Ahhh...Zanzibar Island.
Today we drove to the spice farms outside Stonetown. The farms were incorporated into the villages, so we were walking through these little shanty towns to get to the fields to see the crops. In each village, the kids were trying to sell us things they'd made from plant leaves (rings, neclaces, etc.).
We saw cinnamon trees, clove trees, cardamom plants, pinapple trees, ginger plants, tumeric plants and peppercorn trees.
The women in one of the villages prepared a meal for our group. We ate lunch in an open air hut while sitting on the floor on mats. It was the best food I've had on the trip so far. Everything was so fresh. The brown rice had all the local spices and was absolutely delicious. There was also a yummy curry dish with potatoes and another local veggie (can't remember what it was), local version of spinach and flatbread. The meal was so simple and full of flavor. Wish I could cook like that.
After lunch, we visited a slave cave, which was just dreadful. I couldn't imagine what it must have been like to be trapped down there in that dark, damp place not knowing what tomorrow would bring. I know slavery still exists in various forms today, but still have difficulty understanding how humans can treat each other so horribly. Will we ever evolve to a state where our humanity trumps our greed?
On a lighter note, after touring the cave, we hiked down to a beautiful, secluded beach with white sand and went for a swim. The water was so refreshing and was a lovely green/blue color. We hung out there for about an hour and a half and then began the trip back to Stonetown.
This morning at breakfast, I met a nice gal from Dublin who's traveling on her own too. She and I hung out on the spice tour today and are planning to go to the barbecue together tonight. She leaves to go back home tomorrow.
During lunch, I met a French couple who climbed Kili last week. They said it was very difficult, especially the last day or two, but they were almost fully recovered and were glad they had done it. I also overheard an English couple who appeared to be in their late 50s talk about summiting Kili as well. If they can do it, so can I.
Well, I'm going to let someone else use the Internet. There's only one computer here.
