The next morning Carolina and I headed to the ferry port early and, while waiting to board, found ourselves next to the German family we met in Shiwa Ngandu. They had just arrived into Dar the afternoon before and their first impression of the city was not very good. The day before, while trying to locate their hotel, Stephan drove down a one-way street in the wrong direction. A military vehicle immediately pulled up behind them and multiple soldiers with AK-47s surrounded their vehicle. One hundred and fifty dollars later Stephan had paid what was clearly a bribe to get himself, and his family, out of the situation. Despite the anti-corruption signs that litter the borders and roadways across Tanzania, corruption exists, and we expect to encounter more of this as we travel the country.
While boarding we realized that the ticket agent had incorrectly processed our tickets for the afternoon, but after running back to the ticket counters we were able to slip onto the ferry. The ferry to Zanzibar took around 2-3 hours and after being mobbed by touts at the port, we found our transfer, and were on our way to the eastern side of the island. The island has a rich history as it used to be the epicenter of the spice and slave trade in Africa. Ownership of the island has varied over its history (Britain, Oman, etc), however Zanzibar is currently part of the republic of Tanzania. I say “currently” because the island is primarily Muslim, and there is a strong island sentiment that leans towards succession from the Tanzanian republic. This sentiment is evident in the multiple opinion pieces that can be found on the subject in the local papers.
We arrived at Nyota Bungalows, on the eastern shores, after an hour drive across the island. We had to drive through the middle of Matamwe village to get to our hotel, and I was surprised to find the infrastructure in the village, and on the island in general, to be in generally poor condition. While there are some expensive resorts on the island, it does not seem like much of this money makes its way to the local villages. Oddly, there is a strong Italian influence in Zanzibar with many of the smaller hotels, including ours, owned and operated by Italians (No one could explain why – We are told this is also the same on the mainland coast of eastern Africa).
The next few days were an outstanding mix of relaxation and excitement. While the island lacks infrastructure, the area mixes beautiful beaches, pocketed with tourists, with the visible activity and culture of the villagers. Here is a summary:
Scooter tour + Corruption: On the second day I rented a scooter through the hotel, and Carolina and I decided to tour the island. At 8 am a man brought the scooter from Stonetown, over one hour away, to the hotel. You could tell this was his own personal scooter and he was nervous to give it out for the day. I assured him everything would be ok, and he soon hitched a ride back to Stonetown leaving me to figure out how to operate it. I was surprised to learn that Vespas have manual transmissions, but had soon figured it out well enough to safely operate it with Carolina on the back. In general, looking back, I do not recommend renting a scooter on Zanzibar as the roads are in poor condition with people and animals everywhere. I doubt I would do it again.
After two hours of touring the islands and the beaches, and being stared and waved at by villagers (apparently renting scooters is not a frequent occurrence), we came to a police checkpoint and an officer waved us down. The officer asked me to put the scooter off to the side of the road and for my international driver’s license. Upon review of my international drivers license he informed me that I was not authorized to drive a scooter, as the appropriate class of vehicle was not stamped. I respectfully explained that in my country scooters are not classified under motorcycles (I believe this to be the case, but I’m honestly not sure), and therefore my stamp authorizes me to operate a scooter. Naturally he disagreed, informed me I was to be issued a violation, and directed me to his office. I could sense what was about to transpire, and even gave Carolina a half smile as I was led into a back office. She was not allowed to join. The officer spoke little English and therefore an administrator, who could have simply been a friend of his, joined us in the backroom. The man explained again that I had been found in violation and, again, I explained why I wasn’t in violation. He slid a slip of paper over the table and told me I must sign it admitting I violated a traffic law, and then appear in court the next morning, plead my case, and pay any fines. We then all stared at each other for half a minute before the officer smiled, and then I followed suit…We all laughed. I respectfully explained that I could not appear in court the next morning. The man respectfully explained that had to appear in court. Again we stared at each other and then the man looked at the officer and both of them smiled. I told them again I was not going to sign anything admitting I committed a violation, and that I needed an option that would allow me to take the scooter and return it to Matamwe. The man again looked at the officer, and then told me again that this option did not exist. I laughed and explained that the option had to exist. He and the officer laughed and then once again awkward silence ensued. The officer then chimed in and explained that a fine the next morning would amount to approximately $100. He then told me that he thought I should go tour the island with the scooter and that there was no need for the court. I asked him how I could do this, and he replied, “You can do it, but we cannot take anything in order to do it”. Confused, I took ten thousand shillings ($9) out of my wallet. The other man laughed, told me to go enjoy the island, and then left the room to talk to Carolina. Once he had left I handed the officer the bill, but he refused to take it, or even look at it. He then pointed to a magazine on the desk and motioned for me to leave the bill under the magazine, I obeyed, and we both left the room. We all chatted for a while outside the building and then Carolina and I were on our way. A smart officer, no one ever saw him take a bribe. I hate to add to the already rampant corruption in Africa, but as many people say, this is the way it is. For $9, we were on our way.
Before we left the station I had asked the men how I could ensure I wouldn’t be stopped at another checkpoint and again be found “in violation”. They told me that there was only one other checkpoint on my route and that the officer stationed there was not experienced. Hmm…Right. Ten minutes out from the checkpoint I stopped in a village, and with a throng of people watching me, found a pen to purchase at a shop. I then made my own stamp on the motorcycle classification on my international drivers license…I wouldn’t have the problem again. Twenty minutes later we hit the checkpoint and I rode through at about 60 km/h, waved, and left the officer with no chance to come out of the building and stop us. They have no vehicles to chase anyone with. Later that afternoon I again passed this checkpoint and drove through, never looking at the officer. This time he ran out of his building and we could hear him yelling for us to stop, but we just continued on our way. I could have always argued I didn’t see or hear him, and this way it gave him no chance to get money out of us.
Fairmont Hotel: On the second day Carolina and I came across the Fairmont hotel while walking down the beach. The Fairmont, with around 200 rooms, is one of two five star hotels on the island. We had lunch at the beach-side bar and made friends with some of the staff, including the food and beverage general manager, who similar to Carolina is German. The next night we came back and had a drink with her before dinner. The resort was completely empty and we asked her about why this was. She explained that one month before the main power cable from the mainland to the island has been accidently snapped. For almost a month every hotel and business had to be run off of diesel generators. Most customers cancelled their reservations and only now were people beginning to return. With current fuel prices, the cost to the hotel, and other businesses, has been extremely high. That evening we had a great dinner at the restaurant, and saw, at the most, 20-30 other customers.
Village Politics and Niki’s Rental Car: On the third day Niki rented a car and drove to Matamwe to take Carolina and I back to Stonetown. When I exited the hotel I could not find the car, and Nikolai told me the road to the hotel was closed, he had to walk in. The receptionist explained that overnight the village had decided that Nyota hotel was not employing enough people from the village (Keep in mind this is only a ten bungalow hotel). The village took matters into their own hands and dug two large digs across the main road to the hotel, effectively closing the road. The Italian owner had left that morning to issue a complaint to the high commissioner responsible for governing the area. Once again, we saw first hand the difficulty/complexity of doing business in Africa.
After a short walk we packed the bags into the car, but, for some reason, the car would not start. We popped the hood and began to troubleshoot as a crowd of villagers, mainly children, began to surround the car. It was a pretty funny site. I later learned from Carolina that many of the children were passing the time by impersonating Nikolai and I. If I said, or pointed to something, they would do the same as they stood behind us. After a short time we gave up on fixing the car. We called a taxi, and after taking on some fuel (Again - One liter water bottles of petrol), we drove back to Stonetown.
Stonetown: Stonetown is the main city on the island of Zanzibar, and was the true heart of the spice and slave trade. The city does have a certain charm, but I was surprised to find the city was not as well kept as I would have expected. This said, Stonetown was a great place to relax and people watch. Interestingly, Obama seems to be very popular in Stonetown, as can been seen from the picture below. Our hotel recommended the Africa House, a nice hotel in the city, for sunset drinks, and we were not let down. We ate dinner and drank, and as can be seen below, snapped some great pictures of the sunset. On our way back to our hotel we came across a mass of people waiting to enter the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF). We paid an entry fee and sat and watched a few performances as well as the first thirty minutes of an African independent film, before heading back to the hotel and going to sleep. We will be taking the early ferry (7am) back to Dar tomorrow morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment