Started writing this blog at 9 PM in the Mkonge Hotel – Tanga's best – after gin and tonic at sunset overlooking the old Tanga Yacht Club. To those that do not know Tanga, all that will mean nothing, but for me the symbolism is deep. Mkonge is Swahili for sisal and the Mkonge Hotel has taken over the palatial former headquarters of the Tanganyika Sisal Association, which represented the interests of the sisal plantation owners in colonial times – it still is a magnificent building, all wood-panelling and high ceilings, with a gorgeous swimming pool, tennis courts and lawns overlooking the sea.
Forty years ago, the Tanga Yacht Club was the whiter-than-white watering hole of the expatriate set. There is a small stretch of sand beach between the Mkonge Hotel and the Yacht Club which represents the only place to swim for miles around, since the coastline outside Tanga is largely mangrove swamp, and the port takes up much of the space in Tanga harbour. Back when I came here, 41 years ago, three swimming clubs owned that beach in sections – two had white members and one was Asian. There really was then no place for any African who might want to swim – so just seeing how African the membership of the swimming clubs has become is a measure of social change.
It was a day of many impressions. For somebody who returns 41 years after first coming to Tanga, and who has also visited China recently, it is hard to come to terms with how little economic growth has happened.. The streetscapes are much the same, save some old buildings have fallen down. There is hardly any traffic – certainly none of the congestion of Dar. Although the municipality is clearly making efforts to make the city more beautiful – planting flowers in boulevards and maintaining the waterfront park – there is very little new construction and more than a few derelict office buildings and vacant factory sites. Sisal used to be two-thirds of Tanganyika's exports in colonial days, huge fortunes were made (for foreigners) and 750,000 tons per year were produced in the 1960s. Today, the acreage near the road looks impressive, and there is clearly some replanting going on, but the industry is a pale shadow of its former self – I was told today that tonnage last year was 36,000.
We dropped in on Tatona – Tanga Tourism Association – an association of local tourism operators, which turned out to be a largely empty office behind an office block. A very nice fellow there told us of Tanga's two tourism sites – the Tongoni ruins south of the city and the Amboni caves to the north. (The "Lonely Planet" guidebook also lists them as Tanga's two top claims to fame.) So we said we would go to Tongoni and since he had to go to a meeting in that direction, we gave him and a colleague a ride.
I was curious because the meeting was at something grandly called the Tanga International Conference Centre, and I wondered what that could possibly be. It turned out to be the creation of a Norwegian aid worker ( the 60 something "Mama Ruth", who has been here off and on since 1985). She has created a very nice meeting centre, with accommodation for about 20 people and some meeting rooms and a dining area. The concept is that people will come for courses on conflict resolution, sustainability, etc., and who knows, it may work – she must be well connected politically, because President Kikwete himself opened the place, this spring.
After an encouraging chat about all the efforts being made to build tourism, we were off on the road to Tongoni – and within 5 minutes, we were flagged down by the traffic police. There are traffic police checkpoints all along the roads everywhere we have driven in Tanzania and mostly we have just been waved through – several times we have been stopped by officers who just wanted to know where we were from, where we were going and to wish us welcome and a safe trip.
This time was different. Two officers were there – an older senior officer with badge number E9437 and a younger officer who did almost all the talking, and who invented a problem with our car's documents (the claim was that the copy of the full registration form we keep with us should have been notarized). It was clear that for 20,000 Tanzanian shillings, if paid in cash immediately, the problem would go away, but we refused to pay, saying we would be glad to pay a fine to a court, but not to him. After a half hour of discussion, he relented and we went on our way – but it was a disturbing experience. Tourism will never prosper in places where the traffic police attempt to extort money from passing motorists. And we wonder what happens to Tanzanians who refuse to pay.
In the end, we really enjoyed our visit to Tongoni. The ruins are really pretty small and well off the road, through some villages and palm trees. Even in the 15th century it was not very big (the mosque ruins were about big enough for a 100 men praying) – but a very nice guide wrote us up in the receipt book (last previous visitor was 5 days ago) and showed us around. On the way back we looked for our police checkpoint, but it had disappeared.
We bought some kange and sandals in the market and went off to lunch on samosas at the Ras Kazone Swimming club. Once the Asian swimming club, it is now an all-African scene – lots of family groups coming for Saturday afternoon at the club, teenagers acting sophisticated and local big-shots buying drinks. Even if there has not been economic growth in Tanga, I would count it as social progress that Africans now get to swim, in the ocean, in their own city.
Later in the day we visited the Amboni Caves, and again we followed a track through villages and, at one point, down a gully – we were glad the Subaru has 4 wheel drive. The final stretch of road is only one lane, along a cliff face, so it would be pretty much impossible for more than one tourist vehicle at a time to visit the caves – and that day, we were the lucky vehicle. The caves themselves are worth the visit – if only because anyone who has visited the limestone caves in Europe, with their elaborate lighting and special effects, will appreciate how 'raw' these caves are. Although many local people seem to come on foot, we were the only foreign tourists in evidence at this, Tanga's major tourist venue.
In both places the guides were really pleasant and knowledgeable and we enjoyed ourselves – but it only takes a few police officers who abuse their position to undo all the good work that so many others in Tanga region are doing, in trying to build a tourism industry there, to replace the sisal exports that no longer exist.
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