Zanzibar Pizza isn't really pizza

Hamiz came to pick us up right at 9 for our spice tour and we said our goodbyes to Chichi and the gang at the Matemwe Bandas. It took about an hour to get to the spice farm, which was actually more of a "spice vacant lot," a couple acres of land on which was planted various spice and fruit plants and trees. We were met by another guide from DiscoverZanzibar, Ali, who actually guided us through the village owned spice farm. He showed us so many spice plants including turmeric, cardamom, nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon, pepper corns, lemongrass, ginger. Seeing these spices "in the raw" was fascinating. We had a young kid following us weaving various things from palm fronds. After we were finished with our "tour," we sampled some fresh coconut and other tropical fruits and were then given the opportunity to buy some prepared spices from their little "shop," which was actually nothing more than some tables with small bags laid out under a thatched roof. We elected not to buy any of the spices and left for Stone Town.

The drive to Stone Town took about a half hour. It is a bustling, sort of modern city. Our hotel, the Seyyida, is right downtown, not far from the harbor. We agreed to meet back up with Ali for our walking tour at 2:30. Lunch in the rooftop restaurant was OK, but not great. Angela and I had grilled calimari and Michele had some kind of vegetable dish. We're going to find someplace else for dinner, maybe even Forodhani Gardens and its food vendors.

Our walking tour was very nice. Ali took us all over town; into the central market; through the maze-like streets past so many amazing doors; past the Anglican church (which was closed for renovations); into the old fort and down to the harbor and the House of Wonders (which was also closed for renovations). On Ali's recommendation, we decided to have dinner at the Forodhani Gardens night market and the first vendors were just getting set up when we headed back to the hotel, but not before enjoying a few beers at this restaurant right on the water and getting some final shopping done. As if we didn't have enough paintings from this trip, we picked up a very nice trio of small watercolors. We're going to start charging admission to our house/art museum before too long. Angela took her mother on an abbreviated "shopping tour" before dinner and wound up leaving her on a bench in the park before coming back to the hotel to pick me up. They were gone a long time and I was starting to get worried when Angela knocked on the door.

The whole Forodhani Gardens night market vibe is really cool. There are tons of food vendors who set up their tables and grills hawking their skewers of various "frutti di mare" or somosas or shawarmas or "Zanzibar Pizzas." Michele made friends with one of the vendors, Tony the fisherman, while Angela was getting me from the hotel and we wound up getting a number of things from his table while Michele got a shawarma. The food had good flavor, but was over cooked. We also had a beverage made from fresh pressed sugar cane, lime juice and ginger. It was the sweetest thing I think I've ever tasted, but damn if it wasn't good and refreshing. Finally, we had to try the Zanzibar Pizza, not really a pizza at all but more like a crepe (but not even really like a crepe, either). They come in savory and sweet variants and you can get almost any protein or sweet treat in them. They're cooked on a griddle and consist of thinly spread dough filled with a mixture of chopped red onion, carrot, mayonnaise, a raw egg, cheese, and your protein of choice (we chose chicken) for the savory version; or nutella or chocolate or banana or whatever sweet for the sweet version (we chose nutella, peanut butter and coconut). Anyway, once the filling is made and plopped onto the thin dough and the dough sort of wrapped around the filling, the whole assembly is cooked dough-side down on the griddle before being flipped to cook the filling side. Anyway, they were amazing, both the savory and sweet versions.

The night market itself was a hive of activity, and it's not just a tourist thing, either. There were tons of locals enjoying the atmosphere, too, and I'm not talking about all the cats that come out of the woodwork looking for scraps. If the tides are right, local kids will dive off the seawall into the harbor.

Hamiz is picking us up tomorrow at 9:30 to begin our long trip back home. I can't believe this trip that we planned for so long is so close to being over.