6 month review and a trip to Pemba
on Kev in Tanzania (Tanzania), 15/Apr/2009 04:51, 34 days ago
Playing catch up with the blog again - all these people visiting and trips away...Thursday 26th MarchBetty from VSO visited today– she was meant to visit on Friday but came a day early – this was great coz it meant I could travel to Dar Friday and then onto Pemba Saturday.I had only spoken to Betty over the phone and was not sure what to expect when I went to meet her– at least it was going to be better than the main education programme manager who has never phoned or visited so far... Betty was nice and friendly and I took her first to meet the principle who said some very nice things about my progress so far. My lack of wages from the ministry was also mentioned and I was told I would get them on Monday (not very useful as off to Pemba and Zanzibar for 2 weeks but providing they have not been spent by someone else they should be waiting for me when I return.I left Betty to get lunch with Lubuva and the Principle. I then rushed into town to see if I could get a ticket to Dar for Friday morning at 6am (there is only one bus out of Mpwapwa to Dar a day and it goes at 6am!)After sorting my ticket and tidying up my house I took Betty out for dinner at Abebis (actually she took me as being my boss she paid!) She stayed at the Ark which is a nice guest house near Peters. Over dinner we talked about the possibility of extending and I said I want to speak to family before I commit to anymore time out here– but it is a good feeling to be wanted!Friday 27th MarchHoliday time!!Got up at 5.45am and went down to TTC to catch bus to Dar– was worried about my chickens but did tell my Askari (guard) to feed them and give some cash for their food...I did not have a great seat but the bus trip was fine– felt a little long getting to Morogoro. I have always thought of Moro being halfway between Dar and Mpwapwa but I am wrong. Bus trip was 7 and a half hours...Got off at Ubungo– main bus depot in Dar – notorious for thieves and hustlers. Had to wait for luggage and it always worries me in case my bag has been pinched. But all was safe and I got a cab from the bus depot to the centre of Dar to meet Liz at the YWCA.After dropping my stuff off Liz and I went to shoprite which is a supermarket chain and we stocked up on some nice treats that are not available in Mpwapwa or Pemba.In the evening we met up Tim Coburn an old college friend and his mate Carlos. Liz and I took them to the Badminton Institute which is a curry house and badminton club. It was great catching up with Tim, he has been in Malawi for a few years and came to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro! He did well making it up there but naturally I told him if Chris Moyles can do it anyone can!After a great curry and many beers we parted ways and back at the YWCA I prepared to leave early once again but this time with Liz and on a boat trip for 6 hours!Saturday 28th MarchWe walked from the YWCA down to the port and as always when at the port we were accosted by touts trying to sell us tickets to Zanzibar– luckily we had already got our tickets and could just breeze through all the hustle and bustle straight to the boat.The boat trip was bumpy and for entertainment there was a dodgy film with Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu– it was on repeat for the whole journey so ended up watching it 3 times...It was nice stopping at Zanzibar briefly and bought me back some great memories from Xmas and New Year. When we arrived at Pemba then docking was nowhere near as glamorous and we found out we had been sharing the boat ride with a dead guy... There was a guard on the dock pushing porters into the water! From the dock we walked into Mokwani and caught a Dala to Chake Chake the capital of Pemba. Arriving on the island it is very lush.We went to Sandra and Anne’s house which was nice and you can see all the work that Sandra has been doing to make the place her home (she unlike the rest of us is staying 2 years). We played another card game – called international cafe – the dutch do love their games!In the evening we went to the Army Mess which is one of the few places in Chake you can buy beers. We had a chipsi mayai and due to two late nights and early mornings I was starting to fall asleep at the table... A cue to leave! Luckily the Army mess is pretty nice to drink at.When we got back to Sandra and Anne’s we played a form of ‘rummy’ with disks rather than a deck of cards and as I got my second wind Anne was getting a bit worse for wear it was fun teasing her in the game and she went to bed quite drunk!Sunday 29th MarchSleeping on the couch I was awoken by a deafening storm– the thunder sounded like it was just outside the room. I have never heard such thunder so close before – it was a scary way to be woken up! To make things worse at 7.30am a generator started up that is just outside their window, you have to shout to be heard in the lounge!We had a nice breakfast and played Ludo which I have not played for years. After our game Liz and I caught the dala to Wete where she lives, it was a about an hours dala ride. my bag was tied to the roof and I often wonder with all the bumps and bends how it manages to stay on!Liz’s house was nice, it has a courtyard which separates the sleeping and dining area from the cooking and washing area. I like the idea of having a courtyard. Her toilet was not great though as it is a squat one and I am still not used to them! She also has hundreds of mozzies in the toilet whichcan be quiet distracting! On the good side though she has a 1000 litre water tank and also fans in the rooms.After a little rest Liz took me on a tour of Wete which is basically a long street leading down to the‘port’. Pemba is very Islamic and traditional, the children shout ‘Mzungu’ at you and you get lots of stares from the men, although when speaking to them they are very polite. The call to pray disrupts the day and the shops shut for it.Wete is bigger than Mpwapwa and has tarmac roads. The shops sell a slightly bigger range of goods but the market is smaller. For some reason on Pemba they choose to import the fresh fruit and veg rather than grow it on the island (all they grow is rice, cassava and bananas) this can cause problems as they only have a good choice once the boats have come in.She took me down to the‘port’ and we saw hundreds of fruit bats hanging in the trees – it was quite a sight! We had dinner at the ‘Times’ restaurant which is the newest and nicest restaurant in town (like Abebis in Mpwapwa - only better)In the evening we watched some of the Kath and Kim DVD which is an Oz comedy that Liz has been trying to get me to watch– it was funny and I was surprised!Monday 30th MarchLiz had to work today so I relaxed at her home, there were lots of ants in her courtyard so I used some spray to get rid of them (that’s pretty much the highlight of the day…)When Liz came home she cooked fake meat and pasta for dinner which despite sounding a bit nasty is very tasty! In the evening we had a quick wander up and down the road and Liz pointed out some good dukas to me. After that we watched 'slum dog millionaire' which was fantastic, well shot, directed and very entertaining.Tuesday 31st MarchLiz at work again and I had a headache– probably from lack of water or the heat...I had a nice lie in and then went into Wete to do some shopping, they have a cinema in Wete but it is pretty run down and they show dodgy action films! The market is tiny and hardly had any produce as the boats were not due in until tomorrow.Had leftover fake meat for lunch and entertained myself with some scrubs (have not watched any since September and have been suffering withdraw!)In the evening Mickey came over and we had fried rice for dinner. After helping Mickey set up his internet Liz and watched a couple more episodes of Kath and Kim before bed.More to follow!