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Ali our drivr assured us we should still make the ferry, although it might be tight and depending upon traffic he might not be able to get us close to the gate. As it transpired Ali was able to drive right to the gate. We were very tight on time, so decided to use the porters. They are...

A big travel day which will require a few posts. The ultimate destination for the day was Moshi, in northern Tanzania, which was our jump off point for a trip to Lake Chala, on the border with Kenya. The nearest airport to Moshi (besides Moshi itself which doesn’t have any scheduled commercial...

Another day, another snorkel adventure. For our last full day in Zanzibar we arranged another snorkel day with Scubafish. Not really much to add here as it was quite similar to the first, although we were aboard the Caroline this time. Weather was better, with no rain, which allowed ShelleyB-son...

Surprisingly no. We did not get bitten at all by mozzies or other bugs in Zanzibar. They have almost eradicated malaria in Zanzibar and I think this included a large mozzie eradication programme. We commented that if we’d been around home we would have been eaten alive.

All of us love to kayak, and so it was high on our wish list to get on the water in a kayak in Zanzibar if we could. There were a few companies, but we decided to go with Ecokayak, a company in the south that takes kayak tours of Uzi island. I must admit we were all initially confused by the...

Just off the coast at Matemwe is a small atoll called Mnemba. The island itself does not have permanent habitation but does have a very exclusive hotel. Surrounding the island is a coral reef, some of which is in good condition, some less so, and still with a good variety of fish. Our journey...

From Stone Town we travelled to Matemwe, a town on the east coast of Zanzibar. For good or for ill, much of the accommodation on the east coast is made up of resorts, without that same “genuine town” feeling of Stone Town. Certainly that appears true of Matemwe, where it is quite hard to get...

As most of you probably know, Zanzibar is often called the Spice Island. Spices have long been culitvated in Zanzibar, and there is an almost equally long history of trading spices and fighting for control of that trade. These days spices and fruits are a major source of income for Zanzibar...

Yesterday’s taxi driver was, unsurprsingly for this part of the world, also available for private hire and tours. As we were happy with the drive into town, and his vehicle was well kept (and appropriately licenced), we arranged to have him take us to Jozani National Park. Jozani is the home of...

Sadly the DOH-ZNZ leg did not involve magical upgrades. As is common for DOH, we had to bussed to plane (an A320) and suffer through a short (but overnight) economy flight. Unusually for Qatar, the service was quite poor. Previously when I have travelled QR I found the service excellent...

And so the last day in Sweden arrived. Our flight was not scheduled until 3.10pm but we had some chores to do, including a bit of shopping for ShelleyB-son and flling in an online health form for Zanzibar. The latter turned out to be completely unnecessary but is not at clear on the government...

Have found a semi-reliable spot in our hotel room to get the wifi, so catching up a few days worth of posts. When I last updated we had just had NYE in Goteborg. New Years Day was mainly a travel day. We took the train back to Stockholm as we were flying on to Zanzibar the next day. The train...

Have safely arrived in zanzibar after some flights I look forward to posting about. However, internet here is slow and unreliable, so may not be able to post daily as I have been. In the meantime here’s a photo from our room balcony to whet your appetite.

I’d like to say our NYE in Goteborg was full of partying and dancing, but sadly Mr ShelleyB and I are rather on the introverted end of the spectrum and ShelleyB-son is 10 and therefore rather stuck with our plans, whatever they may be. The day was was very rainy verging on sleet, so during...

After the park closed we returnd to the hotel. As you might expect from something attached to an amusement park, it is well designed to cater for families with small kids. There are oversize decorations everywhere, a carousel in the breakfast room, and a slide from the 1st floor to the lobby...

Our delayed arrival in Stockholm on the overnight train made the connection to Goteborg a little tighter than we would have liked, but ultimately was not a problem. The journey to Goteborg was very pretty, and as it was so full we had a series of people being a 4th in our 4 person alcove. As we...

For our next stop in Sweden we are heading to Gothenburg. Rather than yet more flying we had booked a 3 berth sleeper compartment from Kiruna to Stockholm, from where we would take an express train to Goteborg to arrive just after lunch. Unfortunately neither of these trains were to work out...

The opportunity to go dogsledding and spend a night out in a cabin was one of the big reasons for choosing Sweden as a replacement for Egypt and Jordan. Mr ShelleyB and I had done a similar tour when we were up here many years ago, and as a souvenir had purchased a soft toy husky which we named...

The original Icehotel is a short bus ride from Kiruna, and worthy of a visit, even without staying. For those unfamiliar with the Icehotel, it is basically a gigantic igloo, although the base structure is metal with ice packed over the base each year. Inside it is divided into multiple bedrooms...

Yes a relatively balmy -14 when we arrived. Last time we were in Kiruna (23 years ago) it was -30. Cloudy last night but forecast better for tonight and tomorrow for northern lights. Crossed fingers as ShellyB-son has never seen them