We are going to have to get used to having kids around, who like to sleep in late – alternatively our kids are going to have to get used to parents around, who get up early. This morning we woke the kids and headed up to the rooftop for breakfast. It was wonderful to sit on these low couches, with low tables in front of us, sipping on Zanzibarian cappuccinos and fresh passion fruit juice and eating fresh mini croissants with exotic toppings like mango marmalade with cinnamon or cardamom, home-made muesli, Spanish omelettes, pancakes and waffles.
Mohammed arrived to 9:30 sharp to fetch us and we headed off to the taxi rank, where we had a driver waiting in an air-conditioned mini bus. We headed north east, listening to Arabic music blaring out the sound system. We passed through Zanzibar Town and drove past David Livingstone house. It was here that the explorer was preparing for his last expedition into Africa; Sultan Seyyid Majid placed this large 3 story house at his disposal.
Our destination for the morning was a spice plantation. We picked up Mr David (not David Beckham, he informed us), our spice guide, along the way. The farm looked more like a garden and the spice plants and fruit trees grow randomly, with no specific rows or areas dedicated to specific plants. The spice plants and shrubs of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, pepper, vanilla pods and many others grow in the shade of trees such as mangoes, coconuts, bananas, custard apples, jack fruit, huge grapefruit and many others. Mr David was humorous but took his duty as a tour guide seriously and was very informative. The East Indies and southern China were originally the source of most of the spices traded. At the end of the tour we were treated to a fruit and spice tasting and we were given ‘presents’ (star necklaces for the girls, ties for the boys, headgear and sunglasses made from coconut palm leaves. We also watched one of the plantation workers climb up to the top of a coconut tree, while singing the local ‘Jambo, Jambo’ song, to get coconuts for us and we drank the coconut water and ate the pulp.
After returning to Stone Town, we headed off through the alley ways and the girls found local sarongs, scarves and dresses to buy. We then found a restaurant, Livingstones, on the beach and had a long and lazy lunch, with our feet in the sea sand, while watching a ship being loaded by hand, with everything from bicycles, to old lawnmowers to fresh cattle feed.
We decided to leave before it got dark in order to try and find our way home. For the first time, on our last outing in Stone Town, we managed to find our way home without getting lost. We retired up to the rooftop for sunset drinks. Again we enjoyed the sounds, smells and sights of this interesting town while watching the sun set. Having had a good night’s sleep the previous evening, we chatted and laughed till much later in the evening. We were again treated to the Muslim prayer sessions being blasted in stereo around the town, they were certainly a lot more vocal this evening.
Zanzibar shop
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