Zanzibar
This past weekend I and about 20 other UN ICTR interns traveled to Zanzibar, which is an island off the coast of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean. I left last Thursday and came back yesterday. The weather in Zanzibar was amazing and it was far warmer in Zanzibar then Arusha. Most days in Zanzibar it hovered around high 80's and low 90's while in Arusha most days the temperature is around the mid 70's. Once we arrived in Zanzibar we went to our hotel the Princess Salme Inn in Stone Town. Stone Town is an amazing place, it has a mixture of Arab and African influences with narrow streets and very unique architecture. After wandering Stone Town for a bit we headed to the night market which is in the center of Stone Town. At the night market you can get virtually any type of seafood. There a bunch of vendors setup in the main square who are selling their catches for the day. I had a chance to eat shrimp, lobster, red snapper, octopus and my personal favorite Shark all which were grilled.
The next day we drove north to Kendwa Rocks our hotel on the beach where we would stay for the next three days. This beach at Kendwa Rocks was phenomenal it had very white fine sand and extremely clear blue water. While on the beach we had the opportunity to cruise around the Indian Ocean in a Dhow, which is one of the traditional Zanzibar sailboats. While on the boat they took us to a coral reef where we snorkeled and had a chance to look at all of the different varieties of fish. The rest of the days in Zanzibar were spent relaxing by the beach and playing some volleyball. Overall Zanzibar was one of the nicest and most beautiful places I've been to and I would love to take another trip back there.
On Monday I returned to Arusha where I was placed on a new case. The case that I'm assigned to is Callixte Nzabonimana who is a former Rwandan politician. For the most part, I'm summarizing and analyzing witness testimony and grouping the testimony into factual issues brought up in the indictment. The case is still in trial so I'm also doing a lot of organizing the case file.
The summer is really winding down I leave Aug 7 but before I leave for the US I'm climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro from July 22-27. We are climbing on the Machame Route which is considered the most beautiful route, but also is a little more challenging then the other routes.
Until Next Time
Brook
