20250105 Seabourn Sojourn Grand Africa Cruise Day 41/96 - Zanzibar, Tanzania Day 1/3

Grand Africa Cruise Trip Day 41/96 - Our first day in Zanzibar

We docked in Zanzibar, Tanzania this morning. Zanzibar is an archipelago of islands off the east coast of mainland Tanzania on the east coast of Africa. It was known as Spice Island due to the abundance of spices like cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and black pepper. Tanzania is the 95th country we've set foot in, and the 90th since retiring seven years ago this month.

A fisherman, heading out for the day

So many boats around the Zanzibar port

Yup, looks luxurious

The port area was built-out impressively

Our tour today was called Maruhubi Palace Ruins & Spice Plantation. Our first stop was an area where, at low tide, there were a bunch of beached dhow boats.

We drove by the Livingstone House, where David Livingstone started his last expedition - now home to the Jane Goodall Institute

Bank of Tanzania, Zanzibar Branch

Tanzania is about 85% Muslim and that was evident by looking at the women on the street

These trucks were all over the place

Our next stop was the Maruhabi Palace ruins

The pillars looked almost Greek to us

The palace was in ruins but several amazing structures remained

This was an outdoor toilet - it was previously walled

They had indoor toilets too

The palace had multiple rooms

The ceiling of a sitting room allowed for natural light

There seems to be something moving on the roof...

Ah - bats

There were massage rooms and rooms with hot and cold pools - for the time, it was quite luxurious

We walked down to the boatyard where they were repairing the local boats.

It was low tide but Arlona could still touch the Indian Ocean

We returned to our bus and continued our adventure. We drove through an area called Bububu, named for the sound the train made when it traveled through on the tracks.

Mosques were modest with at most, one minaret

We arrived at the main event of this tour, the Maganga Spice Farm

The oddest-looking chickens were roaming all over.

Find the two little ones in this photo

These pods were called Zanzibar lipstick

Opening it revealed a dye that could be used on lips and even foreheads

Lemongrass

The ladies all received a hibiscus for their hair or hat

Turmeric - it grows like a carrot

Baby bananas

Teak tree seeds

Star fruit

Cardamon

Passion fruit

Jack fruit

Green bananas

Lychee

Ginger

Bananas with a new pod dangling

Cinnamon bark peeled to reveal the aroma

Cinnamon

Black pepper in various stages of ripening

Pineapple

Coffee beans

Nutmeg

More weird chickens - our guide smiled and said that they eat all the local spices so they taste great without needing seasoning - not sure we believed him

Oh look - hats for everyone

They were all hand-woven and actually pretty cool

A local guy they called The Butterfly, demonstrated how they climb trees with a figure-8 ankle strap and no other helpers

He went straight up easily

All the way up

And back down

Arlona, looking gorgeous as always

Coconut water was available for those who wanted it

We had the opportunity to buy provisions at the spice market

On the bus ride back to the port, we see the Florida Barber Shop - seems legit...

Even in town, you never know when you'll see livestock

While having a pre-dinner drink in the Observation Bar, we caught some photos 

The sun heading behind the haze

We had dinner at Solis tonight

We shared La Cote de Boeuf - a single, large rib of beef - it was cooked perfectly with parts of it, mainly near the bone, rare for Arlona, and the outside, medium-rare for me

Tonight's show was the first repeat of this Grand Africa Voyage - the King/Queen/Prince show, so we decided to skip it and watch a movie in the room while I put today's blog post together.

We remain in Zanzibar tonight. Tomorrow, we will move offshore around 4:00 PM as we will lose our dock. We will remain at anchor overnight as we have a third day in Zanzibar on Tuesday. We will take a Stone Town walking tour tomorrow, exploring the Stone Town area near the port.