Dar Es Salaam

                                                          Lunch En Route

Dar Es Salaam

February 28

Up at 5:00 am and eating corn fritters and toast by 5:15 and on the road by 5:30. Off we started in the darkness to find our way to Dar Es Salaam. I slept for a few hours to help with the passing of time. It wasn't long and we were at the border. It didn't take long for us to get all sorted out and we were on our way again. Surely, I thought we would stop somewhere soon for a little snack or sip of tea. Nope! Sleep some more! Soon I woke up to the sound of humans and clearly some sights to record in the memory banks. What did I see?

• small dwellings with corrugated aluminium roofs surrounded by forests of banana trees
• shops: wood shop, tire shop, bike repair shop, carpenter shop, wood shop
• hedges of hydrangea
• stands selling banana, mango, avocado, pineapple, passion fruit, jack fruit, custard apple
• gigantic bags of plastic containers; an attempt to recycle
• stone-age type living conditions speckled with the periodic site of someone talking on a cell phone while standing outside the mud hut with the thatched roof
• over 100 different tribes of people co-existing
• school children parading to school in full uniform
• men in groups polishing their motorcycles

At one point the truck stopped for a moment and was swarmed by people balancing baskets on their heads. Kioko jumped out and quickly purchased some pineapple and bananas. Snack time? Ahhh; those bananas tasted so good. I devoured four of them and I think Ed matched my intake. Finally at about 2:00 we found a place to pull over and make lunch; the weighing station. 

Just before Dar, We drove though Mikumi National Park. Giraffe and elephant and spring bok showed up along the side of the road. Go figure!

Within a couple of hours we were entering Dar Es Salaam. Traffic this way, that way, horns blowing, fumes, oh the fumes, traffic jam, people everywhere. Sam, our driver just keeps on pushing through. We arrived at our camp on a beach outside the city, reasonably close to the ferry which will take us to Zanzibar tomorrow.

                           Gathering a few things for lunch along the way.

      Pineapple, passion fruit, bananas and avocado for sale beside the truck