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Whine, whine, whine…

Wednesday, June 27th, 2007

To recap:
We arrived in Kigoma after a hellish 22-hour train ride.
We spent 1 frantic day failing to get cash.
We spent 1 day gallavanting with chimpanees.
We had 3 options to leave Kigoma –

  • MV Liemba – an overnight ferry ride – taken over by refugees
  • Reboard train – already booked
  • Many days of dirt roads
  • Adventure Bus
    Leg 1: Kigoma -> Uvinza
    To our happy surprise, the purple “Adventure” bus plies this route, and it even leaves later than sunrise. After 5 bumpy hours along a dirt road and dropping off refugees from the Congo, we arrived in Uvinza which for a few hours at night actually has electricity. We are told “no bus”, “no truck”, “try the train”.

    Truck
    Leg 2: Uvinza -> Mpanda
    We awake at sunrise, and thankfully are greeted by a Tanzanian attempting the route. We walk to the main dirt road to begin our vigil for a commercial truck going our direction. Our hopes are low because this is the 2nd day of our new friends vigil. Around 2pm, the 1st truck in the past 2 days stops for us and invites us in the back of the trailer for a standard fare. We crawl into the back to find some fellow travellers, the cargo of salt, and lots of dirt. 9 hours later, we arrive in the dark in Mpanda coated in dust, exhausted, and battered. After stumbling to five guest houses, we finally find one that isn’t full, wash with a bucket of cold water, and collapse. We rest the following day, then spend 3 days to, in, and from Katavi National Park.

    4WD
    Leg 3: Mpanda -> Sumbawanga
    There is actually a bus option for this route, but it only runs three times a week, contingent on the train’s arrival. We pile into the back of a modified Toyota Landcruiser which can hold at least thirteen adults in the back. This is not comfortable for seven hours on bumpy dirt roads. Even though we fly through Katavi National Park on the way, we still manage to see impalas, a group of sunbathing hippos, and numerous herds of grazing elephants. Finally, we are excited to see pavement, even if it’s just in the town center of Sumbawanga. Not only is there a daily bus for our next leg but there is competition, and we buy seats for the 7am departure.

    Pope
    Leg 4: Sumbawanga -> Mbeya
    We wake up in the dark for one last ride before civilization, happy to be on a bus with reserved seats and relative legroom! The road seemed marginally improved, but bus drivers in Tanzania like to go as fast as they can without flipping the bus, about 50km/hour. We spend about 5 hours gripping the seats in front of us for dear life. After hitting the paved highway of Tanzania, tire troubles and security checkpoints prolong our journey, but the pope sees us through.

    Now, we are in Mbeya, not exactly a metropolis but it has paved roads, a MasterCard ATM, and an internet cafe. YAY. It certainly hasn’t been the most pleasant week, but it gives us some excellent stories, the scenery and animals along the way were striking, and we have at least come a little closer to understanding the difficult lives of Tanzanians.

    Chimps

    Monday, June 18th, 2007

    Chimp in Tree Chimp Family Baby on Back Gombe Stream beach

    Had an excellent time at Gombe Stream National Park. Will write more after transportation woes.

    More:
    Our 2 nights at Gombe Stream were exactly what we needed:
    Beautiful sunsets followed by quiet starlit nights
    Sleeping to the sound of the lake lapping the shore
    Tracking chimpanzees through the forest
    Playing soccer with the staff and drinking beer on the beach
    Being the only tourists on this island of a National Park
    NO HASSLES

    ARGGGH!

    Monday, June 18th, 2007
    Dr Livingstone We expected to have a lot of transit time in Tanzania as the distances between places of interest are long and the infrastructure connecting them poor. We wouldn't presume that Dr. ... [Continue reading this entry]

    Dear Serengeti

    Tuesday, June 12th, 2007
    Lion in Serengeti Lion attack Cheetah We head a wonderful few days together, and we will never ... [Continue reading this entry]

    The Great Khali Goes Down

    Monday, June 11th, 2007
    Tanzania is a poor country. AIDS has reached epidemic proportions. Only 5% of students finish secondary school. In short, when we were in the United States and we envisioned poverty, this is what we envisioned, not the overwhelming squalor of ... [Continue reading this entry]

    Safari

    Tuesday, June 5th, 2007
    We're off to tour the northern national parks of Tanzania for five days. Tanzania is interesting in a mostly good way. The food could be better, and we've been a bit overwhelmed by touts in the hugely tourist areas, but the ... [Continue reading this entry]