Happy Honeymooning Day 7: a Candlelit Beach Dinner, Jungle Massages, Cave Pools, and Paje

 Saturday, March 29th, 2025

6:13 PM

Konokono Resort, Michamvi, Zanzibar

Dinner last night was delicious and very romantic. The hotel provides a honeymoon special for honeymooners -- candlelit dinner on the beach with the same menu as everyone else. The octopus I had was outstanding, and Kenny loved his chicken. It was very sweet.

Today, we slept in a bit, and then Haji picked us up and we headed to Maalum. Maalum is a cool little natural pool in a cave, but they've turned it into a whole afternoon trip for people. When they checked us in, the hosts were extremely gracious.

"Jambo," I greeted.

"Mambo!" the man at the front desk responded. "You say mambo, it is like jambo but better. More familiar. People will think you are a local."

"I don't think that's going to happen," I replied, motioning to my, uh, skin tone.

We started with a visit to the "jungle spa," where we were given a foot rub with Ylang Ylang scented water. We then had a full massage with jasmine scented oils. It was beautiful and felt absolutely amazing. We were extremely content afterwards.

We then stopped by the little cafe they had, where I got a "spicy coffee" and a mango juice. We were waiting until after we swam in the cave to go to lunch, so no food quite yet. Haji had told us he could get us some delicious seafood with the locals at Paje, a nearby town known for its beachy vibes and as a backpacker haven.

The pool was stunning. Because it's the offseason, it was pretty empty. A couple at first seemed to want to join, but they also clearly didn't want to get their hair wet, so they left pretty quickly. One of the employees helped us find water shoes in our size.

"What size shoe are you?" he asked Kenny.

"Size 12."

"Okay, in Zanzibar, that is... 43, maybe."

It was not. That size was too small.

"I don't think Kevin would be able to get shoes here in his size," I mentioned to Kenny.

"Definitely not."

Later, as Kenny was putting on shoes in his correct size, the employee was very curious about Kenny's background.

"Where are you from?" he asked.

"The States," Kenny answered.

"But, your family..."

"Also the States."

"Really?"

"Yeah, my grandparents and my great-grandparents too. All born there."

"I had no idea! You could be my brother!"

Kenny laughed, because he is loving this type of response from the people here, and shook the man's hand.

That same employee gave us an entire photo shoot, but we had to wait to jump in because an Arabic couple and their toddler son were ahead of us. The parents had already jumped in, but little Youssef was very scared and wanted to just use the stairs.

"No, throw him in!" the father shouted.

The mother wasn't sure.

"What does the mom say?" the employee asked. But before she could answer, the dad broke in.

"I am his father, I put him inside her! I say it is okay, so it's okay!"

Wow. Okay. But the mom nodded, seeming to actually get more and more on board with this idea. The employee took little Youssef, who was clearly scared and whimpering but not full on crying, and threw him in.

(We are not in the States anymore, I'll tell you that.)

Honestly, Youssef seemed pretty excited once he got in the water with his parents, who lavished praise on him for being so brave and such a hero. Soon, the family left, and Kenny and I had our photo shoot, where we also jumped in.

Once the photo shoot was over, we had the spot to ourselves, which was surreal and incredible. To be in this little slice of heaven on the literal other side of the world with just the two of us -- perfect, amazing, incandescent, romantic, lovely.

Haji was taking a nap when we got back. I think Ramadan has got to be taking a toll on him. He's been a trooper though, and he even invited us to join him when Ramadan is over to party with his friends during the big feasts, which he confirmed was indeed Monday (they just found this out, it's based on the moon cycle). Haji also told us he would help Kenny get a Maasai tribal sword (cool, very much needed and super easy to get back into the US I'm sure), but that I couldn't really be anywhere around because he was trying to get a local price, and I'm obviously going to throw things off there.

Haji took us to Paje, trying to hook us up with a spot for lunch that wouldn't be just for tourists, but it's still Ramadan, and nobody is trying to cook food if they themselves can't eat until sundown unless they're in the tourist restaurants right on the beach. We walked by a lot of people hawking their tourist wares, even going so far as to call me sister. 

I had a Tanzanian spice tea, which was very good. The rest of lunch was okay. Falafels were phenomenal. The views were incredible -- I'd never seen the ocean so close to the restaurants before. And, of course, I love some stray dogs.

Poor guy's been working like a dog.

On the way back to our car where Haji was hanging out, Kenny and I stopped to buy some souvenirs. I was able to haggle the guy down about $25 (he started at $65), which I was pretty excited about, and now I have a very cute new hat, a new casual dress/coverup, and a bag for a friend. Kenny got a dashiki for another friend.

That brings us here! To me being very tired, and us about to have dinner and then seeing a Maasai tribal show on the beach at around 8:30 tonight. Haji is picking us up tomorrow morning around 9:30 AM to go to Stone Town, Prison Island, and a Spice Tour. Yay!!