Colobus Monkeys in the Land of Spices

Oh yes, two blog posts in less than 24 hours. I am on it.

I find myself with a bit of spare time and some excess energy, having just finished up my Swahili oral exam, waiting for all the rest to finish. I forget to grab my camera on the way out today -- I have an excellent picture (indeed, many, truth be told) to post up here -- so hopefully I'll remember it tomorrow. The computers here seem to be fast enough to actually be able to upload.

So, field trips to go see a family of Zanzibarian Colobus monkeys (who are endemic to the island) in their native habitat? I'm down. And then walking through a mangrove marsh on the mangrove roots themselves? Even more so. And then going to tour a spire farm where they grow essentially everything that the Western world uses for baking? Heck yes indeed.

Today was an early day, entailing getting up at an ungodly seven o'clock and leaving the hotel at eight to head out to the Ngozi(?) forest for a few hours of monkey spotting before the suns heat drove them into sleepy recluse. I can't shake the feeling when we all board these buses that this is just one massive high school field trip that goes on for three months. Which makes it all the more awesome, because it's like field trips and dorm life together.

Stepping back into a forest never stops being able to lower any ambient level of stress; simply the susenence of thousands of unseen insects and the shushed shimmering of the trees around you is enough to make you feel, somehow, like you're at home.

Hiking through the woods with half a group of biology and environmental studies students (and many other majors too), is endlessly endlessly entertaining. Names of plants, exclamations of excitement; it's great to be around so many people who are interested in what is around them. Plus the fact that our teacher knows everything about this place -- well, you can't go wrong.

We found the Colobus Monkeys and descended on them like some sort of Nature Channel paparazzi, to which they have been pretty acclimated to over the many years of their life with tourists abounding. But still, they were incredible. So unbelievably human. I'll post a picture next go around.

We then were able to walk around on the actual roots of the mangroves by the coast, and feel what it must have been like for locals years and years ago as they explored the island without the handy boardwalk that we had access to.

So, enough touristy things.

We headed off next to a spice farm where they grew everything fragrant and wonderful in baking, and we simply could not get enough of it. Cloves (only able to grow on Zanzibar & Pemba, believe it or not), nutmeg ( which is actually a nut with a beautifully decorated shell - red streatks running down it), mace (which is the outside of the nutmeg shell), cocoa! (AHH!), coffee, starfruit, passionfruit, vanilla bean, black pepper (which is just a measly looking, non-descript vine), coconut, curry powder (made from a bright yellow root), ginger, massala, and cinnamon. Mmmm.

Did you know that menthol -- the stuff in cough drops -- is from the same tree as cinnamon? All that menthol is is the root of the cinnamon tree, which is unbelievable. Also, cocoa beans grow right out of the side of the tree itself, and look quite goofy. The leaves of all these plants smell like the spice itself. Starfruit grows off the side of the tree, like actually right off of the bark, and not in bunches in the leaves. And on, and on. SO AMAZING.

The family also wove us some baskets out of palm fronds, which they let us keep. And their hospitality also included some tasty coconut milk, which we drank straight from the fruit itself. We actually saw one of the local boys climb up the tree -- a 35 to 40 foot tree, mind you -- without a harness, to go and pick more. He did some acrobatics on the way down.

In return, we looted the supply of spices that they had bagged up for sale, and gave them quite a bit of business for the day, which we felt great about. Sustainable harvesting going on, right there. I got what must have been 50 dollars worth of spices for 7000 Tanzanian Shillings (about 5 or 6 dollars), and the guy even threw in a bag of saffron for free. Super, super cool. Our hands all still smell of a cocktail of exotic hand rubs by way of the many leaves that passed through our fingers today. I'd be okay if it didn't go away.

Alright, pictures tomorrow to add on to the post. I will try my hardest to make it happen! But if it doesn't, well... hakuna matata (which is indeed a true swahili phrtase, though the locals think it's hilarious when we use it).

With that, tutaonana badaaye, and you'll hear more from me soon. Last little bit before I disappear!

Love,

Zach