Zanzibar day 7 dolphins, monkeys, and crabs.

Thursday- the trip I'd been waiting for. Swimming with wild dolphins, and a tour through Jozani forest to see red colobus monkeys. On a scale of 1-10 I was about a 18 on the excitement scale, hence why I've given this day a whole blog entry to itself. I've always loved dolphins, super intelligent, full of life, they epitomise grace and beauty in the water,and can soften the hardest of hearts. I've swam with captive dolphins before in Cancun a few times, which was great because you get to interact with them close up, feel the cool rubbery texture of their skin, and feel the power in their tails as they propel you through the water. This was going to be different- wild dolphins, who know no "tricks" and can come and go as they please. I wasn't even sure that I would see any dolphins... But Salum assured me that the 3 schools that live in the area we were going to were almost guaranteed to be around. I was expecting to go with a group, in a catamaran or large speedboat, but surprisingly, Salum introduced me to our "guide" who was going to take us in a small, single motored boat, and I was the only passenger. I was starting to get used to this personalised trip malarkey!! The water was so shallow, the boat guy had to push the boat out for a good 15 minutes before being able to drop the motor and scoot off. Salum explained that we could have gone out on a traditional dhow (wooden boat with a sail) but this way was much quicker. Who was I to argue? The first thing I noticed was how crystal clear the water was. Even going out where the depths were up to 20 metres, you could still see the corals on the sea bed. All of a sudden, the guide shouted "There!!" just as a pod of around 15 dolphins breached the surface for air about 5 metres alongside our boat. Camera at the ready, I started snapping like a madwoman. (I'm always after that money shot!!) There were already 3 or 4 boats around, and people were jumping in the water with their snorkel gear on, desperate to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity. So it worked like this: you jumped in, snorkel in, and swam as close to the dolphins as they would allow. When they moved too far off (it's not like dolphins can sit and chill with you) the boat would swing by, pick you up and slowly catch up to the pod again, before dropping you back in the water. The boats kept a respectful distance, and always killed the motors when the dolphins were close. So I took my first jump in. Wow. Looking down, about 4 or 5 metres below me were about 30 bottlenose dolphins. Paddling above them, I watched as they swam in formation, the babies inside the group or under the adults. One calf started to do a roll, and stopped "upside down" swimming along casting his beady little eye on me as we went. After about 3 minutes, the pod was away, and I had a mouthful of seawater. The bloody snorkel had a leak, and I didn't have a spare. It was also at this point I discovered I had the upper body strength of a 5 year old. The boat guy slapped the tiniest bit of ladder (2 rungs) over the side of the boat for me to climb up. No frame to pull myself up with, just the side of the boat. 2 exhausting minutes later, I needed help getting up. Emotional was not the word. Anyway, I was too exhilarated to care at this point, I wanted another swim! This time, the guide took us in front of the pod so they would swim past me, and this time, they had come up for air. I literally swam alongside the dolphins for what felt like 5 minutes but could only have been 1 or 2 at the most. One dolphin swam with me side by side, while the rest slowly went past. So close I could almost touch him. I moved out my right hand slowly, and just when I thought he would let me, he rolled downwards, out of my reach. I think that was his way of saying "Hey, you can look but you can't touch, ok?" What a rush! Oh wait... I had to get in the bloody boat again. This time I was a little more tired, so getting in the boat required more of an effort. Skinned my knees, conked my shins. For those of you that know me, that won't be a surprise. On the 3rd drop, I gave up on the snorkel and decided that holding my breath would be easier than swallowing half the ocean whilst trying to breathe at the same time. Swimming behind the pod, I took in the differences between the individual dolphins. Some had notches in their tail fins, others scars. Some were darker in colour than others, and the calves had very white undersides. And then, they started "talking" to each other. Even with my head under the water, I could hear the clicks, cackles and whistles as they sent each other messages (probably "are you guys bored of these tourists yet?") Jokes aside, it's one thing to hear dolphins communicating at a captive dolphin show, and another to actually hear them out in the wild. Such an amazing experience. So this time, getting out of the water and into the damned boat was a mission. I was knackered from continually holding my breath, and swimming, and climbing into the boat, so ended up needing both Salum and the boat guy to haul my ass out like a dead fish. Ah well, it's not like anyone else actually saw me floundering....... A this point I realised that there were about 6 boats and maybe 30 people in the immediate area, and I started to feel a bit guilty about what we were doing. Was it right to be following these dolphins around trying to get close enough to touch them, or see them up close? If it had been a school of sharks, would anyone have been as keen? I decided I had seen as much as I needed to from the water, and wanted to spend the next 15-20 minutes taking pictures before heading back. I explained to the boat guy I had a decent zoom on my camera so didn't need to be too close. Watching up to 10 people jump in the water, and swim right in the middle of the pod made me feel incredibly guilty all of a sudden. What right did we have to intrude on these animals in such a way? The boat guy explained that the dolphins are friendly and if they are not in the mood to be with people, they disappear pretty quickly. I don't know if that eased my conscience or not. It was an exhilarating, magical experience that I will never, ever forget, but I would have to think very carefully before doing it again. So we headed back to shore, and back into the car before heading off to Jozani forest to find monkeys. The geek stuff: Jozani forest has 2 distinct Eco systems. A coral rock forest, where huge red mahogany trees and other plantlife grow. They can't grow deep roots due to the coral rock found very close to the surface of the ground, so instead have wide, far reaching shallow roots. The mangrove forest, on the other hand, has a sea water river running through it, so although plants and trees and grow deep roots, its only specialised plantlife like the mangrove trees that survive due to the saltwater. There is a clear line where one finishes and the other starts, visible by the clear, distinct change in trees and plants. My guide showed me at least 6 different palm trees in the coral rock forest, each of which has a different use for local villagers, down to what was made from the leaves. Some were used for fishing baskets, others were used for raffia mats, and others used for roofing. Almost every plant on Zanizibar has its own use- medicinal, functional or for cooking. All of a sudden, I heard strange, squeaky chattery noises. I looked up, and a small troop of about 6 or 7 red colobus monkeys were sat in the trees eating almond leaves (apparently their favourite). With their black leathery faces and big brown eyes, you could almost be forgiven for thinking they were primates. A couple of them had young who played and jumped around. One was clutching at its mother, too young to let go. Red colobus monkeys are only found on the island of Zanzibar, nowhere else naturally in the world. As a result, they are classified as endangered, with less than 2500 left in the wild. It was great to watch them in their rightful environment, free to do what they want. They do however, have their own "monkey crossings" - rope bridges strung between trees on opposite sides of the road that goes through the forest. This stops them from getting hit by cars or taxis. The monkeys learned to use their crossing very quickly!! In amongst the colobus monkeys, a couple of blue monkeys sat, watching us warily. The guide explained that they were a lot more fearful of people as they were not a protected species like the red colobus monkeys. The reds had no fear as they had no predators on the island. Zanzibar leopards had been made extinct decades ago, and its illegal to hunt or capture them, so in turn, they were curious, inquisitive and brave. Sure enough, I only managed to get a couple of photos of the blue monkeys before they shot off chattering in disapproval. Moving off to the Mangroves, it was like going from a scene from Lost, to a scene from Star Wars. I almost expected to see Luke hanging upside down with a little Yoda saying "try harder, you must!" on one of the banks. Instead, I saw crabs. Loads of them. No really..... Too many to count. In and out of the mangrove roots they scuttled, doing whatever crabs do in such a hurry. Green ones, red ones, large and small. Some with one huge claw, others with two tiny ones. I don't think I have ever seen such a huge variety of crabs in one place (enter your double entendre of choice here___________) One geeky fact I learned: no mosquitos in these mangrove swamps. Apparently they don't like saltwater much, and the river here was a very salty one. Hurrah! Must remember to live nearer to saltwater next time I move. I got back to my hotel a very happy bunny. Crossed a couple of things off my ever increasing bucket list, knowing that I'd taken at least one "once in a lifetime" opportunity. Now for 2 days of sunbathing and people watching...... L xxx