The weather is quite glorious here, not as humid as in the Far East, you can cool down in the shade. The sky and sea are just a perfect blue, such a difference from the awful weather we had back in England.

Yesterday we had a boat ride over to Prison Island (though it has never been used as a prison) to see the giant Tortoises. As expected, they were big and very friendly, though you did have to be careful when feeding them as I am sure if your finger got too near the mouth, they would have no trouble in whipping it off!

Sarah and Jamie enjoyed themselves snorkelling off the reef next to the island. They reported seeing lots of colourful fish etc. As Jamie had borrowed my gear, I kept Sue company onboard our little boat.

We were lucky to have the island to ourselves until a boatload of Italians turned up. You can usually spot Italian tourists from a mile away, they pose quite a lot, use a lot of arm gestures when in conversation and all smoke. However, we managed to stay away from them as they are not very adventurous, preferring to stay as a group to admire and impress each other.

Leaving them we wandered into a small forest to find a few more Tortoises and explore some caves. We managed to come across some Dik Diks (a small type of deer), before returning to the mainland.

Since being in Zanzibar, we have chosen to travel to most places by taxi as it seems the easiest way to get about and they are plentiful and cheap. The food has been very good, though the service has been pretty rubbish. It is a surprise when sitting down at a table if you are approached by the staff within half an hour, the norm is around two hours to be served with a drink and be fed. Last night’s meal in Stone Town was particularly bad.  After ordering food, two hours later none had appeared, I complained, simply asking where the meal was, for it to miraculously turn up 30 seconds later. It was cold from sitting on the counter waiting to be brought to the table.  It had been prepared, but the waitress couldn’t be bothered to bring it! She had been sitting at the bar chatting with a couple of friends all evening.!!! Irately, I spoke my mind and we left with the girl hiding at the back of the kitchen. We left the meals on the counter for the flies.

The following day we spent around the hotel. Sarah and Jamie have burnt themselves in this quite deceptive climate and didn’t wish to exert/expose themselves further. It was a good time to relax and unwind from the stress of last night’s meal.