spice girls...and J

Bibi's appearance island side made us take the time to do a bit of touristy things we have not made the time for recently. When J and I came here with Habitat 10 years ago we did a spice tour but I have not partaken since then! Our island is known for it's spices and they are pretty amazing if you ask me. Cloves specifically have been very important to the history of this place and it's economy. Spices brought trade and trade brought different cultures into the mix to create this place. At one time the islands here were the leading exporter of cloves to the world and at the time they were used to make scented oils, for cooking, teas, and even anesthetic (yikes!) Since the 60's and 70's the government has rolled out many policies that have decreased the production of cloves to only around 7% of the world's production but spice farming is a major historical and current part of our island's history. We headed to a friend of a friend's spice farm for a free tour (as long as we purchased some overpriced spices at the conclusion of said tour which we were happy to do!) So on a surprisingly not sweltering morning we drove a bit out of town and enjoyed a spice tour.

got chocolate? well, after some serious sugar added.

touring the farm

taste testing as we go. The red pepper was HOT! Anni and Evy preferred the tiny plum like fruits.

and these rambutan fruits. Kinda like eating eyeballs but sweet.

the seed of the clove tree is a natural lipstick. Yeah, Anni was all about that!

Yep, we got our Wazungu tourist on and we liked it; us spice girls...and J.