Another Day, Another Village, Very Different

The departure time for the morning shoot was set even earlier than on previous days and I again demurred, preferring to catch up on sleep now my body had adapted to the warm. Apparently I missed a shark being landed by one of the fishing crews, but I suspect I still made the right decision.

After breakfast we went to tour another village, Pwani Mchangani. Although a similar size to Matemwe, and only a few miles down the coast, this had an oddly different feeling. The fact that we weren’t constantly pestered by children, some bad-tempered, helped, but it was interesting that the locals with whom we interacted were much happier to pose for the camera, with a cheerful and friendly demeanour. There were signs of slightly greater prosperity: a café in the centre of the village, a couple of tourist shops and more busy-looking local ones. The difference was subtle, but significant, and made the visit more pleasant and productive.

Dhow Trip

For the last full day of the main tour, Lee had arranged a sunset dhow cruise. At 4.30 we waded out a few yards and climbed into a dhow, one of several which now focuses on tourist rather than fishing duties. The captain used the outboard to get off the beach and pointed in the right direction, but otherwise we were under sail immediately. To our amusement our guide, Omar, was literally "learning the ropes" and operating as an extra crew member. You didn’t need much Swahili to realise he had a fair bit to learn.

After a short jaunt northwards the sail was set for the opposite direction and we headed steadily down the beach, getting great views of the hotels, the other pleasure boats and all manner of goings on. The majority of hotels are moderate in size and nestle neatly into the shore, but there is one behemoth which looks completely out of place. Obviously the planning process in Zanzibar is driven as much by brown envelopes as elsewhere.

We eventually turned northwards once more, with the sun bathing the beach in a warm glow. Shortly before sunset another dhow kept pace with us and, whether by accident or design is unclear, positioned itself perfectly against the sunset. Almost the last shot of the tour was the one many of us had been expecting all week. Result!