Sat 11th Jan. Dar
As I was leaving Ocean, the lady sleeping at reception really annoyed me by questioning whether I’d paid for the room. I must insist on receipts in future. It’s only a 5 minute walk to Ratco’s departure point in town.
I was given seat no. 1. That side of the bus…in VIP !…the seats were just single by a window. The other side had 2 seats, but lots of room. The journey to Dar was very comfortable, only spoiled by taking ages to get through the roadworks and traffic within Dar. Also, I misunderstood going via Mbezi beach and again we went to Magufuli bus stand which is in an area called Mbezi.
So, onto the coaster bus to the city which is over 20kms away. After reaching the Ratco office on Morogoro Rd, I still had to get a boda to Riki Hill…cost of 5,000. It was 5 hours from Tanga to Bagamoyo, then over 3 hours just to get to Kariakoo.
I settled quickly into room 503 and immediately complained there was no water. Apparently pumps/taps were about to be turned on. I was leaving anyway to go to A T room to say ‘hi’ to Happy and have a samosa snack and a tea.
Back to the Riki area, only to find that the Congolese bar was closed. I could get up to the bar but the counter was padlocked and there was hardly any furniture. It’s possible that it’s being refurbished.
My attempts to find some food proved futile. One restaurant wanted 3,000 ( a whole Gbp !) for beans and one chapati; I walked out. Across the road I ordered a chips mayai but they were just out of chips!! The restaurant virtually next door to Riki were just closing for the day.
So, I went to 24/7 at least hoping to watch a UK FA Cup match. But I failed there as well…no English football. Oh well, a good day overall. After a couple of beers I crossed the road to my room. Fortunately I had a packet of cashews bought at the Splendid in Tanga, and it was my dinner that night.
Sun 12th Jan
Actually, I quite enjoy the Riki breakfast…good omelette, the sausage, the fruits, and as much coffee as you can take. I had discovered a DTB bank very close by on Uhuru St, so didn’t have far to go to my ATM. From there I went to A T room for a tea.
At that point Mark contacted me to say he’d reached Raha hotel from Mbezi beach, and we arranged to meet up. I said I’d go to Raha as he’d slipped on a shower mat in the morning and hurt his other knee. I navigated the streets ripped up for the construction of the DART (rapid transport bus system). We had a good catch-up in his room with his friend Kulwa.
After an hour we all left. I left them after 10 minutes because I needed to get back to my room. I utilised my balcony to dry my shirt and T-shirt before going out again. Then I went looking for food; the nearby places were closed. I went down the road and bought some chevda. I found a very nice restaurant near the Saphire hotel, but when I asked the price of a chips mayai and was told 5,000, I had a little rant and just sat down to watch the first half of a uk football match.
Everywhere else a chips mayai is 3,000.
From there I went to 24/7 for a 3,000 chips mayai…but they were all out of eggs !! I remembered the guy from the next table from a few hours earlier and ended up having a great chat with Hussein from Somaliland who was in the business of selling goat/cow meat to to Kuwait.
The end of an interesting day. My dinner comprised of half a packet of chevda in my room; fortunately by keeping so busy I didn’t feel too hungry. The next plan was to head to Lindi; Mark had said that following his fall he wouldn’t put himself through a long bus journey and wouldn’t be joining me.
Mon 13th Jan. Lindi
I had decided on no pre booking and would just go for it… like I did in September. I went down for breakfast just after 06:30. They kindly prepared omelette, fruit and 2 sausages by 06:45; I said I didn’t want any bread. I left the hotel just after 07:00.
I knew exactly where to go…Gerezani…jumped into an Mbagala dala and we were on our way in 5 minutes. This time I knew to look out for the stop right opposite the bus stand. I arrived at Mbagala at 07:45 and went looking for the ‘big’ buses; a name I recognised was fully booked but I was happy to jump into anything. The first guy told me the fare was 40,000 but I knew that was too high. I knew the fare to be 32,000 and that’s what I paid. I had window seat no. 41 towards the back, and we departed at 08:35.
Nothing much to say about the journey, other than that it was comfortable enough. The lady next to me had a young baby, but fortunately the baby was well behaved. I got off at the second toilet break, where I also got a cup of tea and an octopus snack…just one tentacle…tasty.
We arrived by 16:30 and I went straight to Nageme Inn and checked in. I was in the courtyard again, but room 15 in the opposite corner at the same price of 12,000Tsh. (£4). I didn’t even switch to a pair of shorts, but walked the 5 minutes to Magereza Beach bar for a beer. It was an overcast day with a very strong wind blowing
I went over to Califonia, but they didn’t have any appetising food. I wasn’t feeling hungry anyway as I was quite tired, so I bought a bottle of K Vant to wash down some cashews in my room.
That’s when it really hit me…the meaning of basic…no soap, no towel, no toilet paper, a squat toilet, a bucket and a jug for washing oneself. At least there was a fan and a mosquito net.
Tues 14th. Jan
I took my time getting going as I was coming to terms with the room. However, there was a little adjacent room with a comfortable armchair and table, but the wind from the fan in the bedroom didn’t reach the little ‘lounge’ area.
I went over to Whites for a tea…they didn’t have milk tea, only black. From there I went to the Immigration office to ‘report’ my arrival in Lindi. It seems to be the right thing to do, even if I don’t understand why the necessity. It was all smiles as we went through the process; a senior lady officer seemed to call a superior and read out elements of my passport/visa.
I went down to the Bay front. It was a drizzly morning with the strong winds causing quite large waves. I took pics of the fallen palm trees caused by the rising sea level undermining their roots.
By the early afternoon the sun came out and I walked down the beach to the Makuti Beach bar which must’ve opened just after I left in Sept. Spacious and peaceful…away from town. I thought it would be a bit expensive, but beers cost the standard 2,500Tsh.
I took a photo of a group of guys pulling a boat ashore, but when it came to taking a 2nd picture, they were not too pleased.
A gentle walk back and a little wander in town, stopping for a milky tea near the bus stand.
I didn’t do much. By late afternoon I was at Califonia, and as there was nothing interesting on the menu, I just had a plate of chips. The last meal I had was Monday morning when I left Riki. I told the people at Agape Resort next door that I enjoyed their kiti moto last time and I would be back.
So the end of my first full day in Lindi. Nice to be back.
Wed 15th Jan
The electricity went off at about 5am, which made for an uncomfortable couple of hours without the fan. I took my time getting going; after the power came back at 07:30….after more tokens had been purchased. After going to Whites for a black tea I went to the bank to change some 10,000 notes into 2,000s.
I had could see it was going to be a hot day so I washed my jeans, knowing they would easily dry. I walked down to the beach and turned right. Not far along there was a huge tree trunk with interesting branches, and I climbed up and draped myself and sunbathed. Nice to be off the sand because with the strong wind I would’ve been covered with sand.
Because it’s so hot I need to go back to my room every now and again for a shower. My mission was to go to Sea View resort to be able to use their WiFi. I caught up on my FB post, the leaving Dar going to Lindi leg.
True to my word I went to Agape Resort for a kiti moto.It arrived very quickly and still/again prepared to a high standard. It cost 9,500, and the usual assumption that the 500 balance was a tip..!! Never mind, it was worth it. From there it meant just crossing the few metres to Califonia.
And then to my room.
Thurs 16th Jan
Rediscovered the guys drinking black coffee at the dinosaur roundabout. They were pleased to see me and asked where I’d been all this time. I filmed a little of the coffee making process. It’s fun to listen in to and try to understand their very animated discussions.
Can’t remember, but maybe I didn’t go for coffee in September when I was with Terry. I tended to go to Whites for a tea in the morning.
I did some necessary shopping for toothpaste and bic type razors. In the evening I had a lovely piece of chicken from the place near the lodge. When I pass a place often enough and feel I can trust it, then I go for the chicken.
One of the more notable changes was the destruction of the sea defence that was only built last year. The top level of cement that was covering a base of huge rocks had totally collapsed. And the huge trench that was supposed to trap the sea water to stop it flooding across the road the properties there, was now totally filled with beach sand.
Fri 17th Jan
I looked for a shortcut to the coffee place; I think I succeeded.
At around midday I went to Sea View intending to have a tea and use the Wi-Fi, only to find the whole system was down. I went to the Airtel shop to put credit on the phone and they confimed that the whole network was down.
I paid a second visit to Makuti bar down the beach. Another example of ” oh, sorry I dont have the 500 change “, and that was even after I bought her a soda..!! Grr
I had a drink at Magereza; nicer there when it’s not quite so breezy. Actually it’s probably the best of the places to have a drink because the view of the bay is so beautiful/relaxing.
I had chips mayai just up the road from Nageme; it was a good one. And I bought Agnes and Rehema a drink at Agnes’ bar not far from Nageme; they were very pleased.
Sat 18th Jan
My last time at the dinosaur coffee place. I explored a slightly different part of town by crossing the main road on the edge of town and going up the hill. It wasn’t particularly interesting so I went back into town, found somewhere for a milk tea and bought some water for my room.
I sunbathed on the beach for about an hour. I had a relatively early lunch/dinner of Maharage na wali for only 1,500 ..or 50 pence. Just a bit further on there was a bar that was going to show English football. I was in the minorty of 3 of us in an inside bar, while the other 50 or so people had about 3 screens to choose from for their Yanga vs ? Tz match. Fair enough !! The waitress firstly took ages with my change, then said she didn’t have the final 500 balance. I got irritated because this was becoming a standard ploy, and demanded my 500 balance. Eventually I got it…grumpy old man had kicked in again.
I didn’t watch the end of the match but went to Sea View for a blog upload and a FB post. I then left to watch more football at a new bar… the Pearl Lounge. The nice thing about Lindi is that there are quite a range of choices within a small area.
It was late enough and I had a bus to catch in the morning…not too early… 07:30. I didn’t lock the main door because I’ve been having a problem unlocking it from the inside, and I didn’t want that to be a cause of stress in the morning. Instead I put a chair up against it and locked the inner door with the latch.
I’ve said it before…I absolutely love Lindi.
I still love Mbamba Bay but probably Lindi more so. Mbamba Bay is much prettier with the hills coming right down to lake Nyasa, but there’s not so much to do there. Whereas Lindi has the bay and the variety of town activities, and it has more of a history.