We leave Stone Town early. We pass by Dr. Livingstone's house. In the 19th century, Zanzibar had a bustling slave and spice trade. The slave trade was eventually abolished in 1873. We travel to a spice farm. We taste many different leaves, fruit and roots - many of which go on to form well known spices. We taste turmeric, lemon grass/ citronella, annatto, papaya, cardamon, ginger, guava and more. I love the mimosa plants. When you poke their leaves, they close suddenly. It's as if they're more than just plants and have feelings or something. They don't like being poked. One of the spice farm workers scales a coconut tree and throws down fresh coconuts. Another man cuts these open with a machete. We drink from these. Delicious. I notice that the milk and flesh taste much nicer from the more ripe coconuts. Chewing on fresh cinnamon bark is amazing also. We taste different exotic fruits and teas in the shade at the top of a hill at the spice farm. Masala tea, Lemongrass tea and ginger tea. The views around us are full of tropical trees and rich greenery.
We eat lunch in a traditional Zanzibar home. We take off our shoes when entering. The lady who owns it appears to have a tailoring business also... scraps of material are piled high at the edge of the room. We sit in a circle on the floor and large bowls of food is served. The main course consists of octopus stew. I have the vegetables which are infused with many different spices. After lunch, we travel to the north eastern shores of Zanzibar. We do see poverty a long the way. It makes me very grateful for what I have back home. The shores which we reach are truly paradise. The sands are snow white and the water is warm and is a surreal shade of turquoise. I sleep in a carved wooden four poster bed that night, with sheets which are the same bright colour as the water.
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