MAY - Our last month (part 1)

To welcome in the new month and celebrate in traditional Finnish style we organized a sauna party at the Finnish compound, similar to the last one with music, food, sauna, swimming and drinks.

We collected the sodas from town and ingredients for the food which we where making pilau. We asked guests to take at least one piece of food with them for dessert. While Annukka and Laura where preparing the food. I got the place ready near the swimming, setting up the seats and getting the music prepared for when the guests arrived. Also had the important job of putting on the sauna and keeping it warm. For some people it was their first time in a sauna. The boys went first as all the girls had not yet gathered at the place. After we were warm enough we went for a swim, it seemed that I had adjusted quite much to the climate of Tanzania as I was getting goose pimples while outside the sauna. After a few more times of sauna and swimming it was time for the girls to take part while the men ate the food. After everyone had taken a sauna we all sat around enjoying each others company. It was a kind of triple celebration for the sauna party – May Day (vappu), Queen’s day (happens the day before) and also Kanda’s birthday. Maaike as a result made him dress up in orange clothes to mark the Queen’s day. I’m not sure if Kanda understood what it was for. But for us it was quite funny. As it was getting quite late it was time to wrap up the night and more on home.

As weekends are usually quiet for Mzungu’s in Mtwara I tried to organize some activities we can all participate in and usually this ends up being football. On Sunday a game against a local team, who where a bit older than us, was arranged. It’s funny how word of mouth gets around because people seemed to be gathering to watch us play despite no advertising for the game. I also wondered how they know a game is playing. Due to the lack of Mzungu we had to use Kanda and Gervas for some time so that some people could go off for a quick rest. The game was really good even though it was in the afternoon when it’s not so warm it still felt hot. Stupidly we played for 40 minutes a side and for the last 15 minutes of the second half we where all quite tired and hanging on. We managed, somehow, to win the game 2 – 1. I scored a sublime goal from the right side of the pitch. Chipped the keeper who was a fraction off his line and that was the winning goal. Afterwards we went to Korosho lodge for a drink and talk about the game.

The following week another game was organized against another local team. Unfortunately not the same team but a lot younger and a team that is playing in a national tournament in DAR. Needless to say we never really got a touch of the ball and lost 3 – 1. Although some referring decisions (from Kanda) where a bit unfair against the Mzungus. We had hoped to organize a mini-tournament for next Sunday but due to lack of players and teams available it wasn’t to be.

The temperature is now really cold at night. It’s amazing how my body has adjusted to the climate here. I remember the first couple of weeks/months I was really struggling. So hot every single day, roasting hot sun and sweating constantly. Regardless of the showers I took I still sweated. But now at night time it is pretty cold and I need a blanket to cover me and no longer have the curtains open to let fresh air. The air is now really dry at night that I wake up in the morning with a very dry throat. Also one morning when Annukka and I woke up we put our jeans on, t-shirt and jumper as we where quite cold. The time was 9.30 am. I checked the temperature gauge on my mobile phone and it read +29 degrees! And we where cold!!

APRIL

Back in Mtwara and it feels good to get “home” relax and not living out of a rucksack for a while at least, although it was good to get away for a while. At certain times the need for daily products becomes too great and we need to flee to DAR. We met Bright in Dar before coming to Mtwara so it was nice to get acquainted to Mtwara life again. We also met Laura in Dar as we all returned back together. As it was the Easter holidays a special Pilau meal was prepared at “home” for everyone. Jennifer (our host mum) makes the best pilau in Mtwara and this is definitely food I will miss when I leave here. Pilau is rice, potatoes, meat, some vegetables together in a pot mixed with quite many spices. It’s great also the simple salad they have with this meal – tomatoes and onions with some spices it’s really simple but great.

The following Monday we had football training with the girls organised again at Ziwani as there are sleeping places for the girls available. As it was the school holidays we had a training session set for just over a week. This time there were some football matches organised for the girls so we could compare how the girls are doing against other teams. The training went well although due to some injuries and sicknesses some of the girls where not able to play which was a pity as the team travelling to Finland would be selected after this training camp. The games against other teams went ok. The girls won some and lost others. It good for the girls to lost a game or two that way they are not overly confident but on the other hand not good to lose heavily. The girls played well in all the girls.

We celebrated a Mzungu birthday party at the Peninsula Hotel for Laura. We ordered food, had some drinks, played some pool and went on to Boga Boma, the local night club for some live music. The night went really well and some interesting touching of themselves from local people dancing right in front of us was perhaps the highlight of the night.

A snorkelling trip during low tide was organised behind the Southern Cross hotel. This is the most luxurious hotel in Mtwara. The food is getting better now as before it used to take 3 hours average but now it’s about 45 minutes, depending. The snorkelling was amazing. Unfortunately I had faulty goggles so some water was leaking in at times. It was very strange to breathe underwater and took me some time to relax and get used to it. Once looking down into the water it was amazing at all the different colours and the amount of fish just swimming around. Such a different view, of course, from above the water. The fishes didn’t seem scared perhaps used to people snorkelling. Afterwards we took a drink at mama tupai’s container shop and play some tennis (doubles) at the housing project.

To finish off the month we took a trip to Mikindani, by bicycle Annukka, Laura, Maaike and I. It was the first time we went there like this. It seems longer by daladala mainly because I am hunched over backwards and cannot see anything. By bike it was great. The weather was lovely. We left early in the morning so that the sun was not at its hottest. We took our time and stopped several times to take pictures. We had to be careful of the traffic that was whizzing past us a record speeds beeping their car horns.

The scenery is so nice cycling to Mikindani with all the palms trees lining the road the whole way there. In Mikindani we went to the Yacht club to relax and sit in the sun and go for a swim in the warm water. When hunger set in we took a trip to 10 degrees. While waiting for the food, which normally takes some time, Maaike and me went to one of the schools that Annukka and I teach in. The view from the school over the bay of Mikindani with the palm trees in front is just perfect. There were some children playing up to us, wanting us to take some pictures of them, which we accepted. The children play really nice games with each other and one group of them where playing pool out of materials they had made or found themselves. After our meal we went back to the Yacht club as the tide was now quite high. We rested for a while before making our way back on bike to Mtwara.

27.03 - 4.04 - South Africa - part 4

We stayed in Cape Town longer than expected due to flights being very expensive due to Easter. During our time here we took a trip to the Cape of Good Hope and cape point where it was very windy. It was an organized daytrip were we also visited the penguin sanctuary. It was a bit strange to see penguins in South Africa; normally penguins are associated with cold places. But these types of penguins were called Jackass penguins but are not called African penguins due to similar penguins been found in South America. It was amazing to go to Cape Point, the famous lighthouse at the high peak, a famous place where Vasco De Gama sailed around years ago and also the place where the two oceans meet. The wind was so strong I was a little worried it could blow me away! After walking up to the top and back we then got on the bikes and cycled from cape point towards the gate for the national part which is around 15km most of it down hill. At some points we didn’t have to cycle at all due to the strong wind coming from behind us. The weather was great the whole day and a really good trip. We even saw a few wild animals not to far away from us e.g. springbok.

Went to the annual Jazz festival and was lucky enough to get tickets for the concert as we probably got the last two available. It was a massive convention centre and coming from Mtwara it felt as we where in a completely different world. So many people so modernized felt a bit strange and in some ways I missed the simplicity of Mtwara. The festival itself was good we managed to visit at least 5 – 6 different performances throughout the night before leaving.

We tried to get tickets for the boat out to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned but the tickets where booked up for a week in advance instead we took a boat trip which went out of the harbour some miles and gave us a great view of Table Mountain as the clouds where coming over it.

When the clouds weren’t on Table Mountain we took a cable cart up to the top to see the sunset which was just as amazing as in Livingstone. It was really nice to walk around the top and get a great 360 degrees view of the city. The mountain is just amazing that it is situated right in the middle of the city. The cable cart up was interesting, as it was a revolving cart. I am not great with heights but I seemed to manage ok with this one : )

To get out of the city and see another part of South Africa we took a wine tour to Stellenbosch. The day involved 5 different wineries tasting at least 5 wines in each place and a tour of one winery showing the whole production process that goes into making wine. It was really informative as there were things I never thought about that goes into wine which is really important e.g. how important it is to have the right barrel in order to store the wine. The whole day was great, not least because we got to taste some really nice wine and also eat some fantastic cheese along the way! The cheese was amazing. It was a fantastic feeling to drink wine and be surrounded with fantastic scenery. At one place we where in the middle with mountains surrounding us in every direction. Not bad!

Back in Cape Town we took also a township tour going to some of the shanty towns near the airport and hear and see about their history. The tour focuses more on the positives rather than the negative aspect, although despite this it’s still obvious they are not well off. We were able to go inside some of the houses and walk around some of the places. It’s amazing that even with very little possessions people can be happier than those who have everything. It was great to see the children playing cricket outside one of these township villages

Finally we took a site seeing tour bus around the major sites of Cape Town. Then it was time to say goodbye to our good friends Dani and Chris who would continue on there around the world tour to England. Hopefully we will see them in Finland soon. We got a flight back to Dar and shortly afterwards to Mtwara.

Part 3 - Zambia

Once in Lusaka we made our way to the hostel which was only a short walk away. Again the bus station was hectic with taxi men surrounding us wanting to take us to the hostel. Some people saying they are the official representatives for the hostel.

The hostel was nice, small pool, bar and nice lodges. We stayed there for two days just as we where eager to get to Livingstone. We walked around Lusaka getting a feel for another capital city in Africa. It was quite different to Dar as it seemed much more organised and the women wore more westernised clothing. There are also a lot of fast food restaurants along the main Cairo Road. We visited one local cultural village where people were selling home made arts and crafts. It would have been nice to buy everything but money and kilo limits restricted us. Daladalas (mini buses) in Lusaka are not filled to the top with people as they are in Tanzania. They only take in those who have a sitting place. As a result the majority are in good condition.

It was soon time to move on to Livingstone. We took a morning bus at 6.30 and arrived at around 11.00. Feeling tired we relaxed around the hostel for the day and choose a few activities which we would do during our time there. We decided to do the sunset cruise, which was amazing. Initially we thought due to cloud cover we weren’t going to have a good sunset but just at the right time the clouds clear and the colours produced where amazing.

The next day we went to Victoria Falls. The amount of spray produced by the falls was just unbelievable. I didn’t think it could be so much as it was. So much water falling constantly producing a thunderous noise. We took the walk individually over the bridge, although a bit hairy due to the spray in my eyes the whole time and the slippery bridge. It was like being in a shower the whole time while walking there for 20 minutes the spray was just relentless. An amazing site when the spray stopped for seconds was the water gushing over the side of the falls and full circle rainbows could be seen everywhere.

We continued to walk around the rest of the falls seeing them from different vantage points. The next day we intended to leave but due to flights being full we stayed another day in Livingstone. That night we visited a local restaurant which was just great. Staff members where dressed in local clothing, paint on their face and the whole place decorated with Africa objects. Local food was ready on buffet, the Zambian version of Ugali was available although we didn’t take this. After some time some traditional dancing was done which was much more impressive than at the Village museum in Dar. To get the crowd involved all the girls present where invited/dragged to the stage to learn a new dance. It was great fun looking at them, thankfully the guys didn’t have to go up!

The next day we walked across the bridge where the bungee jumps takes place and into the Zimbabwe side for a few minutes. We planned an adventure day for Annukka – abseiling, High wire and Gorge swinging. Each of which would be done twice. I would have done the first two but the gorge swing I don’t think so. A free fall of over 50 metres and then the rope takes hold and you swing from side to side in the gorge. It looked pretty scary and don’t know how Annukka done it. During the day we met up with a couple from Australia who where also going to Cape Town as us, so we stuck together most of the time during the next week.

We enjoyed Zambia a lot although hardly seeing the real side of Zambia we only see what the majority of tourist see. The falls where amazing and would be nice to return in October/November time when the falls are dry and apparently one can walk across them. Still it was amazing how close we could get to the falls actually jumping in if we wanted to!

Safari - Part 2

The train journey:
The next part of our mini safari would see us travel to Zambia by train. The tazara train left on Tuesday from DAR and would take two days if everything was going to plan. Having purchased our tickets in advance we made sure we had a place in first class which was 55,000 Tsh (students discounts are no longer accepted on the Tanzania side). The waiting lounge was packed, most of them going to Mbeya.

It’s a strange feeling waking up and sleeping on the train for two days. The berth we had was basic. Four beds, small table and window. We would be sharing with two men from Zambia. The ticket conductor came round to check tickets and returned some time later as there seemed to be some problem. Apparently men and women have to sleep in different cabins although the lady selling us the tickets at the station never mentioned this. Obviously we didn’t want to be separated but would have to accept it if they found a good alternative place for Annukka. They mentioned that there was one free cabin if we both wanted to go there. We told him that this is a good idea and we would take it. Of course it meant that we would have to pay something for it as there were two other beds in the cabin free, so we would have to pay for those in order to buy out the cabin. I said to the conductor that if the cabin is free then why can’t you just give us the room. But he made an excuse that maybe someone might come on the train later. Although I am sure they already knew how many people were going to be in first class. We didn’t of course take that option and the conductor said he would be back later on… but he never returned and Annukka got to stay where she was.

The train journey went as smooth as one could hope with no incidents to report. Apparently it was the first time the train has been on time for a long time, our Zambian passengers told us. The food provided was quite good although I initially thought the food was included in the price but it wasn’t so much extra to pay for it. If we wanted food could be delivered to the cabin but we usually ate at the restaurant carriage. The scenery was amazing all the way there and the mountains were fantastic to look at. Unfortunately we went through Selous Game Park at night so we didn’t see any animals. At night time it was cold so blankets where needed we reached heights of over 1,400 metres. Our Zambian passengers told us to be careful at night as usually at stops it’s when thieves come on to the train and rob goods from passengers. So they kindly asked us not to go out of the cabin when we were at a stop. There was also a small latch on the inside of the door which when put down it stopped the door from opening. The reason for this is because some thieves have replica copies for the door locks so they can be easily opened. We didn’t have any problems and we never heard of any one else that had any while on the train.

Child ran along the train at stops asking for empty bottles and bars of soap. At Mbeya a lot of people were selling goods for very cheap. Just before the border crossing men came on exchanging Zambian Kwachas for Tanzania Shillings although the rate wasn’t great it was the only way we could get the local money for the eventual bus ride to Lusaka. I found one money exchange at the train station prior to departure; this was the only place to buy Zambian Kwachas in town.

Once over the border immigration came to issue us with visas. Once again Irish people don’t have to pay for a visa to Zambian but Finnish do. I was a bit confused as the immigration officer asked me how long I wanted my visa to be valid for. Normally they just stamp it and the time is set, not negotiable. In the end I took it for one month although only really needed it for a few days.

At 10 am Thursday morning we reached our final destination and made our way to catch a bus to Lusaka which was still another two hours away. The journey continues….

17- 19th.03.07 - Small safari - part 1

Annukka and myself were invited to the Irish national day in Dar es Salaam on the 17th March 2007 – Saint Patrick’s Day! I was very surprised to see so many Irish people that are in Tanzania. As there are none at all in Mtwara it was nice to once again meet some people from my home country.

The party itself was quite similar to the Independence Day party of Finland we attended in December. After we had finished up at the ambassador’s place everyone made there way to the newly opened Irish bar in the Masaki district. It provides a beautiful view of the ocean and a view of slipways to the right.

We spent a few more days in Dar staying in the centre at a hostel called – Safari Inn. It’s a usually backpackers place. Nothing special. Cheap rooms are available for those with a residents permit. The room we stayed in hadn’t any mosquito nights which although was a bit worrying was nice to sleep without one for a few days. Thankfully our room hadn’t any cockroaches as we heard from quite many other backpackers they had some unwanted creepy crawlies in their room.

It was nice to get a good feeling for Dar by staying in the centre. This time DAR didn’t feel as hectic as it did when we first arrived. We visited the Indian quarters where Annukka found quite many fabric shops. A lot of shopping might be done here before we leave for Finland in June.

It was also good to visit a super market again and eat some cheese. I didn’t think I would miss diary products as much as I have done and even better because in the shops they have Irish cheese! Annukka bought yoghurts although she would have to wait for some time to have Finnish milk again.

It felt safer to walk around Dar this time perhaps as we know a bit more Swahili than before so we don’t stand out as fresh tourist just in the country. It seemed to help that we where saying “mambo” to people.

We visited one hotel wondering whether could get a view of the city from a higher vantage point. After the bell boy had shown us the city view, from the top floor, he told us he would talk to this manage and see if there are any rooms empty so that we could see the harbour. A misunderstanding perhaps with the bell boy and the manager perhaps as when the manager came to greet us he outlined a play to give us a tour of the different rooms available in the hotel. The point was to go there and take pictures from the high point but felt a bit silly to take pictures when the manager thought of us as potential clients (although we didn’t look like ones especially for this hotel).

We bumped into a friend from Mtwara who happened to be in Dar and staying at the same hostel as we where. As we didn’t have any plans for the day we agreed to go to the Mwenge market to look at some – Makonde carvings. There was just so many here I was really surprised. The shop owners have a really hard time keeping the carvings clean as they are constantly gathering dust so most of them where busy during our time there. Others where sitting around play bao, a traditional Tanzania board game. It was good to have a look for future reference as we will probably visit again before leaving. After spending easily two hours going from shop to shop we went to the village museum which also had a lunch time buffet meal just ready as we were arriving.

After eating we went inside the museum to have a look at the traditional houses from different parts of Tanzania. The houses where kept in good condition with information on the around the houses describing where they where from and about the tribe that lives in them. After the walk around we were just in time for traditional dancing. I was a little disappointed with the dancing as I would have hoped it was more prepared. It seemed that people where arriving late and just joining in if they had nothing else to do. The clothes they where wearing where torn and not in great condition. I also thought there would be more than just 3/4 people there. Although not so satisfied with it, it was in itself interesting to see how they do the dancing.

1 - 10th March 2007

For the third weekend in a row saw us go to another small village in Mtwara rural called Mnima. It is about a 2,5 hour drive from Mtwara. We weren’t initially sure where we were going but we soon found out. Half way on the journey we picked up two players who would join in the training session. The point of these weekends was to encourage the girls that would be travelling to Finland to continue playing in their free time and also to motivate other girls who weren’t chosen for Finland to continue playing regardless.

After a longer journey than expected - going through village after village, the road becoming smaller and smaller and going up and down really steep hills we eventually arrived at our destination although it seemed that there was nothing here only for the road to open up with a school, football pitch, goals and what seemed like the whole village waiting for us to arrive, adults and children. To my knowledge we didn’t pass many of the local houses on the way yet here where in excess of 200 people waiting for us to train them in soccer.

Luckily for me I was on the football pitch doing a training session with the girls. The coach Muya helped as we showed the girls some drills after some time we divided them into teams and played a game. One of the unfortunate things I noticed is that when one of the girls makes a mistake e.g. miss kick the ball the whole crowd laughs at the girl. I find this a bit discouraging for the girls and certainly doesn’t help their confidence it they make a mistake.

After about two hours in total it was time to leave as it was getting quite dark. It felt a little bit strange that the training session wasn’t organised for somewhere closer than Mnima as the previous weekends the places where much more accessible. A total of five hours driving for only two hours playing didn’t really make sense.

That night we were invited to a wine and cheese party at a fellow Mzungu house, Philip. This was the second one organised my Philip the first was a real success and the second one was just the same if not better. Again he had Malteesers. Little luxuries! The host had again made his own different varieties of wine most of which were good although some were a bit sweet. As for the food it was great, Philip had obviously spent a lot of time planning and preparing. Luckily electricity is more or less a guarantee now in Mtwara so that helped in the preparation compared to the last time where he spent several hours at a friends place making the food.

The next day Sunday we had organised for some time to take a road trip to Msimbati. We heard that with a letter volunteers can enter for 1,000 Tsh (60 cents) rather than 10,000, quite a bit difference for volunteers. Jennifer, our host mother, who is acting boss for the Marine Park wrote us the letter we needed. Some people were nursing sore heads from the wine and cheese party. We had a packed land rover ready for the journey and good weather. As it had been raining for some days previously the roads to Msimbati were not in great condition. Luckily enough we didn’t get stuck and arrived some two hours later at the beach.

It is such a beautiful place to relax, enjoy the sun and go snorkelling. We first went straight for the beach and after this to the beach resort where we would each lunch. Lunch and entry into the resort is 10,000 Tsh. The resort provided a great variety of food all with large portions. Before and after lunch we sat on the beach taking in the sun, going swimming in the beautiful, clear, ocean water and some walked along the beach. At around 4 p.m. we started to make our way back to Mtwara and in the distance we could hear the rumbles of thunder and the dark clouds appearing on the horizon.

We made it home without any problems and with no rain either as the storm clouds passed away to the west. Unfortunately a big truck got stuck in the mud going to Msimbati right in the middle of the road. We helped to pull them out with the land rover. It seemed as though they had been stuck there for some time and again without a house in sight so many people had gathered around.