Our first week in Tanzania
The moment we stepped off the plane in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, the heat hit us. Despite it being around 11pm, the air was still incredibly warm. Much warmer, at this time of night, than anything we had experienced so far in either Uganda or Rwanda. The weather that greeted us as we disembarked the plane was in stark contrast to the weather we had left behind earlier that evening in Kigali, Rwanda. As our taxi driver pulled up at Kigali airport, not only was a monsoon rain pouring down, but we were also being showered in huge hail stones. The sound of the hail on the roof of our cab was deafening. Our taxi driver, Claire and I all sat there chuckling together wondering when we’d be able to get out of the car, grab our bags from the boot and run into the airport. We sat there for 15 minutes waiting for the storm to subside, worrying a little that the weather may lead to our plane being grounded overnight. However, a break in the hail shower gave us a window. We jumped out of the car, the rain still pouring, grabbed our bags from the boot and ran three metres into the covered walkway that would take us to the entrance of the airport. I think we were in the rain for a maximum of 10 seconds and yet we were completely wet through. The rain eased off as take off drew nearer and we ended up flying without a problem. Our Rwandair flight took around two-and-a-half hours and was as smooth as we could have wanted. It was also nice and quiet meaning we were able to stretch out with two seats each.
After spending our first night in Tanzania at the Friendly Gecko hostel on the outskirts of Dar Es Salaam, we awoke and decided to head up the coast to a town called Bagamoyo. We had got in late so didn’t get a chance to see the capital properly, but we would, no doubt be heading back through Dar Es Salaam some other time. After a few hours travel, we arrived at the Firefly Guesthouse, a place recommended to us by Chrissy, who we met on Lake Bunyoni in Uganda. As soon as we arrived we knew this was a place where we would stay for a while. Situated about 100m from the beach, Firefly is a fantastic venue offering camping, dorms and rooms all for good prices. Not only this but the building itself is magnificent. An old building, Firefly has been carefully restored keeping all of its old world charm. Outside there are plenty of places to sit around the pool, which is the centrepiece of the guesthouse. The staff were incredibly friendly with Beatrice, a local Tanzanian lady who seemed to be running the bar, especially warm and fun to chat to.
Bagamoyo is a stunning old town with a lot of history. It used to be the main trading port in Tanzania until most of the trade eventually moved to Dar Es Salaam a few hours down the coast. The town itself is full of beautiful, though crumbling, buildings and it also has a gorgeous beach. The weather was also the hottest I have ever experienced, with most days hitting the mid thirties. This meant that we had to get out early to do things or wait until the late afternoon once the temperature had dropped again. In fact, the sea was so warm that you couldn’t even go for a swim to cool down.
One day, Claire and I decided to go and visit some ancient ruins we had heard about called Kaole ruins. These ruins were the remains of the oldest mosque in East Africa and were hundreds of years old. We jumped in a bajaj, which is essentially the same as a tuk tuk for anyone who has been to East Asia or India. For those that haven’t, it is pretty much a three wheeled covered vehicle operated by one person carrying two or three passengers in the back. The driver steers with handlebars like a motorbike and uses pedals like a car. It’s a great fun little vehicle to get around in. On this particular trip our driver was called Mohammed. He drove us to the ruins, which were about 10km away. After 10 minutes of nice smooth roads we were then driven over bumpy dirt tracks and rocky pathways, bouncing around for another ten minutes until we finally arrived at the ruins.
One of the graves at Kaole Ruins.
Our tour guide took us inside the old mosque, which had no roof and was pretty much made up of knee high crumbling walls and a few other bits and pieces. We had to take off our shoes before entering, as with all other mosques, and we were also able to wash our hands n in Muslim holy water taken out of the ancient well on site. We then got to take a look at some grand old graves that were reserved for important people of the community before heading over to a five hundred year old baobab tree. This tree was spectacular. A huge hulking trunk supporting gigantic branches adorned with plenty of greenery. Despite its old age this baobab was still very much alive. We were told by the guide that if you walk around the base clockwise you increase your lifespan, however, make a mistake and circumnavigate this monstrous tree anti-clockwise and you are accidentally reducing the longevity of your life. Knowing this, Claire and I did a few laps clockwise, figuring that with the holy water, and now the orbit of this magic tree, we were doing pretty well for a day’s work.
We spent a lot of our time in Bagamoyo either in or around the pool at Firefly, drinking their homemade juices or cocktails; or at another bar on the beach called the Flaming Squid that was located right on the water’s edge and had plenty of cold beer and some excellent food. Bagamoyo was our first experience of Tanzania, and after six full days chilling on the beach, wondering around its ancient streets, or merely hanging by the pool enjoying the quiet life (which was the majority of our time to be fair) it was most certainly a wonderful place to start.
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