THE WILDEST
Zanzibar Afterglow by NANCY HELLMRICH
Tanzania. It’s been on your list since college, when that guy climbed Kilimanjaro instead of getting a job. Now that you’re planning a couples vacation, you actually have a chance to go.
Fresh nutmeg in the spice market
There’s only one issue. Your sweetheart wants to go to a beach. Wait a minute, Tanzania has a beach – a whole archipelago of beaches. After some negotiations, you agree to split the two weeks. First, a safari, then a posh seaside resort on the north coast of Zanzibar. “Wow,” you think, “if things keep going so smoothly, this could be my best vacation ever.” You land in Arusha, near Mount Meru, and jambo, hello, is the first Swahili word you learn as your hosts welcome you with laidback Tanzanian charm. Wait, that’s a lie. You knew hakuna matata, from the lion movie. But you learned those words BT, before Tanzania, so they don’t really count. At daybreak, you awaken to birdsong. For the first
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ENSEMBLE EX TR AORDINARY EXPERIENCES I 2021
time in a long time neither of you picks up your phone. Out on the deck the coffee, grown nearby, is fresh and hot and good. You snap some couples selfies as the morning sun splinters through the acacias. Over the next several days, you’re on the move. The animals are too. Hippos, crocodiles, wildebeest, zebras, elephants, every one of the Big 5 ... and then some. Your guide gets word there are lions up ahead. You find them napping in a tree. One afternoon, hyenas join the scene. You try to take them seriously, but someone keeps doing Disney quotes, and you succumb to fits of laughter. In the Serengeti, you finally see a rhino. It’s prehistoric and astounding. Later, floating in an infinity pool overlooking the savannah, you begin to crave the beach. In Zanzibar, it finally feels like you’re on vacation. The Arab influence is deep and rich and assuring. The beach, pure, soft, and pristine. You are looking forward to the scuba diving excursion, ahem reef safari, planned for later in the week. Then commence relaxing on the beach, drinking
