Mazinde

I reluctantly arose at 4.15am with rain pouring on the tent and had to deal with an insect infestation before packing up a wet tent. I was feeling exhausted and miserable after the previous day's exertions as I forced down some breakfast. The extremely early starts on this trip have been very wearing but are sometimes necessary as we often need to travel great distances on the truck. We set off in the gloom of the pre-dawn under grey, leaden skies. As the grey light brightened we passed some beautiful misty mountains with huge sisel plantations in the foreground which are like long, fibrous pineapples which are laid out to dry and used to make mats and rope. We were heading for the East coast of Tanzania on our long journey to the paradise sands of Zanzibar. I was very envious of my fellow travellers who seem to be able to sleep as the truck as it rattles, bumps and rolls it's way over the poor Tanzanian roads, whereas I cannot sleep on the truck no matter how tired I am. As we travelled west the culture changed to become more muslim. The countryside also became more coastal with palm trees appearing. We arrived in Bagamoyo which is an old German colonial town with their old ruined fort and colonial houses now falling down in disrepair. We were right by the sea and heard the Muslim call to prayer. The campsite, 'Firefly Bagamoyo', was a thatched, wooden beach resort with a nice bar and pool. We went for a walk along the beach which was busy with fisherman on their wooden sailing boats and men loading other boats with long wooden poles. There were wooden tri-morans which were carved whole out of tree trunks. The people were friendly and often said hello when we passed by. We returned to the campsite bar and had a drink, passion fruit shandy, by the pool before we had dinner. The weather was very humid and warm and was a taste of what was to come in Zanzibar. I slept fairly well despite the extreme heat and another insect infestation which will need to be addressed more permanently.Read more