Day 35: Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania – Big Brother’s African Brother
Dar Es Salaam. Tanzania Day 35: 1 September 2002 7:30 pm
Not everyone within the group are overjoyed at becoming reunited on the truck as it doesn’t take long for reality to set in. Two new truck mates join like lambs to the slaughter. And it is nomination day once more!
It had been time for our Mwenge adventure and to most it was a pathetic. little
journey. but for us it was a chance to lastly negotiate Africa on our personal.
The YMCA kindly stored our bags secured in Pac Safes. an incredible invention
for securing backpacks and we effortlessly hopped onto a dalla dalla (local
minibus) outdoors New Posta. Dalla dallas work on the principle that when
they’re full up. i.e. somebody hanging out the door. they will leave.
Listening to groovy East African radio. we trundled as much as Mwenge and paid
Tsh 150 for the privilege – this was the local fare.
Next job was to find the ebony wood carving market without a map – all
the stalls we came across were fruit and veg. It turned out that it had been off
the primary road and what an Aladdin’s cave the marketplace was. Roughly 100
stalls laden with pieces of far superior high quality and selection towards the carvings
in Zanzibar. Men were working laboriously in the centre from the marketplace on
their carvings.
I was so pleased that we had made the work to find the marketplace ourselves.
having all the time in the world to browse and select. rather than being
rushed back onto the truck. If you haven’t guessed by now. we are ardent
souvenir buyers and love purchasing any old tat to take home. often
wondering exactly where an earth it’ll go. We had set our hearts on buying a
‘tree of life’ ujamaa carving. overwhelmed from the option we had. These are
designed nearly like a totem pole of detailed. interlaced figures piled on
top of each other.
Tom was impressed by a collapsable ebony table – the legs had been elephants
or giraffe. but we had been horrified from the cost – far also costly for our
wallets. The very first ‘tree of life’ we chose to haggle over turned out to be
an extortionate US$150 starting price. Obviously it was the ‘antique
special’ carving we had chosen. Undeterred. we found a carving with the
ebony bark nonetheless intact and parted with US$45. Tom then spotted a
distinctive ‘shetani’ carving. depicting an artist’s impression of the underworld
spirits. death or the devil. We fell in adore with it as we couldn’t find
anything else like it and coughed up a hideous quantity that I’m also ashamed
to state. I keep telling myself it’s ‘art’ along with a ‘unique piece’ so I don’t
need to consider the cash we parted with.
Our final buy was a small hippo but in contrast to the smooth hippo carvings
found all over the place else. this hippo had detailed functions and rough skin on
its back. We happily invested three hours within the market before returning to
the YMCA.
We had a picnic lunch while the locals gathered round to watch a cheesy
episode of “Miami Vice”. I’d nearly forgotten how awful the pastel suits.
Jan Hammer music and large Eighties hair were. Tom wrapped the carvings
and loaded me up like a pack horse – I only just made it towards the truck before
collapsing below the weight. I was promised Nando peri-peri chips and
popcorn in return.
Two new truck mates had appeared – Amelia and Wanda. sisters from Arizona in
the U.S. and each as wholesome as apple pie. Roberta and Beth had returned
bronzed. henna tattooed and partied out. Beth has splurged US$25 on having
hair extensions braided into her hair and it had taken a mind boggling four
hours to attain. Roberta. Belinda and Amy had stocked up on Tinga Tinga
paintings (not to our taste but a good souvenir).
As soon as back on the truck with the group it had been like we had by no means left for
Zanzibar. Back to no freedom. speaking in whispers around the truck and in our
tent. worried that my travelogue would be found. drudgery of chores.
by no means leaving anywhere on time. mozzie infested showers. early morning
starts the checklist appeared limitless.
I was on cooking duty at Mikadi camp site and talked Tom into buying me
1 final slushie (the trip is enough to turn anyone to drink). distracting
myself from deshelling and beheading an huge bag of tiger prawns.
We heard less than complimentary comments around the Vuga Hotel in Stone Town
(the hotel that our beloved tour leader had suggested) – she had attempted to
speak us out of staying on at Narrow Street Hotel however we had had a lovely
stay there and they had really looked following us. Amy had her maglite stolen
from her room and Tamsin had an enormous argument with the owner more than paying
for her accommodation. They said she hadn’t paid and she stated she had.
Roberta was as much as her old tricks again and had managed to blag her way into
an all-inclusive 5 star resort on the North beaches of Zanzibar.
demolishing an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet. before leaving with out paying
the bill. She chose to try it again. I think this was really pushing her
luck and so they threw her off the premises.
We retired early because of the 5:00am begin tomorrow. but I discovered it so hard to
get to sleep – I’d forgotten all concerning the difficult ground. continuous noise. the
sprint to the toilet block within the dark and I longed for a correct bed again.
I’d clearly turn out to be quite spoilt on Zanzibar.
The showers and toilets had been infested with mozzies and I found that I
had a few other unexpected guests lurking in my toilet – a miniature
scorpion and a giant leech.
I tossed and turned. lastly drifting off to sleep. only to be rudely
awakened by two macho overland truck drivers. saturated with alcohol. egging
each other on as to who could drive onto the beach. Obviously. the
inevitable occurred and both trucks got stuck within the sand. We were then
handled to half an hour of engines becoming revved and yells for shovels going
unanswered – I silently cursed them and buried my head in my sleeping bag.
Nominations: This week I really feel that our tour leader deserves a nomination
for causing this kind of a fuss more than carrying a copy of Lonely Planet about with us
and for almost fainting once we informed her we desired to stay in the YWCA.
My subsequent nominee is from the Aussie vet truck. Common consensus of opinion
is that Bradley. a raging alcoholic. must be evicted. His legendary 12
hour drinking binge around the truck from Arusha to Dar Es Salaam was the final
straw. His time spent on Zanzibar had two goals – alcohol and sourcing
charlie. How dear. quietly spoken Petunia puts up with him. I will never
know.
Well. it’s a close contact but the tour leader has to go!
Positives: A minimum of our souvenirs made it back onto the truck.
Negatives: Well. we’re back around the truck and it’s sheer torture.
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