Zanzibar

Last week was our break from language school, and my classmates and I spent it in Dar es Salaam.  Shona, my former roommate from Riverside and proven travel companion, was also on break after a big language survey, and we decided to squeeze in a one-night visit to Zanzibar. "Zanzibar"... what an exotic sound that name has!  This island has been a long-time center of the spice trade, and it's only a couple hours by boat from the Das es Salaam harbor.  So off we went!

We enjoyed walking around Stonetown, through its narrow streets and among its many shops.  We were horrible tourists, really--barely bought anything.  Food, however, was a different story.  Good food, different food was one of my favorite things about the week as a whole, and my 24 hours in Zanzibar saw me in raptures over some unique pizza, fabulous Indian food, and delicious, heveanly ice cream.  Oh the joy...

A tour of Stonetown gives you many examples of these ornately carved wooden doors.  Often they are studded with spikes.  They really are everywhere.

We enjoyed watching the sky as the sun made its decent into the channel separating Zanzibar from the rest of Tanzania.  The guys on the narrow strip of beach were more focused on their soccer game.  Shona and I, on the other hand, relaxed in the patio restaurant with some delicious ice cream as our supper.  (I had two different kinds.)

In the morning we went on a "spice tour", not really knowing what exactly it was.  It turned out to be fascinating--an amiable guide led us around a working spice farm, showing us the spices and fruits that have made Zanzibar famous.  He would lead us to a shrub or tree, pull off some leaves, crush them together for us to smell, and make us guess the spice.  We failed miserably, but it was great fun.

Here our guide shows us some budding cloves--the "King" of Zanzibar's spices.

(Photo credit goes to Shona for this one!)

The guide's assistant pulled himself up a coconut tree so we could sample that particular fruit.

Some of the samples from my banana leaf collection basket: Vanilla bean (long, far left), Nutmeg (round, with "pit" visible), Pepper (little green balls on a stalk), "Lipstick Plant" (open it and the powdery balls inside are instant red dye), Cinnamon Bark (looks like a strip of bark!), and Thing-Who's Name-I-Can-Never-Remember (but it smells heavenly, used to make "Channel no. 5" perfume)

Unfortunately, Zanzibar also thrived on the slave trade.  Slaves were brought from the continent's interior to be sold in this island nation's market.  When the trade was finally abolished, the bishop of the time (who was instrumental in halting the practice) built this  huge church on the very spot where slaves were kept and sold.  In the foreground of this picture you can see a sculptor's memorial--several human figures chained together inside a pit.

One last shot from a beautiful place...