Zanzibar: Forodhani Gardens

One of the great benefits of the venue for Sauti za Busara was the proximity to Forodhani Gardens. Forodhani Gardens is a recently renovated park along the main sea walk in downtown Stone Town located directly across from the Old Fort. There are many benches, a few gazebos, and plenty of places to sit where you can view the ocean below. 

Not only is Forodhani Gardens a wonderful place to relax during the day but at night it comes alive with an outdoor market. Tables are erected and dozens of vendors sell things like juice, fruits, Zanzibar pizza, kebabs and other tasty eats. One is spoiled for choice though annoyingly there are aggressive touts trying to secure your services. I joked that they must have different social cues whereby a small glance at the table means I am interested, any eye contact means I am interested, slowing down or stopping means I am interested and maybe even a non-response to their invitation to view their table means I am interested! Can't knock them for trying. 

I enjoyed my dinner at Forodhani Gardens each night of the festival. I had to be careful to select the fish that is fresh and sampled everything from octopus to kingfish. The most notable event occurred when we were waiting for our food to be cooked and a massive group came up to the table we were at. Turns out it was the East African hip-hop star Diamond Platinumz (of the hit single "Numba one") and his posse. Within minutes we were surrounded by people with their phones out taking pictures and videos. If I would have known he was so famous (friends later said he is like the Kanye West of Africa) I would have asked for a picture!

Zanzibar: Paje Beach

The Indian Ocean, as seen in Paje. 

I was based in Stone Town for my trip to Zanzibar (Unguja) but I knew that Zanzibar was known for having world-class beaches. I was surprised at how small the island was and how easily one could get around with public transportation. After browsing the guide book and listening to people's opinion (everyone seemed to have a different "favorite spot") I decided to head to a small coastal village called Paje.

I decided on Paje mainly because it was on the opposite side of the island and I was curious to see more of the island outside of Stone Town. I was planning on taking a dala dala to Paje, though my friend warned me they are quite slow. The dala dalas were different than those on the main-land and I quite liked them as they used the top for storage and only had two long benches on each side of the truck bed.

The dala dala trip was unremarkable other than the fact that yes, it was very slow. The first quarter of the journey was full of stops and starts, loading up products and goods, unloading, picking up school kids, dropping them off, etc. However, after we got out of the more densely settled part of the island, we moved quickly to Paje.

Zanzibar dala dalas. 

I didn't know where to get off in Paje but saw a sign for "beach", called for a stop, and started walking towards the beach. As soon as we reached the beach we could see white sand beaches until the horizon. Apparently Paje is the hotspot for kite-boarding and there were a handful of amateur kite boarders surfing in the shallows. 

The beach was sparsely populated and lacked any big resort hotels. There were mostly small B&B types of places and enough space on the beach to feel comfortably spread out and relaxed. We went for a swim in the shallow water, enjoyed a lunch at a nearby restaurant (fish of course!) and then headed back to Stone Town in time for our evening activities. 

A rockier area around the corner from the beach. 

White sand beaches. 

Great football pitch with palm trees as hazards. 

Music Festival: Sauti za Busara

Arrived early at the festival grounds to scope the venue and catch some soundcheck. 

Sauti za Busara (sounds of wisdom) is an annual pan-African music festival held every February in Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania. I was lucky enough to have my brother from the US come and visit in order to attend the festival. As we are both musicians, it seemed a perfect place to spend some brotherly time.

The festival ran four days, from Thursday to Sunday. Music started at 4pm and artists had about one hour and rotated until the last artist at 12:30 AM. There were artists from all over Africa; Tanzania, Kenya, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Madagascar, Senegal, Angola, etc., representing a variety of sounds from traditional music, blues, afro-beat, hip-hop, taarab, and funk.

The festival was held in an old 17th century fort (aptly called the "Old Fort") about 100m from the ocean. There are two large "rooms": an amphitheater where movies and smaller acts played and then another open area adjacent to it with the main stage and vendors. The venue was magnificent; as unique as it was intimate. It's not like the festival was under-attended, rather it seemed like the perfect amount of people to feel like a big crowd but without the claustrophobic feeling of overcrowded concerts. One of the most unique things was the fact that there were breaks for prayer (Zanzibar is predominately Muslim) at 4pm, 7pm, and 8pm. Not a lot of music festivals do that!

I can't say enough good things about the festival. The line up of artists showcased such a wide variety of music that I was able to actively absorb and enjoy 6-8 hours of music for four days straight! The crowd was great, an interesting mix of foreigners and locals with a relaxed and mellow vibe. The festival was really quite family friendly and until the late hours there were many families with children running around the venue.

My only complaint was the sound crew was disappointing.  I am only critical because the majority of those around the sound boards were wazungu (foreigners). I think if you take non-local staff, they should perform at the highest level. Although overall the mixing was good, there were more than a few artists that suffered from PA problems that ruined several songs or even whole sets. The most embarrassing moment came when the sound crew failed to turn off the PA "setbreak" music and a band started with their sound only coming through the stage monitors, competing (and failing) with the audience PA.

Overall, the festival exceeded my expectations. I am going to make it an annual trip, without a doubt!!!

One of the two stages, this being the smaller.  

Venue at night with two towers illuminated. 

View opposite the stage. 

Up close. 

Smaller stage act. 

Late night show. 

Day time vibe was awesome. 

Crowd is rocking. 

I loved that I could get a fruit juice and milk shake while still watching the music. 

Birding: Lark Plain

This last weekend we went with some friends to the "Lark Plain", an area about 30km north of Arusha known for it's abundance of different species of birds from the lark family. There are apparently nine different types of lark, one of which is endemic to the small area (Beasley's Lark). It isn't a park or formal protected area, though it is quite open and there is a small signpost from the main highway.

A short-tailed lark. Larks are typically medium sized ground birds with nice songs and feed on insects and seeds. Their dull color provides them with excellent camouflage in dry areas. 

The landscape on the Lark Plain was beautiful though arid and hot. One of our friends is a tour operator so we used his safari jeep to tour around. We parked and then walked for a few hours until we couldn't manage the heat any longer

It was a real hot day but the clear skies gave us a good view of the north face of Mt. Meru. We saw a lot of nice birds as well as an unidentified half eaten/half rotted carcass.  We stayed well covered and hydrated so it wasn't until about 1pm that the heat became too much. There weren't any "trails", rather there were a few areas where some acacias were scattered together and some faint trails made by nomadic Masai and their cattle. The day hike was a total success, though there are more larks we didn't see so we'll have to come back again!

Checking the guide. 

Unidentified half eaten carcass. 

Setting out on the plains. 

Our friend Philip gets a real nice shot. 

Lodge on border of Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park

We recently went up the mountain to a small lodge on the border of Kilimanjaro National Park, about 16km outside of Moshi. The lodge is literally at the end of one of the winding roads that snakes up through various villages on the slopes of Kilimanjaro.

We went with some friends and they were pretty chill about us bringing our lunch and just ordering a few drinks. There was a nice outdoor area with a defunct rock hot tub and spectacular views. The place was by no means crowded (I think three other visitors were there) and there was more than enough space to spread out and hang.

We took a walk and accidentally ended up inside the park. We didn't see the eucalyptus tree border that are used to delineate most protected areas in Tanzania.  We later learned we would have likely faced a fine upwards to $100 if we were caught. Luckily, we were only hiking for about an hour and didn't get too high up.

The only downside to this place is that it is up a steep dirt/gravel road. In the rainy season it must be near impossible for vehicles to pass. However, during the dry season (now) it provides some of the most stunning vistas of the area south of Moshi.

Defunct hot tub. 

Awesome chameleon that we saw. 

The same chameleon with different colors, likely due to not being forced to crawl on my arm. 

A view of the area south of Mt. Kilimanjaro

Food: Crickets

Definitely a local storage technique. 

Packed in there tight. 

Crickets in hand

I went to visit my friend the other day and she had an unusual snack for me to try. She is from Mwanza, a region in the west of Tanzania with a distinct culture than the Chagga and others of Kilimanjaro Region. She said she recently had some stuff sent to her from her aunt and the local treat was included.

The crickets were prepared by smoking them, no additives necessary! I'd eaten crickets on one occasion before (in Cambodia) though they were sauteed in a pan with salt. These crickets were quite large and as a result a lot more "flavorful" than the crickets I have eaten before. The taste was not bad and I imagined if most people had a beer to go with them, most would find it enjoyable.

I have no issues eating insects; in fact they are a great protein source and in this day and age of using exceedingly more resources raising animals for consumption, it's even an ethical meal! Unfortunately, the cricket industry is not very developed in this region, so I guess I'll have to wait for care packages from Mwanza!