Adventures in Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam

Saying thank you before the vodka.... we were in a convent after all.

It’s been quite some time since my last blog entry, and that is because I have had a very busy month, so this entry may be a bit on the long side. It started on December first when I packed up my bag and traveled to Dar es Salaam for VSO’s annual volunteer conference as well as a celebration of VSO’s presence in Tanzania for 50 years.  Those of us who are living in more rural areas, like myself, were flown in a few days prior to the commencement of the conference, I assume because VSO understands that since we are isolated a few extra days in the city would be useful in order to run errands and do some shopping. We flew Precision Air into the city, and as it turns out, the name is not exactly entirely descriptive of their service – our flight was delayed by more than 4 hours. Apparently precision air is notorious for these sorts of delays. The thing is though; they are the only Tanzanian airline that uses European audit standards, so when flying within Tanzania, one must really consider carefully what is most important to them. We arrived in Dar quite late and were picked up and taken to our new home for the next week and a half – A catholic conference center out in the middle of a shipping yard. The good news is that there was a bar. Seeing as we arrived several days early for the conference about 8 or so of us made a last minute decision that our weekend would be much better spent in Zanzibar rather than hanging out in the convent.  

The view from bar #1

 There is a ferry from Dar es Salaam to Stone Town that takes about an hour and a half and is actually an unexpectedly pleasant ride. Once you get though the chaos of actually boarding the boat and the unease caused by the fact that sick bags are handed out as soon as you take your seat, it is very comfortable and even shows a movie for the ride. Cast away was the movie of choice for this leg of the journey..... good movie, but I’m not sure it’s an entirely appropriate choice for a boat ride to an island.....  

 

Stone Town is a bustling city, and I will spend more time there next time I visit Zanzibar. This time though we were off to Jambiani to visit Ishwar, a fellow VSO volunteer who had kindly arranged for accommodations for the group – a cozy house right on the beach. Once we settled in we immediately found a bar to have some pre-dinner drinks at prior to an excellent sushi meal. 

At the beach bar in Jambiani

After dinner we went out for a quiet drink at a beach bar. One turned into two, turned into three, turned into “shoot.... we need to get back to the beach house, we have a car coming at 5:30am to pick us up!” A few of us had booked a trip to go swimming with the dolphins and early morning is the best time to go. We made it back in time, but not in time for my head to hit the pillow first. Swimming with the dolphins in Zanzibar is not like swimming with them in Cuba or Florida or Mexico. They do not drive you out to some “research facility” where they have you hop into the water for a series of photo-ops with the poor caged animals. Instead you hop into a boat and head out into the open water in search of some dolphins. 

Hammocks at the bar: a great idea

It is actually very beautiful and peaceful (just perfect after a night of many drinks and no sleep)..... That is until the tour guide spots a dolphin, stops the boat and like a drill sergeant shouts “EVERYONE OUT, NOW! EVERYONE IN THE WATER!”..... But then, once you are in the water... Dolphins are swimming with you! It is all peaceful and right and good again! It was a really beautiful experience. As an aside, I’m sure you know that dolphins communicate with one another in a fairly complex way (much like humans) but did you know that scientists are actually working on a translation devise that would allow for two way communication between dolphins and people? How cool is that? One day I might be able to talk to a dolphin and ask him questions. Maybe the dolphins know something about the aliens. I could ask them about that.  

A nap was in order once we returned, but we were up in a few hours for a proper (and expensive) coffee and a massage. Ahhhhh...... I really needed this! Life can be tough sometimes in the village. For those of you who read my blog regularly, you may recall how pleased I was at the luxuries I found in Mwanza. Well Zanzibar offers many, many more luxuries..... and all of them are beachfront. 

Not sure if he's looking to sell the whole tank or just the fish inside...

After another sleepless night (it’s just so easy to lose track of time with that sea breeze...) it was time again to head back to the ferry and make our way back into Dar. Now some of you may recall that my first impressions of Dar were not entirely positive. My second impression of the city was far more positive – that’s what living in the village will do to you I suppose. Sure, the traffic is still horrendous, the streets are filthy, and it’s hotter than you can imagine, BUT, there are also supermarkets and a movie theatre (I got to see the new Twilight movie.... while drinking a margarita!) and restaurants that actually stock the items listed on their menus – and more than that, they are excellent restaurants. Also, being the optimist that I am, I can even find a positive in the bumper to bumper traffic. Since the traffic is so bad, industrious vendors walk up and down the streets selling their items. You can buy anything from electronics and DVDs to home decor to clothing to food... and even pets (see photo of dude with a fish tank on his head). So one really could make the most of their time stuck in traffic and do the weekly shopping. Seriously – you can get almost anything from these guys on the side of the road, and all from the comfort of your own car. I actually started to feel a bit spoiled while staying in Dar – a feeling that I certainly did not expect to feel in Tanzania considering how spoiled we all are at home in Canada. 

Room part at the convent - good times with good people

The conference was quite enjoyable. The purpose of the annual conference is to come together and share ideas and experiences and hopefully take some new knowledge back with us to our placements. It is also an excellent opportunity to socialize with other volunteers and It was really nice to see all my crew again - we definitely had a good time. Towards the end of the week we were invited to the Canadian high commissioner’s residence for a cocktail party where VSO was recognized for 50 years of work in Tanzania. On the way there one of our busses broke down and I think the reaction of the group as a whole speaks to how we have adjusted since being here. Nobody grumbled at all. We simply got off the bus and waited for the other one that was just behind us and when it pulled up we all crammed in with the other volunteers dala dala style.

At the residence of the Canadian High Commissioner with some of my BFAs (Best Friends in Africa)

Taking a boat to a beautiful beach in Dar

After the conference I spent a few more days in Dar with some friends enjoying the city and the beach..... and then unexpectedly decided to return home for the holidays, which was a great decision. It’s COLD at home though! It was so nice to see family and friends at home and also to enjoy the comforts of mom’s cooking and gingerbread lattes. I didn’t tell many people I was coming home as it was a very last minute decision, so I got to surprise quite a few people which was fun.... I hid in the trunk of my mom’s car to surprise my BFF and sat up and shouted “Surprise” when she opened it.... I got a pretty good reaction from that.  

Returning to the village was tough. Not only was I tired after several days of travel to get here, but I also came down with a cold. Coming back one really needs to re-adjust all over again and I wasn’t entirely prepared for that feeling, but I’m all settled and back to work now.... and back to boiling water. Speaking of which, I need to go boil some now.

Miss you all,

V

It's Grasshopper Season!

So it’s currently rainy season here in Tanzania, and more rain equals more grasshoppers. The locals are wild about grasshoppers..... as a tasty snack. They buy them by the bag full, or bucket full and rip off their little green wings and legs while they are still alive and then they deep-fry them.  They seriously love them here. I was in Bukoba for the weekend and they were for sale everywhere. You can buy live ones, or already prepared ones. I thought about trying one, but I didn’t... but the rains aren’t over yet so who knows, maybe I will still work up the courage to sample one. The rainy season also means that there are other bugs that come out. Really big ones. The bugs here are enormous.  I’m not really sure why grasshoppers are favoured over other possibly tasty creepy crawlies, but they are. 

It was a nice weekend in Bukoba. I had a chance to do some shopping as well as to enjoy the sun a bit while hanging out by the pool and having a cold beer. There might not be a tonne of things to do in Bukoba, but I would say that hanging out by the pool and getting slightly day-drunk is a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Although I did not purchase any grasshoppers, I did come back with some wine as well as some cheese – two items that are not available in Rubya where I live. 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so rather than writing a long blog post, here are a few photos taken in Rubya and Bukoba to give you a bit of an idea of where I live and what my surroundings are like.

Miss you all,

V

This is the tree lined road that leads into Rubya

There is a gorgeous view from just about everywhere in Rubya

This is the front entrance to the hospital where I work

These guys had to move this shipping container about 100 metres... It took them all afternoon, but they were successful

Nothing is easy here...

A Tanzanian woman and her baby. Babies are always carried strapped to someone’s back, and I don’t think men ever carry babies, although it is not uncommon to see a 5 or 6 year old girl helping out her mother with the baby strapped to her back.

A huge bug hanging outside my side door

This is an almost empty bag of grasshoppers..... I tried to get a photo of it when it was full but the crowds of people wanting to purchase some prevented me from snapping one

These bags are full of grasshoppers.....

And if you don’t want to go through the hassle of preparing the grasshoppers yourself, not to worry! Just about every shop has some for sale. Yup.... those containers are full of fried grasshoppers.

The view from the pool in Bukoba where I relaxed and enjoyed some sun.

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

It's Already Been a Whole Month

This is the "street" that I live on

It has been a little while since my last blog post as I have been getting settled and have not had all that much to report. Rubya is a small place, not a lot happens here. The main event of the week is the market on Sunday. Going to the market is not like popping into Loblaws. The market has your basic items – some veggies, fruits, rice, beans, eggs if you get there early etc. There are also a lot of random items. A quick glance will not give you an idea of one’s inventory, you really need to stop and take a look. If you’re looking for kitchenware for example you may have to go to multiple vendors. The first vendor may have forks but no spoons, the next one might have spoons and mugs, and the next might have a tea pot. If you want a knife, good luck to you. They’re hard to come by. I’m not sure how people manage to cut things.  

On the way to the market in Rubya

Now for any items other than the very basic, one must travel into Bukoba which is the capital of the Kegera region (where I am). Bukoba is about 80km away from Rubya and takes about 2 hours to get to. Getting there is not comfortable.There is a taxi stand near my home and there are generally a few cars and piki pikis (motorcycles) there to take people about – that’s right, even motorcycles qualify as taxis here. I haven’t done any price shopping on the piki piki rides as I am definitely NOT interested as they get into accidents all the time, so I’m not sure how the prices compare to the cars. Either way though, a piki piki can take not one, but two passengers. No, they are not specially designed motorcycles with an extra seat or anything. They are second had Chinese bikes that look like they might fall apart if challenged by a bump in the road. More passengers equals more money, so if they can squeeze one on, they will. The cars are also mostly second hand and do not look to be in the best condition. In order to get to Bukoba the first step is getting a ride with a shared taxi into Muleba, this takes about an hour. When you arrive at the taxi you will have to wait to depart until it is full, that or pay for the extra seat(s). Much like the piki piki, more passengers equals more money. Four people in the back seat and 2 people sitting in the front along with the driver would qualify for the car to get on its way. Now there are apparently traffic laws in Tanzania and I’m told that they are enforced from time to time. Because of this the shared taxi will often take back roads that are unpaved and full of pot holes rather than the main road in order to avoid police. Durring my first shared taxi experience our driver spotted a police officer so he pulled over to the side of the road and one of the front seat passengers was booted out. They must have discussed this prior (my Swahili is still quite weak, so I have no idea what is discussed most of the time) because about 10 minutes later we looped around and picked him up again.  The taxi will not go out of its way to drop you off, but it will stop wherever you like. Durring my first shared taxi experience the car stopped and I thought ‘thank goodness, someone is getting off.... I hope it’s the not-so-fresh smelling person’. 

Weekday market in Rubya

 Boy was I in for a surprise..... the driver was stopping to pick someone up! Now I will remind you, there were currently FOUR of us in the backseat and THREE in the front seat and we were picking up one more! The eighth person piled into the front seat with the driver and was almost sitting on his lap. The car was a manual. I have no idea how the driver managed because as far as I could see there was absolutely no way for him to maneuver both of his feet to control the pedals and the clutch. What a relief it was to get out of that car.... and into a dala dala. The dala dala from Muleba to Bukoba also takes about an hour. The dala dala vans have seating for about 15 or so people. Guess how many people actually ride on one? At least 25-35 I would say. It is ridiculous how they pack people in. And if there isn’t enough room then someone will just have to ride hanging out of the door. The secret here is to get in the front seat with the driver.... that way there will be only one person sitting next to you and there won’t be butts and armpits shoved into your face as they cram extra passengers on. The dala dala to Bukoba stops A LOT...... and just when you think that they cannot cram any more people in, the driver will stop to pick up 5 more. Safety is not a number one priority when it comes to transportation here in Tanzania.

Random huge bird in Bukoba

Once finally arriving in Bukoba you can do some shopping, dine in one of the restaurants or grab a cold beer. Many Tanzanian’s drink their beer warm (I suppose this is likely because not everyone has a fridge or electricity so they are used to drinking it warm) so in some places cold beer actually is not available. While the shopping in Bukoba still leaves much to be desired, I am happy to report that I found the liquor store and it sells nice South African wine.  I haven’t yet had an opportunity to spend the night in Bukoba but there are several hotels that offer luxuries such as hot water at very affordable prices. For two reasons I have a feeling that I will be in Bukoba, despite the long journey, quite often; firstly, there is not a lot to do in Rubya and I’m sure it will generally be a welcomed treat to have a nice hot shower and also somewhere to go. Secondly, if I want to eat then I really need to do a fair chunk of my shopping there and seeing as there isn’t a lot of room on the dala dala or in the taxi, there are limits on the amount of stuff I can bring back. Oh..... and I guess I should change that to three reasons!.... Wine! (of which there is none in Rubya.) 

Despite the long and uncomfortable journey to Bukoba, it is nice to visit there as it is a nice town and there are also quite a few other VSO volunteers in the area who head to Bukoba on weekends. It is also a necessity to visit as I really do need to buy things there. One of the things that I have discovered since being here is that nothing is easy in Africa, everything takes 10 times longer than it would at home.  And on that note.... I think it’s time for me to get back to boiling water.

Miss you all,

V