Lost in Tea

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My final few days in Tanga were a mixture of happiness and sadness. There was lots to be doing; conservation, shopping, eating, drinking and hanging out. We had a couple of really nice meals, one with the whole group of volunteers and one with my Usagara hostel ‘family’. I said goodbye to my project and left everything in the safe (?!) hands of Martin, Kanuni, and Rhema. And I said farewell to a lot of friends who have become like family to me. My initial scepticism about Tanga I now put down to culture shock; I love Tanga! It is my home away from home. The people and the place are so welcoming and friendly, I couldn’t have asked for more.

On Friday we left Tanga and headed up to Amani for a few days (that is me, Lisa, Ryan, Toby, Meredith, Sarah and Chelle). After another precarious bus ride (there is no point in describing it, there has been so many!), we landed ourselves in the tiny hamlet of Amani village deep within the Amani Forest Reserve. I don’t think we were quite prepared for it to be so remote; we had no games and no alcohol with us! After watching a pack of monkeys over our afternoon tea we decided to head into the village itself. We found a little shop selling drinks, foods, and, after a bit of hard work using hand signals we acquired a pack of cards! There were a few kids playing football and so we joined in their games of passing and ‘piggy in the middle’. I think my football skills amused them greatly (I have none!), but its interesting how things like football transcend any language barriers and can bring people together.

That evening was highly amusing as we tried to entertain ourselves with only a pack of cards. We were literally in the middle of nowhere surrounded by forests, and we were convinced that someone would utter the classic line ‘I’m just going to the bathroom; I’ll be right back…’ never to return again!

Fortunately, we all woke up accounted for in the morning. We planned to do some hiking in the mountains, but when we talked to the guides they were totally trying to rip us off, charging over twice as much as we paid in Lushoto and Kilimanjaro! So, we borrowed a written guide describing one of the routes and decided to go it alone. It wasn’t until later that we realised the directions were ten years old, and mostly described plants and trees as markers!! Suffice to say, things have changed a lot since it was written! We managed the first part ok, but it wasn’t long before we were lost within the tea farm. It was very picturesque, with miles upon miles of tea stretching across many gently sloping valleys. We eventually made it through an overgrown forest towards a tiny village where many of the workers live. We were met by the bewildered looks of people who don’t usually get to see mzungus (white people), and a whole herd of children followed us, occasionally running up to touch us, and giggling at the strange foreigners. I will never get over how beautiful African children are compared to our English brats!!

After hiking up through another eucalyptus forest we stopped for lunch with breath taking views over the surrounding valleys, but that was as far as we were going to get following our guidebook! We spent much of the afternoon being lost, running through tea fields, and balancing on log ‘bridges’. We eventually found our way to another village and home again, such a good but tiring day!

On Sunday we had to leave early, the dalla dalla’s only come between 6.30 and 7.30 am. The first dalla dalla that stopped, I thought we had no chance of getting in, I didn’t even think there was space for one, and there were seven of us! But in true Tanzanian style they fitted us in like sardines for the most cramped bus ride of my entire life!! When we got out Toby couldn’t walk because he had no feeling in his legs! We had to say goodbye to Toby and Chelle there before heading back to Tanga for a lovely relaxing afternoon in the beautiful yacht club, where I watched my final sunset from Tanga. I’m going to miss Tanga.

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