Zanzibar to Dar Es Salaam

4:30 AM

We awake to darkness and our alarm. As we got ourselves out of bed and ready for the day we heard a knock on the door. Dadi and Diali were there and dropped off breakfast they had made us hard-boiled eggs, toast with jam, and coffee in a mocha pot (A treat from the instant coffee we had other mornings). We ate as quickly as we could, got Paka into her carrier and loaded everything into the car.

As we drove the ~2 hours to the ferry we watched the island come to life. First, we noticed the occasional car or person walking along the road. Then we started to notice men praying at the temple. After that, we started seeing parents walking their children to school.

6:30 AM

We Arrive in stone town and Dadi stops the car on the side of the road. Outside is the hustle and bustle of the city in the morning. To us, it appears as chaos. He tells us we need to go across the street to get our ticket.

We open our door and step out onto the street. It is packed everywhere there are people, carts, cars, and trucks. All going every which way. Figuring there will be no break in the transit we step out into the traffic hoping that cars will stop.

Making it to the other side many people start calling for our attention. Wanting to sell us goods or help us with buying a ticket (for a small tip of course). At the ticketing booth, we ordered tickets. The lady asked for our passports to purchase the ticket. Turns out mine was still in the car. We went back and forth with the attendant until finally she just took my name and printed the tickets.

We left the office and noticed Dadi was now on our side of the street but the doors were blocked in by a cart. We squeeze into the door and Dadi drives us the block to the ferry loading area. As we drive street gets more and more packed.

6:45 AM

We ask Dadi to get a porter to help us navigate the crowd and get the cat onto the boat. We grabbed our bags and the porter took Paka’s carrier. We squeezed out way through the crowd and hopped a barrier cutting most of the line. The people in said line were angry so we pointed to our porter and shrugged.

In the line, I was stepping between folks’ legs to move ahead. Bumping elbows and stepping on feet we eventually made it to the front of the line. Here there were two men checking boarding passes. One yelled at us to stay in line and the other yelled at us to keep moving. We choose to follow the keep moving instructions.

In the ferry terminal, we got to a second checkpoint to check the passports of foreigners. Again we got conflicting orders from conflicting attends. In a panic, we flashed our passports and ran off to the boat.

6:50 AM

We arrive at the walkway to board the ship. The workers there try and take our bags to store in the cargo hold. However, Katherine’s quick thinking saved us as she refused all the staff and we boarded. Inside the air-conditioning was on full blast and way too cold for Paka so the porter took us upstairs where we were able to snag four seats facing each other for us, Paka, and the luggage.

Once in our seats, we paid the porter and showed him the cat. At first, he did not see her. Expecting to see a full-sized cat he thought maybe the cat had gotten out.

7:10 AM

The ferry departed Zanzibar. It was clear now that we were a bit of a curiosity for all the travelers. We were the only white people on the boat. And the only ones with a pet. A security guard in the row behind us, taking the ferry home behind us, struck up a conversation. We showed him Paka and he was very amused with the cat. We talked mainly about the cat but also learned a little bit about him and his life. Contrary to many people that we met, he was concerned about bringing her home as is and was relieved to hear we were headed to the vet and planned to make sure she was healthy before flying.

7:30 AM

As our adrenaline started to wain and our lack of sleep took hold. We got to work creating a checklist of all the things we needed from the vet. Overall health, hind leg issues, flea meds, microchip, etc.

Katie ate her eggs and took a nap. I on the other hand still didn’t have an appetite and was too overstimulated to go to sleep.

So far in our journey Paka was incredibly trusting of us. For the first ten minutes in the car, she cried and tried to claw/bite her way out of the cage. Then quickly became content and slept the rest of the car ride, through the port and even on the boat.

9:30 AM

Goodbye Zanzibar! Hello Dar Es Salaam!

We arrived at the station. Not wanting to fight our way through the crowds we sat and waited until most of the passengers had left. We disembarked last with the families with small children.

Once on land, we were swarmed with offers for a taxi. I agreed to one of them and he ushered us through security. Helping us navigate the baggage scan with our kitten. We got into his car and started driving.

I was glued to the window taking in all the new sights. We drove on Barak Obama Drive and over the Tanzanite Bridge. Past Coco beech which had restaurants all along the way all the way to the vet.

10:20 AM

At the clinic, the vet assured us that Paka was weak and had worms. But given her circumstances, was in good health and we would be able to take her home. The doctor told us we wouldn’t be able to vaccinate until after the deworming was complete. We told him we were happy to wait however long it takes to get her ready to fly and were waiting to order the flight until everything was in order.

He patiently answered our million and one questions and then showed us how to administer the deworming medication. We then scheduled a follow-up appointment to take care of the fleas, travel docs, vaccines, and microchipping.

10:40 AM

We now had some time to kill until we could check into our Airbnb. We asked if we could hang out in their lobby until they closed and they agreed. Even offering us to take Paka to a larger cage so she could get out of her carrier and have more space to safely move about. So we agreed

At this point, I was finally able to relax a little and eat my eggs. As I ate another customer at the vet came and said hello. He works at the IT department for a nearby university and he and his wife were there to get their dogs ready for an upcoming move to Spain. It was clear they were looking for fellow animal lovers to be friends with. I felt bad telling them we were tourists and would be leaving soon. They were a lovely couple and I was happy to have met them.

12:40 PM

Thankfully we were able to coordinate an early check-in to our Airbnb. So we ordered a tuk-tuk and had the staff retrieve Paka from the back. Somehow we were able to cram the two of us, Paka, and all our bags in the tiny tuk-tuk. As we drove it became clear that Paka was pissed. It was the first and only time we have seen her upset. She was aggressively biting and scratching at her carrier. Tearing it apart. When we tried to soothe her she attached us with full force. leaving me with a beat-up hand.

We took a brief stop at a pet store. I waited with Paka and our bags as Katie went in and got litter, a litter box, and some toys.

1:15 PM

We arrived at the Airbnb the cleaning lady was still working. We had been upgraded to a 3 bedroom since the guest in the 1 bedroom we booked had extended their stay. We took Paka out of her carrier and noticed she was covered in poop. I got her cleaned up and then tried to be as accommodating to her needs as possible. It was clear that the back of the vet was a traumatic experience and I wanted to do everything I could to make her feel loved.

Within no time she was back to herself. Exploring the apartment. playing with her new toy and cuddling up against us.

4:00 PM

We were both exhausted. Katie managed to muster the energy to get us to take out from an American cafe across the street as I kept Paka company. We both got a burger. It was heavenly. Paka was settling into our temporary home and found a cozy spot to sunbathe.