My first time on the island of Zanzibar

After completing the 2 week safari with our first group of guests, Mike and I flew to the island of Zanzibar for 5 nights of rest and relaxation. I had no idea what to expect from this location, which is located about 25 miles off the coast of mainland Tanzania and in the Indian Ocean.

After the 90 minute domestic flight from Arusha to Zanzibar, we had an hour drive to our resort. We arrived and I was immediately impressed with the Breezes Beach Club & Spa.

This was going to be almost a week of luxury for us

It is very hot here, with temperatures in the 90s (F) and with a lot of humidity in the air. Being from Northern California, I am not used to this weather. But due to the fact that most of the US is in freezing temperatures right now, I am not complaining. The pool has been my best friend for most of the stay.

Yesterday, we took a tour of the old Stone Town, which is the center of the trade here on the island.

There is a meat market...

...a spice market...

...fruits and vegetables...

...and a fish market.

I did bring the new DJI Osmo Pocket camera to capture video, and have some fun video of the market. I will edit this and post when I get home.

Outside the market, we saw these guys who were selling beds. As it turns out, the more luxurious the bed they own, the more attractive they are to their potential spouse. It shows the level of their wealth.

Walking through the old stone town, I saw this young man selling nuts. Even though I have seen many people transporting things on their heads for the last couple of weeks, this ability still amazes me.

Since this island was originally in Arabic control, there is a high population of Muslim people here.

We went to the top of a hotel to get some photos of the old town from above.

This shows what is left from the old fort.

I should mention that, at this point, I put on my Tiffen HT Circular Polarizing filter on the Canon 24-105mm lens. You can see how the polarization helps pop the colors and cut through the glare in the water. All these images were shot with my Canon 5D Mark IV since it is much easier to carry this camera around town as compared to the Canon 1D X Mark II.

I saw these guys repairing boats and thought it would make for a nice shot. I especially love them watching the fisherman in the background.

This morning, I woke up and decided to go for a 4 mile walk on the beach, before it got too hot. All I took was my iPhone X, but saw this scene and wanted to capture a shot. In order to polarize this shot, I held my polarized sunglasses in front of the iPhone camera and voila!

Oh wait...one more thing happened here in Zanzibar! After three weeks, I really needed my beard and hair to be trimmed. We asked our guide if he could help out this and... ta da!

Tomorrow I am going on a dolphin tour and hoping to capture some images of my favorite animal in the wild. The following day, Mike and I fly back to Arusha to start our next 2 week safari in Terengire, Ngorogoro, Ndutu and Serengeti. 

__________________________________________________________________________
Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!
__________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
__________________________________________________________________________
Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa, Costa Rica, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

__________________________________________________________________________