Dar Es Salaam
At 12:35pm on October 2nd, I flew out of Santorini to Athens, caught another flight to Cairo, and then finally arrived in Dar Es Salaam at 5:35am on October 3rd. I had pre-arranged for an airport transfer to my hotel and by the time I obtained my visa and picked up my luggage, I went outside of the airport to find that my transport did not arrive. To make a long story short, a taxi driver lent me his cell phone and after a few phone calls back and forth, my ride showed up at 9:10am!!! TIA (This is Africa).
During the ride to my accommodations, I had my first glimpse of Tanzania and it was exactly how I pictured it to be. Cars, bikes, donkeys and people on the roads (very busy), rusted old bicycles transporting fresh produce to the markets, beautiful African women carrying their babies on their backs and other women carrying goods on their heads, traffic chaos that would intimidate any foreigner from driving on their roads, dirt roads filled with pot holes that make for a very curvy and bumpy ride, numerous Pepsi and Coca Cola trucks filled with glass bottles, food stalls selling produce and meat (I’d write fresh produce and meat but I’m not really sure how fresh it is)…and more.
At about 10:30am, I finally made it to Kipepeo Village. After all the flying & waiting, I was ready for a shower and nap and that is exactly what I did. I spent most of the afternoon on my balcony hammock napping – it was a perfect afternoon! Here are some pictures of Kipepeo Village and my tree house:
In the evening, my tour group pulled into Kipepeo Village and I joined them for dinner. They had just arrived at the site after 12 hours of driving – what a long day for them too. Despite being over tired, they were very welcoming to me as I was joining in on the tour.
Zanzibar – Stone Town
The next morning, we all packed our bags and left Dar Es Salaam for Zanzibar. We were driven in Tuk Tuks to the ferry port for 7,500 Tanzanian Shilling per person ($5 Canadian). After we arrived in Stone Down and checked into our hotel, I went out to shop and check out the food market. Oh man, my stomach turned at some of the seafood that was in the open food market – not just the appearance, but also the stench of fish. Fresh fish and seafood should not smell like that! The fruit and vegetables didn’t fare much better. I quickly became concerned about the food that would be entering my stomach while in Africa. Must be careful!
Here are some photos from my walk around Stone Town in Zanzibar:
After the markets, we headed to this restaurant/bar called Livingstone that was located directly on the beach. It was Happy Hour (1/2 price cocktails) so we had a few drinks. Soon, more members of the group showed up and we were having a great time. A couple of us left to go shower and we came back to eat dinner. I had a vegetable curry and it was good (I was a bit weary of ordering any meat after being at the market, but those who ordered meat enjoyed it).
After dinner, we headed to the night market which is kind of similar to the Richmond Night Market we have at home – at least the food section. I was not keen on trying any of the food. It may have looked good, but after seeing the market during the day, my stomach and common sense prevailed and I purchased nothing. I was walking around the food tables with a few guys from the group and one of them was eager to try some stuff. We were standing at one table and he was about to order and I was like, “Can you smell that? Seafood shouldn’t have a smell if it’s fresh. Let’s go!”. We ended up at another table where there was no fishy smell and he ordered a plateful of barracuda and tiger shark –apparently it was very good and he didn’t get sick. I reckon it’s because he’s got a German iron stomach! Here are some photos of the food at the market:
We then headed back to the restaurant/bar and had a really great time. There were only a handful of us that stayed until 2am. The DJ was playing some of the worst music for a bar/restaurant (ie. YMCA and essentially the Grease soundtrack), but it was a fun night.
Long Beach
The next morning we left Stone Town for Long Beach. It was a 2 hour bumpy ride in a bus and thanks to the aid of Gravol, I didn’t feel an ounce of motion sickness. When we arrived at our lodging for the next 2 days, we were immediately impressed by the beauty of the grounds and the stunning beach – all for $35 US per night per person.
I spent the evening watching sunset and chatting away with the beach vendors while the rest of the group went on a booze cruise. I wasn’t particularly interested in purchasing their goods, but it was nice to get to know them a bit and learn about their culture. That’s one of the things I really enjoy about travelling – getting to know the people in the country I am visiting and being exposed to their culture.
Here’s a photo of me with Frederick and Isaac (beach vendors) just after sunset – check out Isaac’s dreadlocks!
I spent the next day relaxing on the beach under a hut. It was another perfect day! During the evening, our entire group went out to a restaurant just down the beach and the food was fantastic and cheap! Check out some photos below from Long Beach:
My final full day in Tanzania involved a lot of sitting in the overland truck as we began our journey south towards Malawi. The scenery was amazing. We drove through Mikumi National Park where I saw giraffe, zebras, water buffalo, baboons and elephants.
We reached our campsite at around 5pm and set up our tents. At 6:45pm we headed to the bar and shortly after 7pm we headed to the restaurant. All the food served at the restaurant is grown locally by the campsite. We had a clove & carrot soup for starter and main course was meatballs, spinach sautéed with garlic, baby potatoes gently seasoned with butter, beans and a polenta type dish that was white but flavourless. It was a great introduction to African cuisine.
Here is a photo of what overlanding in Africa looks like:
Pit stop for breakfast!
I am loving Africa so far! I love what I have seen and experienced and am thirsty for more of it. I have loved hearing stories from others on the tour who commenced their tour earlier – Gorillas on a gorilla trek, the animals in the Serengeti, their experience with the Masai Mara tribes in Kenya and more. I will be back to Africa. It’s truly amazing! Next stop: Malawi!
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