Well, after almost a week of traveling, I'm finally here - Bulongwa, my base camp for six more weeks.
It's been an interesting ordeal getting here. Traveling 600 kms or so in this country is a five day affair, particularly if you're doing it the budget public transit route! In Swahili, any sort of trip from one place to another is a "safari," which then becomes translated to "journey." At first, i found it striking when people would ask how my journey was, but now I understand that it's the right word to use. Here's a quick sketch of my journey here:
Montreal - Amsterdam - Kilimanjaro - Dar Es Salaam: 27 hours (MD11, 777)
Dar Es Salaam - Njombe: 11 hours (Soviet era coach bus, complete with vomiting children, broken windows, seats, everything... and stopping every few kilometers because of flipped or broken down trucks blocking the one-lane asphalt highway)
Njombe - Makete: 3 hours waiting for the daladala to fill, 7 hours travel (Daladala: gutted 1980's Toyota version of a VW van, now sits 30 uncomfortably piled up against rusty door pannels that fall off if opened too wide, or sometimes on the incredibly large potholes along the dirt road)
Makete - Bulongwa: 2.5 hours (Toyota Landcruiser, also from the 80's, filled with 17 adults, 3 children, and 4 men hanging off the bumper and roof-rack)
It's been an interesting ordeal getting here. Traveling 600 kms or so in this country is a five day affair, particularly if you're doing it the budget public transit route! In Swahili, any sort of trip from one place to another is a "safari," which then becomes translated to "journey." At first, i found it striking when people would ask how my journey was, but now I understand that it's the right word to use. Here's a quick sketch of my journey here:
Montreal - Amsterdam - Kilimanjaro - Dar Es Salaam: 27 hours (MD11, 777)
Dar Es Salaam - Njombe: 11 hours (Soviet era coach bus, complete with vomiting children, broken windows, seats, everything... and stopping every few kilometers because of flipped or broken down trucks blocking the one-lane asphalt highway)
Njombe - Makete: 3 hours waiting for the daladala to fill, 7 hours travel (Daladala: gutted 1980's Toyota version of a VW van, now sits 30 uncomfortably piled up against rusty door pannels that fall off if opened too wide, or sometimes on the incredibly large potholes along the dirt road)
Makete - Bulongwa: 2.5 hours (Toyota Landcruiser, also from the 80's, filled with 17 adults, 3 children, and 4 men hanging off the bumper and roof-rack)
* Picture taken at a PIUMA meeting. The building in the background is my home and office - they love watching foreigners follow local custom and eat with their hands!
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