Dar es Salaam to Rusumo
An unexpected adventure
Tanzania has a new electric train running from Dar es Salaam, the new capital, so Hayden helps me book tickets, and early the next morning, I’m crossing the Tanzania countryside by rail and reach Dodoma. I have about five hours because the next bus to Mwanza does not leave until later as an overnight bus. I almost missed it after navigating to the wrong bus station on Google Maps. The bus has its own office, and after getting help from a couple of locals, I make it in time. At around 6 am, I arrive in Mwanza, trying to navigate a new bus stand, surrounded by taxi drivers vying for business. It’s a bit much to start early in the morning, so instead of trying to figure out the next bus I’ll be taking, I head to the hostel. Luckily, the room was available early because the previous boarders had left with enough time to prepare it, so I managed to get some much-needed sleep. I head out to check out the town, find some food, and figure out bus tickets. After wandering for a bit, I somehow find myself getting a boat tour from a very charismatic salesman.
A view of the Uluguru Mountains from the train
He eats his fish a bit fresher than I do.
It’d been a long day before, so Isa and I are just planning on having a low-key day, going to town, getting some ingredients, cooking, and recovering for the next transport we’re going to take, and just exploring the city pretty informally. Well, as we approach the historical monument Bismarck Rock on Lake Victoria, a boat tour salesman, who introduces himself as Musa, calls out to me in Kiswahili. Everyone here thinks I’m Tanzanian, so they automatically start with that language. Of course, I don’t know any Kiswahili, and when he realizes I’m hopeless, he finally switches to English. He tries to sell us a boat tour, but I redirect him to ask about a bus from here to a pretty, little, not well-traveled town near the border I’m trying to cross. He helps us find the person to buy tickets from, leads us to the bus office about 20 minutes away, giving us running commentary and an impromptu walking tour of the city on the way, and shows us the exact bus we’re taking so we can find it the next day, early in the morning. At the end, he manages to redirect me back to the boat tour. After the great city tour and the help, how could we not take him up on his reasonable offer? He shows us the Bismarck Rock from on the lake and climbing it, takes us to the prison and courthouse that was used by the Germans when they still colonized Tanzania, the fish market to see how the fish from the lake are packed processed and prepared to ship out to other fish sellers and a couple of Islands to show us local fisherman getting ready to go nightime fishing. The tour comes complimentary with its very own “MaYouTuber”. Prince ChaCha G, a local content creator building his brand, features us in his video.
Me and the local fisherman who are getting ready for a night fish.
As the tour winds down, our guide, Musa, receives a call, talks for a few minutes, hangs up, then calls back, talks for a few minutes more, and finally asks if we need a ride home. We’re expecting a regular moto driver that he’s trying to give business to, but imagine our surprise when the car waiting for us isn’t a moto or bodaboda but the nicest Toyota SUV we’ve ever seen, much less ridden in since we’ve started traveling. He says it’s free of charge because it’s his friend and the boss of the tour company. As it turns out, Dotta, Musa’s friend, also owns a mining company and several other businesses in Tanzania. He ends up taking us to Lake Tilapia, a restaurant on Lake Victoria facing the city. The restaurant gives you a view over the bay that’s dotted with lights that draw your eyes across the water to the other side, where the city lights up for the night. Dotta, Dotta’s business manager, Musa, and others join us for dinner, as we end up sharing food, laughs, and business plans into the night.
Everything after that goes smoothly, and I’m on my way to Rusumo, the border town at the Tanzania-Rwandan border.
Book that’s currently distracting me from writing my next blog post: The Will of the Many X James Islington
Song that is probably getting played way too many times: Eternal Light X Free Nationals, Chronixx
