Dying to see Zanzibar
I was 43 and it was Christmas when I almost died off the coast of Zanzibar. I was halfway up the middle of Africa on a six-month solo journey far more common now than it was in 1996.
I’d put my mid-life crisis on the road, hoping solitude and surprise would air it out. It worked, and that cross-continent journey remains a high point of my life.
Except for the swim I took on Christmas day.
Fishing boat on the Beach
A Harmless Swim in Zanzibar
Friends are easy to make when you travel so off we went, into the clear blue waters of Nungwe beach, laughing and paddling towards a nearby rowboat. The sun baked our backs, we chatted of new friendships and old memories, and soon reached the boat.
I grabbed its edge and turned around. While we were swimming the tide had come in and the ‘nearby’ boat was now quite far from shore. My carefree friends started swimming back, slicing smoothly through the warm waters. I stared in horrir as their backs receded and remembered: I couldn’t swim – at least not beyond a little paddle and wiggle, and certainly not where I couldn’t touch the ground.
By now they were beyond shouting range, just dots in the distance.
Have you ever panicked? It’s not much fun. I was breathing hard, the air catching in my throat and my eyes watered. I tried to hoist myself into the rowboat but the sides were too high and I kept falling back into the water. Evening was settling in and the possibility of drifting out to sea gave me wings – or at least fins.
Tide coming in in Zanzibar
What was that they used to tell us? You can float if you lie on your back? Right, let’s try that. It worked for a few seconds. The dog paddle? Sure, I can handle that. Another few seconds. And so it went.
Each time I hyperventilated (every few seconds it seemed) I tried to calm down: “If you panic you die. If you panic you die.” That mantra echoed in my brain.
Seemingly forever, I floated and paddled my way towards shore. I thought of my family, who would never see me again. Hell, they wouldn’t even know what happened to me. In these pre-Internet days, I’d called home a couple of weeks ago from Dar-es-Salaam with vague northward-bound plans. That wouldn’t be much help if they had to scour half the continent to find my body, which would be floating down near the seabed.
Suddenly my toe grazed something. I burst into tears of joy, frustration, anger, embarassment, victory – but mostly relief. I almost danced out of the water.
I had come close enough to death to taste it and it wasn’t something I wanted to sample again. I still had too much to do.
Safe on the Beach
Travel is wonderful but like everything there’s a risk involved. Of all the things that could have happened to me while on the road, this was perhaps the most avoidable. All I needed was to learn to swim. Or at least remember that I couldn’t…
I eventually went back into the water. I stayed in the shallow end and slowly taught myself to swim. I’m still not good at it and water intimidates me, but I no longer assume I’ll drown when I can’t touch bottom.
In many ways that Christmas in Zanzibar was a gift. In case I’d forgotten, it reminded me that every moment counts and that I’m lucky to be alive. Literally.
——
Leyla Giray is a journalist and development worker with a passion for travel and improving people’s lives in developing countries. She has lost her way in a Mozambican minefield, paddled out of a flood in the Philippines, met with dissidents in Cuba and unwittingly sat on an anaconda in Brazil. Born in Paris and raised in Spain and Canada, she works for a development agency in Geneva during the day and in the evenings writes about women and travel on her new blog at Women on the Road
Leyla Giray’s new book Women on the Road: the essential guide for baby boomer travel is now available from Indie Travel Guides.
Find her on her also on Facebook and Twitter
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i once went for a harmless swim in Sardinia. i am a strong swimmer and had no worries about going far out beyond the surf, which was very active because there had been a storm out at sea the previous night. at some point i was caught between incoming waves and the undertow. float? forget it. i was nowhere near touching the sea floor and the waves just made floating seem like a quicker way to ingest lots of water. fortunately i was not alone. the other swimmer with me discovered by chance that swimming *towards* the jagged rocks (not something you would normally consider) got him out of the dead zone between surf and undertow. with the last breath from my exploding lungs, i swam towards the rocks, and was finally washed up on the shore.
anyone who thinks drowning is peaceful and dreamy has obviously not tried it. it was easily the most stressful thing i have ever lived through – and like you, leyla, i have had an adventurous life!
What an awful experience for you! Even though I’ve managed to tame the water devil I still never underestimate its power. It’s way stronger than I’ll ever be – I was just plain lucky. And no, there’s nothing peaceful about it at all!
Thanks Arti – I even took two of them myself!
Quite and adventure that!! I have never had such heart stopping moments ever!! But its always great to read about the stories of fellow travellers
By the way, the pics are beautiful too 
What a powerful post! So glad you survived and learned from the experience.
Thanks for dropping by, Andi! And yes, I did learn a lot – mostly I just bite bigger pieces off of life now
))
I would say you are quiet lucky that you able to avoid any mis happening with you. I don’t know what was on your mind when you went to travel in the place which is considered unsafe.Thanks or sharing this wonderful post.
Hi Peter – there’s nothing unsafe about Zanzibar, it’s a wonderful island in a great country! The danger came from my own stupidity. I just let my guard down and felt invincible for a moment… nature sure has a way of reminding you that’s not the case, eh?
I agree Leyla, Zanzibar was beautiful and wonderful and the people were inviting and friendly.
That must have been a terrifying experience for you. As travelers we may be put in situations where we think…this is it. However, I would choose that and feel alive, than be at home on my couch!
Elle – you are SO RIGHT! It wouldn’t occur to me to stop traveling because of a hardship or danger. I’d just try to circumvent it as best I could. And it was terrifying – but a great lesson learned!
I’m glad you mad it back. I grew up in Arizona where almost everyone learns to swim and sometimes forget that there are many people who have never learned. I’m glad you learned to swim and all you have to remember is that practice makes perfect. The more you swim the more comfortable you’ll feel in the water.
Thanks Kevin! It’s funny how sometimes we forget our limitations and are reminded rather boldly, isn’t it! The same goes for most things in life… just keep doing it until it becomes second nature.
Wow what a powerful venture! You make me feel like taking all my staff from Website designing and hosting Uganda, http://fox.co.ug to Tanzania for a holiday.