Zanzibar

Zanzibar. As beautiful a place as the name sounds delicious. Its formal name is Unguja, but the Persians decided Zanzibar, meaning 'black coast', sounds better. Zanzibar is a part of the country of Tanzania in east Africa. It is an archipelago strewn into the Indian ocean just a few kilometers off the mainland.

After landing, I stayed at the Melia hotel and woke up to 33 degrees, so I thought I'd have a quick dip.

Behind the pool there was a restaurant at which I had dinner by the sea. The air was crisp, the sound of the waves were softly lapping up on the sand and I enjoyed my excellent seafood and South African wine.

In the morning, there were fishermen walking around on foot far, far away in the blissful water. I could have joined them.

This Swahili inhabited nation is almost entirely Muslim. These raffia palm trees, along with spices and tourism make up the industries of Zanzibar.

I sat out under the roof of the grass hut, watching the morning sky and electric blue water. I ate my eggs Benedict and sipped my coffee, watching as the fishermen walked on water wandering around after their daily catch. And I gazed out into the the deep nothingness and realized, as one always does in times like these, just how small and insignificant one's life can really be.

Happy 2017, and may Donald Trump never use the nuclear launch codes.

Bailey Sue