2/20-21/14: FINAL DAYS IN DAR ES SALAAM

12/20/14: LEAVING ZANZIBAR FOR DAR

It was cloudy when we awoke about 6 AM. Joanie went out to scan the area for dolphin boats, but the ones that passed kept going out of our area. So we assumed that the dolphins were not in a location that we could swim to. Our alternative was to swim out to the reef and snorkle awhile. Genia didn't come, but his wife, who speaks almost no English, put on fins and swam along with us. She doesn't seem to be into the mask thing, but seemed happy to tag along. We never got to the place where the coral comes up to within a few feet of the surface, but we saw a lot of beautiful fish and coral and the sun even came out for a short while. Yehudah spotted the amorphous, poisonous animal that serves as a safe haven for the gobies (think "Finding Nemo") which are immune to the toxins. This time there were many of them of all sizes. Quite enchanting.

Breakfast was pretty much the same with the addition of a doughnut like pastry which Yo ate two of and slightly regretted it. Nothing to pack along for lunch like the peanut butter sandwiches we got to make at the Stone Town hotel, oh well. Genia gave us a very sweet good bye with hopes of staying in touch.

 

Uma and Yehudah sitting in the back of the Daladala

We met two men waiting for the daladala, one named Uma who spoke great English and was very friendly.  The taxi guy who passed by tried to convince us there was no daladala today, kiddingly.  The old style daladala came along shortly for $1.25 each rather than $40 for the taxi and took an hour to get to Stone Town, speeding along.  This daladala is low to get into, with seats along each side facing inward.  Uma said we weren't muzungus because we were taking the daladala!

We got to Stone Town, went to get money at Barclays, found our way through the traffic to a CD store where Yehudah bought some CDs. Yehudah had done a good job of memorizing the route back to the artists' studio and even finding the CD shop along the way. There was an older man sitting in the shop who turned out to have played violin with the Culture Club Tarab Orchestra. He had his own CD for sale and we also got one that he was on with the Club and another with a mix of African artists. They were cheap and, by the look of the photocopied covers, probably pirated. We then found Jackson's art shop.  There Joanie found the other painting of animals she wanted to get, bargained with Jackson's assistant for a discounted price.  He wrapped the three up well.  Jackson showed up and expressed sadness that Joanie was leaving Zanzibar.  Yehudah took a few photos of the two of them with his artwork.

Joanie and Jackson in front of his art shop

Joanie and Jackson 2

His brother, who sells spices, took us to the ferry, which was leaving in a half hour, so we got on board and went up to the high deck to spend time during the trip, which was quite uneventful and pleasant.

Yehudah made the acquaintance of a couple from England working in Dar.  The fellow had studied process oriented pychology and knows Gary Reiss.  Small world. 

Here's a dhow and the Dar skyline from the ocean:

 

 

We are now sitting for a few hours at a restaurant which has AC and soon will make our way to Marshad's.  Yehudah just got his cousin Said Said on the phone.

We have one day left here.  The area where we are right now is quite expensive.  Tomorrow we will do some shopping.  

2/21/14: DAR FINAL SHOPPING DAY

Yehudah was a bit tense about getting ourselves confirmed on our flight and the EgyptAir site was a bit tricky. Joanie took over and got it all figured out and we seemed to be cleared for take off early early tomorrow morning. With a sigh of relief we were ready to do a little more daladala exploring and get a few last gifts to bring home with us. We cooked the last of the oatmeal we have been schlepping around for 1-1/2 months, but came in very handy many times including today. We shared it with Said and his father. 

Marshed got up late, took a bite, thought the better of it, and headed out to work. That would be the last we saw of him while we are here this time. Said ran out to pick up sugar, white bread, and eggs. The maid had come to clean and cooked the eggs which we shared. We left for, in Yehudah's words, our last, big sphitz (Yiddish for steam room sweat).

We headed out to catch the Mwenga-Posta daladala and got off at the end of the line, getting some help to find the Mwenga Craft Market. 

 

Joanie spent a goodly time picking out a few things which we then worked hard at bringing the price down. Yehudah found a mask shop and decided to invest in one. He chose a bird mask from the Mwanga-Sukuma tribal region on the southern edge of Lake Victoria. Looks authentic, but was probably carved recently. Not the best bargaining he'd done, but it completed our African shopping adventures. Although we did try to buy some mangos, they seemed overpriced so we will just be left with the memory of their taste and the fact that we ate one everyday for many weeks. We jumped aboard the Posta daladala, which immediately stopped and waited for an interminable amount of time in the heat in order to fill up with passengers. 

We got off at the Village Museum for our last taste of culture. No cafe there, so we went on a search and found a bakery with lots of meat, egg, and cheese-filled pastries. We decided to forgo the additional charge for the traditional dancing and just head on it for the $4pp charge. Unfortunately, they had no guides, a first in all the parks and museums we visited. Also the dancers were older women who no one seemed to want to pay the extra $1.33 to watch, but they did some intermittent drumming on their own. From the visitor sign in, it looked like they rarely had even 10 visitors per day. Having visited several villages, we were pretty familiar with many styles of habitation. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the beach in Central America, Caribbean side, we saw copulating lizards.  Here, in Tanzania, we think we might have seen copulating centipedes, either copulating or one eating the other - not sure:

The men usually had their own smaller hut while the wife or wives shared one with children and livestock. They had areas where they were growing many of the foodstuffs that was part of their diet. They also identified many of the native trees including a baobab in full leaf. All the ones we saw elsewhere were virtually leafless. It also produces an edible fruit which is made into a juice and which we hadn't had the occasion to taste. 

 

 

 

 

Yehudah was losing it, so we headed back and were relieved to find Sulliman home so we could take showers. Yehudah fell asleep for an hour in preparation for the ordeal of a 28 hour airplane/airport day ahead. Joanie got hooked into watching "The Help" on the tube which Yehudah caught the end of. Said appeared suddenly. He had been sleeping in his room all this time. We agreed to head out for a last supper. We went back to the BBQ place, Unique, where they serve Indian food at the sit down restaurant attached. Yummy, with lots of leftovers for the guys back at the apartment. Said totally surprised Yehudah with a kofia that fits him perfectly and the beautiful, white Zanzibari pants he had admired yesterday. Also a huge copy of the Koran, reading material for the road. We reciprocated with a small 2014 calendar, a toothbrush for the next guest,  pin from Folklife Seattle and a card of appreciation.

The taxi we had arranged earlier showed up.  Said and his father helped us schlep everything downstairs. We are loaded to the gunnels with our extra duffle bag full of coffee, paintings and gifts. On getting to the airport, they told us we were too early and had to wait an hour or more. So much for the instructions to arrive 3 hours before flight time.