Mtae-->Zanzibar

Wow, what a day for traveling! Mary Ellen and I started our day at 3:30AM on the Fasaha bus from Mtae to Lushoto. The ride was twisty and turning and bumpy. We then bought I.T. "luxury" bus tickets for 8AM to Dar es Saalam. We had one hour to pack our remaining clothes from the tourist office, eat breakfast, and board the bus. Unlike our voyage from Arusha to Lushoto, this bus line stopped several times throughout the 7-hour journey. Fortunately, before departing for Dar, Aggrey (our hiking guide from Lushoto) gave us the contact of his friend who sells ferry tickets to Zanzibar. We called the friend and used this contact to our advantage! We arrived in Dar around 3:30PM and the last ferry took off at 4PM!! We hopped in a taxi with Aggrey's friend and raced to the coastline. When we arrived at the ferry station, 6 Tanzanian men surrounded our taxi and told us to "HURRY UP" and purchase transport tickets. We frantically threw our money and passports at the workers and ran onto the boat. With the help from Aggrey and his friend and a bit of good fortune on our side, we made the afternoon ferry to Zanzibar.