Before I tell you about my diving experience here at Mnemba Island, I want to explain the camera I used for these pictures.  This is very exciting for me because I’ve always had poor luck with underwater cameras, and right before I left, I acquired a GoPro HERO4 Silver. I also added a red filter for diving, having no clue if it would actually make a difference or not. Turns out, it’s one of the best purchases I made (as far as photography goes anyway)! Without the filter, the photos are a bit muddy and brown looking, with the filter, the colors absolutely pop. I had so much fun taking pictures with this camera, I can’t recommend it enough.

Anyway, on to the story! Any time I visit somewhere on the water, I try to book a dive. So when we decided to go to Zanzibar, I knew I had to do some diving before we left. Spanish Dancer Divers has a speed boat that gets out to the dive site in 45 minutes, as opposed to the 2 hours it takes others, so I decided to go with them. They’re also right next to the hotel we’re staying, so it’s easy to get to.

We get suited up and jump in the water for our first dive. I feel like I’m back in my natural habitat!

The colors down here a beautiful!

Our dive master taps his fingers on the rocks and the fish all swim around him. I’ve never seen this before!

I take over 400 pictures on our 2 dives. I’ll let you enjoy (some of) them.

After a few minutes (0k, it’s actually 55), we do our safety stop before returning to the surface for a break. My group consists of a couple on their honeymoon from Chicago, my dive buddy Sergio, from Spain and our dive master.

Back on the boat, more divers have arrived to check out this amazing underwater world.

I just can’t believe the color of this water!

I even see my boat, which cracks me up because the locals have such a hard time with my name that I never would have expected to see a boat named Kelsey.

For our second dive, we descend at the same spot, but swim the other direction. It’s just as beautiful as the first dive.

Seriously, these dives go by so quickly. Once again we’re headed back up after what feels like a few minutes, but is really 45. I could stay down here forever.

This is such a stunning place, if you ever have a chance to make it to Zanzibar, you should definitely check it out, either by diving or snorkeling. And with that, my time in Tanzania has come to an end. I’m sad to be leaving this amazing place, but excited to see my dogs and sleep in my own bed. What’s even better is that I basically missed the entire month of July, which turned out to be the hottest month ever on record here in Seattle. I had to go all the way to equatorial Africa to get away from the heat, and it was so incredibly worth it. Next I’ll post a breakdown of the entire trip including costs and links to everything I wrote. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading along with me!

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