Off the famed Swahili coast are a number of sand-swept islands and
islets that provide the gorgeous, natural backdrop for so many adoring
"Swahili Style" coffee table books. You'd know Swahili
style if you saw it: rough-hewn furniture from dark woods like Moringa
and ebony, a touch of safari in the canvas accoutrements, bits of
colored glass, and a color scheme composed of whites, turqouise, and
dark, wooden colors. And if you're spending your days at the business
end of a computer in a modern, American office, the Swahili coast
really is a change in lifestyle that can repair a bruised soul.
If you've been living in Africa for a decade though, Swahili style
starts to seem a little put on, a little "created" a little
"invented for the tourists".
Back to the islands, though. You have probably heard of Zanzibar.
You have probably not heard of Pemba, it's untouristed little brother.
But unless you're actually living in East Africa, I highly doubt
you've herad of Bongoyo island at all. And neither had I, until I
found myself in Dar es Salaam for a short week. Bongoyo lies just
outside the harbor limit, a sort of breakwater for the Indian Ocean,
and an easy getaway for the day tripper. Conveniently, it's not
difficult to arrange for a charter boat to haul you out there, and
(ideally) come back for you at day's end. So that's what we did.
Dar isn't a great city, other than the evocative name. But it's
nice to see the Dar skyline from water level, and sure enough, as the
skyline fades into the horizon the swell increases, and the Ocean
looms. There before you, sits a little sliver of sand. I lounged for
a while on the white sand before setting off on an adventure that
turned out to be much more exciting: a traverse of the island that
took me from the sandy lee shore across a small, sweltering coastal
forest of coral outcrops to the far side.
There, the tide was out, and a broad coral platform stood before
me. Stranded sea stars in outrageous colors like crimson lay under a
cloudless sky. I thought of the shifting channels of Erskine
Childer's <u>Riddle of the Sands</u>, still one of my favorite books.
And I thought of the coral divers and rock fishermen of East Africa
who still try to keep up a traditional lifestyle in seas that render
each day a little less.
Rising sea levels will do Bongoyo in, of course, but they'll put a
stop to places like Dar and Boston in equal measure. Ask the sea
stars if they care.
