Dar Es Salaam
After an eventful week, a great wedding party and only two hours of sleep the alarm bell rings. Time to grab all our stuff and start the long way from Vienna via Zürich to Dar es Salaam with its international airport. This is our connection point from Europe. Unfortunately it is served primarily by SWISS airlines which caused us a few not so nice experiences. Including a very exhausting trip back home that lasted about 24 hours longer as planned ...
As we land at 8 pm the same evening in Dar es Salaam our first impressions are: dark, hot and humid. A car from the Swiss Garden Hotel picks us up from the airport. A very good place to stay and the hotel is run by Beat from Switzerland. Time for a cold beer, a shower and some sleep.
Dar Es Salaam is not the official capital of Tanzania. This is Dodoma further west of Dar. From a cultural and commercial perspective however it certainly is. A great mix of various markets, colonial style and modern houses, a big harbor and a great fish market with almost no tourists. Something for us to explore the next couple of days before we explore the more northern parts of the country.
The local fisher men unload their catch of the day in the harbor.
Next to the fish market a guy sharpening the knifes using a self made tool.
We found a guide named Good Luck on the fish market and he shows us around.
On the other side of the street there is the fruit market.
We buy fresh shrimps, limes and spices and this guide fries them for us. Yummy!
In the streets of Dar heavily loaded bicycles.
Colonial style buildings.
Churches we can find all over the place.
The other guide we found takes us up the clock tower.
3 - 9
<
>
After our last trip to Africa this feels much more Africa compared to the southern part and especially South Africa. This is black Africa and we are an "attraction" in the same way as the locals are for us as we walk to the Waterfront and then further on to fish market. We feel very safe in most areas and have no doubts walking into town from the Swiss Garden Hotel.
On the fish market we meet a guy who calls himself Good Luck. He shows us around and we feel more safe to approach people and take pictures. Good Luck also sells fresh Shrimps to us, advises on what spices to buy and navigates us to another stand where we can get the fresh Shrimps fried immediately. What a taste, unbelievable!
As we walk through town a young student approaches us. He wants to show us around his town and be our guide for the afternoon. He wants to do this for free, he says. We agree and he shows us some great places. To thank him we invite him for a snack and give him a tip. This is why we travel independently, to meet the locals and get engaged.
But now it is time to also organize the next part of our trip. We get enough money exchanged, find the booking office of Precision Air and book our flight from Dar Es Salaam to Kilimanjaro International Airport located close to Arusha. From here we start our camping trip with just a 4x4 car and our little tent. Let the adventure begin.
