"I hear the drums echoing tonight. I bless the rains down in Africa - Tues 28/10/25

Zanzibar is a place where the weather can surprise you with sudden, heavy rain, but that's just part of the adventure. When the skies open up, it's not just any rain-it's BIG rain , and it certainly was ; no liquid sunshine, no slight drizzle-this was a deluge with no signs of stopping. We needed a plan, although options were not plentiful . But Zanzibar is famous for its spices, and the trees should provide some shelter. We meet up with our local chap who, despite the inclement weather, is exactly where he said he would be and consider the options... so a spice tour it is, cardamom rather than posh or baby, but ginger will be there.

Among all the spices, Zanzibar cloves stand out as the jewel in the crown. The government controls the clove crop tightly, regulating what can be sold. This level of control is unusual and makes the clove trade a significant part of the island's economy. It's a system that might make fish quotas seem mild by comparison.

We stop about halfway for a local cooperative selling various products made from the spices and do the right thing to ensure our family Christmas stocking presents will all include a turmeric / clove /cinnamon theme.  

Facinating journey through various towns/villages or various sizs but all drenched but local life continues and aside from the homemade umbrella accessory for the scooters it's business as usual. It takes about an hr but we're not in a rush and it's dry but peppered (SIC) with some challenging roads in terms of no road surface really as it's been washed away.

We arrived to be greeted with big smiles and umbrellas of varying cover-mine was semi- Swiss cheese style, but the holes weren't big enough to get much wetter. It's a great slow wander around the plantation with our local guide ably assisted by a nimble chap who's shining up the trees to collect leaves and berries, and on the ground, roots of various spices, which we do our best to smell, taste, and feel to guess-it's a game of name that spice!  

One surprising fact we learned on the tour is that each pineapple plant produces only one pineapple. This might seem inefficient, especially when you find pineapples sold cheaply in local markets. The reason behind the low price isn't clear, but it's a reminder that local economies and farming practices don't always follow the logic we expect..

Among all the spices, Zanzibar cloves stand out as the jewel in the crown. The government tightly controls the clove crop, regulating what can be sold. This level of control is unusual and makes the clove trade a significant part of the island's economy. It's a system that might make fish quotas seem mild by comparison.  

We stop about halfway at a local co-operative selling various products made from spices and do the right thing to ensure our family Christmas stocking presents will all include a turmeric / clove /cinnamon theme.  

We are nearing the end , but there is still time to be given a banana leaf crown, and I now look like something out of "Carry On Up the Jungle," but it's great fun, and we finish off with a fantastic selection of the local fruits.

It's nearly stopped raining , and the dark skies are clearing, only to be replaced by something a little more sinister: various open-backed trucks and jeeps with masked people, all fully armed. I sense election time may be a little tricky for the next few days.