We spent two days crossing the border into Tanzania and making our way to Dar es Salaam. Not to make our last great public transport journey in Africa easy, we managed to take about five taxis over a 40km journey across the border (taxi, immigration Burundi, taxi, immigration Tanzania, moto (small village), taxi (big village)), then hitch a ride in the cab of a truck for six hours on the first day. Day two was meant to be easier in a bus all the way to Dar (12 hours, supposedly). About four hours out of Dar, our bus broke down. After an hour waiting on the side of the road, we gave up, grabbed our stuff, hitched a ride to the next small town, took a matatu to the next big town, and got another bus to Dar – arriving a total of about six hours later than promised by the initial bus company. This is Africa.
Dar es Salaam is actually a really nice city – if somewhat disgustingly hot. My main excitement, however, was that at night in the neighborhoods we stayed in, they set up street side Indian restaurants. While it was exciting finding Indian food in Uganda, the street food in Dar es Salaam put it to shame. They also had a local brew called conyagi, which when mixed with the prolific sugar cane juice available, was very drinkable. Perhaps too drinkable based on the state of our stomachs one morning after a particularly enthusiastic night.
And finally: Zanzibar. I guess everyone pretty much already knows about Zanzibar and it automatically conjures exotic images of heat, spices and a history of trade and slavery. Even though it is very touristy nowadays, for us, it still managed to retain a bunch of charm. The architecture cannot be changed by the hordes of tour bus tourists (it is lovely) and neither can the beaches (also lovely).
The medina itself does not really beat the North African ones, but it is a pretty good example. Plus, its location on an island in the Indian Ocean where one can go to lovely beaches and actually swim in a bikini, certainly does beat most of the North African medinas. One of its major redeeming features is that it is still so evidently lived in and vibrant. From children heading to school in the Medersas to local shops in the alleys and acrobatic flip competitions on the beach, while the tourists are around, they are certainly not the only ones. All that is to say, we really enjoyed Stonetown and happily wandered around for several days. While the accommodation was overpriced, it was pretty nice compared to lots of places we have stayed and while there were fancy restaurants, there were also great and reasonably priced local places.
We have now headed out to Jambiani beach on the East coast, which is very relaxed with pretty sands and is generally a nice place to hang out. While it is a nice beach, it has also managed to retain a bit of local colour and when the tide is out you can sip beer or juice and watch the locals collecting seaweed, head out fishing or organizing their soccer league on the beach.
Anyway, we will shortly be heading to South Africa and our trip of backpacks and buses across Africa will come to an end. Next up, becoming overlanders in Southern Africa!
December 2013