Dhow Adventure

After hours of deliberation, Martha and I decided to visit and cycle round Pemba Island during the couple of days I had off. Pemba was only a couple of kms north of Zanzibar and on a clear day you could see Pemba from the beach. We decided to go to Pemba because neither of us actually wanted to spend a long time travelling and any destinations on the mainland (Tanzania) would mean at least a couple of days in transit.

Research with our trusty East Africa Diver’s Captain and a man named Kombo, determined that it would take 5-6 hours to Pemba from Nungwi by Dhow. A Dhow was leaving the next day at 3am!...a little early but we figured that we would arrive on Pemba before 10am (giving some time for African Time) and still have the whole day to explore.

Kombo came and picked us up and we were all aboard by half 3 in the morning, only to be told that now we would have to wait for the tide to come in. *Groan!* We sat in the hull, in the dark, trying to shelter under the sail from the rain for over 2 hours. We were vaguely aware of a number of Swahili men on board too, one of which would shift closer and try to cuddle with me every now and then, while I kept shifting closer to Martha.

As the sun rose the men poled the Dhow out past the reef and hoisted the sail. A fantastic effort that required 3 men to use all their body weight to hoist 2 tree trunks roped together with a heavy hand sewn sail hanging from them. As the crew secured the sail I though “YEY! Finally we were on our way!”….my jubilancy was short lived as the sail flapped a bit and then just hung, heavy and unmoving. There was no wind to take us to Pemba! There was a small 40horse power motor attached to the enormous Dhow, but for reasons we couldn’t understand the captain didn’t turn it on.

In the light of day we could see there were 13 men on the boat, none of which could speak English and our Swahili was non existent. There was no deck, just a hull which kept filling with water and had to be bailed regularly. At the bow was a small triangular platform and at the back was another platform for the captain to stand and steer from and on which a little coal burner stood.

We floated for over 6 hours in sight of Nungwi. During this time, Martha and I took over the small triangular platform at the front because it was flatter than the hull and we could lie next to each other relatively comfortably. At some point one of the crew members brewed tea on the burner, which we were offered…it smelt like fish, tasted like sugar and had a scummy oily layer on the top.

Martha told me of a board game she plays at Christmas called Ocean Trader (Kind of like Monopoly but with the old trade routes.) If you land on a red square you draw a card, one card reads “The Cats whiskers, only move on even throws” and another says “Becalmed, only move when you throw a 6.” We had definitely drawn the “Becalmed” card!

By mid morning we were anxious to pee, but soon realised that wouldn’t be an option while we were on the boat. While the men could just go off the side, there wasn’t anywhere with enough privacy for us to go…especially with 13 Muslim men on board. We had brought some water with but neither of us dared drink anything for fear of filling our bladders further.

Finally at about midday we threw a 2 and a small breeze picked up. We started to move Pole Pole (slowly slowly) towards Pemba. The breeze became slightly stronger and we left Zanzibar behind us and finally came into sight of Pemba. We rolled a 4 as the wind picked up even more and brought with it a few spots of rain. However, our relief was short lived as the wind died as quickly as it had come. Once again we were becalmed.

We floated for another couple of hours until suddenly the motor was turned on! Hallelujah! We were getting somewhere! Pemba loomed up ahead of us, we could even see Mkoani town where we would dock. YEY! It had been one long day on the boat. After an hour the engine spluttered and died….no petrol…finished! Luckily there was the smallest of breezes that kept the Dhow going at a snail’s pace.

I was starting to feel very dehydrated and a bit woozy. For my health, I had to pee! I started trying to figure out how I could get back into the boat if I jumped off. The crew asked me in Swahili if I wanted to swim…Yes! Of coarse yes! And could they please pull me back in (all this said in English and hand signals.) They laughed and nodded… I took this as a “Yes” but apparently they thought I was joking which soon became apparent by the shouts of horror and peals of laughter and I got ready to jump in. After a bit of wild gesturing we made a plan where I could jump in holding a rope (one old man thought it best to tie the rope around my waist). I jumped in…what a relief!

Once back in the boat, the wind picked up for a third time that day. We were travelling! We were certain to get to Mkoani some time that evening. Martha and I started betting as to what time we though we’d arrive. Martha reckoned 6:30pm, I though 7:30 to 8pm. We called a local hostel and booked accommodation (Cell phones are amazing!) We got ready, tidied and packed our bags; sat back and enjoyed our extra free sunset cruise and we made our way closer to Pemba.

But as we lost the light, so did we lose the wind too. By the time the moon was out, the water was like mirror, flat, still and without a breath of wind. We were still miles from shore. It became clear that we would be spending the night on the Dhow. Suddenly all our jokes and laughs we had had during the day didn’t seem so funny anymore. We had a prime spot for viewing the incredible night sky, but both of us were too miserable to enjoy it.

Night has a funny effect on people and I had a complete sense of humour failure at some point in the evening, it was cold, the mosquitoes were out and my whole body ached. We were so close yet so far. Nearing midnight the tide started to drop and the crew managed to pole the Dhow a little closer to the mainland until it ran aground. I hatched a brilliant plan; we would wade to shore and walk along the beach until we found a beach Lodge, which according to the map in my guidebook was pretty close. My only worry was that I couldn’t actually see any lights on the land; Mkoani had disappeared from view at some point in the night. Then some men got out and tried to walk to Pemba, they disappeared into the dark but must have turned back half way…we were never sure of the reason. I decided that maybe we should wait till morning before we do any walking.

At 1am we dropped anchor and tried to sleep. Three of us on the triangular bow platform, one crew member had wrapped himself up in the sail and Martha and I curled up together for warmth.

As it hit high tide it was starting to get light over the island. The sound of different birds was welcome after the horrible racket the crows on Zanzibar make. The morning call of a rooster gave us hope that a village was close by. The crew once again started poling the Dhow along the island but away from Mkoani. I figured they probably knew where they were going. I was a beautiful morning with and incredible sunrise, made all the more beautiful by the knowledge that TODAY I WOULD get to shore! I could now see that my brilliant plan from the night before would have failed horribly because there are no beaches. The island is boarded completely by Mangrove swamps. At 7am we rounded the southern tip of the island and came to a small beach or “Harbour” of Chokocho village. After 28hours on the Dhow….Land At Last!

2nd Month

Sorry that I have been completely useless at updating this blog. Things in paradise always are always a little busier than they seem and internet cafes a little more expensive than expected. The first month on Zanzibar wizzed by so quickly I hardly had time to settle in and catch my breath. The half way mark in my time there was characterised by a complete shift of the social set up in Nungwi.

Our lives in Nungwi all revolve in a 1km radius, with an occasional visit to Stone Town (to get cash) or a party somewhere on the East or West coast. Everything that we need and want are within a couple of hundred meters walking distance…work, home, friend’s houses, restaurants, the little supermarket, internet and most importantly, the bar. Anything on the outer fringes seems incredibly far…The Zanzibar Watersports House, for instance. As mentioned before, life in Nungwi is pretty routine, wake up, work, Cholo’s bar for sundowners, find food somewhere, party (optional extra if people are in the mood) and bed. Anything that changes from this routine or shifts in our 1km radius life is quite the event.

So at the beginning of March, my Dive Instructor/colleague/house mate/friend (Jon) leaves to head home to the UK via a short trip to Southern Africa. He takes with him Chris (Capetownian), the other Dive Instructor for East Africa Divers, for their African Adventure. Marco, my other house mate also leaves to go back to Italy. Opaz, who, due to cost cutting was fired from Zanzibar Watersports, takes Jon’s place in the Dive Centre and Marco’s place in the Orange house. Marisa (South African Yoga Instructor) was kicked out of her house and then moves into Jon’s room in the Orange house….you still following? …Meanwhile Nicla moves into Opaz’s old room at the Zanzibar Watersports House with Jo.

While people are reshuffling houses, other people are leave Nungwi and some come back. Every week during the second month we had farewell parties for various Mzungu locals. The recession is starting to hit Zanzibar hard and many people, although staying open for the rainy season, are cost cutting and making staff cut backs. L Very sad to have to keep saying goodbye.

Halfway through my second month, my mom came to spend a week with me. It was good to have someone come see where I’m at and meet all the people. We managed to get her into the water and diving! She was very anxious at first but I think she enjoyed it in the end. I also managed to wangle 3 days off to go explore the rest of the island. We spent a day touring around the Island visiting Jozani Forest and the Mangrove swaps, chilling with Red Colobus monkeys and walking on the beach at Paje. We even managed to fit in a Spice Tour.

We then braved the tourists and curio vendors and spent 2 days in Stone Town, a curious place. Even though you get haggled wherever you go (“Jambo, Jambo, cheap price for you Rafiki! Jambo! Come look! Looking is free.”) through the tiny dirty, run-down streets, it has an incredible charm to it. Most of the time, mom and I sat in coffee shops, bars and roof-top restaurants sipping cocktails and escaping the crowded streets and the heat. We did manage a little bit of shopping and a trip to Prison Island as a tourist contribution.

I left mom in Stone Town, to catch a flight to SA and hurried back to the blue sea and sandy beaches of Nungwi…WOW it felt good to have my feet in the sand again. I went back and finally finished my Dive Master course (By this stage Chris had returned from his African Adventure), including the infamous Snorkel test, which included downing 3 beers and a shot of tequila through a snorkel which was shortly followed by 3x Dr Peppers (Curse you Jo!) and a couple of shots of Jagermeister (curse you too Chris!)

Mom’s visit was shortly followed by a visit from Martha (a friend from my Comm Serv year, also making her way back home to the UK.) Her visit marked the end of my time in Nungwi L I had finished work and Martha and I decided to go on some kind of adventure. So we stuck our noses into all the guide books we could find to make the best plan….