No Vacancies here, at 6° 28′ 33.5″ S 39° 29′ 44.0″ E on Zanzibar

There is always something unexpected and fascinating to discover. When we were on Zanzibar, I heard from an abandoned beach resort at the very South of the island, not far from the lodge at Kizimkazi Beach where we stayed. Our lodge was called “Promised Land Lodge” and once I had heard of the abandoned resort it promised me a little adventure.  

The story goes that foreign engineers had built the resort structures and there was one particular posh opening night, to which everybody local had been invited. And that was it. Next day, the resort was closed. No guests ever stayed at the resort.  The strange thing was that nobody knew at all what had happened.  

Walking on a rugged, badly visible path, it was hot, really hot, and there were Maasai warriors patrolling … I don’t know what. After a while, just before you entered the premises through a wall hiding in the forest, there was a steep drop-off that offered an overview of the fast green jungle canopy and you would never imagine anything human-made down there. I climbed down, found the wall and slipped through. Silence. I walked on. Suddenly, there was the sound of the ocean and I found a bay with abandoned cabins made of wood and coconut palm leaves.  A white beach was lined with cabins, some on high stilts. Except the waves in the water and the wind in the tree tops, you heard nothing.

I picked a cabin that was on stilts at least 6 meters high and the wooden steps, more a ladder, didn’t look too badly damaged. The cabin was open, no windows, a double bed, nothing else.  There were more than 30 cabins. I saw a long, massive looking wooden, dilapidated pier. A pool filled with dark, murky water. Was that the place where you could find the owners? Why had this place been constructed and abandoned? Speculating, I thought of mysteries, buried weapons or drugs. You can walk to the end of the pier, if you dare, but that might not be wise. If you break through nobody will help you. But the view was fantastic.