Finally, we arrive at Zanzibar. We spent the first few days of our trip in the island's main city called Stonetown. Stonetown has a lot of Arab influence and is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight. The city is scattered with Arabesque architecture and narrow winding streets.
Derrick is making his "I don't want my picture taken" face. The composition of this photo shows how I feel about that face.
Close to the harbor is the House of Wonders. Named such because it was the first building in Stonetown to have electricity, the House of Wonders is a hotspot for learning about Zanzibari culture and history.
We watched the sunset.
When you wish upon a star...
Cane juice and The CLAW! We became slightly addicted to cane juice (made from sugar cane). Most cane juice vendors make it right in front of you, rolling stalks of sugar cane through a press by hand and catching all the juice in a pan. They add ginger and lemon for a yummy kick.
The beach!
Stonetown windows.
Derrick talking up the ladies.
Just kidding, we met a lot of really lovely people while traveling and these girls were some of them.
Derrick getting artsy with the camera.
This might have been our hotel...
Nature's offerings from our spice tour. In touristy circles Zanzibar is known as the "Spice Islands." Yes, plural because there are many islands that make up Zanzibar, but one is large and the others are itty bitty little neighbors. Anyways, spices like cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon flourish on Zanzibar. On our tour we got to see how they grow and much more.
Like I said before, Zanzibar was once a hub for Arab traders, including slave traders. In the U.S. we tend to hear more about the West African slave trade, which is where American slaves came from. However, Zanzibar was the main transit point for slaves out of East Africa going North to the Persian Gulf and India. This cave is known as the "slave cave" as it is where traders kept their slaves as they made ready to leave the port.
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