Life's a Breezes

Okay, small confession. I treated myself to two days at an expensive resort. It's, technically, way over my budget but I wanted to reward myself for three months living in Tanzania, enjoying the highs and putting up with the lows. Of course, I have my lovely parents to thank for the loan but when I get back I will repay every penny.

The place is called Breezes Beach and Spa Resort, located north of Bwejuu on the east coast of Zanzibar. Before I arrived, I was picked up from Paje to head off on a dolphin tour with three other volunteers, who were also staying at the resort and who convinced me to stump up the money for the two days. The dolphin tour was a great experience, seeing the dolphins and swimming with them but the trip was marred slightly by two factors. Firstly, I had not had any breakfast and, secondly, there were so many boats filled with wazungu chasing these amazing creatures that when you did get in the water, visibility was almost impossible due to the spray thrown up by the motors. That said, hearing dolphins communicate underwater was incredible.

Anyway, back to this resort. The place is a collection of classy bungalows and two story houses, all in a Swahili style. There is a computer room and TV room but no TVs in the actually rooms themselves, a nice way to leave the commotion of Western life behind (also this is really a place for couples and honeymooners so they probably have better things to do).The rooms all had air conditioning and double beds, with a couch and coffee table as well as some seats on the porch to enjoy the cooler evening air but I spent most of the time down by the beach or pool, crashed out on a sunbed, either chilling or reading my book.  There is Wi-Fi access around the lobby, bars and pool, a fitness centre with tennis court and a spa. All this right on the deserted section of beach. Being on the east side the differences in the beach at high and low tides is amazing. High tides crashing agains the wooden steps, low tide revealing hundreds of meters of sand, rock and seaweed that you can take a walk across.

The first thing we did when I got to the resort is head down to the beach just to chill out and get rid of my horrible t-shirt tan lines. Luckily, my time in Kendwa had all but done this for me, so now was the finishing touches. Also, it gave me the chance to crack on with the book I've been reading. For the record the book is called Why Black Men Love White Women by Rajen Persaud The story behind this is that we were walking by a bookstore one day and they had this proudly displayed in the window. My friend found it hilarious and I vowed to buy it and read it. So I did. Billed as a comedic look into the relationships between black men and why they covet the white woman, the book is actually a lot more serious than that. It has its funny moments and it doesn't really tell you much more than anyone else with an interest in race and media. That said, having just finished it, it was an amusing read. It must have looked extra strange, though, when both my friend and I were reading the same book at the same time. The book itself was of great interest to me, especially as an ethnic minority and although the Chinese race has not suffered in the same sense, historically, as black people in the Western world, we still have to put up with being negatively stereotyped in media and culture. It was interesting because I could look at the book from a completely different perspective than, for example, my white friend.

Anyway, while at the resort we played an hour of tennis and the girls went for massages but mostly we just chilled at the pool, swimming and sunning ourselves. We were half-board and dinner was a posh affair, no shorts, preferably a shirt. We were seated by a waiter and given an introduction to the set four course menu.The food on the first day was sublime, with crab cakes to start, followed by grilled aubergine with courgette puree; we had grilled fish and risotto cake for main and a tropical fruit puree with ice cream for dessert. The second day was a Swahili buffet with the usual chapatis, ugali, nyama choma, samosas among other stuff.

It was great to just relax for a couple of days in a posh resort. I could really get used to staying in places like that. Gotta get a well-paid job first, I think.