Spice Tour

One of the classic tourist activities on Zanzibar is to do a spice tour. On the way back to Stone Town from Kendwa, I stopped at one of the spice plantations on the island for a tour. I wandered through the plantation with one of the local farmers who pointed out various spices and fruits, made us guess which each was and then explained the uses for each. Even though I guessed wrong on most of the plants, it was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

I took pictures of several of the spices and fruits we saw:

Cinnamon root, leaves and bark...
Vanilla plant...
Jack fruit...
A fruit that's similar to jack fruit (I forgot the name)...
Saffron...
Cloves...
Lemongrass...
I hate to admit it, but I forgot what this one is too...
Cassava...
Grapefruit (on the left side of the picture)...
Coconut (with one of the boys climbing the tree to pick some for us to have some fresh coconut to eat and drink)...
Peppercorn vine...
Throughout the afternoon, we were followed around by three young boys who picked leaves from the various trees and made bags, necklaces, bracelets, rings and crowns for us to carry and wear. I know we looked ridiculous, but the boys were adorable and it was a lot of fun.

Snorkeling off Mnemba Island

On my third day in Kendwa, I went snorkeling off the coast of Mnemba Island, a small, private island off the northeast coast of Zanzibar. It took about two hours by boat to reach the island.As we approached the island, it was really unbelievable - white sand beaches and turquoise blue waters so clear you could see the coral and the fish from the surface.
After a couple hours of snorkeling, we climbed back onto the boat for a delicious lunch of fresh fish, chapati, mango, pineapple and bananas. It may have been the best fish I've had in my life, and some of the best mango, too.
On our way back to Kendwa, the captain of the boat caught an octopus to "feed to his cat". (It sounded strange, but I didn't ask questions.)

Kendwa

After about three days in Stone Town, I went north to Kendwa, with is just southwest of the northernmost tip of the island. There, I spent about five days at the beach - laying in the sun, sea kayaking, walking on the beach, snorkeling, relaxing and watching beautiful sunsets. It was a true vacation.

Baobab candies

I picked up a small plastic bag of mysterious, bright pink balls at the market today that turned out to be candies made from baobab tree seeds. Such a good treat!

Jozani Forest

In the south central area of Zanzibar is the Jozani Forest, the largest mature forest on the island and the only place in the world inhabited by red colobus monkeys. The forest covers approximately 3 percent of the entire island and contains a mangrove swamp, a natural forest and the remnants of a mahogany plantatation.
As I mentioned before, the Jozani Forest is home to the red colobus monkeys, an endangered species of monkey found only on Zanzibar island and only in this forest.