On our first day, we searched out beaches and met these fellows. I haven't been here long enough to know if they are true Masai, or are purely decorative...but we see them everywhere!
Fish & chips Dar style: this is Lars saying, "Are they really expecting me to eat this with my fingers?" The answer was, "Yes" and it was delicious.
The next day we headed out of town, and here we are at one of the major intersections in the country. We are headed to Tanga, famous as the erstwhile home of Lars, second biggest city in the country, and centre of the sisal industry of Tanzania. We were pleasantly surprised at the lack of traffic on the road after this turn off - a complete contrast to Dar!
Just around the corner, legions of young guys were selling all kinds of fruit. As we traveled further away from Dar, and traffic tapered off to almost nothing, we had a sense of the fierce competition between these men for the few buyers. It must be a difficult way to make a living.
I am taking lots of pictures out the car window, and some of them are turning out...
Here is Lars bargaining, not very hard, with these boys to buy 2 baskets, which we will use to keep fruits and vegetables. There were about 5 other groups of boys selling these particular baskets in this small village. This was a Friday morning, and one wonders if they go to school?
Our first glimpse of the famous sisal estates that surround Tanga, and which Lars was very impressed to see still flourishing (at least some of them). Lars' job here 40 years ago was working for the Tanzania Sisal Corporation not long after the plantations were nationalized. It seems that with the price of oil going up, sisal is having a resurgence in popularity as a means to make baler twine.
As far as the eye can see...sisal. Note the whole family on the bicycle!
Some things didn't change...the old Seaview Hotel, on the verandah of which Lars had promised me a gin and tonic on our birthdays, was still there! We looked at a room, which was airy and grand, but I don't know whether it was the can of roach killer on the bureau or the lack of a mosquito net, but we decided to keep on looking. So we couldn't really go back there for a drink, then, could we?
Here are Lars' old digs...second floor balcony on your right. It is now the Tanga Medicare Hospital, which looked like a private one in spite of its name.
Some things perhaps should have changed....the "New Hotel" used to be one of Lars' favourite drinking spots, but looks like it needs more than a new name!
View from the car window - outside of Tanga.
We visited the Amboni caves, one of Tanga's major tourist attractions. We had some doubts about the ruggedness of our car (which looks rather delicate on these roads), but the road in here tested it and it passed! Did I say before how wild the secondary roads are? Not to mention all the invisible speed bumps on the paved roads....
We did have a G&T in Tanga overlooking the Indian Ocean...finally. I think I'm done with them now, at least for a time.
There was a fabulous sunset behind the old baobab tree..
After 2 days in Tanga, we had seen the sights and done enough reminiscing, so we headed up to Lushoto in the Usumbara mountains to do some walking. To get there we drove straight up (it felt like) a winding road for about an hour. Mercifully, there was very little traffic, as there is everywhere outside of Dar, it seems. We followed one of Lonely Planets' "easy" walks (ie without a guide) to Irente View, but we were lucky to be accompanied by Coretida (?)Otto and her little daughter Mary (who of course skipped all the way up carrying a loaded bucket on her head). They just happened to be going the same way, and were able to steer us in the right direction (otherwise we would have got very lost, and probably stuck up on the mountain, never to be seen again). Lars carried on a quite acceptable conversation in Swahili with her, and actually translated for me!
The view that awaited us at the top - well worth the walk! We definitely want to come back here - the walking through remote mountain villages is spectacular. The people are friendly, and it is beautiful country. We actually needed jackets (which we hadn't brought) in the evening!
We stayed at a hostel attached to this school and were able to buy...
jams, cheeses and banana wine, all made by the Usumbara sisters. I would really have liked to tour the school and meet some of the sisters, but of course it was Monday and a school day.
A bit of the road - it was quite exciting in parts!
And then back to Dar, where we managed to avoid the daily traffic jam and get home before 4:00!
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