19 - 21 SEPTEMBER 2011

Stalled in DAR ES SALAAM TANZANIA

What else to do in Dar? Go Monday armed with dates, itineraries and credit cards to buy Ethiopian Air tickets – but the boss says I have to buy two international fares in and out of Ethiopia to qualify for the domestic vouchers. The salesman quietly tells me to try again in Nairobi  where there will be no problems.  Check out a photography exhibition at Alliance Francaise – SOUTOURA by Angel Luis Alsai – lovely photographs of West African women. I also spend an inordinate amount of time over at the Holiday Inn using their wifi. I purchase 24hr blocks and despite being told that it is strictly 24 hours, I find a way to stretch it out over 3 days access. I look online and find a return ticket to Madagascar for $500 return from Nairobi with Air Madagascar(half of Kenya Airways pricing, ) and I allow a couple of days either side of the GAP tour that I anticipate joining – I’ll wait until closer to the time to see if I can get a last minute pricing. Thank you Lesley for the heads up on the tour because I had given up on going to Madagascar after she fell sick and couldn’t come.

There is a huge indian population here and that means there are many Sikh, Parsi and Hindu temples all centered in one area nearby. Mohammed tipped me on where to get chai – but each morning I try they have sold out - but their samosas are the best I’ve had yet!

I visit the tourist office in case I have missed something interesting to see around town and pick up a brochure for the Dar zoo with photos of various animals in concrete cages and enclosures. The publicity highlights ‘Finally, there is THE DREAM RIDE a chance for our visitors to ride animals of their own choice, a camel, a horse or a donkey and set out on CARAVAN safari around the zoo. What a lifetime experience this promises to be for you and your family and friend.” I remain unmoved and give the zoo a BIG miss.

Eagerly ringing the Rwanda Embassy Monday re the visa – no, ring this time tomorrow. More time to walk along the seafront and check out ferry prices in anticipation of leaving the mainland tomorrow.

Eagerly ring Rwanda Embassy again late Tuesday morning to be told off and instructed to ring this afternoon at 3pm. OK, now this afternoon’s ferry is a no go so another tonight here in Dar.  I telephone again at 3pm to be told that my visa is ready, come and pick it up. Try to get there myself again on the Dalladallas, I make it out to a stop called Morrocco and am nearly within touching distance but just can’t find the right dalldalla – a chap wants to help and takes me there in a tuk tuk (yes they have them here) because he wants to help me. I enter Rwanda’s visa office to find the bloke online on Facebook and he proceeds to write me a receipt, paste my visa in my passport and hand it back to me saying “you have thirty days, effective now.” WHAT? My thirty days are ticking by now? But why? “Didn’t they tell you?” NO and I didn’t bl**dy ask either, so more fool me. Not the end of the world though and I quickly get a dalladalla back to Morocco and back to Posta then straight to the ferry terminal to buy a ticket for tomorrow. The reputation of the ticket touts here is well known and they are very persistent, so after a couple of false starts I eventually purchase an open return tix over to Zanzibar and will avoid paying a Ports departure tax in Zanzibar. Now I am happy again with plans to be moving again.

FACT: Since 1973, Dosoma has been the official capital of Tanzania and the headquarters of the ruling Party. However Dar es Salaam is Tanzania’s major city and its capital in everything but name, being the unrivalled economic and political centre of the country..