Zanzibar Part II - Kendwa

And now for Kendwa: beachside paradise, coconut wood bungalows on the sand, too many hammocks to inhabit, beds and lounge chairs on the beach overlooking the ocean. The water is as blue as a Scandinavian's eyes, with a sky to match. It is a tropical paradise, and although I always seem to think that I'm going to write and read at the beach, I never seem to accomplish it. Vegging just seems MUCH more appealing. Or reading. Or swimming. Or chatting. It's the rainy season in Zanzibar now, so there were a few sprinkles here and there, but the clouds were often a welcome respite from the blazing sun, the sea cool enough to momentarily annihilate the sweat from your cleavage with just an ankle-grazing plunge, and if neither of those sufficiently cooled you, there were beds and boats-turned-beds under shaded thatched umbrellas. Our days were lazy and decadent; sleep-ins, breakfast, lounging, maybe a walk or a sunset cruise or a midnight swim to a wooden dhow (Tanzanian boat), drinking too early, seafood dinners and curries on African beach time (even slower than African city time), making headway on books (if you're lucky), and the like. At night we would often de-robe on the shadowy beach, impulsive and full of adrenaline, and run naked into the soft water of the Indian Ocean. I think of all that ocean has affected and witnessed, how it connects to another continent near and dear to my heart (Asia), how it allowed for both the passage and exploration of many a traveller eastward (starting with Vasco De Gama back in the day) and a simultaneous influx westward (from India and the Middle East), it's an area and an ocean that has been though a lot. Plus, who can ever tire of clear, turquoise waters and white sand beaches? Whoever claims to be "over" paradise clearly hasn't been to beaches in Mozambique or Zanzibar...