The Lure of Islands (5): African Islands

There are also much visited islands that are part of bigger countries, such as Goree off the Coast of Dakar in Senegal, Zanzibar in Tanzania and Robben Island near Cape Town, South Africa.Some of these islands have become internationally favoured tourist destinations. Madagascar is a big and varied country with a unique ecological system. Mauritius […]

There are also much visited islands that are part of bigger countries, such as Goree off the Coast of Dakar in Senegal, Zanzibar in Tanzania and Robben Island near Cape Town, South Africa.
Some of these islands have become internationally favoured tourist destinations. Madagascar is a big and varied country with a unique ecological system. Mauritius and Seychelles have organized themselves and have become widely accepted upscale tourists locations. Well heeled tourists from Europe and Asia go all the way to these island nations on a quiet honeymoon or to enjoy their pristine beaches. Zanzibar, another beautiful island in the Indian Ocean, with a rich history as a cross road between Africa, Arabia and Asia, is another unique spot, where visitors can sample a richly conserved culture from very comfortable beach hotels.
Goree and Robben Islands are visited for political tourism and being a short ferry ride from Dakar or Cape Town, it is a must for visitors to these cities. The first was a former slave port, where that human cargo from the hinterland of West Africa was stored and later transported to the Americas. The dungeons where those unfortunate men and women were kept have been preserved and even a brief tour is a sober lesson in history. People have been known to be moved to tears on seeing how human beings can be reduced to chattels, chained naked and kept in the dark, ready to be shipped as  slaves to cotton or sugar plantations.
I was in Goree on two different occasions and inevitably the second visit left a far less indelible impression than the first. Like most first timers I was deeply moved by the sight of those slave dungeons. At that time our own Chief MKO Abiola, an international businessman, not yet turned politician, had begun a campaign demanding reparation from Europe and America to Africa, on account of the depredation caused by the slave trade. I became an immediate convert, though realistically there was no chance we can get a dime!
The second time to Goree was with my young children, who took it all in and then began to bombard me with questions about this dark and sometimes inexplicable images from the past. But they quickly returned to the present and wanted to explore the shops and the restaurants of Goree, of which there are a few. Indeed over time the island has become a tourist diversion of sorts, where you can spend a few hours away from the sweltering atmosphere of Dakar.
The same thing may happen to Robben Island, if the marketers are allowed to exploit it’s other possibilities. At the moment the whole world knows it as the island prison, where Nelson Mandela and his comrades were detained for many decades. Located one hour from Cape Town, one of the most beautiful and most visited cities in Africa, it allows well- off tourists to assuage their conscience by making the solemn pilgrimage to Robben. Cape Town has many lovely beaches, wine farms, gourmet restaurants, the Table Mountain, Cape Point (the southern most spot in Africa) and many other must see locations. But such is the popularity of Robben Island that one has to book the ferry days in advance.
The island itself is small, cold and windy. But over the years it has become a self contained community of prison administrators and guards, security and other service workers, with their families and dependents. Drinking water has to be brought in from Cape Town and the kids on the island have to be ferried to and from school. But the islanders seem a contented lot, they cultivate small vegetable gardens, they fish and are within touching distance of rocky beaches and endless vistas of the sea.
It’s a short walk from the ferry port to the grey concrete blocks where the former prisoners were kept. Ex- prisoners, who now live on the island with their families, have been gainfully employed to serve as guides. They take visitors around their former lodgings, the limestone quarry where they used to hew stones and the small exercise yard, where they were allowed to occasionally socialise. The highlight of the tour is a peep into the cell where prisoner 6444, otherwise known as Nelson Mandela, spent more than twenty years in captivity. It was sobering to see the narrow cell, the small cot and thin blanket that, besides his prison uniform, were the main possessions allowed to the great man. Fittingly, like many such political agitators, he graduated from prison to the pinnacle of power.
Away from politics, there are half a dozen dream islands in Africa. I have sampled a few and can report as follows. Seychelles, less than two hours flight from Nairobi (Kenya) by air is a former French colony. It is tiny, but prosperous and is visited mostly by rich French tourists. Victoria, the main city, is reputed to be one of the smallest capital cities in the world.
The big luxury hotels are located out of town, near quiet beaches. You can eat fresh fish and luxuriate on the beaches, have a massage in the Spa or play a bit of golf, if you are so inclined. There are many other islands in the Seychelles chain that can be visited by ferry. The sea can be a little rough and those not used to sea journeys have been known to throw up their lunch! But to appreciate the beauty of the Islands, one must be ready to walk its beaches and explore its sea lanes.
Zanzibar is part of the Republic of Tanzania, but some of its people will prefer that it becomes an independent country. It certainly has a long history as a powerful Islamic sultanate, where warriors and traders across the Indian Ocean have interacted for centuries. The result is a melting pot of people and culture that echoes the past, but lives in the present. This is in full display at Stone town, the main centre of the Island, where old palaces from the days of the Sultans sit side by side with five star hotels.
Women in hijab also mix comfortably with half-clad tourists. Like in most small islands,   in Stone town you can walk to most important historical and leisure spots. You should certainly spend at least one evening attending the largest open-air sea-food buffet in the world, or so says the tourist brochures!  This is a daily evening food fiesta, where the days catch from the sea is grilled over open fires by dozens of food vendors. All manner of sea food is on offer, from lobster to crabs, fish to prawns. You chose what you fancy, it is grilled and handed over to you in a paper plate and you find a spot by the sea to devour it.
In my experience the only comparable open air food buffet is Jemaa El Fna in Marrakech, Morrocco where the city’s central square becomes a big open air restaurant in the night. But at Jemaa El Fna it is mostly a variety of meats that is served, reflecting the local Arab love for red meat, especially mutton. To that extent I felt far more at home in Zanzibar, with the food, the Afro-Arab culture and gently blowing breeze from the sea.