Tansaaaaaniiiiaaaaaaa

Hoʻopuka ʻia: 18.09.2018

As announced in our last post, we decided to take the train for our trip to Tanzania. Since we had already read and heard many stories about the convenience compared to a bus ride, the beauty of the landscape, as well as the delays and inconveniences, we were prepared for a few things. The start was quite positive, as the train left the station in Kapiri Mphoshi, Zambia on time on Friday afternoon at 2 pm. We initially occupied two different four-bed sleeper compartments, as the ticket seller apparently was not aware that we would like to stay in the same sleeper compartment. After some back and forth with the staff, we managed to make a deal with a family father who had suffered the same fate as us, and we settled in comfortably. The afternoon passed quickly, and after a hearty dinner (chicken and rice), we slept reasonably well despite the cold and noise of the train. The next morning also went by quickly with a good book and another hearty lunch (chicken and rice). When we arrived at the border to Tanzania, two officials from Zambia inspected the train and stamped our passports for exit. At this point, we were still 200 km away from our final destination, Mbeya. We looked at the clock, which showed 2 pm, our scheduled arrival time, and estimated a delay of 3 to 4 hours. When we arrived at the border post in Tanzania, we obediently paid our 50!!USD visa fee, and although our passports were missing for a few frightening minutes, everything seemed to have been overcome successfully. But when the train still hadn't moved after two hours, and we were informed by a friendly employee that it would still take about six hours for the remaining 200 km to Mbeya, and our train was currently without a locomotive because they had to rescue a broken-down train on the track, we already had a bad feeling. In the end, after a relatively confusing and incomprehensible compartment change, we arrived in Mbeya at 2 am. There we were greeted by a huge number of people getting on the train in a pitch-black hall. We waited for the chaos to settle and then asked one of the station employees for a taxi to the city. Luckily, a taxi driver showed up who, of course, charged us five times the price, but at least welcomed us very kindly. So we drove to our accommodation that we had booked here in Mbeya. When we arrived, after 10 minutes of ringing the bell, we were informed that the accommodation was already fully booked. So the taxi driver offered to try another nearby accommodation, which luckily didn't eat up a huge chunk of our budget, but also didn't offer us running water or toilet paper. Slightly disgusted but glad to finally have a roof over our heads, we fell asleep.

After a hearty breakfast, a change to a new accommodation, and a warm shower, the frustration of the previous day quickly faded away, and we explored the city a bit. There wasn't much to see, and it didn't take long for the first tour guide to catch us. His name was James, and after a relatively tough negotiation, we agreed to take two day tours with him.

We started the first one the next day, and we climbed the Mbeya Peak. The approximately ten-hour tour with just over 1,000 meters of altitude difference up to 2,800 meters took us through adjacent villages and their fields.

Once at the top, we enjoyed the beautiful view and talked to James. After an intense conversation about his work, we offered James to help him a bit with spreading his offer and designing a flyer together that he can distribute in the hotels in town, as well as structuring, setting up, and updating his social media channels.

We shortened the way back to Mbeya with an adventurous motorcycle ride.

However, the next few days did not go exactly as planned because after returning from our hike, Matthias started showing the first symptoms of a cold. Since his condition worsened the next day, we decided to see a doctor and asked for a rapid test for malaria. When it was negative, we were somewhat relieved and spent the rest of the day and evening resting in our accommodation. However, the next day, it still wasn't better, and Matthias' body temperature rose to 39 degrees. When we arrived at the doctor again, we had everything checked once more, and according to the diagnosis, Matthias had been infected with typhoid despite being vaccinated. Fortunately, the medication worked quickly, and he was already fever-free the next day.

After 2 days of forced rest, we redeemed the second trip with our guide James and went to the Ngozi Crater. This extinct volcano is idyllically located in the southern highlands of Tanzania, and the path there led us through small villages and fields.

Unfortunately, Lisa's immune system had also weakened, and she had to give up the ascent about ¾ of the way, so in the end, only Matthias was able to enjoy the breathtaking view of the crater lake.

The next day, we drove to Iringa, where Lisa then suffered from a severe sore throat with middle ear infection. The days passed, and Matthias became somewhat nervous about his health condition because in about a week he was supposed to start his climb to the highest mountain in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Before this adventure, however, we made a stopover in Arusha and explored the city and its markets.

In Moshi, the starting point for Kilimanjaro hikes, we then separated. In Moshi, I, Lisa, didn't stay very long because firstly, apart from preparations for Kilimanjaro, there wasn't much to see, and secondly, because the street vendors here were particularly intrusive.

So I headed to Lushoto.

The main attractions there, besides the beautiful landscape that invites you to go hiking, are the chameleons, which you could also spot in the garden of the accommodation with patience and sharp eyes.

On the first day, I went on a discovery tour through the neighboring villages.

And on the second day, after an incredibly good cheese snack - yes, with real cheese and real bread!!! - I saw one of the most breathtaking views of this journey.

The last stop on the mainland was the largest and most economically important city in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam. I visited the center, the harbor, and the markets and made use of the time for some souvenir shopping.