Goodbye Zanzibar

We're leaving Zanzibar today. It was a little slice of paradise here- unlike anything I've ever seen. Today we're taking a ferry back to Dar es Salaam and then flying to Harare, Zimbabwe just for the night. I think we're there less than 12 hours. Then tomorrow morning on to Victoria Falls. Lots of traveling the next week!

Last night we had dinner and wandered around Stone Town. Well, first we saw giant tortoises and went snorkeling (amazing!) then we went to Stone Town. Ramadan is ending so there are huge celebrations on the street. It's filled with food and music and laughter and men, women and children in their most beautiful clothes, scarves and head wraps. The colors are amazing. I got to thinking last night how wonderful it would be if Muslims in America could celebrate like this. Celebrate freely and openly. And share the joy and love of their religion and of their beliefs. If we could see that and see a new perspective other than what we see of Islam on the news our whole world would open. And the fear and hate would have to stop, because we allow ourselves to be afraid of what we don't understand. And we allow ourselves to not understand far too much.

Anyway. It was a beautiful thing to see and hear and experience.