Stone town

Monday, July 1st

Jake and I slept in the next morning, but made it to breakfast before it ended.  We spent the day exploring more of Stone Town. We wanted to find some cooler clothes since our bags were packed for Iringa, not the scorching hot beaches. We also found some Internet to talk to Hannah- happy 21st birthday sister!!!

We ate dinner at a cute cafe on the beach, and then went back to the garden to people watch. There were a ton of local teenagers running and doing flips and dives off of the ledge into the water. It kept us entertained for quite a while!

The next morning we had to be ready by 8 to be picked up for a dolphin excursion. We organized it through the hotel we were staying at. It was just Jake and I, and we rode in a taxi for about an hour. After arriving at a beach, we chose some snorkeling gear and got in a boat. We drove out and searched the water for dolphins. It took a while, but finally found some! There were so many and our boat was so close. We continued to follow them, and our driver would tell us to jump in to swim with them. We would until we could not see the dolphins anymore, then get back in the boat and search for them again. It was incredible. 

About the fourth time of jumping in a million things happened. First, I jumped too far in and inhaled water through the snorkel, at the same time water got in my goggles and my contact fell out so I was practically blind, and I jumped right onto a jellyfish who decided to sting my right across the front of the throat. I basically thought It was the end. 

Turns out, I survived. I had a small reaction to the sting and broke out on my face, but only for about an hour. I also had some extra contacts with me so I wasn't blind all day. After that experience, I decided it was best to stay in the boat and take pictures instead. 

When we returned to the beach, there was a delicious meal cooked and ready for us! 

On the way back to Stone Town, we stopped at Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park to see the monkeys.   

There are over 3,000 monkeys in the park! We walked around and found a ton of red monkeys and blue monkeys. The red ones are friendlier. 

Another incredible day! Tomorrow we leave in the morning to Jambiani.