Bus to Mwanza

I am in Dar es Salaam with Smart this week taking care of some business.  We have had two meetings so far, and both have been extremely interesting to be a part of.  

Two days ago, we departed from Bukoba to travel to Mwanza by bus.  The bus ride was an experience.  We missed the bus in Bukoba, not because we were late, but because the bus left almost 30 minutes early.  Our taxi driver then spent the next twenty minutes trying to catch the bus.  We finally caught it in a town down the road, but just barely.  The men by the bus quickly threw our bags into the storage bins under the bus, and pushed us onto the already-moving bus.  It was a charter bus with very nice interior and large seats.  In fact, my feet barely touched the floor.  We drove on paved roads, but I soon realized the seat belts were helpful not only if we were to get in a crash, but also necessary to keep me IN my seat!  I am easily sickened by any type of travel (cars, trains, planes) so I was thankful I took dramamine.  I was also thankful I had eaten basically nothing that day; that probably saved me from a miserable journey.  Instead, I was able to enjoy the beautiful scenery, catch a nap (the constant bouncing kind of lulled me to sleep, but also woke me up a few times) and people-watch out the window.  The landscape was beautiful, especially as we neared Mwanza.  Just before we arrived in Mwanza, we had to get off the bus to cross a portion of Lake Victoria by ferry.  It was quite impressive.  The ferry fit 20 or more vehicles (most of them large buses) plus all of the people traveling on them.  

Our bus journey was roughly 11am-6pm, including the time on the ferry.   We arrived at our hotel in Mwanza around 6:30pm, ate dinner, and then went to bed.  The next morning we caught an early flight from Mwanza to Dar es Salaam.  In total, it took around 24 hours to make it to Dar es Salaam!  

Waiting to board the ferry..

On the ferry, before it filled up!