Dar es Salaam Trip Overview

In Dar es Salaam, Smart was pressed for time to complete everything needed before we left the city.  Luckily, I was able to help with paperwork to lighten the workload.  When I wasn't busy with paperwork, I was able to enjoy Dar es Salaam.

Dar es Salaam itself is very busy; the daily traffic proved how crowded it is.  Driving into downtown Dar es Salaam would have taken up to 5 hours during the busiest time of day.  I noticed at one intersection, our taxi driver turned his car off while we waited.  If we were able to, we took a bajaj because they are able to navigate around some of the traffic. 

I met wonderful people while in Dar es Salaam.  One family touched my heart because they sounded a lot like my parents:  proud parents that miss their children.  Their children are studying and living abroad/ far away, and it was nice to hear them talk about it.  I enjoyed fantastic food in Dar es Salaam, met Smart’s niece who assisted with clinic paperwork, and attended a Tanzanian Send-Off party!

Mwanza was our overnight transit point coming and going to Dar es Salaam.  On the return trip, we had almost two full days in Mwanza because of our flight/ ferry schedule.  Mwanza is BEAUTIFUL.  It sits on Lake Victoria, and the landscape has hillsides littered with gigantic boulders which look like smooth, oversized pebbles.  Often, they are arranged in a way which looks like someone purposefully place them on top of each other (maybe the did?).  Mwanza has less traffic and is much cheaper than Dar es Salaam.  I also found contact solution in Mwanza (yes!!), so it earned major points in my book. 

The ferry from Mwanza to Bukoba departed at 9:00pm on Sunday and arrived in Bukoba around 8:00am the next day.  On the ferry, we met three students who were traveling/ sightseeing after finishing a teaching internship in Uganda (they are originally from Holland).  When we arrived in Bukoba, they spent the day with us at the COSAD house & in town.  While they were here, we had people speaking 4 different languages- Dutch, English, Swahili, and Kihaya.  Not a single language was understood by everyone, it was great.  The students slept in our spare bedroom and left for Uganda the following day!  It was fun having guests and listening to their traveling stories.  They were absolutely lovely.

Send-Off Party, bringing in gifts.

Getting on the ferry, 9pm.

Antifona, outside our sleeping cabin.

Students from Uganda/ Holland

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