Pole Pole...

Pole pole (po-lay po-lay,) a Swahili expression, roughly translates to "slowly slowly" and reminds us to relax and take it easy.

Alas, our week on safari passed too quickly, and we were on our way to the island of Zanzibar for some beach time! Our guides dropped us off at the airstrip in the middle of the Serengeti (packed with safari trucks and small propellar planes,) and we waved goodbye to the plains and wildlife.

We spent a couple of days exploring and learning about Stone Town, the old section of Zanzibar City and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many of the houses and buildings in this part of the city date from the 19th century and were constructed using coral from the island's surrounding reefs. In addition to its architecture, Stone Town is famous for its beautiful carved wood doors and for being the birthplace of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen.

We concluded our time in Africa enjoying peaceful Matemwe beach, on the northeastern coast of the island, and playing a lot of UNO and board games. Zanzibar is known for the large variety of spices which grow here including cloves, pepper, coffee, cinnamon, and vanilla, We took a tour of one of the plantations and got to sample some of the spices for which the island is famous. Yum!