Needing some much need R&R, we headed to the island of Zanzibar, located off the coast of Tanzania. We decided to spend a couple of nights in Stone Town and then head to the beaches. We heard from some travelers the Stone Town was an old town with lots of character and interesting arab architecture. We were disappointed when we arrived in Stone Town...much of the city was in ruins and decay along with a very poor population that lived there. We didn't feel safe walking the streets after dark and didn't see many other tourist about the town. Zanzibar is a Muslim island and we were visiting in the middle of the Islamic holy month of "Ramadan". For an entire month the Muslim population fasts from sunrise to sunset (roughly 6:30 am to 6:30 pm). There weren't many restaurants open and we felt uneasy eating in front of people. There were mosques every couple of block and they blasted prayers on loud speakers throughout the town. This wouldn't of made us feel so uneasy if September 11th had never happened, but it did. We were Americans trying to blend into an extremely dark skinned religious community...this wasn't my idea of getting some R&R. So we decide to cut our trip in Stone Town short and head to a beach town on the northern side of the island called Nangwi. We took an early morning van and as soon as we left the city and got out on the palm tree lined roads we felt instantly better. Stone town wasn't a bad place, it just wasn't what we expected or what we wanted at that moment. We wanted to relax on the beach and let our guard down, instead we were on full alert worrying about our safety and offending Muslims by dressing inappropriately or by eating in front of them.

We stayed at a small resort that had a restaurant that was open and made us what ever our hearts desired. Of course we couldn't eat any fresh vegetables or fruit that wasn't peeled! We splurged on a room that had air conditioning which was much needed since it got really hot and humid there during the day(about 86* F and high humidity). We spent most of our time laying in the sun, swimming in the aqua colored water and walking on the white powdery sand beaches. There were other tourist and it was generally acceptable to wear shorts, a tank top or swim suit. We were in heaven because the town was very small and underdeveloped so it was very tropical and authentic fishing town. It wasn't an over-developed beach town with huge hotels and lots of tourist...there were just enough that we felt safe.

We found this amazing bar just a short walk down from us on the beach. The bar looked like something out of a surfer movie or on the cover of a Jimmy Buffet album cover. The bar tops and table were made from sun bleached wooden boats turned up side down with wooden pier stumps for seats. There were no walls to the bar it was open except for the palm and banana trees all along the sides of the bar. The floor was just the sand on the beach, the bar was only about 10 feet away from the high tide mark of the ocean. I guess there wasn't much of a threat of waves since the shores are calm. They are protected by a reef that is about a quarter mile off the shore.

The bar had a shipped wrecked feel with hammocks hanging everywhere. Some were filled with empty liquor bottles and some were empty to lie in if you wanted. There were fresh pineapples and bananas suspended from the ceiling ready to be wiped up in a frozen drink if your desired. Yes, they had a blender, totally contradictory to the atmosphere of being shipped wrecked they had some electrical devices. A frig, blender and a computer which was hooked up to a well placed sound system that played some funky techno music. White candles were placed randomly around the bar and was the only light source except for the warm glow of a bonfire lit every night between the bar and the water. The scene from a distance, bathed in moonlight, was very enchanting and welcoming, and the music made it all the more inviting.

We wished we could of shared this experience with our friends. We started day dreaming of all of you like a mirage....we saw Sepe playing the bongs and Stephanie dancing to the beat. Radhi asking what kind of music they were play and searching there database for her favorite tune. Jessica and Kristen dancing on the bar. Luci, Lea, Leal, Brett and Kristi dancing on the sand dance floor. Doug, Kevin, Chuck and Hundley running around in grass skirts or even less! Of course, the Magic Wanda and Butter would want to play a song but with no instruments would just settle for dancing and having a good time! This made us smile and it was almost like our friends were there with us.