My Trip to Zanzibar
Michamvi Kae, a famous beach in East Zanzibar known for its beautiful sunsets and laid-back nightlife. It sits on the edge of Michamvi village.
Photo by Jaymi Gooden
“Poley, poley,” the locals say. That means “slowly, slowly” in Swahili, the vibrant, jubilant Bantu language widely spoken throughout East Africa.
I do my best as I slide off the dhow boat and into the warm, crystal blue water, but my excitement—accompanied by my pathetic lack of upper body strength—yields a monstrous fail, and I land with a plop into the ocean. I break the surface and right my goggles proudly, even as my captain laughs. I grin but ignore him as I continue my snorkeling in a place I’ve spent the last three years writing about—without even knowing.
While Zanzibar may be paradise, it’s certainly not make-believe. It’s an archipelago off the coast of Tanzania, split into two islands: Unguja and Pemba. Known for its colorful wildlife, white-sand beaches and spices, it’s a popular destination for the food fanatic. I was there for two weeks, beginning my journey in the historic city of Stone Town.
The island is a fusion of African, Indian and Arabian cultures, and, similar to my book, its religious overtone is heavy. Yet unlike my book, its theology doesn’t blanket the land in an unspoken law. The people of Zanzibar believe many things about the world and where it came from, but they coexist in peace, all with no desire to revisit the past, when the island stood as one of the largest and most lucrative slave hubs in East Africa.
The Slave Market Memorial in Stone Town. The memorial is in the same location where enslaved people were gathered to be bought and sold, and was created in 1998 by Scandinavian sculptress, Clara Sornas.
Photo by Jaymi Gooden
I visited the old slave market, as well as its chambers, where enslaved Africans were cruelly chained and held captive beneath the ground until they were brought above for auction. They have since built a cathedral on top of it, and although I’m not religious, I spent a lot of time there, listening to the stories of the past and wondering if my main character, Jaara, a slave with the gift to sense the world around her, would be there, below my feet, waiting in the dark. I think she would have…
The days blurred together—that happens sometimes on vacation, but at some point, I hiked through Jozani Forest, their national park and the home of the brazen colobus monkey. In Beneath The Night, I send my characters on a long trek through the fictional Tongo Lands, a dark jungle, and as I maneuvered through Jozani, I realized I haven’t given my characters nearly enough credit. Hiking is hard, but even so, I was astonished by how much the land resembled my story. Not just the hanging vines and sky-scraping trees, or the black mangroves and cacophony of animal calls. But the quiet of it all. At first glance, the untouched is eery, even frightening, but if you look long enough, listen hard enough, I swear to you, there’s something there, ancient but peaceful between the thick of the trees.
Located in the southeastern part of the island, Jozani Forest is a conservation area established in the 1960s. It covers an area of 50 kilometers and is home to the rare and endangered colobus monkey.
Photo by Jaymi Gooden
