On the east coast of Zanzibar there is a small fishing village called Jambiani. From the moment you arrive, you are swept up into a magical adventure. The fine, white, sandy beach stretches as far as the eye can see with tall coconut trees swaying in the breeze.
The locals are so friendly especially the children. As you walk down the beach there is always a group of these laughing carefree ambassadors to hold your hands and escort you to wherever you are going. They love to practice their English and will call the visitors, teacher, They pronounce it teacha.


The rough handmade houses are  pure Robinson Crusoe as you find little family restaurants and stores with sand floors and fabric doors.
Every day the tide goes out and exposes the seaweed farms. Neat plots of seaweed held in place with sticks. As the tide recedes, the women gather on the beach with nylon bags and head to their plots. There they harvest the rubbery seaweed and dry it out in front of their houses. Once a week, the buyers come to a central market to weigh and buy their stock, It is used to make the capsules for medicine.

When the tide returns, vibrant shades of blue, green and turquoise can be seen off in the distance. Layers of this amazing colored water against the blue sky is a joy to lazily watch as the warm water and gentle waves resume.

By late afternoon,  the heat of the day has passed and the villagers come out. The youth play games of soccer on the beach and the elders like to walk and gossip with their old friends.

The fishermen leave early in the morning in dugout ngalawa canoes and return around noon. The beach will be deserted, then everyone will arrive at once to see and buy what the fishermen have caught for the day. These dug outs are like a scene from the Arabian nights with the billowing ivory sails, lateen rigged..The anchor is usually a large coral rock and the name of the boat is painted by hand on the side.

They do not do huge grocery shopping like we tend to do one day a week, but buy the food needed daily. I soon realized that shopping was a social event. A chance to chat and walk about collecting food from various shops. A few eggs here, a small bag of rice there, a few tomatoes from the little piles. Then down to the beach for the fresh fish.

When I have guests I always like to arrange lunch in a local home with the family. The houses are usually built with coral rocks, then rendered smooth with a couple coats of cement. As you walk througH the carved wooden door, sunshine lights the interior. The main part of the house is open to the sky, then the bedrooms and kitchens surrounding the main room, have ceilings. This gives the visitor a chance to experience the true Zanzibar lifestyle and for a family to make some extra money.

This is a spice island famous for cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and vanilla. The aromas from the kitchens are heavenly.
I spent many years in Jambiani cooking for volunteers and enjoying the island lifestyle. They warmly call me Shangazi Judy which means Aunt. The kids that I remember meeting so long ago, are now having their own kids. I always ask, who is your father to learn where the little ones fit in.
I had my sixith birthday there last year in a private home on the beach. A full blue moon rose above the ocean as I grilled seafood and immersed myself into the happy chatter of my Jambianian friends.