Saturday, June 29
Indian Ocean (Off the Coast of Tanzania): MV Mapinduzi
Now that we know that we need to be at the ferry dock by 2:00, we don't really have time to do too much. We wander into town in search of something to eat. We smell something delicious and determine that it's coming from a small hut. We poke our heads in a see a few tables, so we head inside. The woman in the kitchen speaks no English, but we manage to order a couple of cups of tea, a Sprite, a couple of chapati (fried flat bread) and a couple of andazi (fried dough balls). Over breakfast, Steve spends a good deal of time with the Swahili-English dictionary translating the rest of the menu, and decides he wants to order some rice. I lean over the two foot railing that separates the kitchen from the dining area, and attempted to order rice for Steve. The woman looks at me when I speak and appears to comprehend what I said . . . or at least she doesn't say anything to lead me to believe that she did not understand. She continues to cook, and we figure she's making the rice. I watch her cook and get a lesson in Swahili cooking. First she grates a coconut sitting on a traditional coconut grating stool called a mbuzi, and then squeezes the coconut shreds to get the milk. She combines the coconut milk with the onions and tomatoes that she's been sautéing. She adds some okra, some chopped up fish, and some spices. All of this is done in a kitchen with a dirt floor, no electricity or gas, and no running water. She cooks over charcoal, and piles one pot on top of the other to keep things warm. Her son brings buckets of water that she uses to clean the dishes, and her daughter is busy chopping vegetables.
After an hour or so, we become suspicious that maybe she didn't realize we wanted more food. Luckily, another customer arrived and translated for us. We ordered two big bowls of rice, with side dishes of beans, and the very fresh and delicious fish curry sauce.
Bargain of the day: Breakfast -- two teas, one Sprite, two chapati, two andazi, two bowls of rice with beans and fish curry sauce -- about $1.30 This meal may, in fact, have been the bargain of the trip. We couldn't believe it, so we asked the woman several times whether the price was correct. She swore that it was.
We make our way to the ferry, a very large boat called the MV Mapinduzi, and find a spot to park ourselves out on the deck. By this point, we had become accustomed to African hospitality and joined right in with the other passengers in our area sharing fruit and biscuits, learning bits of Swahili and teaching some English, and playing with the children. After the sun went down, most people pulled out their mats, and we found a place for our sleeping bags. We woke up the next morning as we were pulling into the harbor in Dar es Salaam. After a month away it was nice to be coming back to a familiar place, and it turns out, to old friends. On our way back to the Safari Inn, we ran into our safari operator and later on we saw Joseph, who helped us figure out how to find the bus to Lushoto, our next destination.
High point of the day: Ferry leaving on time
Low point of the day: Bathrooms on the ferry
Sunday, June 30
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania: Safari Inn
After checking in, showering in a real, hot shower, we made our way over to the Q-Bar, an ex-pat hangout on the Msasani Peninsula, to watch the final game of the World Cup. Steve insisted on going over about two hours before the game started; I was reluctant, but hungry, and it turned out to be an excellent move. We got a table smack in front of what we had been told was the only big screen in all of Dar. By the time the game started, the bar was jam packed with flag-waving German ex-pats and loads of Tanzanian Brazil fans who broke into song every time that Brazil scored. I didn't much care who won and just enjoyed the atmosphere, the very cold beers, my prawn sandwich, and Randy's very tasty seafood platter, which at $8 was outrageous compared to what we'd been paying for food, but worth every shilling.
After the game, we went in search of an English bookstore. The store (A Novel Idea Bookstore) was in the Msasani slipway, an outdoor shopping center located at an old shipyard on the Indian Ocean. Not only did we find an excellent bookstore, we also ate ice cream, bought some crafts from the bazaar, stocked up at the supermarket, and bought some T-shirts. We managed to spend all of our money, and luckily, the ATM was out of service or we might never have left.
High point of the day: Lunch
Low point of the day: very loud Indian music right next to hotel until very late at night