Deb Nance at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon.
- River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer
- Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory
- Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
Sunday we spent the morning in Paje and after a 1.5 hour beautiful car ride through forest and small villages (and over the worlds largest potholes) back to Stone Town, we went for a walk. We saw the neighborhood where my ex-husband grew up, and bought sambusas, kachori, chapati, and spinach for our lunch and dinner. I was reminded how bad I am in the heat and humidity (it's not a pretty sight. There is a reason I live in Santa Barbara). We napped, read, and watched a bit of Netflix.
Monday I met my daughter at the end of her class and we got lunch and did some shopping, which was fun. I bought a small wooden sign that says "Pole Pole," which denotes the attitude of Zanzibaris. Pole pole means slowly, take your time. I figure it will be a good reminder of this trip and to myself to slow down and enjoy. I also bought two Kangas (a kanga is a colourful, light cotton fabric, worn by women and occasionally by men. It is about 1.5 meter by 1 meter with a border along all four sides, and a central part which differs in design from the borders.) Each kanga has a different proveb. I will use them as a tablecloth and a wall hanging in my guest room.
Zanzibar tidbit: there are stray cats everywhere
Tuesday we went to the Slave Market Museum (top photo of the memorial). Zanzibar was a hub for Arab slave traders in the 1700s and 1800s, mostly enslaving people from the mainland (Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania). The museum was well done and interesting. We also went and sat at the beach for a while. It's different from the Paje beach, but still wonderful. Since I keep mentioning the food, for dinner we had chipati, spinach, and a yummy bean dish. We got the chipati from this woman who sits on a stoop with a little coal stove and makes them on the street. It was so fresh and tasty!
Wednesday was a pretty chill day with time at the beach, that yummy soup from the night market again for dinner, and a beautiful sunset. The photos are scenes from the area around our Air BnB. We are not staying in the tourist area so life here exists at quite a hum; there is always noise from the large market that is next to our building (and yes, those are chickens in the basket on the back of that bike). Zanzibar is mostly Muslim though the people are a real mix of Arab and black African (with lots of intermingling). And there is some Indian influence as well. All of this is from the slave trade of the 1700s and 1800s and the fact that until 1964 Zanzibar was an Omani Sultanate.
Thursday and Friday were my last days in Zanzibar so we took it easy, hanging out by the beach, walking around town, packing, and eating yummy food. The photos above are taken from the Zanzibar Coffee Shop, which definitely caters to European tourists. We sat upstairs on the balcony that surrounds the top floor so had great views of Stone Town. As we ate we listened to the call to prayer going out over the town.
Saturday I arrived in NYC and in the afternoon and I checked into our airport hotel, showered (always a relief after such a long trip), and went back to the airport to meet my daughter off her flight at 11:30pm. It feels good to be able to use tap water again.
Sunday we drive to Ithaca today (about 4.5 hours) to begin moving my daughter into her new apartment.
Here is is the current state of my 2023 challenges. At this point, I am counting individual books for multiple categories in each challenge, but I'll replace them with other books throughout the year.
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