Sunset XXI - Nungwi Beach
Today marked 3 weeks on the road through the African continent and to celebrate we planned to, well we put together…absolutely nothing. Literally nothing. If yesterday was phlegmatic then today would come to be a race between molasses and a sloth on a glacial ice flow. Waking early-ish we casually made it to breakfast to nab the prized table at the apex of the restaurant overhang that everyone always had their eye on. As all conquering heroes, waiters swarmed around offering tea or coffee and honouring us with lap napkins and waters. Either that or we were the only ones in the restaurant so far.
With that completed, and really the only structured thing on todays agenda, we had a healthy, and slightly over analysed debate on where to set up camp for the day. An accord was struck on the further most outlying umbrella and four sun beds we selfishly shielded from other patrons. It was then straight in the ocean for the first of what would be at least 15 swims and as always the water we tropically warm and the sand perhaps even whiter than yesterday. Like many resorts we’ve visited over the years, Sandies had everything needed for a day of doing nothing with its peanut shaped pool conveniently placed midway between the bar and the beach. A large grassed area welcomed one to relax with a slight change of scenery and opposite that a flat sandy area was set up for volleyball and bocce for those who were interested. We weren’t.
10:00am finally arrived and with it our first cocktail of the day. From there it was perfecting yesterdays dance of sun baking, reading, napping and swimming, with alphabetised cocktails squeezed in where possible - which meant everywhere. The beach, only metres below us, was akin to a Zanzibar highway with a constant stream of people making their way up and down the sandy road regardless of tide height, giving us a reason to casually lift our eyes from our books occasionally. An element of remorse at one point suggested we should perhaps get active and shoot off into town for a little exploring. But these two days at Nungwi Beach were earmarked for relaxation, and in our concurred opinion vital to a healthy state of mind. So that notion quickly passed and we ordered another cocktail.
Another sunset competed with its predecessors to remit a palette of orange light perfcet for silhouette photography. Our cameras had hardly been touched today so it was a great chance to put the Canon’s superior low light skills to good use and we celebrated its achievements with another cocktail. We waited until the dawn of nautical twilight before returning our checked-out beach towels and heading back to the bungalow for a shower and change of clothes before dinner. The evening would be a carbon copy of last night closing out in the common area around the bar with some Zanzibar tunes, a few dark & stormys and discussion on how best to tackle tomorrows much agonised over travel arrangements.
