"Pemba The Hilly, Green, Swahili Isle" Pemba Island by rayston

Pemba was an unexpected delight. After an overnight boat journey from stone town, Zanzibar Island, on an old South African passenger ship (overcrowded, uncomfortable and full of these tiny cockroach-like insects) the sight on arrival could not have been more serene.

Pemba is more "spicy" than its more familiar neighbour - literally (cloves, of course - they're all over the place, drying on mats in doorways, in the communal areas of villages, etc). But also the pace here is more spicy. The countryside is more undulating than Zanzibar too, with occasional little valleys, filled with verdant rice fields.

The beaches to the north are unspoilt and hardly visited, even by the lcals (although hard to find -get a map from Zanzibar).

Go for a bike ride - we hired them from Wete. Dodgy condition but what fantastic rides we had.

Kids everywhere - masses of them and all wanting to say hello/goodbye!