Author Tinna Hellesoe
”I live in a postcard, why don’t you come and visit me?”. This was a text-message from my 19 year old daughter and the beginning of a wonderful experience!
For years I have kept a little piece of paper in my wallet with a quote by Danish author Troels Kloevedal: “Sometimes I think that the earth is paradise. We, the people just haven’t noticed it”. Or we are just too busy to notice it!
So, two weeks later I found myself in Zanzibar airport waiting to be picked up by my daughter and her boyfriend Abdul. They were late because Abdul had to clean the car! This was my first introduction to the pace of life on Zanzibar and the fantastic Swahili saying: ‘pole pole’ (slowly slowly).
In the car I was quickly instructed to say ‘jambo’ (meaning hello) and smile to everybody that we met on the way and always to have my shoulders and knees covered. Now I was ready to meet the Muslim Zanzibar (where it is not a problem to wear a bikini on the beach).
My daughter (who doesn’t wear shoes anymore) lives in a small village called Paje situated 50 metres from the beach and here I stayed in a beautiful bungalow.
This was my idea of heaven…perfect white sandy beach with palm trees where the only disturbance would be an occasional hermit crab. The atmosphere was ‘pole pole’.
It is always an experience to take the local bus, wherever you are. Zanzibar is certainly no exception. My daughter had warned me even if a daledale had a maximum capacity of 15 people, there were always room for one more. “Just look happy and take the smaller children on your lap and help, so that more people can fit in”, was her advise. Okay I thought – piece of cake. I just didn’t calculate with all the luggage, the chickens, puppies and fish i.e. that the passengers also brought with them. Everybody was helping each other and this seemed to be just the way that Zanzibar is.
Small businesses in Stone Town: Photo: Marc Veraart
One day we jumped of the daledale just before Stone Town as we were invited to lunch by my daughter’s boyfriend’s family. Here we were welcomed warmly and enjoyed a beautifully prepared meal sitting on the floor in their living room, where there was no furniture.
My daughter reminded me only to eat with the right hand, which was something of a challenge for a first timer as the fantastic food was slipping through my fingers - especially the sauce caused problems. Word of advice: Don’t take too much as is makes it difficult to make a rice ball! However, the grilled fish, homemade chapatti and different fruits were no problem.
Knowing that this family had cocked all day and the way they welcomed us with open arms made us feel very special. Sometimes we had to stop our conversation during the lunch as the sound from the street was so loud that it was impossible to hear each other.
Photo: Islodelba
Stone Town is a fusion of Persia, Oman, India and Arabia and many afternoons we spent on just walking around in the narrow alleys, enjoying the wonderful views from the restaurant Africa House or from the rooftop terrace of the beautiful restored palace, which was once the home of one of the richest men in the Swahili Empire. Other times we were just sitting enjoying the sunset or watching kids play on the beach beneath the Freddie Mercury’s café (Freddie Mercury was born in Stone Town in september 1946).
Eating in the narrow streets after sunset was fantastic. Everybody sits at the tables along the wall of the small streets enjoying the different foods such as grilled shrimp, grilled octopus and vegetables. It is just like being on the daledale meaning there is always room for one or ten more. We also had my daughter’s favourite drink on Zanzibar, which was the juice from sugar canes with small amounts of fresh ginger and lime. It was ice old and so refreshing.
My daughter said “mom, do you now understand why I love this place with the beaches, the people and the ‘pole pole’ way of life?”. 1000 things went through my mind – her education, tropical diseases, distances, culture differences – but eventually I had to be honest: “YES, I do understand you - more than you can imagine”.
