May 4, 2015

We spent two very long days drive days (a total of over 23 hours!) in the trucks, but we finally made it to Dar Es Salaam.  Although the drive was scenic, we were all pretty sick of sitting in the truck after that much time.  We had to leave very early in the morning because the traffic in Dar Es Salaam is terrible.  If we would have waited and left later, we may have added an additional couple of hours to our time!  As it was, we arrived to the city early and STILL got stuck in traffic…they weren’t kidding about how bad the traffic is out there.

We stayed the night at a camp outside of the city at a campsite right on the Indian Ocean.  First thing this morning, we were on the ferry heading out to Zanzibar.  The water was a beautiful blue and we had a pretty smooth ride over.

Indian Ocean to Zanzibar

Once we got to Stone Town, Zanzibar, we settled into our hotel and went straight out to go on a Spice Tour.  They grow tons of different spices and crops on the island, so it was really neat to see them all growing.   Hayden’s favorite was the Cinnamon Tree.  I didn’t realize that cinnamon is literally just the bark of the tree!  The crazy part about the tree is that the roots smell exactly like Vicks Vapor Rub.  Some of the other things that we saw were:  Turmeric, Peppercorns, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Lemongrass, Clove, Cocoa, Clementine’s, Vanilla pods, Chilies, Cardamom, and Ginger.

Spice Plantation

Tasting Cinnamon Bark

Cocoa plant!

Vanilla pods

They also have coconut trees and they pick them by having someone climb up to the top of the tree…the guy was crazy!

Climbing the coconut tree

Cirque Du Solei!

At the end of the tour, they made Hayden an awesome crown, necktie, and fan out of the leaves from the palm tree.  We all got to drink a fresh coconut as well.  I hadn’t really been a fan of coconut water before, but straight out of the coconut, it was pretty good!  We also had a fresh fruit tasting where we got a chance to eat all of the fruits that they grow right there on the farm.  Everything was wonderful!

Fresh Coconut

All decked out in leaves

Fruit Tasting

After the Spice Farm, we went to visit the old Slave Market in the center of the city.  They have kept a small portion in tact so that we can see where they slaves used to be kept and sold.  It’s really eye opening and very sad to see the conditions that people put other people through.  The tiny room where they kept the slaves before going up for auction had 1 tiny window and no toilet or anything.  They would put as many as 75 people in this tiny room for up to a couple of days at a time.

Slave holding room (held 75 people)

There is also a memorial to the slaves that were sold here in hopes that this never happens again. They have not torn down most of the market area (except the memorial) and have replaced it with a church.

Old Slave Market

Old Slave Market

Tomorrow morning, we will be leaving for the North side of the island where we will be staying on the beach for two nights.  We’re planning to hang out on the beach, build some sand castles, see the turtles and do some snorkeling!