A neverending white stunning beach, that’s Matemwe…
The tiny village has only a few little food shops and a light blue school attended by thousands of children.
But the real village’s life seems to take place on the beach and in the calm and clear waters of Zanzibar’s sea!
It’s early in the morning when we notice a group of people on the beach… it’s the fish market! Here many fishermen every day try to sell what they caught fishing at dawn.
You can hear them shouting, while others beat the octopus on the sand and the baker rings the bell of his bike.
We can’t buy the fish, so we get the bread (it’s crunchy and without salt… Perfect for a second breakfast) and some small bananas sold by ladies selling fruit on the beach.
We decide then to walk on the beach towards Pwani and we notice a group of women wearing colourful dresses. They are picking up seaweeds to put them to dry in the sun.
The beach is the real center of life in Matemwe… In fact, after a few minutes, a group of children surrounds us!
They want to touch us, give us high 5 while singing and shouting the sweetest hello: Jambo!!
Some of them will ask for PIPPI (sweets) but you’ll just need to say “no pippi” to get a simile that warms the heart!
It’s really important that you don’t give children sweets or money to avoid them leaving school for begging!