Zanzibar- Stone Town

The " spice islands" have an exotic, almost legendary allure and offer a complete change of pace from the Tanzanian mainland. Apart from historic Stone Town, with its fascinating labyrinth of narrow streets, there are beautiful palm-fringed beaches and pristine coral reefs.
I took a ferry to Zanzibar. I spent about one week on the island staying at Stone Town and one northern beach (Nungwi) and one southern beach (Jambiani). I met  a traveler named Jose on the ferry. We traveled together for part of the trip.
Stone Town is a charm for its signature narrow streets and alleys, Arabic-style architecture,ornate balconies and carved wood framed doors, it's history and spice and it's spectacular sunset from the beach front plaza. It's an exotic mix of a little bit of everything like the native spice.
Stone Town is definitely a tourist destination and prices are higher than anywhere else. Ramadan is still going on and local restaurants remain close till sunset. When it gets close to sunset, the town becomes sizzling as the street vendors start to take the food stalls out, local restaurants reopen and local people get ready for their Ramadan dinner. Foto Dahni garden is an ocean front plaza and it becomes very lively in the evenings. A dozen of local vendors set up food booths for a taste of Stone Town. This is also a great place to watch sunset. Grabbing a plate of local BBQ and embracing the beach breeze and spectacular sunset are favorite things for both locals and tourists. At Foto Dahni garden, I reunited with Jose and met Sevia and Assia. Sevia and Assia is a couple from Switzerland and have been traveling for over a year. They are truly world travelers and enjoy their low-budget travel style. When I met them, they have already stayed at Stone Town for 6 weeks. Their down to earth personality and genuine passion for world travel touched me. Sevia, Assia, Jose and I catered a Dhow (sail boat) tour to a small island "Changuu" (Prison Island). Changuu is a tourist destination for giant tortoises and snorkeling. We had a perfect day of island excursion and several hours of snorkeling in the Indian ocean. We ended up the day at Foto Dahni garden again where I met an open minded Masai who had married a German woman and told me that he is more interested in western culture than Masai culture.
The following morning I checked out the local fish market. After that Jose and I took a dala dala to a nearby spice farm for a 2- hour spice tour.