Mbeya
Tues 25th Mar
A relaxed start to the day. Plenty of time to eat breakfast and to catch up on Internet stuff. I went to the stand and Ditto was there…a good start. But then he said I would have to change bus companies and leave from Kihesa which was a few kms out of town. Fine…I went with it.
I paid 2,000bob for a boda for the two of us to go to Kihesa for about 09:00. I was told I was transferring to a better company…Ngasere. Fine…I went with it. The bus arrived over a half hour later; I grabbed a window seat; we went to the Igumbilo bus stand which is 10kms out of town and in the opposite direction to Mbeya.
We left around 10:00 and it was under 3 hours to Makambako.There was a brief police/immigration stop before Makambako. I wasn’t stopping there this time because my friend Kasembe had just gone to Dar.
Then just under 4 hours to Mbeya. Much more traffic and especially slow lorry traffic. Plus there was Milima Nyoka..snake hill…where it was hard to overtake and therefore very slow. Then there was a lot of traffic into Mbeya town.
Anyway, we made it to the bus stand. It was a 10 minute walk up the hill. I checked into Mbeya Continental Hotel Restaurant and Bar (long winded or what) ! !!..where I stayed last time. I got room 104 next to the one from last time. It seemed fine and I negotiated 25,000 down from 30,000.
It was about 17:15 and I immediately went down to 2000 Bar. Incredibly, Laurence who I keep bumping into in Mbeya, was there. What a coincidence…and a good catch-up.
I went back to the hotel. I was happy to have the only food that was on offer…chicken and chips. I drank 2 Serengetis and bought a bottle of K Vant for my room. An excellent travel day…about 7 hours on the road, which is a bearable length of time.
Wed 26th Mar
Very pleased there was warm water for the morning shower; I didn’t know what to expect. Breakfast was not included because I got a 5,000 discount on the room. I just had a cup of tea…and that cost 500.
I went down the hill to Peace of Mind for coffee and to use their WiFi. Back to the hotel and relaxed on my little balcony for 30 minutes before the clouds came over, and eventually it rained for a short while. I had planned to meet up with Laurence at 16:00 at the 2000 Bar. We had a good chat.
After that I walked around looking for food. Settled on a place which was about to close where I had a Zanzibar Pizza and an egg kachori. The total cost was 1,500bob (about 50pence), but it filled me up.
Then it was back to the hotel bar for a couple of drinks before retiring to my room.
Thurs 27th Mar
Glad that there was still warm water in the shower…warm not hot !! When I heard Mtori was available for breakfast, I just had to have a bowl of it…and it only cost 1,500, or just under 50 pence. Mtori is called either banana stew or soup. Its made up of banana and potato boiled until it can be mashed. It has 3 or 4 pieces of cooked meat in it, and should include carrot, bellpepper, and onion. It’s very thick and served with chilli and lemon. Delicious.
I went to the bus stand to check how to get Matema. At least I know it’s a dala to the nane nane stage a few kms out of town, then another one all the way to Matema via Kyela. I washed a shirt, but couldn’t hang it outside as rain was on its way.
I bought 8 mins of call time to UK for 10,000. I went to Peace of Mind twice…once in the morning for coffee, when I was only charged for one coffee but I had two. I managed to speak to Butch. I also spoke to Mum, so everyone was happy !
Between Peace of Mind and my room, I did a lot of blog writing and posting. A good opportunity as it was raining a lot.
On my way to the 2000 Bar I stopped for 2 samosas (costing 1,000 or 30pence) to help absorb any beer. It was still drizzling and my umbrella was being put to good use.
After spending an hour with Laurence I headed back to the hotel. Along the way I bought a small packet of crisps for 500. I didn’t know what I wanted for dinner, but then I got distracted talking to someone in the bar and watching African football.
In the end I just had the crisps in my room, so dinner of samosas and crisps cost me 45 pence !! I don’t seem to have much of an appetite with all the travelling.
Fri 28th Mar.
The shower water came out with a large force which took me by surprise; there was some warmth in the water. I went down for some mtori and a tea. My bill of 2,000 was picked up by the lady I was chatting to over breakfast.
By then it was after 10:00 and I went to Peace of Mind for my coffee. I spoke a bit with the owner who I remembered from 3 years ago. I also remembered that it was 3 years ago I stayed at Peace of Mind when I was on my 2 month tour of Tz. I’d come down from Kigoma, Mpanda, L Rukwa to Mbeya…before continuing Songea, Mbamba Bay, Mtwara, Mafia etc. I left P of M after midday, again only paying 2,000. The 7,000 coffee at Ridge café sounds like a real rip off.
I bought a 10,000 internet bundles top up for my phone. It was on my mind to video me eating mtori and describing it. At this point it was to be my lunch. The first restaurant had sold out. Mtori at the second restaurant was 2,000bob (500..or 15pence) more than my hotel, but much much tastier with much more flavour.
I went back to my room…and it rained again. I did some prep on how/what I was going to upload onto my blog and Face Book. Then down to P of M for a beer and to make use of their WiFi. I was 20 mins late meeting Laurence at the 2000 Bar. After being introduced to his friends and having a drink, I returned to my hotel…buying a small packet of crisps along the way.
I was quite early…around 6pm. I had 2 beers then went upstairs to start on my packing. I really enjoyed my 4 days in Mbeya; I achieved a lot.