Tanzania

10/06/’07
Donders. We arrived in Tanzania! We’ve been in minibuses all Friday; from 7.30 am till 9.30 pm. From Nkata-bay to Mzuzu, Mzuzu to Karonga, Karonga to border and from the border to Mbeya. We had two breakdowns on that first part of the road in Tanzania; a flat tire and an overheated motor.
A positive fact about being in Tanzania is that we needed to buy a new sim card, so we haven’t heard that annoying ring tone for a couple of days; nobody knows our new number.
But it’s too bad there are no more greens around here, and I never really took time to enjoy my last one in Malawi. Guess it all went a bit too fast after all. All of the sudden we found ourselves at the border (buying visa for 50 US dollar, or 50 euros, sounds fair doesn’t it?), changing our kwachas into shillings and hearing a new language; Swahili. We are having trouble with the language here; most people don’t speak English at all and the three of us are not quite masters of Swahili jet.

While walking around in Mbeya at night, looking for some food together with our two new Tanzanian friends, I felt like I was in a new world. Like a kid in a place like Disneyland or something. My first impression of the Tanzanian people was that they seemed less friendly, less social compared to Malawians. They don’t start talking to us spontaneously, and open. But I’ve already figured out that they’re just as friendly, they only need a little push to get started. I’ve also learned that Tanzania is huge. Driving for hours took us into the country for just a little bit. On the road you see more trucks and big buses than I’ve seen in three months Malawi.

Another first impression is that the average person here seems a bit richer. Houses look stronger, with metal roofs instead of grass and plastic. More flies, but just as many mosquitoes. Clothes of people look better, and there are more children wearing shoes. More women who wear beautiful traditional clothing. More wind (at least where we are right now). More tall people. More choice; you can choose between coke and pepsi (in bigger bottles, still from glass). And the things they sell on the market (bags, shoes, clothes, etc.) look better, new instead of second hand. No Chinese junk, but real brands. A lot of the things I see look cleaner, fresher, nicer. The meat tastes better. Strange that a border, a different language, another nationality and some kilometers, can cause such a big difference...

But Saturday we took a bus from Mbeya to Iringa (12.30 till 20.00) and I’ve seen that (of course) also here in Tanzania people live in tiny huts. Still there are dusty dirt roads. Still kids with round bellies and shabby clothes. Still most people don’t have electricity. Still the sun burns. Still people die at an average age of 47, it is 39 in Malawi).
Still it is Africa.

11/06/’07.
Imagine this. Sitting on top of your private Landrover (ok, just for a day…), while that awesome vehicle is driving you through a wild park. Seated in the sun, while the hot African wind is blowing in your face, you see huge, completely empty stretches of land. Endless, rolling lands, as far as you can see, with dry yellow grass, thorny bushes, massive baobabs and the typical savanna trees. Here and there you have to hold on tight; steep slopes of the dried rivers need to be taken. The sandy bedding of the rivers are filled with all kinds of animal tracks, many of them are huge circles of elephant feet.
During the day you see groups of hippos with their babies lazing around in the water, some crocodiles are pretending to sleep, a bit further down the river. A shadow, and the scream of a fish eagle makes you look up, into the dry land again. Many vultures are floating around in circles, on the hot air. (Ground) hornbills, doves and small birds in all possible colors, bright and shiny, are flying around, living their lives. As well are the groups of incredibly stupid Guinea Fowls, and the Marshall eagle that is eating one of them, seated in a big tree.
As the car keeps following its bumpy way into the park, with a size that is unbelievable, you keep bumping into antelopes, zebras, some velvet monkeys, kudus, gazelles, a pretty big snake, jackals, ostriches and the tiny dikdiks. The best thing of all is that you get eye in eye with several herds of elephants, many of those strange looking giraffes and you even get the change to see some lions hunt successfully. Later on fifteen lions, in all different sizes, take all the time they need to walk away from you…

I hope your imagination was able to take you all the way into Africa. I’m sorry (especially for Tammy and Renee), but I have to admit that this all was reality for me today…