Tanzania – Part 1

In the autumn of 2017, I decided that the plane tickets were too cheap to not buy them. What will happen will happen, I said. I flew to Tanzania, to Dar es Salaam.

It was difficult to plan a trip to continental part of the trip. It’s not difficult to find information on official sites, guides. But I'm not interested in this, I prefer browsing the blogs of other travellers, as I discover those hidden pearls there. The pictures of sights are also more realistic, and I can tell if certain things are worth viewing or are already in such a bad condition that I can skip them without regretting it.

In the middle of the night we finally landed on the black continent. First, we waited to get through customs, then we waited to submit the documents for a visa and then we waited two hours for the visa. I was annoyed, as only we have arrived at this hour and nothing has moved. The only thing they could do quickly was when we had to pay for the visa. Tired of the trip, we could hardly wait to get to the hotel that we had booked in advance because of the night flight. This was the right decision, since Dar es Salam is a big and dangerous place at night.

We went strolling in the city after a good sleep and late breakfast, just to feel the beat of the city. Soon, a janitor from the hotel where we were staying caught up with us. He calmly talked to us and explained that it is not safe stroll on the streets alone, because there are a lot of pickpockets in the city. He offered to take us to the biggest market in the city and explained us about it on the way.

The market is on two levels when you enter through the entrance, you see fruit, vegetables, fish, clay... everything you can imagine that can be produced. Everyone can buy crops here.

After that we went through a dirty and a bit terrifying corridor to the cellar where wholesale was. Sellers who sell products on the market, buy them below.

After the visit, we said goodbye to our friend and went to the outskirts of Dara. We wanted to see the replica of the Massa village, it was like an open-air museum. This was followed by disappointment. We saw that the museum itself is small and, in addition to a few houses, they perform a dance, and that's it. In addition, the entrance fee was very high, so we went back to the hotel.

The next day we continued our journey towards Bagamoy. It was an old colonial harbour, and today it is a seaside resort. The city authorities are trying to preserve the heritage in as good a condition as possible, but they forgot that only buildings without content and story will not attract tourism. They did not forget about the high entrance fees though.

In town we were experiencing the life of the locals (playing games on the street, chatting with local artists and people on the street) and enjoyed a little relaxation in the Indian Ocean. We did not see the nightlife here.

The next point on our way was the city of Tanga. It's just over 200 km away, but with public buses you spend 8 hours on that route, you change buses twice, and officials at bus stops are not able to direct you to a correct bus. After a little inventiveness, steel nerves, and ignoring the locals we arrived in the port city. It is an excellent starting point for various excursions in the vicinity; however, this city was only on the way to a place where we wanted to see how the locals live away from the eyes of tourists.

The city is a bit sleepy and it would confirm the stereotype that black people do not work and they hang around all day and socialize. There was a bigger park in the city, and there was a huge number of people who were hanging out there during the day. In the evening, the crowd only got bigger. The whole families were there and the feeling was not very pleasant. Especially when they look at you very distrustful so we couldn't really establish a contact.

We continued the path to the Usumbara Mountains. A more comfortable bus drove to our next point and it was also faster. The landscape quickly changed, from light brown to bright red soil, and became more and more green. In contrast to the towns, the houses in these villages are still largely built of wood and mud, and covered with tinplate or straw.

We arrived at the point where the regional road was cut off for Lushot and we moved into a small van. We know now that about 12 people go in such a van. So we started the last part of the path in a van with no air condition. The road was getting narrower and the drive got slower. In front of us, there was a line of vehicles and we stopped suddenly. We stopped, what's going on? Our fellow travellers did not want to leave the van, so we had to ask them very nicely to move so we could get some air. Of course we went to see what happened. About a mile away, a tyre burst on a bus, but because the road on that section was so narrow no one could pass by.

After a good hour of waiting in the burning sun, we finally started to move.

Late in the afternoon we arrived in a small town at 1400 meters above sea level. We quickly searched for the accommodation. There are more than enough beds for everyone, but all accommodations are basic. We immediately arranged a two-day trekking on the nearby mountain, as this was also the purpose of the visit. After a long time, we were happy to see other travellers again.

For the trekking we chose our own path, not one of the ones they offered. The price was the same, but they did not have other guests and we could go where we wanted. We wanted to have a good view of the valley, stroll among the locals and visit the villages where tourists rarely go to.

How is the life on the countryside, did we manage to get closer to the locals, what are the people, nature, animals and life in general? No worries, the article is already being written and new interesting stories are waiting for you.