Because of the mix-up with Air Tanzania I had to spend a night in Dar Es Salaam (locally known simply as Dar) on my way from Kigoma to Mbeya. I made the mistake of booking a cheap backpackers hotel, not realizing the distance from the airport and that the cost of taxis each way would make the total cost as much as a more comfortable hotel closer to the airport. Another lesson learned!
The hotel was basic – a not very comfortable bed (two single mattresses pushed together on a king bed, and I kept finding the gap between them) but it did have an ensuite, with a western toilet (something I am always grateful for, although squatty toilets are becoming less of a challenge.) Breakfast, which was included in the price, was surprisingly good: a selection of fruit slices (banana, mango, papaya and watermelon), an omelette and what I think was the African version of a hash brown, and two slices of toast with butter and jam, plus coffee.
All that I wrote about roads and drivers in Kigoma, is definitely not true of those in Dar. Roads are appalling, and drivers are feral. It didn’t help that the arrival time of the plane was in the middle of the afternoon peak hour. I didn’t time it, but I’m guessing about two hours from the airport to the hotel.
These two lovely ladies are friends of Apostle Adams. Evelyn (left) is a singer and Mary (right) is a pastor. They very kindly came to meet me at the airport, negotiated the taxi and accompanied me to the hotel, where they proceeded to bless me with a foot and neck massage. Bliss! Then they came back in the morning and again negotiated the taxi (interestingly at half the cost of the previous night’s trip) and accompanied me back to the airport, where they stayed with me for a couple of hours before I was able to convince them that I would be fine on my own.
It was a long day. We arrived at the airport around 10am, and the check-in time was not till 6pm. The girls stayed with me till lunch time, then I did my Bible readings for the day and spent quite a bit of time playing Mahjong on my phone. When I did get through check-in, there was more waiting as the plane was around an hour late.
I arrived in Mbeya around 10.30pm, and Pastor Philip and his wife met me at the airport and drove me to their home. So glad to be staying with the pastor and his family rather than in a hotel! They have a lovely big home, and I have a huge bedroom that is twice the size of my caravan.
Yesterday was a rest day, for which I was grateful. There is no wifi here, but Pastor Philip was able to get me a data sim, so I can hot-spot from the phone. I encountered one major problem – I tried to book my visa for my return to Kenya next month, and the system would not accept my card for payment. Prayer warriors, please pray that I will be able to sort this out with the bank, as I need to be able to use the card for expenses along the way.
Today I will be meeting the ladies this morning – not sure if this is an actual church service, or just a casual meeting – and I have a service this evening.