One week in Zanzibar. It’s enough time to taste the local food, visit a coral reef, and have my pockets fill with dust and sand. It’s also enough time to capture some of the most stunning sunsets I have ever seen. Thank you Nikon.

I spent the last two days on Chumbe Island, an island nestled between Zanzibar and the mainland, Tanzania. It boasts 7 eco-lodges, which truly measure up to the name. Solar power, collected rainwater, and compost toilets. To me, though, the attraction is not so much the lodges, rather its the crystal blue waters and the hermits crabs running between the waves, trying to keep their many feet dry. Chumbe Island is a quiet place. There are no dogs, no cats. No roosters whose internal clock has them crowing at all hours of the day and night. Chumbe Island is no typical island. There is only one resort, nothing else. It is maintained by a staff of approximately 15 people who serve up to 14 guests and 4 researchers at a time. Guests visit almost daily. They snorkel in the morning and walk through the forest in the afternoon. Chumbe Island is a place where you can spend a day in silence, swinging in hammock, reading a book, and listening to the waves crash on the shore. There is no need to even exchange a word. At night, the stars are piercing. The wind blows, the palm trees rustle. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? This serenity, however, comes at a price. Too pricey to mention here. So, if you wish to visit, my suggestion is to volunteer for one of the many ongoing research projects or choose Chumbe Island as your study site. Otherwise, consider a few nights on Chumbe Island as a retirement gift.