Weekend in Mwanza

The girls I traveled with and our boat full of bananas

I spent last weekend in Mwanza and it was really nice to get away to a city and treat myself a bit. Now before you start thinking pedicures, massages and Starbucks let me remind you – this is Africa. There apparently are only 2 Starbucks locations in Africa and I have been to one of them. One is in Egypt and the other in South Africa. Even without Starbucks though, it was still a nice time.  Mwanza is Tanzania’s second largest city, behind Dar es Salaam, but it is much nicer. There are many spectacular views and it is located on the South Coast of lake Victoria. Mwanza tends to be a popular spot for people who are just beginning or finishing a safari through the Serengeti. Most travel companies at home will route you through Arusha for your safari but due to its proximity, Mwanza is a far better starting point.

Me and bananas on the boat

To get to Mwanza from Bukoba you have 2 options. You can take a bus, which I hear is quite uncomfortable and it is also a long ride, or you can take a ferry that departs form Bukoba around 9pm and arrives in Mwanza early in the morning at around 6 or 7am. I opted for the overnight ferry which I had heard some mixed reviews about. Some said it was “beautiful” and others indicated that it left much to be desired. I’m going to side with the second of those opinions. You have the option of buying a ticket for one of three classes. In third class, as I understand it, you have a seat but it is not assigned so you might also end up on the floor. Much like on the titanic, third class is separated physically from first and second class by a locked gate. That is where the similarities of this boat to the titanic end, by the way.  In second class there are rooms assigned and you share a room with bunk beds with 5 other passengers. In first class you are assigned a room with only one bunk bed which works out well if you are travelling in a group with an even number of people but means that you will be assigned a roommate if you are on your own or in a group with an odd number. It’s generally not so bad to have a roommate though as you really only are using the room to sleep in. There is a bar and restaurant shared by first and second class. I have no idea what the food is like, but the beers are cold, which is a good thing. The washrooms on the boat are shared and they are disgusting. Just awful. I’ve included a photo but I really don’t think it does a good enough job at conveying just how repulsive the washrooms are. I’m glad to have a strong bladder, but the boat ride is quite long so I wasn’t able to avoid them entirely.  The boat carries passengers as well as cargo. As far as I could see the only thing coming from Bukoba to Mwanza was loads of bananas. 

The terrible washroom on the boat

My cabin

The boat makes one stop in a nearby town called Komondo before continuing onto Mwanza. When you ride on the dala dala each time you stop at a designated dala dala stop to pick up or drop off passengers there are heaps of people who run alongside the bus selling everything from snacks and drinks to clothing and home decor items. When the ferry stops there are little fishing boats that paddle up to the side selling fish to passengers on the boat. It was kind of neat to see even though my pictures didn’t turn out all that well. 

The view of Mwanza from the boat

On arrival to Mwanza the first thing we did was go for breakfast. I was really looking forward to having a coffee. Most Tanzanians drink only instant coffee and as such, in most places this is all you can find. I like my coffee, and instant just isn’t cutting it. Tanzanians grow coffee beans and then sell the raw beans to foreign companies for processing and sale abroad. Locally, they produce instant coffee. I figured that being in a larger city would mean that REAL coffee would be readily available to me. I was wrong. The restaurant had only instant. Oh well. We then did a bit of shopping in the local markets before heading to our hotel to check in. It’s really amazing how quickly one’s standards change. I saw the room and thought “well this isn’t that bad”..... if I had seen a room like this 3 months ago I would have turned around and walked out the door. It was clean enough, the bed was comfortable, and there was a fan as well as a mosquito net. So it was good enough. The bathroom was a bit gross, but there was hot water available which was a plus. We went to a few nice restaurants over the next couple days and drank some nice wine and some cold beers. The food availability here in Rubya is vastly different than in a larger city so we ate quite a bit. And on our last afternoon in Mwanza I found a coffee bar with real coffee! I was very pleased to have a cappuccino J I also found some ground coffee in one of the western shops so I will be able to make myself a proper coffee at home now as well! Another “luxury” item that I picked up in Mwanza was a mirror. They seem to be hard to come by here and I am pretty sure that most people do not have a mirror in their homes. I have not come by a full length mirror in many places so, much like the locals, I really have no idea what I look like on most days.

View from the restaurant (Bukoba.... not Mwanza)

Happy with my cappuccino

While there isn’t a LOT to do in Mwanza, it was really nice to get away for the weekend and eat some real food, drink some wine and do a bit of shopping. There is also a movie theatre in Mwanza as well as a few hotels that have pretty nice pools, so I am already looking forward to my next visit. Unfortunately the movies that are played at the theatre seem to be a bit dated so it doesn’t look like I’m going to get to see the next twilight movie on opening day. 

Miss you all,

V