The day I went from the mainland of Africa to the island of Zanzibar is going to be brisk. You’ll see why. While heading off to the airport I saw a village. I liked the sky. I liked the village. I took a pic.
And then everything went all to hell, emotionally, for me. We got to the airport, no biggie. The flight is only an hour so I expected a small plane. What I got was a van with wings. The Moomins asked for a seat near the front and was told there were no seat numbers. There reason the flight was seat-number-free is because it was, like, three rows of seats, maybe 12 seats. It was at this moment I took a substantial amount of drugs.
Yep. When the pilot told about our flight, they just turned around and told us. And their windshield was tiny. All of this did not set me at ease. The sky was beautiful. Before I passed out from the aforementioned drugs I appreciated the clouds.
We got to the hotel where I fell asleep and did not rise until the next morning. End of Zanzibar day 1.
I woke up refreshed the next morning and was greeted by a friend! Look at friend!
The first thing we had to do was get our Covid tests so we could fly out a few days later. Get ready to experience the Zanzibar healthcare system.
First, we had to exchange money because the Covid testing place didn’t take money. What you did was go to the bank, pay the correct amount and the bank gave you a slip that said “I have paid the right amount.” You brought that slip to the Covid testing place. In the bank there was pictures of their main politicians. I like that their president is a woman. Slight aside: Zanzibar had a ton of Muslims relocate there because of the slave trade so the primary religion is Islam. Hence the president wearing a headscarf.
You can see little girls all over wearing large white headcoverings everywhere you went.
This is one of Zanzibar’s government agency buildings.
And here’s the island’s health department sign.
The waiting room was outside. I actually think that’s a better idea than putting everyone in a waiting room.
The Moomins, who grew up in The Belgian Congo, asked me to take a picture in front of the hospital. “It looks like the hospital from my town!” she said.
After we gave the grumpy lady sitting at the table you see above our “we paid” slip of paper we sat on our plastic chairs and waited our turn. I liked having two companions while I was waiting: A chicken and a very small lizard on a tree.
We filled out paperwork, we handed our paperwork through the window, and eventually we went to a room where we were tested using the exact same protocol that they use in the states. So anyone who’s like “blah blah backwards unsafe blah blah!!”, it was the same. Same PPE, same way-too-long swab, same snappy-offy container for said swab, etc. The only difference is the companion chicken and lizard which I personally think is a step-up from the clinic I have on the corner of my street. There are no free-range sauntering beasts there.
I loved this sign on the side of the building.
Gecko on one of the hospital buildings.
After this exciting activity we returned to our beachside resort. The plants around our room where *chef’s kiss.* It was so gorgeous, like a feast for the eyes.
We shall finish this day with a picture of the women carrying baskets on their heads from hotel room to hotel room. I’ve seen it so many times and it’s always really cool.
Next entry: Spices. A lotta spices.