Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
November 10, 2022
Today we arrived in Tanzania and our first stop is Dar Es Salaam. I can’t say this country has ever been on my bucket list. I’m not even sure if I even knew it existed before we planned this trip.
We picked up the pilot about 7:30 am and began the journey into port. Impressive looking city from afar. I would have never guessed a city like this existed in this area of Africa.
According to our cruise director Jeremy, this city has experienced tremendous growth in the last few decades. As we pulled in, a few groups of entertainers played for us. The ship has been docking on the starboard side most of the trip. This gives us a great view right off of our balcony.
We have no tour scheduled today and our plan is to take the shuttle into downtown and walk to the golf course that we were unable to contact. Maybe we can play. Shuttle was only a few minutes and we were dropped off at the Sheraton Hotel. The walk to the course was 1.5 miles. It was hot and humid. Upper 80s. Lots of vehicle traffic complete with the required horn honking. Few if any sidewalks. Infrastructure on the poor side but trash management seemed to be better here. People everywhere. Most dressed nicely. Suits, colorful African dresses, school kids in uniform. Lots of people. Tuk-Tuk vehicles used here too. I did see some women carrying stuff on their heads. Looked like a picture from a National Geographic magazine.
The golf course was a bust. Looked like it had been watered last year sometime. Obviously closed.
We decided to walk to the Kerikoo market. Streets full of people selling everything. We stopped in a little store to purchase some water. Lucky for us, English is also an official language along with Swahili. My Swahili is just not up to where it should be. I asked the woman behind the counter if she took credit. No. US Dollars? No. “What are you looking for”, she asked. Water, was my response. I can help you, she said. She went to the cooler and gave us a bottle of water each. Free. She also gave a bottle each to two ship people who decided to follow us because we had a map to the market. Hospitality. I like this place.
The walk to the market was a struggle. Everyone is on the rode at the same time. Bikes, motor cycles, people pushing carts, cars, trucks. Horns, horns, horns. You don’t wait for anyone because you will wait forever. It is never ending. Want to cross the street? You go. Never mind that 2 tuk-tuk’s, 3 bicycles, and 6 cars are coming. This was definitely an example of old world meeting new. You would have never guess this market existed in such a modern looking city.
The couple that tagged along with us were completely lost. They had a map from the ship but it was not detailed enough to get you anywhere. John and Teen. John said this reminded him of Saigon. I told him I was just thinking the same thing but only from pictures. He was quite fearful of getting robbed either by force or lack of haggling skills. He was obviously a Veteran and asked if I was military. He reminded me of other Vietnam era veterans that I have met. It is not possible to “un see” what was done over there and most seem to be carrying that around with them.
We worked our way back to the Hilton and sat down and had a beer and a glass of wine (glass of ice on the side please).
We spent some time here chatting with John and Teen and enjoyed the free wifi. John was in the Navy and Teen was Vietnamese. She was adopted by a couple in Minnesota in 1972. I helped her download the maps.me program I use to navigate. I was surprised by her heavy Vietnamese accent after being here for 50 years.
I was surprised by the number of ship people hanging out in the lobby. They obviously had no tour scheduled and I guess this is “getting off” of the ship. Lots of people do not have cellular service nor do they purchase the ridiculously priced package on the ship. Having free wifi is like being in a candy store for them.
We had lunch on the ship and relaxed in the room until dinner. I was completely soaked from the experience out in the heat.
The evening entertainment was a local Tanzanian group. The Tanzanian Boys Circus. 5 young men that I guess were under 30. 4 of them did most of the show. The fifth one was a soloist.
I can’t remember the last time I was so entertained and impressed. Amazing acrobatic moves showing shear strength. If Ed Sullivan were still around, they would have made it to his show. I suggest that you look up this group on YouTube. They are really unbelievable. The 5th member is what I would call a contortionist. I can’t even believe what he was able to do. You guessed it. 10
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