We got up again at an ungodly hour, another transfer day
awaits us together with an another technical issue with our truck: I'm almost
fed up!! We cross the Mikumi NP and we catch sight of buffalos, giraffes,
impalas, kudus and elephants. Quite a featureless day, same old stop for lunch
in the middle of the road and usual and never ending police roadblocks: this
time is policewoman to stop and at the moment at the driver's seat we have
Takalani who loses his head as soon as he sees any woman weighing less than 100
kilos.
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| Welcome message... |
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| A few elephants at Mikumi National Park. |
Do you wanna see all pics taken during
the trip in Africa? Then click here.
As soon as we approach Dar Es Salaam the amount of palm
trees increases, as well as the the traffic, the trucks, the dirt and the
stink. I need to make a correction: this is the ghastliest city I have ever
seen!
Dar es Salaam, in arabic "home of peace", is the biggest city in Tanzania, the main economic centre and the the main harbour of the country. Even though it's the most developed city in Tanzania, Dar is very different from the more westernized Nairobi and keeps preserving nowadays the typical atmosphere of a colonial city. Skyscrapers and large boulevards in some quarters are an exception, most of buildings are low, roads are dusty and crowded, palm trees and mangroves still overlook on the coast. Cruise liners and merchant ships dock put into port, but also dhows and fishers' canoes. The poorest part of Dar population is formed by youngsters who gotta face a huge quantity of problems. Peri-urban areas are more and more characterized by crumbling houses, crowding and poor sanitary conditions; latrines are common, with cesspits (subject to overflow during rainy season) and garbage collection is on an irregular basis. So that waste is often burnt and buried, with bad consequences such as air and soil pollution and toxic substances contamination in the environment. Not to talk about Dar traffic which is unbelievable, never seen anything like this: total anarchy, everybody does whatever he wants. People crossing the road at the last very second and you gotta have good reflexes not to hit them. People overtaking from right then from left (including us); I don't understand anymore what the right lane is. Obviously even people crossing with the red light. It's a total delirium!
All this is enough for me to make this city unbearable.
We decide to camp at the Silver Beach Camp Site which is directly on the beach. It's not an idyllic place but we are feeling good here. There's even a bar with some music.
Dar es Salaam, in arabic "home of peace", is the biggest city in Tanzania, the main economic centre and the the main harbour of the country. Even though it's the most developed city in Tanzania, Dar is very different from the more westernized Nairobi and keeps preserving nowadays the typical atmosphere of a colonial city. Skyscrapers and large boulevards in some quarters are an exception, most of buildings are low, roads are dusty and crowded, palm trees and mangroves still overlook on the coast. Cruise liners and merchant ships dock put into port, but also dhows and fishers' canoes. The poorest part of Dar population is formed by youngsters who gotta face a huge quantity of problems. Peri-urban areas are more and more characterized by crumbling houses, crowding and poor sanitary conditions; latrines are common, with cesspits (subject to overflow during rainy season) and garbage collection is on an irregular basis. So that waste is often burnt and buried, with bad consequences such as air and soil pollution and toxic substances contamination in the environment. Not to talk about Dar traffic which is unbelievable, never seen anything like this: total anarchy, everybody does whatever he wants. People crossing the road at the last very second and you gotta have good reflexes not to hit them. People overtaking from right then from left (including us); I don't understand anymore what the right lane is. Obviously even people crossing with the red light. It's a total delirium!
All this is enough for me to make this city unbearable.
We decide to camp at the Silver Beach Camp Site which is directly on the beach. It's not an idyllic place but we are feeling good here. There's even a bar with some music.
Keep reading... My travel story continues in the next
post!
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