Bus Adventure to Dar
We woke up today with the intentions of getting ourselves as close to Dar Es Salaam as possible. We ate delicious fruit, yogurt, muesli, and breads for breakfast and then proceeded to gather our belongings from our tented safari lodge and check-out. Ulrich was kind enough to take us into Pangani where we could catch a small local bus to the larger coastal city called Tanga.
Wow. That local bus was quite an adventure. Many buses in Africa have a departure time but they normally do not leave until every seat is full, and full has a very different meaning here. Let me explain the definition of full in Africa. Andrew an I boarded the 12 passenger van at 10:30 and we were lucky enough to be on our way just a few minutes after 11:00am. Normally buses like this will wait 2, maybe 3 hours before they depart. At the time of departure we have 17 people in our 12 passenger van and at the time of arrival in Tanga nearly 3 hours later, Andrew counted 28 people inside our 12 passenger van. We were lucky that we were by the window, that we had water, and that no passengers had decided to bring their chickens on board, which is a very common occurrence here in Africa. The bus ride was only supposed to take one hour, but due to the conditions of the roads that were destroyed by rain, and a driver who stopped every 10 minutes to make sure the bottom of the van wasn’t scrapping the ground, we arrived in just under three hours.
We heard there were some cool things to do in Tanga, such as tour a unique underground cave system, but we decided that we would first see if we could catch a bus onward to Te capital (Dar). We were told at Mkoma Bay to take Ratco Express and not any other bus company.
When we got out of our mini bus, as usual a dozen street hawkers swarmed is offering “terrific deals” on multiple destinations throughout the country. Many of the men were advertising for buses to Dar and were nearly fighting one another for or business. In situations like these I am very glad that I have Andrew who likes to stick to the plan. While I would have probably just taken one of their bus offers to Dar. Andrew navigated us to the Ratco Bus office where we quickly purchased a ticket and set off for the capital. The bus cost less than $5, had AC, was absolutely clean, and offered us free beverages and snacks… That does not typically happen in Africa.
We arrived in Dar Ea Salaam on time, just a few minutes after 8:00pm. The entire ride took less than six hours and the bus only made one stop at a rest station! Normally the buses stop for every person on the roadside who is looking for a lift.
Tom and Mariam, our two local friends who we met through church were already there waiting for us. They drove hours through heavy traffic just to meet us at the bus station. This evening was the first time we have ever met in person, and on the way back to their place they stopped by one of their favorite local eateries and bought us dinner. When we arrived at their house they gave us to a beautiful room with a private bathroom and offered to help us with anything we may need. Tom and Mariam are one of the kindest couples that I have ever met, and we are excited to spend the next few days with them!
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