Island Hopping to Pemba

Pemba had been on my list of places I'd like to visit in Tanzania since my last trip here, but it's not an easy destination to get to. I even contemplated including it when I was drafting up some tentative travel plans before leaving Canada this time, but getting there was either long or expensive. If it hadn't been for a poster in my Tanga hotel showing a $65US price to fly from Tanga to Pemba, I would never have gone.

What a mistake that would have been.

The plane ride over was worth every penny, for starters.

There's a dhow (traditional wooden boat) hanging out by this sand bank.
I wouldn't mind hanging out with them.

My first view of Pemba Island was actually the smaller islands on what
I guess you could call 'the outer bank' before the sea floor drops away.

I arrived at the airport on the east side of the island and caught a taxi to the capital city of Chake Chake. The city is built on a hill above Chake Chake Bay and I could walk from one end to the other in about 20 minutes. Two other wazungu got off the plane in Pemba, but they were picked up by a resort car. After that, I saw one white person my entire trip and he was a Peace Corp volunteer, not a tourist.

The view from my first hotel. It was closed my second night so I had to move to another one.

Pemba is beautiful but very poor. While both Zanzibar and Pemba feel that they are forgotten by the mainland government, Pemba is also forgotten by the semi-autonomous Zanzibari government. Unemployment is high and salaries, even for government jobs, are below what they are worth elsewhere. Politics is a big topic in Pemba, and I was a willing participant. "What do you think of CCM?" I'd ask feigning innocence, then I'd sit back and let them ramble.

I booked a guide, Nassor, for a full day tour of the island for Friday. We started by heading out the peninsula Ras Mkumbuu to the Qanbalu Ruins. The ruins are believed to be Africa's oldest Muslim town and a large portion of the Friday mosque remains.

The mihrab wall (the niche that points towards Mecca) from the outside.
The round structure is where the Iman would stand to call people to prayer.

After we were done checking out the ruins, we walked back to Nassor's car which was parked by the hut used by the anti-smuggling police. They were sitting down to breakfast and invited us to join them for some chai (tea), tuna, and cassava. Sometimes the best parts of travel are the parts you could never plan.

Have breakfast here? Well, if you insist!

We drove up to Wete, the second largest city, where I saw Pemba's Flying Foxes, fruit bats which are endemic to the island of Pemba. I've received a few odd looks over the years when I say this but I think bats are beautiful so I was delighted that we spied some in a tree.

Washing day near Wete

When we returned to Chake Chake, I headed to a little hut I had discovered earlier for some mishkaki na chipsi (beef skewers and chips). It was run by the delightful Hatim (at least, I think it was. My swahili is limited, and so is his English.) They were elated when I returned a second night in a row, although Kilo - their friend who spoke very decent English - wasn't there so the conversation was a bit more a struggle without someone to translate. As I was leaving, they asked if they'd see me the next day. In Swahili, I explained that I was going to Unguja (Zanzibar) the next morning, but that I hoped to return to Pemba some day and spend more time there. Hatim nodded, smiled, and then said in English, "I know you will be back." I hope you're right, Hatim.

Hatim's wife, Hatim, and the cook. If you ever go to Pemba, I'll give you directions.
You will not find friendlier service in Chake Chake.

The boat to Zanzibar leaves from Mtoani at the south end of the island but there isn't a hotel there (well, there is but none of the reviews sounded too positive), so I was up before the sun for one last car ride with Nassor. After he dropped me off, I walked the length of the pier while people swam in the water on one side and fishermen prepped their boats as they returned from a night of fishing on the other. 

The fishing dhows winding down after a night of fishing

I boarded the ferry (which was also a cargo ship), found someone sitting in my seat who refused to move, ended up sitting a few rows over after climbing over a sleeping family on the floor, moved my bags so someone else could also store their chickens there, and settled in for the five hour ferry ride to Stone Town.