There are a lot of fancy and nice resorts in Zanzibar, we did not stay at them. Mainly because it was over the New Year and a lot of other people spend it there. We stayed in the old city called Stone Town. It was within a few blocks of the beach, but we couldn't swim because they dumped their garbage on the beach as well as the raw sewage. We were able to take a boat out to Prison Island one day and another to the south end where we swam with dolphins and snorkeled. On the way back we stopped at a park and saw monkeys.
Stone Town's heyday was back during the slave trade. It was an ugly history and what we heard and saw of it was gut wrenching. There is a very large Muslim population, and the mosques broad casted their prayers over loud speakers six times a day. Two were located on either side of our hotel resulting in a weird dueling chanting effect. When they were quiet the cats, kids and general population that was crammed into the small area of tall stone buildings with very narrow streets, created a continuous echo of sounds.
Our favorite spot was Mercury's named after the lead singer of Queen who was born in Zanzibar. But one night, as we walked along the waterfront esplanade, we came upon a big square lit with tiki torches and filled with tables heaping with every imaginable kind of seafood! The center was equipped with hot grills. As we walked around it "waiters" tried to sway us to their table. They were all pretty similar with the choice of precooked food, such as shish kebabs with shrimp, lobster, fish, scallops - pretty much anything you can imagine. In addition, all kinds of naan, breads, samosas, bananas, salads and other side dishes were displayed. We were overwhelmed with tantalizing smells and heaps of beautifully displayed tropical cuisine. We decided to walk around and look at all of the tables first. Each "waiter" had a schpeel such as, "our money helps orphans" or "I'm fisherman Jimmy and have the FRESHEST food and here's why...".
John thought it might be fun to get a something from different tables. When he selected a lobster kebab, samosa and salad, they heated the lobster on the grill and put it on a plate with two toothpicks. A napkin had to be requested. Seating was an unoccupied small patch of concrete wall we had located. Another "waiter" appeared and asked what fresh squeezed juice we would like. I had sugar cane with lime.
It was my turn. I thought that crab claws at Fisherman Jimmy's would work for me. John guarded our concrete real estate while I sought our our second course. When I arrived at the table and asked for Jimmy, I was told he was gone and the resident waiter said it was OK they all worked together. I had heard that before in Africa and believed it. But no sooner than he had handed me a plate and slapped a crab claw on it, Fisherman Jimmy appeared asking me where John was, at that moment he realized the other guy was serving me. Immediately Jimmy jumped the waiter yelling at him that I was his customer. In retaliation the waiter on the other side of me snatched the claw from my plate and shook it at Jimmy in the most threatening way possible. I stood between them quite shocked as they shouted at each other, and the waiter gesticulating with my dinner. I searched the crowd helplessly for an escape or solution to what seemed to be an inescapable problem. I saw one young man who was entirely entertained by my misery. However, I was not.
I interjected, "I asked for Fisherman Jimmy!" which was all of the leverage he needed to end the fiasco. The now empowered Jimmy grabbed my claw from the defeated waiter and slapped it onto my plate, which was still suspended in front of me. The waiter with one last act of aggression grabbed the claw off my plate and threw it back on the table. He glared at me coldly and hissed, "$5000" and stomped away.
Jimmy retrieved the claw, took my plate assuring me that he would crack it and heat it on the grill, and would I like some fresh lime & salt on it? Minutes later he returned and I handed him the $5,000. Jimmy looked stunned, "it is $15,000" he said. I dug in my pocket for the other $10,000. I found my way back to John and after devouring the over priced claw we called it quits. We didn't have the stomach to face the ordeal again. Whether the Crabby Waiter cursed us, or Fisherman Jimmy wasn't entirely truthful about the freshness of his seafood, we both suffered the "Revenge of the Crab Claw" for about a week.
Currency: Tanzania Shilling (TZS) $1 USD = $1,479 TZS
Stone Town's heyday was back during the slave trade. It was an ugly history and what we heard and saw of it was gut wrenching. There is a very large Muslim population, and the mosques broad casted their prayers over loud speakers six times a day. Two were located on either side of our hotel resulting in a weird dueling chanting effect. When they were quiet the cats, kids and general population that was crammed into the small area of tall stone buildings with very narrow streets, created a continuous echo of sounds.
Our favorite spot was Mercury's named after the lead singer of Queen who was born in Zanzibar. But one night, as we walked along the waterfront esplanade, we came upon a big square lit with tiki torches and filled with tables heaping with every imaginable kind of seafood! The center was equipped with hot grills. As we walked around it "waiters" tried to sway us to their table. They were all pretty similar with the choice of precooked food, such as shish kebabs with shrimp, lobster, fish, scallops - pretty much anything you can imagine. In addition, all kinds of naan, breads, samosas, bananas, salads and other side dishes were displayed. We were overwhelmed with tantalizing smells and heaps of beautifully displayed tropical cuisine. We decided to walk around and look at all of the tables first. Each "waiter" had a schpeel such as, "our money helps orphans" or "I'm fisherman Jimmy and have the FRESHEST food and here's why...".
John thought it might be fun to get a something from different tables. When he selected a lobster kebab, samosa and salad, they heated the lobster on the grill and put it on a plate with two toothpicks. A napkin had to be requested. Seating was an unoccupied small patch of concrete wall we had located. Another "waiter" appeared and asked what fresh squeezed juice we would like. I had sugar cane with lime.
It was my turn. I thought that crab claws at Fisherman Jimmy's would work for me. John guarded our concrete real estate while I sought our our second course. When I arrived at the table and asked for Jimmy, I was told he was gone and the resident waiter said it was OK they all worked together. I had heard that before in Africa and believed it. But no sooner than he had handed me a plate and slapped a crab claw on it, Fisherman Jimmy appeared asking me where John was, at that moment he realized the other guy was serving me. Immediately Jimmy jumped the waiter yelling at him that I was his customer. In retaliation the waiter on the other side of me snatched the claw from my plate and shook it at Jimmy in the most threatening way possible. I stood between them quite shocked as they shouted at each other, and the waiter gesticulating with my dinner. I searched the crowd helplessly for an escape or solution to what seemed to be an inescapable problem. I saw one young man who was entirely entertained by my misery. However, I was not.
I interjected, "I asked for Fisherman Jimmy!" which was all of the leverage he needed to end the fiasco. The now empowered Jimmy grabbed my claw from the defeated waiter and slapped it onto my plate, which was still suspended in front of me. The waiter with one last act of aggression grabbed the claw off my plate and threw it back on the table. He glared at me coldly and hissed, "$5000" and stomped away.
Jimmy retrieved the claw, took my plate assuring me that he would crack it and heat it on the grill, and would I like some fresh lime & salt on it? Minutes later he returned and I handed him the $5,000. Jimmy looked stunned, "it is $15,000" he said. I dug in my pocket for the other $10,000. I found my way back to John and after devouring the over priced claw we called it quits. We didn't have the stomach to face the ordeal again. Whether the Crabby Waiter cursed us, or Fisherman Jimmy wasn't entirely truthful about the freshness of his seafood, we both suffered the "Revenge of the Crab Claw" for about a week.
Currency: Tanzania Shilling (TZS) $1 USD = $1,479 TZS
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