Musoma
Thurs 17th.  I went to the Bank early and drew out 20,000. Met up with Carkey for breakfast before 07:00. Then we went to the stage; me to go to the Tz border and him to go to Kisumu.  In 5 mins I was in the matatu to Sirari/Isibania. Apart halfway I transferred to the front seat, not that there was anything particularly interesting to see.  2 and a quarter hours to Sirari.
Got thru customs and immigration fairly quickly…once I went to the correct building…!! I walked to the market dala stage for a vehicle to Musoma . We departed Sirari at 11:00 , arrived Musoma at 13:35 after changing at the stand which is a few kms out of town.

First I had a cup of tea at a hoteli at the stage. Then it was time to find some accommodation.  1st place at 50,000 was way too much. 2nd place dropped to 35,000 for a room with a fan. 3rd place was 20,000 but no Internet. I settled on the 4th place because the price dropped to 30,000 and yet there was A/C, Internet, hot water and included breakfast.  The reason the price was lower than other rooms was because it was on the 3rd floor…I figured I could deal with that. So I checked into the Afrilux Hotel with quite nice views from room 405.
I changed and went walkabout to discover Musoma. First impressions were that I liked the wide streets. Also, it seems a relatively quiet town ; of course the centre is quite busy, but that provides a nice contrast. Lake Victoria is not too exciting at this point because of the relatively flat terrain around it.
I took pics of birds near the water… Egrets and a large Marabou stork. Also a couple of boats on the lake. By this time it was late afternoon and I ended up at Sweet Corner pub where I had Pilsners at only 2,000 each…only 60pence for a 500cl/ml bottle.
I didn’t feel particularly hungry so I returned to my hotel with a small bottle of spirit…had a couple of beers in the bar then opened and munched on the packet of chevda that I’d been carrying since Mombasa. So, a good introduction to a new destination in Tanzania.

Fri-Sat 18th -19th

Fri 18th… the breakfast was a bit strange..chapati, hard boiled egg,  greens. The pawpaw, juice and Africafe were fine. It was very filling though, and that was followed by a walk along parts of the lake shore taking pics of bird and boats. I  walked up the nearby hill of large rocks hoping for a good view of the lake and town but the angles and trees were all wrong.
I then walked quite a long way up the narrow ‘peninsular’ to even more large rocks. Interesting to walk amongst them and some nice views.  I couldn’t face walking back so caught a boda to the town centre for 1,000bob.
For something different, I went to Dream Garden for dinner. That comprised ugali,beans,greens and a little fishy soup, which although it filled my stomach, I didn’t enjoy very much. And the beer at 3,000 was the most expensive yet. I had a beer at Sweet Corner pub then went back to the hotel, stopping at their bar for a nightcap.

Sat 19th..  I checked out the port/ferry terminal area more closely . A tea at the stage. Otherwise just more walking the streets getting accustomed to the town.
I found I couldn’t make any calls to Tz numbers, so I went to the Airtel shop for help. Not sure why but my number had been cut off. It took a little while but the guy was very helpful and was able to recreate my account and reinstate my number. I put it to the test by calling Edgar.
The other major decision was to take the Loliondo bus ( a regular bus) to Arusha through the Serengeti, but that meant I needed another 20USD towards the Park fees. I went to the bank and bought the 20USD for 55,000Tsh; I already had a $50 note, so now I had the $70 Park entry fee.

Walking around town I found a kiti moto restaurant and decided to have dinner there. But first I went to Ecanesse bar to watch the 14:30 Spurs match. Nice big spacious bar with a good atmosphere and Spurs won. The bar actually switched the Spurs game about 10 minutes before the end in favour of the upcoming Yanga vs Simba match. Spurs had already won 4:1 so I wasn’t going to complain…and especially as I was in the minority of One in the audience.
I went from there to have my kiti moto…which was absolutely superb. Probably the next best after Mamka’s. Very little fat; just 2 small bones; lots of veg; bananas well cooked….Excellent. I went to Sweet Corner in the hope of seeing one of the later EPL games but they weren’t geared up for it. So I bought a K Vant for my room and relaxed with that. A good day.

Sun 20th
Was wondering what to do on my last day in Musoma , when Witness (interesting name) mentioned a ferry to Kinesi. So, a 5 minute walk away and I was on the 9:40 ferry for the 50 minute journey costing 400bob. Taking photos was forbidden, although I took a few on the other side. A tea cost 1,000 instead of 500, I didn’t fully understand but I think it was more a question if you didn’t have any food.
Less than 45 mins later and I was on the way back. It made a bit of a change, and by midday I was back in Musoma. From the lake I took more notice of quite a big mound of large rocks only 10 minutes from my hotel. I walked over, climbed them, and relaxed in the sun for an hour. I then went to the Loliondo booking office and thanked Donald for all his help.

Meanwhile I had a craving for kiti moto again. I was a bit early for the chef so I dropped off a bottle of water in my room then returned for kiti moto after 15:30. Absolutely delicious; the high standard was being maintained. Ecassa lounge was only 5 minutes away and I went there to watch the Wolves vs Man C match.
From there to Sweet Corner where despite assurances, they couldn’t show the 18:30 match. After one beer I went to my room to pack for the following day, and where I had a small bottle of K Vant. The end of 4 days in Musoma where the original plan was to spend 2 days. I relaxed into the place and enjoyed my time there; the only drawback is that there’s nothing much to do there.