What lies beneath

Also check out our sea safari photo gallery

Eating a sea urchin. This might not be at the top of everyone’s holiday to-do list, but it’s one of the options if you take an on-foot ‘sea safari’ from the coastal village of Bwejuu in Zanzibar.

These spiky creatures are known for getting the occasional tourist and local painfully impaled, so the idea of seeking revenge might appeal to some...

But first, local tour guide Mussa met myself and some Dutch tourists in the early morning, ready to do a tour of the seabed and reef at low tide. Essential kit, as we would be on foot, was hat, sun cream and reef shoes.

As the tour kicked off, we were led barefoot to a woman working in the thick, wet sand of the seabed close to the shore. Mussa narrated how local women have for years been burying empty coconuts into the sand to make rope (coconut trees are the staple of beach communities here, providing both nutrition and building materials – little goes to waste).

They bury new coconuts for five to six months and the older ones for up to a year, which ‘cures’ the coconut shells. When the time is right the women dig up the buried coconuts and rip the fibres from the shell after which the fibres are left to dry for a couple of days and then rolled in to rope. It’s a lot of hot, hard work for little financial reward, although if you see women making coconut rope by hand it’s clear that there is actually a fair amount of skill involved.

As well as making coconut rope, there is also a seaweed farming industry. Seaweed is grown, harvested, dried, and then sold at local centres for desultory amounts. Local women dominate both seaweed farming and rope making, with men tending to seek other forms of employment.

This area is tidal, so the time of day at which the women do the bulk of their work, at low tide, varies from day to day. Some women also catch snails here to cook for their families.

Walking through the slushy sand and ocean water we reached the seaweed farms where the women sit on the ocean bed and plant seaweed for cultivation. They sell it to companies abroad for various products such as creams, ointments and even food in some countries. Mussa told us that the seaweed is not used much locally.

Seaweed farming and rope making is laborious work and involves a lot of dedication. More and more women of the younger generation here are taking to work that is not so tough – like working at hotels and restaurants. It’s not clear how long the seaweed industry will continue with such slim rewards, but coconut rope making is likely to continue as there will always be a demand for cheap local materials as opposed to the expensive imported materials that dominate the island’s shops.

It was now time to put on our reef shoes. Walking through the shallow pools of water we spotted our first sea urchin. Nestled snugly in a coral bed, if it wasn’t for Mussa and his experienced eye, we would not even have spied it under the water. Covered densely in black thorns it sat ominously. Mussa picked it up to show us in closer detail.

“So what would happen if I actually stepped on it?” I asked Mussa. “You would be screaming like a little boy,” he replied with a glint in his eye. He put the urchin back in the water and now I saw them everywhere. They were all around us, but we didn’t notice until we actually saw one.

If you do actually step on an urchin, the best thing to do is to put papaya paste on the wound and the spikes will come out eventually (the enzymes in the papaya break down the protein that makes up each spike). However, we opted for trying not to stand on them in the first place...

We began our walk back to the shore, making our way along the narrow paths between the seaweed farms and urchin groups, the sunlight glinting off the dappled pools.

Mussa took us to see the village itself, and as we walked we discussed the life of the people here. There were a lot of houses that were only partially finished, as the local families build their homes in steps as they earn money. In total, there are about 5,000 people staying in the village.

We then went to the local nursery school here in Bwejuu as the Dutch girls on the trip had brought some gifts for the school children. The kids were overjoyed to see the foreigners in their school, they recited poems for us and welcomed us with a cheerful spirit.

After this, it was time for lunch and we were given fish, rice, snails cooked with coconut and a sauce made with potato and turmeric. We didn’t get the chance to sample a sea urchin on this occasion, but we also managed to avoid stepping on any, so it seemed to be a 0-0 draw, but the snails were tasty.

For a different cultural tourism experience, and a chance to understand the life of one of Zanzibar’s typical coastal villages, the sea safari is a great opportunity – and who knows, you might even get to taste a sea urchin.

If you would like to go on a sea safari, call Melanie on +255 777 209576. Fish and rice are available for the more squeamish eater!