Zanzibar

Arrived in Mombasa we move for two nights in a nice hotel on the beach until we can drop off our vehicle. The drop-off date is on Manfred's birthday, of all days, but unfortunately there was no other way. The way from the hotel to United Warehouse near the harbor is not exactly suitable to build up confidence in what is coming, that is to say we drive through a bad area with roads that have more potholes than tar and thousands of people all trying to secure their livelihood for the current day. Arriving at our destination, Anthony and Abraham from United Warehouse welcome us and then everything goes very fast. Customs takes a quick look at the car and then we have to leave MOMO to its fate with a heavy heart. We are promised to take good care of it and two security people guard our good piece around the clock until it is driven onto the ship. In the early afternoon we are already back at the hotel and in the evening we celebrate Manfred's birthday in a noble fish restaurant.

The next morning we take the plane to Zanzibar in 45 minutes. For the first three days we have rented a small hotel in Stonetown, the main town of the island. Zanzibar is also the birthplace of Freddie Mercury to whom a small museum is dedicated although he lived here only until the age of eight and then never returned to the island. 90% of the population are Muslims who, because of their faith, sometimes have a hard time dealing with the lightly clad tourists who populate the city. 

In the narrow winding streets you can get lost wonderfully and even the Tuk Tuks do sometimes difficult to find the right way. The next day we make a snorkeling trip to the offshore islands. Unfortunately, there is not much to see except for a few fish and some colorful corals. The rest of the time we stroll through the alleys and realize that two nights in a city hotel would have been more than enough.

We move to a nice hotel on the southeast coast with a large pool and an endless snow-white sandy beach. There we spend seven relaxed days with extended beach walks and many swimming sessions in the pool. The sea is often only kiet deep due to the tidal range and when it is, the algae predominate and don't exactly invite you to swim. The weather is constantly sunny with a pleasant dry heat of 28-30 degrees and at night it cools down a few degrees. You can safely leave your shoes in the room all the time, because the powder-white coral sand does not get hot. For dinner we are spoiled for choice among the many small restaurants on the beach and so we enjoy our dinner under the starry sky and with our feet in the sand.

After seven days we have had enough of doing nothing and at three in the morning a cab takes us to the airport and since there is no time difference we are home in Munich at seven in the evening and everyday life has us back and we picked up MOMO undamaged in Genoa in mid-September. 

Now we take a break of several months until Karin is fit again after her hip surgery and can climb the boarding ladder of MOMO without any problems. We will be back on the road in spring 2024 at the latest and will report further.