Dar es Salaam

Sun 4th May

I slept quite well considering it was a travel day. I let myself out of Mawenzi and within 10 minutes I was at the bus stand. Window seat no. 8, and managed to squeeze the rucksack into the overhead luggage.. We left almost bang on time…just after 05:30

It took an hour to do the 30kms to the junction at Nagurukuru because we went via Kivinje, the bigger town on Kilwa. Apart from getting stuck in some mud momentarily, the trip was very smooth.  Well, until we reached patches where they were rebuilding bridges or parts of road damaged by the heavy rains.

The journey took 6.5 hours in total. The end stop was actually Mbagala stand, which I hadn’t realised, but that was perfect for me. It took about 10 minutes to find parking. Then it was just a few minutes walk to the main road. Immediately there was a Gerezani/Kariakoo dala dala which was what I wanted. Only 25 minutes into the city; I deliberately travelled on Sunday thinking the roads would be quieter. I had to stand for about 10 minutes, then got a seat the rest of the way.

Everything was working out perfectly.  At Gerezani we stopped about 3 minutes walk from the railway station so I could quickly go in and confirm train times from Moshi to Dar for Robyn. I was doing well for time so I went to check out the Congolese bar which I’d heard had reopened.
Indeed it had, which was good news !! I got chatting to a Dar guy who was a regular. The chairs and tables were more comfortable and the toilets had been refurbished. I had to stay for 2 beers because there was a torrential downpour.

I crossed the road and topped up my bundles by 20,000. I went to find Concord hotel, the other side of Uhuru St, which Terry had recommended. It was an okay price at 40,000 but no wifi. There was a hotel 3 doors away for 30,000, with wifi, but it was full.
After getting slightly lost I made it to Keys to ask about rooms…But still no wifi. I went around the corner to Riki Hill, but their prices had shot up. I thought a room would be 45,000 which I was prepared to pay, but it was now 55,000, although I was offered 50,000. So, back to Keys to pay 35,000 (£10).

After settling in I went over to 24/7…only 2 minutes away. The good news was that they are back to showing English football again. I watched the end of the first half,  then the rest of the match. After which I went looking for food. I settled on a bag of chevda, or chaora here in Tz.  I put that and a big bottle of water in my room then back to 24/7 to watch the 18:30 Chelsea vs Liverpool which had already started. So, I  wasn’t too late getting back to Keys.

Oh, an incredible coincidence on the way back from checking hotels in the afternoon. I was walking down Uhuru St,  when someone tapped me on the shoulder. He said..’there’s someone over there calling you ‘. That person was waving and waving and he looked vaguely familiar,  so I went back to him.
It was none other than the president/owner of BigMan football club, who I was sitting next to at the match in Lindi nearly 2 weeks ago. What are the chances that in a city of over 10 million I would bump into someone I’ve only ever met once before. Crazy..!!!

Mon 5th May

A very comfortable sleep; am really enjoying my Key’s room. And nice to have a ‘western ‘ toilet after more than 3 weeks of the ‘alternative ‘.
The ‘breakfast included ‘ was a thermus containing 2 cups of tea, and 4 slices of bread with a smearing of butter and jam. If you wanted sausage and an omelette it was an extra 3,000. I skipped the ‘extra’ as I knew the bread would fill me up.

I next went to the Airtel office to fix my calls & Sms termination issue. At 09:30 they said it would be resolved in an hour.
I went to A T Shop for a tea, and Happy was very happy to see me. Back at my room I washed my ‘zebra’ shirt and hung it out with the rest of the hotel washing.

From there I headed to the Ethiopian Airlines office. On looking in more detail at the email attachment I noticed there were 2 flights from Addis on my ticket in the early hours of the 25th and I was booked on the one to Heathrow and not Gatwick. After telling a guy off for jumping the queue, I was dealt with very efficiently by the staff and the evidence was when I received an email later detailing my change of flight now to the 25th from Dar. The times are all the same and I’m flying into Gatwick…just that it’s a day later…arriving in the UK on the 26th. So my flight has changed from the original 22nd to the 25th. That’s okay, I’m in no hurry  !!!

Now I had something else to sort out. My Calls and SMS were still not going through. But first I fancied a coffee and I really enjoyed it. At the Airtel office the guy dealt with me straight away. He showed me an email which said at 10:15 my line was unblocked,  but obviously that wasn’t the case. He phoned wherever and a couple of minutes later my line was successfully unblocked….good Result !!

It was time for some food. Kipata hoteli had run out of beans and chapatis. The 2 restaurants that Terry had recommended…Mabatini and Mango…were either out of beans (and I didn’t want ugali)…or they were so packed with people watching a Simba game, that I wouldn’t be able to find a space to eat anyway.

I gave up and went to the Congolese bar for a couple of drinks…Castle beer. From there to a restaurant just around the corner from Riki where I had a tasty chips mayai. From there I went to 24/7 for the rest of the evening where I tapped into the Riki wifi which went in and out.
Another good day…sorting out my flight ticket; my Airtel blockage; and seeing Happy. Much walking done, so good for fitness. Then, back to my room. I felt full up despite the chips mayai being the only meal of the day.

Tues 6th May

It turned out to be a busy day in the end.
At breakfast I persuaded the waitress to give me a little more jam & butter; the previous day there was only enough to cover 2 of the 4 slices of bread !! I washed and hung another shirt out to dry.

I walked straight down to the ferry terminal to confirm ferry times and cost. There’s a 12:30 and the last one at 4pm. The cost is still 100,000. From there to airtel to put money on my phone so that I could phone Mercy. I got the usual request for money to enable her to get back to Taveta.

I went to A T Room and to chat to Happy over a tea. I found that I had Mercy’s full name so I decided to send her some money. I stopped at a bank with Western Union facility and after about an hour and a half the process was complete. I settled on 1,147 Ksh which cost me 25,500Tsh.

I went back to my room, which gave the opportunity for a workman to change a broken pipe on my sink. I noticed a message from Alkanjello saying he was waiting for me at the Congolese bar. I immediately went over there…only 5 minutes.
We had a really good catch-up for a couple of hours, and he kindly paid for my 3 Castle beers. Hopefully we can meet again on the day I leave…the 25th. I took a bottle of water to my room and brought my shirt in.
I went to Mbatini for dinner but they had neither beans nor chapatis. I went back to New Kipata restaurant, just down the road from Riki, where I had a very tasty peas in a sauce with a thin spaghetti. I was very happy with my dinner.

I went up the road and lingered over a Castle at 24/7. I kept moving in order to get within wifi range of Riki.  That was it for the evening . On the way back to Keys I bought a KVant for my room.
Just to say…I felt slightly drunk after the 3 beers,  partly because apart from a meagre breakfast, I had nothing to eat all day.