Last updated 2007.11.21
Yesterday (Monday 17 July) we were picked up by a shuttle bus to bring us back to Stonetown on the west coast, from where the ferries depart. On the way I was dropped at the police station to report the theft of the sandals, while the shuttle bus delivered some other tourist. Not that we have much hope that the police will be able to get the sandals back, more make a point in the local community. The bus driver was not happy with the idea as he anticipated that the police process would consume a lot of time. However, after just 50 minutes I was handed a receipt for the report. At that time the bus had been waiting for just 20 minutes, so it wasn't that much of a delay.
Back in Stonetown we were dropped at the ferry terminal. While Mai-Britt guarded the luggage, the kids and I made a quick shopping tour and got a better pair of sandals for Aske.
For the return to the mainland we had booked on one of the fast ferries, as the slower one was returning during night-time. The ride was somewhat faster, one hour and 55 minutes compared to 2˝-3 hours, but actually it was less pleasant. We could all feel the bumping over the waves in our stomachs but fortunately none of us got sick.
Back in Dar es Salaam we headed straight for the hotel where we stayed a week earlier. We had left some luggage there and made a booking for this one-night-stop. At the hotel it appeared that some misunderstanding had occurred, as they were not expecting us until the following day. Fortunately, there was still some rooms left. After dinner I spent more than two hours with the computer at the internet café, uploading pictures and diaries and reading e-mails (though not very many seems to remember us anymore - !). For some unexplained reason there was a lot of troubles before it finally worked out, but I suppose that is just the nature of these computer creatures...
Today we were picked up by Japhet and rushed out of town towards Iringa. It was nice to leave the too warm and humid city of Dar es Salaam. The drive up to Iringa was smooth and fairly fast, though quite a number of heavy trucks and a lot of busses occupied their part of the road. Especially the second half is quite scenic, it goes through a mountainous area offering some very beautiful sceneries.
In Iringa we went straight to a hotel and installed ourselves. A quick stroll through the town centre and dinner at the hotel, and then it was time for diary writing.
Tomorrow we'll make a tour to a stone age site called Isimila. Check back to read all about it!