A Drive from Korongwe to Dar es Salaam

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May 8th

We all got up early because we wanted to make it to Dar at a decent time of day, and mostly to avoid traffic. The drive was great and the scenery again was tropical with lush green forests, interspersed with small villages and people going about their daily lives. With the windows down on the truck, and the breeze cooling us down, it is easy for the outside world to see us and many people wave. We wave back and smile, it’s hilarious when the little ones go berserk when a mzungu (Swahili for white person or foreigner) waves back!

At one point we went down a very steep hill that is notorious for truck crashes, apparently many have very little or no brakes and they careen off the road frequently, at least once a day, I’ve been told. We didn’t actually see it happen but I did see a truck full of tomatoes turned over on the hill after we crossed the bridge.

We got into Dar a couple hours later and beat a lot of the traffic. (Video of us driving into Dar-es-Salaam is here. Our first stop was Mlimani Mall, a huge mall that would be just like one in Sioux Falls. Everyone used the ATM and got some food. Justin and I bought some veggies for dinner, and I bought an overpriced beach towel (but it’s actually really badass) and a football to play on the beach.

After we left the mall we headed for the fish market and ferry to take us across the Bay of Dar-es-Salaam. The fish market was pretty cool, obviously pretty smelly but it was cool to see Farron haggle in Swahili with one of the vendors and get us a massive fish for 15 thousand Tanzanian shillings, a bit less than $15. The ferry was a quick 5 minute ride and we all stayed in the truck, we got to the campsite about 10 minutes later and were so happy to plant our feet on the ground!

The place where we camped was great, it had an awesome beach front spot and after I got my tent up I went straight for the water. The football wasn’t far away from me and soon I had met some Tanzanian teenagers that wanted to kick about. Before long about 16 locals had convened and we played a pickup game there on the beach, it was great! There were corals rocks in many spots so it was kinda rough to play. Cameron scored the winner after we played in the blistering son for about 30 minutes.

We cooked the fish a bit later, after some down time in the bar, and somehow I ended up as head chef. Wendy and the girls delegated that to me for some reason, but we all worked together and made a good meal. Nicio and Justin took care of the fish while I made a salad. Cameron was in charge of the rice and it turned out great. Everyone enjoyed a great dinner, and afterwards we made our way back to the bar. We met some locals and played pool with them and also a couple volunteer teachers from the New England region of the USA. It was exciting because I hadn’t ever met anyone from there, and there we were in Tanzania!!

Everyone had a good time watching football and cricket, (I finally know how the game works!!), and by the end of the night I had been headbutted in the nose. Haha, okay it was an accident as Justin’s motor skills were a bit…impaired we’ll say. We were talking on the beach with some Spaniards heading to Capetown on a volunteer trip, when he turned to me after I had said his name, and his head just fell and smashes me in the nose! It bled for a bit but some how I survived the ordeal.

Sleep ensued, after an attempt of taking a picture of the moonlight and the sea.

Hope you like the pics!

-Brendan

P.S._ I just want to thank all you readers for taking the time to read my blog, I really appreciate it. At the moment I am behind on publishing entries, but that is because of internet availability. I'm still documenting everything but need to catch up on posting, so please be patient! Thanks again, hope you enjoy the posts and photos! Peace and Love!!

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