Karubi

Africa! It’s even more typical as I thought it would be. We’ve flown here in Boeings that were clearly bought second-hand from an American airline and were a bit out-of-date on the inside, but all in all we’ve had steady flights. Still, 6 take-offs and landings each separated by 1,5 to 7 hours, it’s more than I wanted. We were very relieved to find all our baggage perfectly transferred with us to Dar-Es-Salaam. Immediately upon exiting the airport, several cab drivers tried to convince us to go with them – we chose one who finally settled on our terms and conditions. Next thing we knew, we were taking part in a Need-For-Seed-style drive to the nearby coastal town of Kunduchi, on a road with more craters than the moon, with an estimated 5 lanes on each side (estimated because of the lack of marks), switching from left (the normal side) to right more efficiently than shown in an Austrian giant slalom championship, accompanied by a loud feel-good hakuna matata tune from the speakers in the Toyota which felt as if it was constantly running off its wheels, with colourful fruit sellers along the road, biking along palm trees with huge piles tied on the rear of their bikes – in short: AFRICA!

We selected the cheapest beach hotel, which provided very comfortable rooms. Apparently, we were only one of the very few non-African tourists staying in the hotel. The joy of life, that’s what I find most remarkable about Tanzanians on my first day here. During an evening stroll on the beach, we encountered any form of entertainment engaged in by local people only, from tug of war games to hip-hop contests. We also enjoyed a delicious meal of chicken with coconut sauce and rice on the beach at dusk, with still a lovely 25-30°C and a lovely breeze.

We found someone willing to take us out diving on a nearby island, but we’ll have to see tomorrow if he really lives up to his promise – that’s kind of doubtful here, but let’s hope we can already start diving tomorrow. I’ve already taken loads of pictures and movie clips, but I’m unable to upload many due to lack of broadband connection here, and I’m not eager to wait a for a long time at this computer… It’s already dark, and since the computer desk is located in open air, I am swarmed by (malaria) mosquitos :-p  Anyway, I’ll do my best to send you some!