7-45pm
The internet has been very slow, but everyone is now at dinner, so it’s sped up!
Today we planned a full day out. We had booked an excursion that would take us on an historic tour, follwed by lunch at one of Zanzibar’s famous Spice Plantations. The due departure time was 9am. When 9am arrived, our driver had not! Ooops! After waiting a few minutes, a call came through from the tour guide company, saying they had sent the driver to the wrong hotel and he would be with us in an hour….oh and by the way, we’ve charged you too little and so you have to pay R400 more! I was so not impressed and came close to cancelling the whole thing (we have another tour with them tomorrow). Anyway, after a little chat (everything is negotiable) and an hour’s wait, we were soon on our way….hurtling through the Zanzibar countryside. There was much to be seen and to take in… this cute little girl on the road…
A donkey cart….
And closer to town, more sophisticated buildings and women…
Eventually, we arrived at our first stop…
This historic site was the home of famous Princess Salme, a daughter of the second Sultan of Zanzibar. Born to a Russian mother, she lived a life of luxury in the Mtoni Palace, which once looked like this…
But it was ruined in the 1964 revolution and now looks like this…
But it is slowly being restored…
It was a fascinating peek into life hundreds of years ago…this is a coffee pot…
After that, we were taken down to the beach, took our shoes off and waded through shallow water to get into a small boat with an outdoor motor…
That in turn took us to an authentic Zanzibarian dhow…
It too had an outboard motor, but once we’d picked up some speed, the sail was hoisted…
…and we enjoyed the peace of sailing through tropical waters..
We each were given coconuts and had a long refreshing drink….
The boatman skillfully cut the flesh out the middle and we ate it…
That was memorable. What was also memorable was arriving at the other side. It wasn’t a plush marina – quite the opposite. We came ashore at what can only really be described as a beach squatter camp!
We were taken to a tap where we could wash our feet…
This is REAL Zanzibarian life….
Round the corner to be met by another means of transport…
A few steps away, we entered through a door in the wall and found ourselves in Princess Salme’s Garden. After some conflict in her family, she stayed at a home on the beach and had an exotic garden with flamingos and other beautiful birds and animals. Nowdays, the building is used at a school and the garden is not too much to look at..
To one side, though, a table had been laid and we sat down for some authentic Zanzibar coffee, but first, hands were washed…
Coffee time….the coffee is not strong and quite spicy…it reminds me of Chai Tea, only it’s coffee!
Our next stop, on this very full day, was to the Spice Farms. This was an eye opener. God has made all things good and we saw and experienced a variety of the common fruits, spices and medicines we use. Gerrie tried chilli!….It was HOT…
These are what coffee beans look like…
Once of the most amazing trees we saw is the one that bleeds…
It’s an iodine tree…next time you use betadine or any iodine products, remember, the tree bleeds!
We ended the tour with a typical Zanzibar meal. Then laden with fruit & spices, we were taken back to the hotel. It stirred emotions. Many people trying to eek out a living. Tourism is the biggest money generator, followed by cloves. It’s not an easy existence. It’s very difficult to get your head around any form of prosperous future for them.
Back at the hotel, I chatted with Pearl….here’s our photo from this morning…
In eastern lands, give glory to the LORD. In the lands beyond the sea, praise the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.