Snorkels and Spices: The Multi-Sensory Paradise Island

Located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania, with its tropical climate, palms trees, white sand beaches, turquoise waters and coral reefs, the Zanzibar archipelago is visually a travel agent's dream location providing the perfect photo-opportunity for marketing purpose for holiday companies to use to tempt us to go ahead and book our next break. Beyond such idyllic images though, which can sometimes become stored within the visual mind to the extent that we may feel the 'wish we were there' mentality on a cold and rainy day, there is a whole other sensory aspect of a place which the limitations of images and videos only having sight and sound can't replicate.

Freddie Mercury House, Stonetown

As a person with Asperger's Syndrome who practices mindfulness exercises, something that I have noticed while travelling in recent years is how much deeper I feel my sensory experience is of where I visit, often to he extent that I feel that I am able to recall the experience in a sensory way through the uniqueness of the different touches, tastes, aromas and sounds, as well as visually through different shades and colours. Being in touch with the sensory experiences also enables me to experience at first hand the geological profile and horticultural textures where I am, allowing for a multi-sensory experience.

Arriving in Stonetown on the archipelago's main island Uguja (often informally referred to as Zanzibar), navigating through the various bazaars and narrow alleyways adorned with the famous ornate Zanzibar doors, is the first sign to the visitor that this is an island of many contrasts. Probably the best known example of Stonetown's elaborate carved doors, which often served to show wealth and status of its occupants, is that which serves as the entrance to where legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar in 1946, lived before his family left for the UK during the 1963 Zanzibar Revolution which saw the overthrow of the ruling Omani Sultanate. Both the island's distant and more recent past can be seen in Stonetown's architecture and its multi-ethnic population. But where it can be sensed on a deeper level though is through an experience of Zanzibar's most famous export, spices. Being located in a tropical region close to the volcanic activity to the the Great Rift Valley and to dormant volcanoes in close proximity of one another including, the Ngorongoro Crater, Mount Kenya and my old friend Mount Kilimanjaro, a legacy of highly fertile soil gives Zanzibar habitat needed for a variety of different spices to grow.

Tangawizi Spice Garden

Whereas I had seen how the Great Rift Valley's geological activity had likely played a part in human evolution, during a tour of Zanzibar's spice gardens, I was also to find how it had enabled a supply of something which was to become highly sought after by humanity as more than just a means for human sensual desire but also as a status symbol. Since spices can only grow in tropical climates, those outside the tropics who wanted them had to import them. Whereas in the 21^st century with the convenience of global express delivery services we are used to being able to buy spices in supermarkets or online, to those in 16^th century Europe, obtaining spices usually meant life-risking expeditions of many months at sea sailing through storm-prone regions, many of which never returned. This made spices so elusive that they were traded on a par with gold.  

Spices were introduced to Zanzibar by the ruling Persian Zenj Sultanate in 975AD whose dealings across the Indian ocean with Chinese traders brought lemongrass, chili, cacao, cinnamon, saffron and cardamon and cloves to the island. Whereas on most farms and plantations, there is a lot of regimentation as to rows of what is grown where. But on a Zanzibar's Tangawizi spice farm though, a short drive outside of Stonetown there is very little such order and it is much more random as to what taste or experience you are going to encounter which often helps enhances the quality of the multi-sensory experience that awaits the visitor, especially the variety sensations experienced through taste, smell and touch. 

The first spice I was introduced to was Achiote, which is used to make red war paint and lipstick. I experienced such a pleasant sensation of smoothness when applying it to my forehead. The next pleasant sensation I was the experience was the smell of lemongrass. Though I had previously tasted lemongrass in various Far Eastern meals, I felt that I also got to experience its medicinal qualities when opening to its pleasant effect on my breathing. Tasting spices brought different sensations to the tongue, including the pleasant savoury flavour of pepper and the slightly sweeter flavour of cinnamon. But the one which made the biggest imprint on my senses though was vanilla. A climbing plant that can only be grown in tropical climates, its distinctive aroma together with the tropical heat made me hungry for ice cream!

Vanilla pods growing

Quite often, it is participating in simple normal everyday activities that make the visitor intimate with where one are visiting, and one of the most intimate ways of getting in touch with the smells and tastes of the island as well as experience the wonderful hospitality of its inhabitants is to participate in a homestay. Being 'spiced out' at at Tangawizi wasn't quite enough for our hosts, so after the spice garden, we were taken to a home of a very welcoming local family who, to my surprise, had prepared us a delightful meal. As well as in its architecture, Zanzibar's history can also be seen and tasted in its delightful cuisine flavoured by its spices. On offer was a mixture of culinary traditions from Zanzibar's multi-cultural history including yam and sweet potatoes, a legacy of the island's Swahili and Bantu heritage from the East African mainland, coated in a coconut sauce with ground cloves and tumeric, a legacy of Arabic and Indian influence. I later got to taste of some the vanilla whose aroma I had so enjoyed earlier in date and hazelnut bread, often eaten on Zanzibar to celebrate the end of Ramadan, with many of its inhabitants being Muslim. My favourite though had to be the Zanzibar Spice Cake, a delicious mixture of chocolate made from cocoa beans with nutmeg and cinnamon added, all grown on the farm.

Clear waters viewed from Prison Island

The wonderful hospitality and intoxicating tastes and smells I had experienced on my first day on the Spice Island made me feel like I was in a multi-sensory paradise. But underneath the paradise flavours and sights of Zanzibar, its history has a darker side. The  present-day sights of dhow sailing boats with their distinctive slanted triangular sails sailing in and out of the port at Stonetown to the modern tourist serve as ferries between Ugaja and some of the smaller islands of the archipelago, diving trips and sunset cruises. But in the 17th century, by which time the archipelago was ruled by the Omani Sultanate, they served a far less pleasant purpose. The spice trade, whose sensory delights I had had the pleasure of experiencing earlier, also brought with it a cruel trade, slavery with slaves, many of whom were captured from the East African mainland, before being sold and crammed into dhows with no regards for health and taken to Zanzibar to work on the spice farms. Zanzibar's slave trade was abolished in 1876, largely enabled by advancements brought by the Industrial Revolution that gradually made their way to the island. 

Prison Island's oldest resident, a 192-year-old giant tortoise

To explore Zanzibar's history in a little more depth, I took a trip to explore nearby Changuu Island, which history has come to know as 'Prison Island'. Just over five kilometers off the coast of Stonetown, Prison Island is a 'what might have been place' regarding Zanzibar's slave trade and a 'what became' place regarding diseases, mainly cholera and yellow fever, that became a pressing concern. Originally built to detain rebellious slaves, after the island became a British Protectorate in 1890, Prison Island was purchased by the British from the Omani Sultanate under which the intended prison buildings became quarantine station. Despite the island's name, the facility was never used for such a purpose. At one stage, the facility, housed over 900 yellow fever affected occupants. Nearby, I met some of the island's present day residents, some of whom were around when the old prison housed those affected by yellow fever, the Giant Aldabra Tortoises. Originally a gift from the British Governor of the Seychelles in 1919, today the tortoises keep visitors entertained inviting them to stroke their heads and feed them. The oldest shelled resident I was introduced to was 192 years old. The effects of time very visible in its shell, it was still alive not only when slavery existed in Zanzibar but also in the United States, until it was outlawed after the conclusion of the American Civil War in 1865!

Kendwa 

Throughout my journey through East Africa and as I am usually wherever I travel I was fascinated by the cosmological forces and their effects on the geological process that shaped landscapes. As someone who obviously loves to travel, I have often found that because my sights are set far and away to places that appear as exotic in taste and scenery as Zanzibar, I have tended to often overlook places of interest closer to home. Indeed there are still some places in my native UK and Europe that I am yet to experience. Similarly, during meditation retreats I have often noticed how my attention is directed towards what is around me I can  sometimes overlook or be blind to what is inside me. A curiosity that humankind has had throughout its history to look towards and focus on what is out there in the heavens has seen, even in the 21st century with the convenience of satellite navigation, parts of its parent planet are still un-mapped. More of the surfaces of Earth's celestial neighbours including the Moon, Mars and Venus, are mapped than the bottom of its oceans. Heading north to Kendwa, another multi-sensory experience awaited me, that of exploring the surrounding marine life of the archipelago, including coral reefs.

Gearing up for scuba diving

Far removed from the hustle and bustle and noisy traffic of Stonetown, Kendwa, at the northern tip of the archipelago, is a huge contrast. As idyllic seen with ones own eyes as seen on the pages of a travel brochure with its palm-fringed white sand beaches, once there its peaceful surroundings allows the visitor to open to and notice natures sounds and colours, including the constant sound of the tide and the stunning glow of sunrise and sunsets. An activity that I had made a point of doing while in Zanzibar was to experience the surrounding coral reefs up close and personal on a scuba diving experience. My only previous experience of scuba diving had been on Australia's Great Barrier Reef fifteen years ago when much younger, so there was a a lot for me to re-learn, including re-learning how to breathe! Seeing it this way, it presented me with a great opportunity to practice mindfulness.

Sponges

Putting on scuba gear, including the wetsuit, oxygen tank, mouthpiece and weights is quite a skill in itself and served a similar purpose to mindful yoga in taking up different body postures to get geared up, including forming an 'S' shape. One underwater, with mouthpiece fitted, my breathing became much more noticeable in that I could really feel my lungs working against the pressure of the surrounding weight of the water, as well as being able to hear it distinctly coming in and out of the mouthpiece. The water's weight also enabled me to notice the work involved what I needed to do to stay level underwater and avoid coming into contact with the marine life unfolding before me eyes. 

Angel Fish

Viewing the marine life of the archipelago was a multi-sensory experience of a different kind. Whereas the spice garden tour had been a multi-sensory experience involving touch, taste and smell, viewing  Zanzibar's coral reefs was a multi-coloured visual experience seeing the many species of fish native to the archipelago, including black and white striped razor fish, bright yellow damsel fish, multiple colours of clownfish and the distinctively triangle shaped angel fish. Meanwhile, the many different species of corals, together with the tubular shapes of the sponges add a multi-coloured background to the scene. After the dive, I had a little reminder from my previous experience of just how hard the experience is on your ears!

Sunset at Kendwa

Perhaps the best visual experience though I was to enjoy at Kendwa was the beautiful sunset seen from a cruise in around the area, while the silhouetted elegant triangular-shaped sails of dhows looking like angel wings descending down on the horizon completed the heavenly scene. The most remarkable aspect though of my visit to Zanzibar I felt was the incredibly wide-ranging multi-sensory experience to be had in a small geographical space. There are obviously so many different spices for the visitor to experience in this part of the world complimented so well by the wonderful hospitality of its people. But the spice that sums up the multi-sensory experience of Zanzibar though is a metaphorical one as expressed in William Cowper's famous poem of 1785 – variety!

Special thanks to our spice guides and host family for a wonderful culinary experience, to Scuba Do's diving instructors for their help and to our fantastic Absolute Africa Guide Manache Nicklaa for his help in arranging the activities while in Zanzibar.