A little spice
Trip Start
Sep 17, 2007
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Trip End
Oct 08, 2008
Stone Town,
Zanzibar Archipelago,
Tanzania
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Even if you have no idea where it is or why it's famous, you've surely heard of it. I hope very much the first time you heard of it was not in a Jack Black/Tenacious D song. Everybody's heard of it. Everybody wants to see it. Everybody was there when we showed up.
Considering our Dar experience we attempted to make a reservation before disembarking from the ferry in the late afternoon. Our fifth attempt was successful, and our room would be the most expensive to date: $30 for a double per night. We thought this was unfortunate and decided to make the reservation to prevent arrival stress and then seek out other lodgings. Little did we realize that this was about the best deal you could get in Stone Town this time of year
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. Some people came into our hotel to look at a room (if you arrive on one of the early fast ferries you might be able to do without a booking, but late - forget it), declared that $30 was too expensive to pay for a room without a bathroom, and moved on. Travis and I looked at each other as if to say, "Idiots..."Our hotel was lovely, our room had three windows complete with screens and shutters, and we were quite content with our airy chamber. It was really charming. The hotel was called The Haven, and breakfast was about the best since Luxor, reminiscent of SE Asian pancake breakfasts. Yum.
Other than wandering through town (Travis's very favorite thing to do just about any place), our goal for Stone Town was to take a spice tour. Since Zanzibar is known for its spices, this is one of the activities that most tourists to the island take part in at one time or another. Not kidding. It's totally worth it, too.
Funny story - nearly all (I'm covering bases) of the spices for which Zanzibar is famous come from other continents, especially Asia. But they grow them so well that they're famous, and spice plantations not only export spices, but also import tourists.
Our wanderings took us through nearly all of those household spices in common use. I had no idea what some of these things looked like, and others had even less of an idea than me! Wandering around Asia is a bonus. We were introduced to clove flowers, told how cloves are harvested, etc. Zanzibar used to export something like 70% of cloves to the world market, but now Indonesia is a fierce competitor
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. Ever wonder what nutmeg looks like? I now know, and it's a very cool thing. I think I would like a nutmeg tree. Peppercorns grow on one vine and produce 5 different types of pepper depending on when they're harvested and whether they're fresh or dried. Cinnamon sticks are made of tree bark, ginger grows like a fern, and vanilla is almost impossible. This last is because its natural habitat is Mexico, where only one species of bee pollinates it, and since there are no such bees on Zanzibar, people pollinate by hand. I scribbled down a few recipes, at least theoretical recipes, and now, with the right ingredients, I can make mosquito repellent. All natural repellent. We were also told that many Africans are returning to quinine in treatment of illness, especially malaria, and so many families plant a quinine tree (a.k.a. 40 tree), which is not its real name, in order to treat a variety of illnesses. 40 illnesses, to be precise, which is why it's also called a 40 tree. I would not rely on these trees if you're a foreigner, however, unless you're living in the area a long time.
Of course at the end of our spice adventure we had the opportunity to purchase spices. I found this opportunity irresistible, but fortunately for Travis the packets were both small and inexpensive
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. After seeing loads of spices we sat down to taste a variety of fruits that grow on Zanzibar. If ever you are in this area and decide to purchase any sort of citrus, make sure you ask what it's called. In Dar I bought sweet lemons, and on this tour we tasted both bitter and marmelade oranges, and the flavors can really be...unexpected. Travis got annoyed when, expecting an orange, he bit into a sweet lemon, because they're just not the same, you know. I finally got to taste a pink guava. Does anyone know what the difference is between pink and white guavas? Guava seeds are horrid things, by the way, and you shouldn't chomp down on them or you may ruin your teeth. Anyway, all in all a lovely fruit tasting - highly recommended.
On we marched. Our next stop (because spice tours are not only about spices) was at a Persian bath built for the first sultan of Zanzibar. He used it only when visiting his plantations, and no one after him used it, except, perhaps, spiders and pigeons. Neat to look at a bath of Persian design, however.
After lunch we stopped at a slave cave. This slave cave was not for the Underground Railroad or anything like it. Rather, it was a hiding place to conduct an illegal slave trade after the English abolition of said trade. At any time 50 to 150 slaves were hidden in this natural cave for 2-4 weeks with little food, a fresh water source in the cave, and little communication. In order to discourage escape attempts, slavers would only take two or so people from any tribe so the slaves couldn't communicate amongst themselves. When the slavers were ready to ship their...slaves...they went through a natural tunnel that lead to the sea
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. This was a very interesting excursion, largely because we of the West learn so little about the African part of the African slave trade, but it was alive and well before slaves began being shipped to the Americas. Finally we had a moment on the pristine, white, Zanzibari beach. At least it was white and pristine until the tree line, which is where it became a rubbish heap. The water was really lovely after the heat of the day, and I thought I'd really love to go sit on a beach and be able to get in the water whenever the fancy took me. Alas, it was not to be. Prices at the beach are outrageous, when you can find a place with room.
We'll just stay in Stone Town, then. It's a lovely place to be.
Erin
