Goodbye Stone Town

We are finished with scuba diving for now. Its sad for me to write that, but the end of our trip is drawing near. We had one last night dive in Stone Town to the wreckage of the Northern navy vessel on Tuesday night and it was a great dive to end off the trip. We saw a ton of fish including a squid, lionfish, a flying fish, lots of different crabs and many other things.

Red Colobus Monkey of Jozani Forest

Yesterday was a busy day for us. We went out to see Jozani forest in the morning. It is the only remaining area of natural forest left on the island with beautiful mahogany, eucalyptus, mangrove and guava trees. It is also home to an indiginous population of red colobus monkeys. They are very habituated to human presence and let us get quite close while simply continuing with their daily routine. It was a fun sighting. In the afternoon we hired a boat to take us to Changu Island. Changu, also known as prison island because of the prison that was built on the grounds in the 1800s but never used, is home to a population of giant tortoises. They were a gift to the sultan almost 200 years ago and still reside on the island. I was quite surprised when our guide insisted we pet them. I did not want to harass them, but when I reached out and touched the neck of the giant, prehistoric animal in front of me, he stood up and leaned into it like a dog being scratched.

Feeding a giant tortoise on Changuu Island

Today is our last day on the island. We are spoiling ourselves as a treat. I'm having a traditional henna session and Jody is having a foot massage at one of the local spas in town. I am definitely looking forward to it. We also have plans to go to our favourite restaurant for our last meal. If ever in Stone Town, The Silk Route Indian restaurant is absoloutely amazing.

Next to begin the long journey home with a ferry ride back to the mainland