Debra & Peter Martyn:

Distances are deceiving in Tanzania. 

The country looks small on a map but getting around is a serious trial.  The roads are terrible.  The well-travelled but unpaved back roads that we have been on are not nearly as good as the walking trail that runs by Patterson’s Wharf in Tatamagouche.  They are rutted dirt tracks. 

The paved roads often have more pot holes than asphalt and the bus drivers race.  I suspect they make bets with each other as to who will reach a certain point first but I can't be sure.  More times than not the buses break down and the passengers wait patiently by the side of the road until field repairs are done.  We have been on speeding buses that have forced school kids to jump into ditches.

The purpose of going to Bukoba was to pick up a four wheel drive truck that our colleague in Kibaya, Tessa, had bought, sight unseen, from VSO.  The plan was to take buses to Bukoba, pick up the truck, and drive home.

But, as they say here, TIA - This is Africa and things hardly ever turn out as planned.  When they don't   you learn to ‘Make Another Plan’.  Making Another Plan is standard operating procedure.

The first leg of the safari was from Kibaya to Dodoma.  Two hours down a dirt track and then two hours along the pavement.  On that bus we met young Moses, a twelve year old who was travelling, by himself, to Dodoma to be interviewed by a private school.  He was hoping to win a scholarship. 

Not surprisingly, the bus broke down.

While the driver worked on the engine we drank orange Fanta by the side of the road and chatted with Moses.  Kids like Moses with their quiet confidence, independence and a hunger for education against daunting odds hold the future of Tanzania in their hands.  It is impossible not to like kids like him.  It is impossible not to root for them.

Around mid-afternoon we arrived in Dodoma and went straight to Liesbeth and Frederick’s house, as prearranged.  Liesbeth and Frederick and two volunteers from Holland.  They have a beautifully decorated place with paintings of the walls and African sculpture on the tables.  A skylight sets things off nicely.  They have made a cozy home in Dodoma.  They also have hot showers and wireless internet which were much appreciated.  We ate delicious pancakes for breakfast topped with the local honey and ground coffee, unusual treats for us.  We were thankful for their hospitality.

The next leg, from Bukoba to Dodoma took two days.  We stayed overnight in Kahama. 

The road from Kahama to Bukoba runs dangerously close to the border with civil war torn Burundi where refugees had been known to kidnap bus passengers.  During this part of the trip we were accompanied by a guard holding an AK-47.

We got into Bukoba around mid-afternoon and checked into the Lake Hotel, an old colonial hotel that has gone from faded to tatty.  According to the Lonely Planet guide book, in its hay day Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner had drinks in the garden and with a lot of imagination I could just barely envision it.   It was close to the shores of Lake Victoria and so we were able to spend an hour or so walking along a sandy beach.  It wasn’t Blue Sea Beach, but it was nice just the same.

We also were able to have supper of Chicken Tikka Masala and to meet up with several other VSO volunteers and hear their stories.  Margaret, Jonathan, Michael, Djoke, Marc and Godwins all came to meet us.  VSO volunteers are like family and meeting up with them is always a very special event.

The truck Tessa had arranged to buy turned out to be an unsafe clunker.  She rejected it and so the original purpose of our trip was derailed.  But TIA and Make Another Plan and return home by bus.

At the crack of dawn we were ready for another marathon bus trip to Mwanza.  There we arranged for a Land Cruiser and driver to take us to Arusha through the Serengeti Plain and past the Olduvai Gorge and the Ngorongoro Crater.

Through the Serengeti we saw giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, jackals, baboons and even a lion.  To be driving through the same place where our earliest ancestors first walked was a very special privilege.

A full day in Arusha was spent relaxing, buying kitchen supplies and western food in the supermarket.

The final day of our trip was a ten hour bus trip on yet another dirt track.  Clouds of dust covered everything.  We were packed in like sardines.   At one point Tessa was holding a baby.   We were lucky to have seats. My feet were propped up on cases of bottled water and cooking oil and a Maasai warrior was balancing himself by holding onto my leg. Live chickens squawked somewhere just behind my head.  Tessa had seen two goats loaded into the luggage compartment.

It was good to get home.

We covered a lot of ground on this trip.  I can hardly believe that we have only been here for a month.  TIA.