I had always considered Mafia Island to be too expensive for me, preferring instead the cheaper option of Zanzibar.
I was pleasantly surprised when my Turkish friend told me the deal she had got with Butiama Beach Resort for three nights and the flight was very cheap for residents so there was no excuse.
The election was coming the following day and it was half term so everyone was trying to get away. I met two young Belgian doctors (pictured) who were planning to go to Zanzibar by boat on election day! Of all the places they could go and of all days they could have chosen, it was by far the worst time and place to choose.
In the meantime I joined with them to do some swimming with whale sharks. The sea is such a nice temperature that your body doesn’t get a shock when you slip into the water – it’s more like a warm bath. Nowhere else I have been is the water this warm.
The whale sharks obliged us by swimming close to the surface affording us all a great view of the biggest fish in the sea, fortunately one which feeds exclusively on plankton.
They swim quite slowly so it was easy to keep up with them, even overtake them with flippers on.
Another day I went snorkelling with my Turkish friends at Chole Bay. Sadly it was in the marine park so we were obliged to pay an extra $25. Happily though because of the internet shutdown the card machine could not take our money and although we tried, we failed to pay. Sadly the man and card machine tracked us down at our resort the following day (and the day after) and he would not leave until we had paid our dues. Damn. We thought we had got away with not paying!
Snorkelling on the reef was great and we saw many colourful fish. Some of the coral looked bleached which was sad. I thought it would look healthier but I guess that’s what we have to expect these days. It’s all going to shit.