Before I left Dar I treated Emil and co to fillet steak which we bbqd; what a difference..so succulent. Monday 16 was just spent planning the trip the next day. We left early on Tues, and were lucky enough to leave the torrential rain behind, which caused widespread flooding in Dar that day. About a years worth of rain in 24 hours.

But we had a good trip overall to Ifakara, passed Morogoro , into sugarcane and rice country. The latter part of the journey was very rough and uncomfortable, not helped by the driver going very fast on the rough road. But we did pass through the Mikumi game park and is as 3 giraffes, 10 warthogs and a couple of dozen antelope. On the way back I saw a lot more giraffes and a couple of zebra….I never tire of seeing even the most common wild animals.

Ifakara is a wealthier area than Emil expected and decided there was no prospect for future work. Anyway, a couple of relaxing days spent there before I took the bus to Morogoro on Thursday.

Oh, I didn’t say….on Monday I got Isaac and his friend to demonstrate the typical Maasai dancing…i.e. leaping on the spot. I have a little bit of film of it. I expected them to jump higher, but if you have a small machete attached to your hip, I suppose you don’t want to have a nasty accident !!

Stayed in a cheap hotel in Morogoro, 8 minutes walk from the bus stand so I could easily be ready for an early start to Arusha the next day. Had a cheap meal of beans and in a local establishment with Maasai. Cost just over 50 pence. A bit earlier I’d had 2 roast maize..cost about 20 pence. The 3 beers at the expensive hotel where I could use WiFi, cost about 3 pounds. Had a nice room with a/c but noticed that when I took a shower, water was spraying everywhere from the shower head…the door, the ceiling and the light fitting…luckily there were no exposed wires….!!!

Very long 12.5 hour bus trip to Arusha. Didn’t want to arrive in the dark but we did. Someone I met 7 months ago recognised me and we walked to my usual hotel. Unfortunately it was fully booked, but he was walked me to another one in a nicer area and thank goodness I got a room. By that point I was getting tired and fed up. Went to the bank and onto the Hot Plate for a curry dinner. Hot Plate was closer to this hotel….so I ended the evening on a high.

This morning I went to see my old friend Edgar, and after finishing this blog I’m heading to Tengeru to Emile’s brother James. Not sure whether to try a picture upload as WiFi very slow.