They say that timing is everything. I am not sure that is correct, but it can be rather important. My fear of being late, missing planes and being left behind sees us at Dar es Salaam airport with hours to kill, and for Jenny a pocket full of shillings with which to lubricate the Tanzanian economy.

Looking back on the past four weeks, we are very content with our decision to come to Africa. Last evening as we sat on the rooftop patio of our hotel watching the sun dip over the emerald waters of the Zanzibar sea, as we sipped our bitter lemon with lime, we reflected that there were not too many times in our life when we thought we would be in this exotic spot. Of course, for our well-travelled friends this must be a bit “ho-hum”!

Dar es salaam airport is probably not one’s first choice to hang out for a hot and muggy afternoon. We have been banished from the only places where there are some portable sir conditioning units. Still, at least we are here: just a boarding-call-announcement away from the plane- Emirates to Dubai.

The ferry from Stonetown to Dar was uneventful. Thankfully. Jenny had just about overdosed on Kwells. The sea was calm and flat and the lounge chairs on the first class upper deck were first rate. (I may have neglected to tell Jen about the Ferry that capsized a couple if years ago. Shhh!) 

The ferry is a top class vessel, but it does carry a lot. Many passengers, and a never-ending stream of bales and boxes all competing for the last cubic inch of space. We could observe the negotiations at the gate where an official allowed (or otherwise) the trolleys into the sanctum where they had access to the craft. Every now and then the official would close the gate and there would be some furious negotiation which probably involved some gentle palm greasing. Taid had told us the bribery is quite common among traffic police and many low level (and high level) gatekeepers.

In many ways were glad to see the end of Taib. He was very knowledgeable, but had the air of one teaching a class of uncomprehending children. “In 1964 Tanganyika and Zanzibar United to form the Republic of Tanzania. When… (Pause while you have to remember the year… Jenny obliges) 1964… good girl, 1964”. It was like a continuous social studies lesson. For all that, he was punctual, and got us where we needed to be safely and on time.

Airport wifi is handy but too slow to load photos. Will reload in next couple of days.

Thanks for reading!