Time to catch up with my blog..as I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment. Crossed by matatu on Tues 17 to Moshi
Hour and a half…not too bad. Checked into Basecha lodge and then walked 45 mins to find the Chinese Herbal clinic. My mission for Trizah was to ask if they had a branch in Mombasa. She had visited the Moshi clinic some years ago. No MSA branch. A tiring walk there and back, but something different to do in Moshi. Went for cheap drinks at the Police mess followed by chicken curry at Kaka’s.
Wed was more relaxing. Went shopping for Zanzi and Chevda before going to the police mess and Kaka’s for a delicious tandoori. Prior to that bought a train ticket to Dar; didn’t fancy a long bus ride and why not try the relatively new line.
The Thurs departure didn’t materialise as there had been an accident somewhere down the line passed Makinyumbi. A goods wagon came off the rails and they had to repair the tracks. Oh well back to Basecha and the police canteen and a huge piece of tandoori chicken. Anyway, we did leave on Friday…half an hour late at 16:30. The train seemed nice…a bit crowded as lots of school kids heading home after their school closed in light of corona. The buffet car was well supplied with beer and had a funny, lively DJ. At times the music was too loud and made chatting difficult. But he was hilarious and gave out funny bit of commentary about the upcoming stations. It was also a reminder to some people that they had to get off at the next station.
Well, the track repairs weren’t complete and we stopped at Korogwe at 01:50 a.m. I managed to get a few hours sleep; the beds in the 6 berth rooms were very comfortable. We had 8 hrs to kill in Korogwe. Got to know Korogwe station quite well. Got to know my new friends as well and took the opportunity to charge my phone’s. Kind of fun spending so much time in the town where I was born…well the railway station at least.
Left at 10:30 And got as far as Makinyumbi where we stopped for half an hour. Then we saw the cause of the delay. The train wagon on its side down a small embankment. After that there were no dramas. Just a very long journey. Arrived in the outskirts of Dar in the dark…which I wasn’t happy about. Got off at a station called Pugu; we had to walk in the dark along railway tracks before getting out of the station proper. Quite a few people so got help with how to get to Segerea. Two Matatu rides and I was there … about 21:00. About 27 hours travelling in all. Tiring but an adrenalin rush when doing something for the first time. I probably won’t do that again though. Anyway, old tracks/lines are being used and their maintenance I’d questionable. Two days later 5 people were killed in a head on collision…I think on an adjoining track.
Anyway, it was good to see Emil and Tecla again. Had my old room back and the aircon was working. Sunday I went into the city to use WiFi at a big hotel. I went in again on Monday; the main purpose being to visit the Kenya high commission. The main reason for doing this trip was to resolve a visa issue. Was told at Holili that because I had received a visa on entry into Kenya which was extended, I needed to leave the Region to start again. Had planned to go to Ethiopia but they stopped issuing visas on arrival and then the country closed down anyway. So I thought I’d go across TZ to Malawi or Zambia, spend a few days and reenter. The lady at the high commission said there was no as I had a multiple entry visa for Kenya for a year. I accepted that explanation, although I knew / thought there would be a problem down the line.
Glad to not have to go on another long journey with a lot of uncertainty….I proceeded to relax at Emil’s for the next couple of days.