We went back to the hotel for forty minutes for a quick lunch and to charge our cameras. I sat by the beach and had a banana smoothie and beef sandwich with a lot of Heinz ketchup. Heinz is a bit of a treat here. It's really expensive so I’d never buy it for the house, but, if I’m at a restaurant and I feel they're overcharging me, I try to get my money's worth from the ketchup.
After lunch, Job picked us up and took us to a spice farm. Zanzibar is famous for its spices, and almost the whole island has this beautiful spice aroma (other parts smell like sewage, especially at the markets). We saw about fifteen different types of spices growing, including curry leaf, lemongrass and vanilla. It was particularly special for me to see a chocolate tree. The flesh around the beans is actually really sweet, although I'd rather take a bar of Dairy Milk any day.
Halfway through the tour, this old man climbed up a palm tree, singing and swinging around. He produced three coconuts for us, and we drank the milk and ate the flesh under the shade of the tree. At the end of the tour, these two little boys jumped out the bushes and gave us flower hats, palm baskets and jewellery. Both these were good money making schemes. They don't charge you but you must please feel free to tip.
We then headed back to the entrance of the farm for a tropical fruit tasting session, which was scrummy. Literally from the tree to the mouth. You can't beat that.
And there was a little stall packed with different spices for sale, and of course we obliged. All in all, it was a very pleasant experience.
Next stop was the market so that Dora could pick up some cheap kangas. They're good quality fabric, but it's less expensive here than in Rwanda. And I took the opportunity to pick up some lush pashminas, four for £9, bargain.
Now as you know, I’m reading a book called The Zanzibar Chest. Call me sentimental but I had to buy one, and fortunately Job knew someone that makes them. His workshop was situated in the old Arab fort, so that evening we went to pay him a visit. I bought a beautiful little chest for just 45.000 shillings, about 30 quid, haggled down from 75.000, thank you Job. And then we went back to the dress shop for a last minute splurge. I bought a really nice teal dress with a mustard flower pattern. Luscious.
To say thanks for all his help, we took Job out for dinner to a really nice restaurant. I had beef medallions with mashed potatoes and spinach in a red wine sauce. Amazing. And for the first time in my life, I ate the spinach. All of it. But don't tell my mum, or she might get ideas.
No comments:
Post a Comment