Zanzibar

July 23

Today we were taken on a tour of a spice farm and Stone Town, the historic heart of Zanzibar.

At the spice farm we were taken around and shown all the things they grow which then end up in the market in Stone Town. We were each given a banana leaf  'cup' in which we could collect the various items we were shown.

 

This is known as the lipstick fruit. it really does colour your lips!

This tiny flower produces the nutmeg we are all familiar with

Nutmeg fresh from the fruit which eventually dries to the spice we know

Vanilla pods

Lychees

Pineapple

Peppercorns

Coffee

This young fellow scaled a coconut palm and serenaded us before coming down with fresh coconuts which he shaved down and we all had a drink of fresh coconut milk

After the spice farm we visited Stone Town and saw the museum dedicated to the slave trade, the markets and finally Freddy Mercury's house and the waterfront. The whole town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has a multitude of alleys cris-crossing higgledy piggledy. Personally I think they should ban the motor scooters which abounded and cruised the lanes at speed not to mention the fumes!

Now in Stone Town and the market was so colourful with lots of spices

The spices are also ready packaged for immediate use

Lots of scaffolding timber is made from the mangrove trees

In the wealthy area of Stone Town there are some amazing entrance doors

Freddy Mercury was born in Stone Town and his house is still there

The dark side of Zanzibar - the slave trade was centred here for decades

An old colonial house is being restored to become a museum

Back at our accommodation we were able to relax in this tropical island paradise. It was Ian's birthday so we were very happy to be here.

These lovely dhows are still used by local fishermen

The sun sets on this beautiful island

What a place to spend your birthday!

Difficult to see but every evening while we are in the restaurant the staff hang a banana and this little bush baby comes down the tree for a snack. He's shy and very quick and very difficult to catch.

July 24

Margie and Ellis left today for their flight to Dar es Salaam. So we were glad to have been able to celebrate not only Ian's birthday with them yesterday, but also the wonderful time we had spent over the three weeks. We will catch up with them again on the next leg. They chose to spend time in Vic Falls and we chose to have extra days on Zanzibar.

No idea about the spelling, but this is a local bus known as a dhala dhala. Fortunately we had a driver and car to take us around!

Our accommodation Mbweni Ruins is on the site of an old mission and this is the remains of the chapel. This is now used for functions such as weddings.

During the day many locals come to the beach as it is public land. This also provides good business for the hotel as they make their bar and restaurant facilities available for the day time visitors.

On the beach a group of local young men were practising their acrobatic skills and playing football too.

Better luck with the bush baby this evening

July 25

At the beach early today. Coolish breeze but air temp good. Went for a swim in the Indian Ocean. Water was warm. What a lovely day we had just relaxing before heading off once more on our travels.

We farewell Zanzibar tomorrow. We fly to Dar es Salaam where we overnight before a flight to Johannesburg the next day. After another airport hotel overnight we fly to Zambia - Livingstone, to start the second leg of our African journey.