Lindi
Wed 24th. Great night’s sleep. At about 05:00 there was a knock on the door…I asked who it was but didn’t understand the muffled tones. This was followed by a couple of phone calls which I ignored. I chose to ignore what might have been the receptionist ( who seemed to like me) trying to contact me. Partly there was a power cut at the time and I didn’t want to get involved in anything in pitch darkness. But, in all my years of travelling that’s the first time that’s happened.
I checked out. The stage is 3 minutes walk away. I waited an hour and a half before we set off for Lindi; at least I had the front seat. 3 and a half hours later we reached Lindi. It was a stop start, stop start local dala dala, but I expected that and I was in no hurry. Only 147kms or so…a little frustrating…but, again interesting to observe the day to day activities of ordinary people. However, the landscape was pretty boring.
It’s interesting having to get used to a new place. On my phone map the distances are further than in real life. On arriving at the bus stand in Lindi (which thank goodness is in the middle of the town ), I went looking for accommodation. I ignored the guest houses as they looked a bit run down, and the first place I looked at was White Pearl. At 50,000 and 70,000 it was way too expensive. I kept going to MM Hotel which was 30,000 (£10), and as I was getting tired I took it. I was sure I could get somewhere cheaper, but this was very comfortable and included hot water, breakfast and AC.
I settled in then went towards the beach (less than 10 minutes) and walked along the beach road. In front was Lindi Bay. There was some sea wall building going on; maybe water levels are rising here as well… I looked at a few restaurants along the Bay front but went into California for a late lunch. Okay..my usual sort of meal…maharage na ugali…with some cabbage and chilli…washed down with a couple of Castle beers.
There was some torrential rain, to the extent you couldn’t see beyond 50mtrs from the waterfront. That didn’t matter as I was enjoying my lunch and drink and some Tz football. I had to move tables as the rain was coming through the roof !!
From there I walked around to the Sea View hotel where I could use WiFi and have an expensive beer at 4,000. Usually a beer is 2,500 (£0.80) as opposed to the 4,000 (£1.30) !!
There were lots of mosquitoes so next time I go for WiFi I’ll wear my jeans. When I left it was dark and I had to make my way along fairly muddy roads with puddles. I bought a big bottle of water. I stopped at 3 Sisters pub which is very close to MM. I drank a small bottle of Smart Gin with a coke and took another gin to my room for future consumption. I put the AC on; I like this AC as it doesn’t seem to have extreme cold temperatures, so, very comfortable.
A good start to my first time stay in Lindi.
Thurs 25th. I had a very good sleep. The electricity cut off a couple of times but seemed to quickly return; maybe the hotel has a generator. I washed a shirt and a pair of socks. Breakfast was coffee, chapati, hard boiled egg, some spaghetti, and vitumbua…very nice. I paid the 30,000 for another day at MM.
It was time for a walkabout. I checked the price of Blandford Htl on the corner, and that was 50,000 as well…hmm, forget it.
I walked a little way down the beachfront road to Ocean Guesthouse which was recommended by Terry. It had a fan, a mosquito net, a squat toilet (which I’m used to) and a price tag of 15,000 (£5) per day. I was shown room 16 and I said I’d be back the next morning.
I kept following the beach road. I took some beach pics and one particularly interesting old ruin which had strange tree roots growing through it. The road went in towards town a little bit then curved around again and went passed the fish market. I kept going until the junction with the main road that took you back into town. I went back the way I came, except for trying out some side roads.
I had a chai rangi at White Restaurant then went back to MM. As it was sunny I hung my shirt and socks outside to help them dry more quickly, while I also sat in the little bit of sun. After a shower I went over to California for another early dinner, but this time beans with rice – which I much prefer. I now know the restaurant is called California because of two signs at the front; the previous day I used the side entrance which doesn’t have a sign. By the way, the two boards have 2 different name spellings…the other being Califonia. !!
From there it was over to Sea View so I could use their WiFi. After I arrived I was looking towards the Bay and I could see the storm coming. I took cover in the bar and a couple of minutes later there was the most torrential rain. The strange thing was that it only lasted 15 minutes, but wow, was it heavy for that short time.
I went to 3 Sisters where, for a change I had a small bottle of Valeur brandy with a coke mixer. Valeur is the same price as KVant surprisingly. Had a very interesting conversation with George, an engineer on a project in the area. Then to MM which was just nearby, and my comfortable bed. End of day 2 in Lindi.
Fri 26th. Heri Siku ya Muungano. 60th anniversary of the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar. I had breakfast then checked out and went to Coast. I was a bit early so sat by the beach across the road. After 20 minutes I settled into room no.16…right in the far corner…and paid my 30,000 (£10) for 2 days.
As it looked as though it was going to be quite sunny for a change, I washed my jeans and underpants. Am enjoying walking around Lindi…a simple town with a lot of character. I stopped for a tea at White’s; I spent ages there over one cup, writing up my blog.
Opposite Coast there was a guy up a palm tree picking and dropping coconuts. The tide was out and I walked down the beach. I had just lain down on my kikoi when a guy came over to chat. Actually it was interesting as he had played for Tanzania Under 21s in a football tournament in England and Finland. He had to go off to help pull in a fishing net from just offshore. I watched the two groups as they landed their catch.
As I headed back to Coast and the tide was coming in, I decided to go for a swim…it had to be done. The water was a lovely temperature but was a bit dirty; I wonder if it’s always slightly ‘muddy’ because the river feeds into the Bay. Back to my room. My jeans were almost dry…good enough. I suspected there would be mosquitoes so I arranged the net over the bed, killing 4 mosquitoes in the process.
Over to California for my diet of beans. Unfortunately no rice so it had to be ugali. I did my usual and went to Sea View for wifi; I must have spent nearly 3 hours there over I bottle of beer. I did a FB post then worked on my blog. As it was starting to get a bit late and I was tired I went straight back to my room. Was glad I had planned ahead with the net because it’s not quite so easy to see mosquitoes in dim light. There was one to eradicate, then proceeded to have a peaceful night.
Sat 27th. I slept well. I washed a shirt. Around 08:00 I went outside, and judging from the nearly cloudless sky, it was obviously going to be a hot day. I walked in the opposite direction to usual and reached another junction ( only 10 minutes) with the main road going north up the coast. The strange thing is, that on the roundabout there’s a huge …maybe real size…statue of a dinosaur.!!
I asked around for milky tea know that actually it was a waste of time. No mandazi; not sure if I was too early or too late..!! I went into a place selling plain black coffee..not even any sugar added..and had 3 little cups while listening to the men having very heated discussions firstly about football and then political stuff which I didn’t understand. The last time I had coffee like that was in Soni.
I walked along the beach a bit. I found what was obviously a stone defence turret/tower. I must look into the history of the area. Otherwise, Califonia/ornia for dinner and drinks. I treated myself to fish at 12,000 (£4). Unfortunately everything was luke warm which made for a disappointing meal. Even the ugali, which is normally piping hot, was barely warm. I thought I’d have a change from beans, but beans were also a side dish..!!!
Being a Saturday, I needed to find somewhere that showed English football. I went to Paris Club for that. The venue wasn’t that great, I wouldn’t go there for a drink. From there over to Sea View for the wifi and my one beer and then back to my room.
Sun 28th. After my ‘dinosaur ‘ coffee I stopped at Sande fast food for tea and vitumbua as my breakfast. From there I went to the beach and watched the various activities. I was particularly intrigued by the dugout with a sail not much bigger than a large handkerchief !!
I walked to the far end of the beach in the opposite direction. I lay in the sun for an hour or so, and on the way back had a little paddle in very shallow water.
Otherwise, a lazy day. This time I found football being shown at Biashara club. In fact it was Spurs vs Arsenal which unfortunately we lost 3:2. A guy came around with very tasty chicken pieces, so that was my dinner. All that, in conjunction with good reggae music being played, made for a very pleasant couple of hours.
But, I had discovered the day before that my phone memory was full when it came to taking videos….mild panic. Mark said to clear all caches, and although that helped, it was only going to be a very short term solution. I spoke with Gabriella on Saturday about it and she suggested speaking to Tor. Got hold of Tor on Sunday. Found that my last 916 items on Google photos had not been saved, so anything deleted from Camera pics/videos would have been lost permanently. The solution was to start uploading everything. I could only start the process at Sea View as I needed wifi. Then I can delete images/videos from Camera. What a relief.
So I didn’t make it to California which was a shame. Before going to my room I stopped at the bar just at the corner, but that wasn’t very interesting.
Mon 29th. Yet again a comfortable night. I’ve been keeping my net down all day so no mosquitoes can find their way in. Morning black coffee has become a routine, followed by tea, and mandazi and a kitumbua.
I spent about an hour at Sea View uploading about 100 items to Google photos. I washed the t-shirt that I’d worn for the first time in ages because we’d actually had 3 days of continuous sunshine. The clouds and rain seem to have gone for the time being. I had a little shallow swim and enjoyed the sun for half an hour.
I checked out Gymkhana bar which Terry had mentioned. It’s next to Biashara club. One starts to notice that there are many, many bars in Lindi…and they are all slightly different. After one beer there I was making my way to California for dinner, when some tasty look chips mayai caught my eye. I fancied a change. My request for a fork fell on deaf ears, and instead 2 toothpicks were provided; I wasn’t totally surprised. But I noticed the guy opposite me in the same predicament and thus discovered the technique. Basically, you use the toothpicks as miniature chopsticks. It kind of works.
I went from there to Sea View to continue backing up my pics/vids and thought I’d show my appreciation by having 2 beers instead of the usual 1. California was on the way to Coast, but I was too late to see Salma and Samoa. Had 1 Safari and went back to my room. I did most of my packing in case I needed to wake up in the middle of a power cut. Finished off a bottle of Hanson’s Choice that had taken me 3 days to consume.
I absolutely lived Lindi. A small town but with lots going on. The bars and restaurants are all slightly different, making it fun to explore. And the location of the deep, shallow Bay is so tranquil.