My favorite retreat in Dar es Salaam... uninhabited Bongoyo Island Marine Preserve. It is like being a million miles away while still being in sight of the city. It is an adventure getting there. First, take a taxi or bajaji to The Slipway. Then, go to the end of a long pedestrian causeway to a small wood motorboat to take you out to a larger ferry. The ferry is a 30-40 minute ride out to the island, part of the coral reef just offshore. From there, you again take the smaller boat (which has been towed behind the ferry) to land onto the beach. The beach is a beautiful white powder sand spit at the end of the long, narrow island.
It is best to take the first boat of the day (there are only 3) to get to the island. Once on the beach, there is what I refer to as the 'resource scramble'... staking claim to a banda (palm thatched structure for shade) and maybe a tree-branch and rope net lounger. Soon after arrival guys come by to collect money for renting the banda, and also give you a menu for lunch. Lunch includes choices of fresh fish, calamari, shrimp, lobster, and chips (fries). When ordering at your banda, they ask you what time you would like to eat, and come collect you when lunch is ready. There is a larger thatched structure that includes a bar and places to sit for lunch. The food is amazing, very fresh, and cooked in the outdoors to order. As you finish, they come by with ripe mangoes they cut up for you. What is not to love?
Then there is the warm and crystal clear water. I love the ocean and can spend the entire day in the water, with my goggles on swimming amidst all the fascinating shapes and colors of the coral and the reef fish. A favorite recent moment was swimming amidst thousands of small silver fish, sticking out my arm to have them create a hole in the school around it, or diving through them and having them create a tunnel for me to swim through. Truly spectacular and really fun! Another aspect of Bongoyo I love is that I can go into the water and not worry about my belongings. It is one of the few places where you don't have to be so vigilant about watching them every moment. It is so incredibly relaxing.
The end of the day comes at around 4:30 in the afternoon as the last boat prepares to depart from the island. That signals the last quick dive into the water, enjoying the warmth, relishing the occasional cooler spot, just floating in the salty water for a few more minutes, savoring the perfection of the day.
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