Trip to Paje

After more than two weeks of living out of suitcases, we decided to get out of town and go on a mini-vacation (suitcases are more fun on vacation).

We went to Paje, a beach town on the east coast of Zanzibar. We wanted to explore someplace where the boys could swim in the ocean (the water in Stone Town is polluted) and where we could try out our new snorkel equipment. Paje was perfect. We stayed at a lovely bungalow, which was simple, elegant, and graced by an unparalleled view. Plus, the wind kept the air relatively cool and mosquito-free, a nice change from the humidity of the city.

We knew even before we left the U.S. that we'd want to go to Paje, which is right next to Bwejuu, the town featured in an episode of the excellent PBS documentary series on Africa (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/about/episode7.html). We lucked into finding a snorkeling guide who was from Bwejuu, and he took us through his hometown on the way home from snorkeling. Tourism is increasingly a big industry in the area, but residents of Bwejuu and Paje have traditionally made a living largely from the sea--either through fishing, as in this picture, or through harvesting seaweed. The ocean at this beach area is very shallow, and so when the tide goes out, it goes out for about a half mile or more, to the coral reef that's at the end of the shallow sandy plateau. People who harvest seaweed simply walk out at low tide and collect it, and fishermen use the traditional dhow boats, which are wooden canoes with outriggers and a large sail. We went out in a dhow at high tide to snorkel in the lagoon between shore and the coral reef. We saw all kinds of fish, including trumpet fish and (Oscar claims) a baby swordfish. It was gorgeous and relaxing and well worth the sunburns we all managed to get in the odd spot where we misapplied the sunblock.