Mnemba, paradise on earth

Who has never dreamed of living on a small piece of land populated by trees and palm trees, floating on a warm, crystalline and turquoise sea, surrounded by an extremely fine and brightly white sandbank. Which, itself, is surrounded by a coral reef, teeming with life. With just his little bamboo shed with no connection to the world, with just enough fishing gear and a machete?

Okay, maybe it’s just me…

This remains one of my visions of absolute happiness. Living from the land and the sea. To be accountable to no one. To stay only with yourself. The advantage for me is that I know myself very well.

It turns out that the island of Mnemba could have lent itself to the game, but there is a luxurious lodge in the middle of this 500m long island. However, we can’t land on its beach which is the private property of the lodge which also allows us to maintain in respect, its environment.

We will stay on the sandbanks to enjoy the clear and warm water before going snorkeling. But before that, we chased dolphins just to take pictures of them… I really didn’t appreciate this moment which must be traumatic for these beautiful and nice mammals. As soon as we had the opportunity to say that we do not wish to continue, it was almost unanimously that we refused to continue.

With the rising tide, we set sail to a diving spot known throughout the world. Our guide explains to us that we have to be careful not to damage the coral, not to touch it, we have to stay on the water surface along our side. They try to keep the reef alive and protect it. It is partly thanks to this that Zanzibar lives. Armed with our mask, snorkel and flippers to discover the world below. I will let the photos and video speak for themselves at the end of the article. Once again, I would advise you to take a guide for yourself only, in order to enjoy this wonderful field day as you wish.

After the snorkling, the guide offers us a fruit platter to sustain us from this activity. We go back to the hotel for early afternoon. We have a delicious lunch before going for a walk on the beach and swimming.

Another day that ends on a beautiful note!

This is our last activity.

The following day and the last day, we take advantage of the hotel and its swimming pool, having checked out at noon on the last day, our departure will not be before 7pm. So the owner will propose us to take advantage of another room for the last hours before going back to Belgium.

Small note however, will be the folkloric side of our departure where we had to make the check in the airport but having as proof only our application, it was necessary to negotiate with the policeman who guarded the entrance.

It was our last trip of the year 2019. Next departure, Edinburgh for a city-trip with friends, in January. We also have a month planned for Peru, for my friend’s wedding (without counting on the pandemic that happened and which changes our plans! The ticket had already been taken, and had to be postponed for the year 2021).

I will take advantage of these next months to tell you about my other trips such as Crete, Bulgaria and Scotland that I made two times.

See you soon for new adventures,

Your devoted, Ninve