The return back to the hotel was fairly quiet and calm. I think I can speak for most of us when I say that these days have been wonderfully long, filled with more action than a normal day, covered in a dab of residual jet lag. We all silently walked into the hotel and went to our rooms. It was kind of nice to be back. I started to unpack my items from the day. When I got to the very bottom of the backpack to remove shells that I had collected, something caught my eye. I could

Photo by Kibuuka Mukisa Oscar @kibuukaphotography for Travel Noire FRIDAY, JULY 28, 2017/PART I By now, I started to feel a slight bit of a routine waking up in Zanzibar. I prepared myself for the day ahead. On the itinerary today was the thing I was the most excited about - snorkeling. I had to put some thought into what I was going to bring and wear for the day, even though I honestly had the entire wardrobe planned based on activity before the trip, in an OCD kind of way.

As an attraction, the history of the Old Forte is not the only draw. Oddly juxtaposed within the old brick walls, there are numerous vendors selling souvenirs; everything to colorful textiles, to regional artwork, hats, bags, and jewelry. The souvenir world was your oyster here. If you were interested, you could even get henna painted on your hand from a woman called, “Big Momma.” Apparently, the old has seamlessly mixed in with the new, as the locals have created a multi-pur

The high intensity of the green that shrouded the island transitioned to an earth brown. What we were now standing in looked similar to a zoo, with a palisade (wall of vertical sticks), the surrounding trees, and designated walkways railed by larger pieces of crossed wood. There were a few small thatched roof structures, but otherwise, it was open space. Only because of their size, and not because of any rash movements, would you have noticed the inhabitants. Virtually perfec

Somewhere along the way, we all decided on the shuttle bus that we wanted to go to Prison Island for the second half of the day - for our free time. Our, “experience designer,” who I will now call the ED, made arrangements for us with a guide since the entire group was interested. Prior to venturing on this trip, Prison Island was on my mental list of things to see and do while in Zanzibar. It was nice to know that this was going to happen, with everyone, and so quickly. The