The place we are staying is great!! It is a house of a woman named Zakia who rents out some of the rooms.  It is great, there is electricity and running water and it is right in the middle of downtown Stone Town! After dropping off our bags Ashley showed us this place around the corner to get some lunch.  The food was incredible!!! I had the best octopus that I have ever had in my life!! After lunch Dahlia and headed down to the beach where we signed up for a tour to Prison Island.  Zanzibar was once a hub for slave trade and when slaves misbehaved they were sent to Prison Island.  Now the island is the home of giant tortoises which are the main attraction.  So we headed out on a boat that was locally carved to the Island where we got to see the turtles.  They are really rare and are only found on this and one other Island.  Unfortunately they were being stolen from the Island for their shells so now they are fenced in with security.  But that meant that we could walk right up to them and touch them and everything.  They were huge!! They got up to maybe 4 feet in length and the oldest one was 189! After seeing the turtles we jumped in to the incredible turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean where we spent the next hour snorkeling! We made it back just in time to meet up with some of the other volunteers who had also come a few days early for the conference and were able to get dinner together.  We spent hours telling stories from our sites, laughing at how far we have come and talking about how ridiculous so many of our initial fears were.  I am really looking forward to catching up with everyone else and I can’t wait for the adventures that we have planned for tomorrow… but for that I am going to keep you in suspense!