To Zanzibar By MotorCar

The above is a mnemonic we use in medical school for the branches of the facial nerve and every person I've talked to in my class has asked me if I went to Zanzibar by motorcar. There are only 2 ways to get to Zanzibar, by sea and by plane. I flew and flying is not fun when you're feeling nauseated. I spent the first day in bed while my parents and Ginger ran around the town and toured the Anglican cathedral where you learn some history of the slave trade in Zanzibar.
Stone town is a neat little city known for its beautifully carved doors. It also has very narrow and windy streets and the buildings are all very tall so you can't see where you are and it's impossible to not get lost.

I was feeling well enough the next day to go on a spice tour. Zanzibar is a coral island rather than volcanic and so the soil is very different. Zanzibar and Pemba grow many spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, vanilla, ginger, black pepper, turmeric, curry, lemon grass, and more. They also grow plenty of fruits and we had jackfruit, coconut, guava, passion fruit, and the fruit surrounding cacao beans. It was interesting to see how each spice grew and what part of the plant it came from.

These peppers are nicknamed "pili pili haha." Pili pili is spicy and haha is the breathy sound you make when you eat one.

Jackfruit. It tastes like a combo of banana and pineapple

Dad eating the white flesh around the cacao bean. The don't actually make chocolate on Zanzibar, they only eat the fruit.

We spent some time relaxing on the beach and letting our bodies and feet recover. Mom and I did some snorkeling in the coral reefs and dad burned his hand as an audience participant in the fire-eating show at dinner. It's very hot and humid on Zanzibar so it was nice to be near water. The water's as warm as a bath though and saltier than the Pacific Ocean so I was more buoyant.

The beach at Kendwa Rocks

Sunset from the beach and a dow fishing boat

Our trip to Zanzibar was too short and we had 24 hours back in Arusha before getting on a plane for home. We had a 6 hour layover in Amsterdam and Maaike, a former exchange student of ours, met us at the airport and took us into town for a few hours for some coffee and waffles. It was great to see her and now I can say I've been to Amsterdam.