Zanzibar

So, I made it to Zanzibar without too many problems. I got a taxi from my hotel to the ferry station, where I was ushered into a small, dark office to buy my ferry ticket. I'm almost positive I was cheated on the price, but what are you going to do? I hate that.

The ferry took 3 hours and on the way to Zanzibar, I saw a whale breaching. The harbour was picturesque, though not as picturesque as the very nice hotel that I am staying at. I spend a lovely evening on the beach, had seafood barbeque right by the ocean, and signed myself up for a diving trip on Monday.

Today I've gone into Stone Town, which wasn't quite how I imagined it. I might cut my day here rather short as I'm very. very. VERY. tired of being yelled at by every many lounging on the street. I can place all the men here into two categories:

1) The patronizer
These men are generally well meaning, but they see a woman travelling alone (Alone? they ask, semi- astonished ... very tired of that as well) and feel it necessary to give "helpful" advice, hail taxis, etc.

2) The womanizer
These men see a foreign woman and feel that they can shout whatever obscenities they want at her. It's the kind of thing that slowly grinds you down and makes it miserable to walk around. This is FAR worse than the last time I was here, perhaps because I am alone and unaccompanied by any kind of male friend/boyfriend/relative.

At the hotel, I do not have to deal with either of these types. And there is a private beach. If I could find someplace with english language books, I'd curl up on a mat out on the beach and call it a weekend.