Zanzibar Marina, Tanzania, East Africa – A month at the new marina!

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Zanzibar Marina, East Africa, Tanzania, a month at the new marina! It’s the only marina in East Africa, and is barely open. It is also known as Azam Watersports Marina, or Verde Hotel Marina, and is located a couple of miles north of Stonetown. It is a safe haven for sailboats. It’s brand new, and barely open, but when we heard the price, we almost decided NOT to come….$50 per night!!! But then we found out if you stay for a month or more, the prices come down to less than half. So we decided to time our arrival to Zanzibar for the Sauti Za Busara Music Festival in early February.

It was to be a safe place to leave our home at a dock, with guards, while we spent until the wee hours of the morning, in town, listening to the great lineup of African musicians, for 4+ days. It was a great 4 days, and we never feared for our boat, our dinghy, our outboard or our possessions the entire time we were away. Guards quizzed us each night upon return until they got to know exactly who we were and where we were going. I would wish them a “Lala salama”, and they would assure me that only I would have a good nights sleep…not them…they would be awake all night to guard the premises!

For a month, we did laundry on the dock, took endless showers, and walked on and off the boat any time we wanted to, together or by ourselves. I sat in a free massage chair for an hour a day getting a luxurious foot massage some days, and total body massage other days, after having a cappucino on fine china. Patrick went to the gym twice a day and got in a good routine, enjoying the air conditioning, nearly as much as the workout itself.

Every once in a while someone would turn off a motor that needs to run for the RO water to come from our hose on the dock, and we would have to wait until the next morning for dock water. But with a quick call to the manager, it would all come back on again. We were there for the hottest part of the year…February…and an AC unit would have made things better during the day, especially since electricity is included. Free WiFi is available in the restaurant and the lounge upstairs with the great coffee bar. The manager told me they are in the process now of trying to include more for visiting yachts including some Watersports…kayaks for example, and Showers, toilets, and laundry. Right now, if you want laundry done it it some outrageous amount per item, at the hotel. We never once used this expensive system. We hunted for showers to sneak in to, but alas, there were none. They did finally offer some outdoor, unisex showers that are used for the ocean part of the water park, but warned us to keep our clothes on 😉

With a nice restaurant at the head of the dock (which does not serve alcohol) , we splurged and ate dinner here every 4th or 5th night. Other times we ate on the boat running to town every few days for cheap fresh veggies and expensive boneless chicken breasts. Luckily we still had lots of food in the freezer not only from Dar, but from Mayotte and even ReUnion, so we never went hungry!

The dala dala or a taxi can be caught right outside the gate of the hotel, and though they always asked for more, you could generally get a taxi in for 5000 Tanzania Shillings, a little over $2 usd. If you came back late late at night, it could be as much as double that, and again, they start at 3x the price they are willing to go for. The Dala dala (a small bus or pickup truck with seats) costs about 12 cents, so when we could, we would catch the dala dala and be crammed in to a small pickup truck with seats in the back. There are also a few tuk tuks though most rare.

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New Year’s Eve

Save a spot early because later there will be no room to even stand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The New Year’s celebration on the streets of Providence, Rhode Island and in Boston, called First Night, was always a bitter cold affair in subfreezing temperatures. Inside a restaurant or bar, where fingers and bodies could thaw was a much better place to be, especially if you had a view to the fireworks. One degree, fifteen minutes, 75 miles, north of the equator in Singapore, the place is made for outdoor, nighttime celebrations.
Tripods were set up very early along the water to save a spot.

 

The blue area is the outdoor stadium. That is not a Ferris Wheel in the background. That is a viewing wheel which rotates very slowly. You can pay a lot of money to have a revolving dinner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thousands of people payed to fill the tiers of the outdoor stadium to watch a long list of musicians who looked much better on the Jumbotron. Standing off to the side of the stadium, we could just see the speck of a human on stage but could easily see the on screen person.
We settled for free grab seats at the band-shell to watch very good bar bands. As it got dark, every hour on the hour there were teaser fireworks shot from the floating platform in the middle of Marina Bay. As the evening progressed it became far more difficult to walk around the public areas and thread through the crowds. On the hour, Rebecca and I took turns guarding our seats at the band-shell so the other could duck around the corner to see the short burst of fireworks. But near midnight, we gave up our seats to thread into the crowd and find a spot with a clear view to the fireworks. By this time, there was hardly a place to stand along the waterfront but I was able to work my way into some manicured shrubs and hug a tree and use a branch to steady the camera.
The main show lasted only 8 minutes but it was an intense, nonstop fireworks. a display accented with colored laser lights, that we will never forget. And the best part, we were in shorts and thin shirts.

Happy New Year!

Killing time till the fireworks begin. It is amazing how many people have their faces in their mobile devise while riding on the train and walking around in public, bumping into things.

 

 

 

No picture can explain the loud kaboom that goes with the lights. At times, there were so many fireworks the sky was more filled with smoke s lights.
Laser lights were a big part of the show. I’d love to have one of those super lasers on our bot to shine on the wheel house of a fishing boat or ship who does not respect the right of way rules. That should get their attention.