Rainforest Moonshine and a Reunion with Curry (Tanzania)

Tanzania is an amalgam of “Tanganyika” and “Zanzibar,” and it was only fitting that our own visit to this mishmash of a country consisted of a few very different experiences. With food ranging from unseasoned yet tasty grilled meats to wildly spicy coastal curries, and weather ranging from cool mountain rainforest to dry coastal plane and tropical island, Tanzania comprises the range of experiences expected of a country many times its size.

Arusha

Due some slightly shortsighted planning, and the horrors of the Nairobi evening traffic, it took us 17 hours of cramped, sticky, and monotonous bus travel to get from the sun-blasted alleys of Mombasa to the wide, leafy boulevards of Arusha. Only an evening stopover in Nairobi provided some light relief in the form of a hipster beer garden and an open mic MC battle (talent levels varied wildly, and at times hilariously, but insults between the contestants were consistently brutal and maternally-focused). Otherwise, our salvation came in the form of semi-frozen bottles of water helpfully dispensed by the roadside stalls along the way, which we generally chose to cuddle rather than drink due to uncertainties around the timing of bathroom stops.

We were eventually dropped on a dusty road, apparently undergoing major works whilst simultaneously acting as the main artery for the city. We trudged down the unpaved track, dodging cars and fending off over-eager “boda bodas” (motorcycle taxis), and reached our Airbnb just as the clouds began to roll in.

Arusha is in the middle of an epic expansion of its major east-west road. This means great things for the future, but a rather muddy purgatory for those in the present

Yes, Arusha brought us the first rain we’d seen in three months. The deluge can only be described as biblical, so naturally we assumed it couldn’t last. This assumption, combined with heightening cabin fever, led to a soggy march into town and a lengthy entrapment under the awning of a friendly barbecue restaurant. We passed the time watching the owner’s kid making increasingly death-defying leaps from nearby objects, and sending his friends Snapchats of rain which was remarkable even to the locals.

The only person with an umbrella for, say, 6,000 miles

Apres moi le deluge

Arusha is the first port of call for most travelers in Tanzania, since it lies in the vicinity of Mount Kilimanjaro. It has a solid network of hotels, tour companies, and restaurants, and a neat checklist of tourist sights which can be squeezed into a day or two when moving through town. Otherwise, it’s a fairly small, laid back city – compared with the Kenyan cities we visited, it was undaunting, and its beautiful, tree-lined streets made for some great aimless wandering. We were staying in a little house tucked away in its own bountiful garden, and made the most of the setting to catch up on some blogging and reading.

Rain + heat + tropical sun = solid nursery opportunities everywhere, including on the side of roads

Switching to the vernacular lager

One of the great pleasures of our suburban jungle cabin was the presence of a kitchen. We finally got around to cooking and serving the first supermarket purchase of our entire voyage – a packet of dried fish soup that we had acquired in Norway. It had followed us through a dozen countries, and was the cause of numerous minor frauds when we attested in customs forms that we weren’t carrying any “animal products” with us.

Ah, the joys of Scandinavian domesticity

The world may not be quite flat, but it isn’t all that big anymore

Offering a shave to the most hirsute of our cabin’s denizens

Arusha served an introduction to Tanzania and, although we spent a good chunk of time hiding from the rain, it was quickly apparent to us that the people are super sociable, and have a relaxed attitude to time keeping. As testament to this, there are hundreds upon hundreds of makeshift bars lining every street (squeezed in between the many churches, of course). It seems like standard practice to spend any spare moment planted on a plastic chair, nursing a Kilimanjaro and people watching. Other seemingly popular activities include testing the limits of one’s motorbike, and catching up on the latest self-help literature.

The most ambitious motorbike cargo to date. Top Gear, get on this

Like in India, bookshops in East Africa seem to focus exclusively on business books of the self help variety

Coca Cola’s marketing team should be commended for their efforts in Tanzania – as well as sponsoring pretty much every bar and shop sign, they’ve taken over a few national monuments. The famous Arusha clock tower sports not one, but two Coca Cola logos (the second is the clock face itself)

As aficionados of Ethiopian cuisine, we took every advantage of it when offered…

…And asserted our utter, Indian-trained carb eating dominance over the stunned locals whenever the opportunity presented itself

Weddings in Arusha seem to be celebrated via a series of car chases between small pickups containing various platoons of snappily-dressed musicians. One car chases another, which in turn chases a third, careening wildly around corners. Every so often the bands strike up a tune, but their primary occupation is to vigorously wave to any eligible or ineligible lady nearby

After some deliberation, we decided not to climb Kilimanjaro. While the mountain provides amazing scenery, and climbing one of the Seven Summits is a fantastic accomplishment, the climb is incredibly expensive, and we felt that we couldn’t justify it after the much more reasonable trekking in Nepal. The government of Tanzania treats Kili as a cash cow, with fees that are truly eye-watering, and requirements for porters and guides that are completely unnecessary. We may be back, but it didn’t sound nearly as good of an experience as trekking in the Himalayas.

Lushoto

One of the great benefits of traveling through Tanzania overland is that it gave us the chance to stop off at the rainforest enclave of Lushoto en route to the coast. A remote town dotted with relics of the former German colony, it is one of a collection of settlements nestled on green-sloped mountains that erupt from the dusty surrounding plains. It’s one of those places that feels forever on the verge of being overrun by the natural world – although local farmers have somehow squeezed their way in between the plants, the sounds and sights of the rainforest are all around.

Access is via a semi-paved, winding road, typically navigated in a minibus straining against the weight of its load – which may consist of passengers on seats, on laps and hanging out of the door. Highlights of our initial journey included a lady vomiting into a helpfully-provided plastic bag, and the inevitable “fine” demanded by the local police as we crawled past.

Lushoto is surrounded by a rampart of mountains that separate it from the surrounding flatlands and also serve to conserve moisture

A local nursery which seemed to virtually eject plants out of the ground given the fecundity of the land

One of our greatest bus station food coups: “African Tortilla,” consisting of french fries fried into an omelette, generously nourished with hot sauce. As with most casual Tanzanian offerings, this is generally consumed using toothpicks. 

Lushoto’s Garden-of-Eden feel gives it huge appeal, but visitor numbers remain fairly low. Understandably, western hikers who have already spent a fortune on international flights, park fees, guides, and the like at Kili tend to opt for the modestly priced flight to the coast rather than the tedious full-day bus ride, so never have the chance to even consider such a stop-off. Although the town has its fair share of touts squabbling over the occasional new arrival, we found things to be refreshingly disorganized and unpolished, and we received an overwhelmingly friendly welcome. Our hotel was set in picture-perfect (albeit muddy) grounds, and had a roaring fire and a well-stocked bar to keep us warm in the chilly evenings. Through them we found some idyllic corners of the forest to explore on our own, and they also hooked us up with a charming local guide / font of knowledge to help us delve a little deeper.

Pre-trek chores: brush teeth, pet dog

A particular highlight of our hotel was the condiment selection: cue the UK vs. USA breakfast battle

Our wanderings took us past lots of small settlements – most of which produced streams of hyped-up kids the second we appeared, along with the requisite bored farm animals and suspicious grandmothers

Football is the local passion, and hilltop games abound, even in the most remote areas

She doth bestride the world like a colossus

When a little girl with a big machete wants you to hold her hand while you walk, you accommodate her wishes

On the day we had planned our big hike, the heavens opened once again. This did at least make for some dramatic scenery, as well as a few mutually-amusing encounters with locals who happened to be sharing the same improvised shelter. We struggled on, and by the time we stumbled back to our hotel late in the day we felt tired and damp but rather accomplished.

The reason the plants are so green can be seen above them

The local dames, better prepared than we were for the aquatic fusillade from above

The high point of our hike was a mountain top that hosted all of the cell towers necessary to support the furious local facebooking

Our talented guide and chef extraordinaire, James, teaching us the secrets of top quality guacamole

Scenery for our postprandial mosey

When the crops leave the village, seemingly the whole village goes too – clinging to the back of a truck is no mean feat with a machete in one hand and a rainstorm overhead

Even out here, improvised bars are the main hangout spot. The local brew is a beer-like beverage made from fermented sugarcane. The juice is extracted using a crusher powered by pushing…

…Which we were invited to operate in order to earn our libations

After the few days of fermentation in big plastic jugs, the resulting concoction is actually quite pleasant

Our enthusiasm about the basic drink led the lady who ran the brewery to furtively pull out a small bottle of local moonshine, which we wasted no time in trying. Less tasty, but we fortunately kept our eyesight

This mountain is the result of a village getting drunk for years

Back to the hike, a little more wobbly than before

Masterful specialization: as the workers seethe along in a stream of legs, the guards protect the flanks of the column with some seriously menacing mandibles

Can you spot the chameleon?

A secluded waterfall that surprisingly hosted a large colony of freshwater crabs, far, far from any other body of water

Dar Es Salaam

Despite offering a weak smattering of official tourist attractions, Dar Es Salaam is a fascinating place. Like Mombasa, Dar is a coastal trading hub with Omani roots, brought into the spotlight by a colonial railroad. Here, though, the Muslim flavor seems as strong as it ever was. Covered markets bustle with haggling over spices, fish, and vegetables, the smokey aromas of biryanis and grilled meats waft from hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and mosques fill the air with ear-splitting calls to prayer.

Dar’s city center seems to extend for miles – already four times the size of Mombasa in 2012 (the last census date), Dar is thought to be among the fastest-growing cities in the world. All across town Chinese property developers are hurriedly constructing stubby cinderblock high-rises, and long time residents are being pushed further and further out as pressure on prices builds. Although the city’s infrastructure has already been pushed far beyond its limits, there were signs when we visited that things were changing for the better. Most notably, a new bus rapid transit system had just been opened, standing in sharp contrast to the patched-up, overcrowded dala dalas serving the rest of the city (which are nominally cheap but frequently involve the loss of one’s wallet).

The three eras of construction: colonial, post-independence, and Chinese

As in Nairobi, the various stresses and unwelcome sights that come with big city life have led to a clustering of the wealthy. In this case almost without exception they can be found in Oyster Bay, a relatively breezy beachside area with an embassy on every corner (there’s even a special tax-free liquor store for diplomats). We spent our first few days in an Airbnb there, and had a great time eavesdropping on business lunches and hanging out with our excellent hosts – a Danish couple and their cherubic baby, who they were constantly fretting about given the very real risk of malaria in the region.

All the major food groups: fish, veg, rice, and martini

We did make the trek into town every day, and the awesome, action-packed world we found there made us feel increasingly guilty about ensconcing ourselves in a little barbed wire enclave. When we came back from Zanzibar, we decided to level-up to a somewhat more adventurous, much more perilous, and vastly more noisy existence in a central hotel. There were definite downsides, but on balance it was worth it.

Following some very heat-tolerant local ladies to the market

The roofs of different market stalls create a patchwork quilt that completely covers the shopping space – much appreciated in the blistering sun!

A seriously tasty mutton curry / biryani concoction washed down by – what else in Tanzania – a coke

Coca-Cola’s dominance of Tanzania includes the spiritual side of things

Zanzibar

The ferry terminal in Dar is a terrifying experience – it took all of our accumulated India experience to shake off the hoard of touts and scammers who rushed at us as soon as we arrived, and we hustled through to the waiting room at a sprint to minimize the opportunity for bag snatching. The ferry ride, however, was probably the most serene 90 minutes of our time in Africa.

The idea of the ferry waiting room is to duplicate the layout of the ferry as closely as possible for purposes of acclimatization

Next stop, Zanzibar!

Zanzibar is a set of islands off the coast of Tanzania that historically played a critical role in the spice trade, lending the name an aura of scented exoticism. The climate of the islands is ideally suited to growing cloves and other spices, and the monsoon winds facilitated regular trade between Zanzibar, the Persian Gulf, and India. Due to the convenient trade location and excellent harbor at Stone Town on the main island, Zanzibar also played an important role in the export of ivory from Africa.

Today, the key industry is, of course, tourism, but the tourist experience is generally a very pleasant one. Stone Town is a dense network of twisting alleys, lined with tiny curiosity shops and shady cafes. It’s embarrassingly easy to lose your sense of direction, but like most visitors we enjoyed taking a few unplanned detours – there was generally something surprising or beautiful (or both) around the next corner.

The former customs house of Zanzibar, which now serves as a market for tourist goods, and more importantly, provides a stoop for the older men of town to gather, gossip, and criticize the younger generations as they walk by

Stone Town is famous for its elaborately carved doors – created by talented Indian tradesmen, historically they were signals of status and background

Before Zanzibar, neither of us would have described ourselves of connoisseurs of meandering alleyways, but there’s a first time for everything

Aside from the plastic containers, tin awning, and electrical cables, this shop is undoubtedly exactly as it was a couple hundred years ago

Africa’s football obsession is passionate and ubiquitous

The seafront, when you reach it, is gorgeous, with just the right amount of bustle. We nursed overpriced cocktails and sat watching the port, which is still pretty active with trade and fishing alongside the tourist boats. One of the nice things about Stone Town is that although it attracts crowds of tourists, it hasn’t been totally taken over. Local residents head down to the water to dine on street food, catch up with friends, and enjoy the live music most evenings, and this makes for a far better experience for everyone.

In addition to fishing, the local sailors specialize in bullying tourists into their boat tours, most notably within the “SS Facebook,” perhaps named to attract the younger generation

The small city beach isn’t much to look at, but it has to be one of the best people-watching spots in the world. Impromptu gymnastic contests abound

In the evenings we were treated to a festival atmosphere and some excellent music – made particularly great by a group of kids who were really getting into the dancing

As well as being something of a social hotspot, the seafront is home to some seriously grand historic buildings. Although they were neglected for decades, many are now at various stages of refurbishment – and it’s clear that they must have made for an awe-inspiring sight for any sailors approaching the city.

The House of Wonders was a ceremonial palace built entirely as an ostentatious move by a late-19th century sultan

Thanks to its height and the generous application of columns, it closely resembles a southern plantation

Inside, you’ll find the first electric lift (elevator) in Zanzibar

Outside, you’ll find some precious shade from the midday sun

The former residence of the sultan

Zanzibar’s fort, built to fend off the Portuguese, later serving as a prison, and now a rather picturesque music venue

There’s a notable dark side to the history of Zanzibar, since it was one of the central hubs for the slave trade. Until the British eradicated slavery with force in the late 19th century, the Sultanate of Zanzibar dominated the Arab slave trade, capturing slaves in East Africa directly and via purchase from local chieftains. Slaves were then brought by the tens of thousands per year to the slave markets of Stone Town and sold either for work in the local plantations, or sent onwards to Arabia and Persia. Conditions were absolutely abominable, with many slaves dying in transit due to ill treatment, and many others were worked to death upon arrival on the plantations.

The British built Christ Church, a large Anglican church, over the site of the former slave market

This was one of the two cells for holding slaves before being auctioned at the market. The roof is only about four feet high, and dozens of slaves were crammed into a space that could only accommodate a fraction of this number

A memorial cross within the church to David Livingstone, a famous missionary, antislavery crusader, and explorer of Africa in the 19th century

The door to Tipu Tip’s house, the most notorious of the slavers

On a much happier note, Zanzibar was undoubtedly the culinary highlight of our Africa travels. The natural bounty of the area, as well as the trade links and associated cultural mixing, has led to some truly noteworthy comestibles.  We went high end, we went low end, and everywhere the food was richly spiced and more-ish. In short, we dined like sultans.

Some fusion food we can get behind: tagliatelle with a seafood curry sauce, and a rice / shrimp / mint / beet / avocado tower

Diving into a lovely fish curry, supported with some of the most fragrantly spiced rice on the trip to date

One of our favorite spots was by no means glamorous, but was notable for the copious quantities of rich, curry-like stews on offer for next-to-nothing. Accompanied by some airy bread that also looked suspiciously Indian

The most famous person from Zanzibar graced the walls of many a restaurant

Stone Town absolutely crushes the night food market scene, with scores of spicy, crunchy, and truly novel delicacies, served amidst a bustle of good-natured shoving

Zanzibar pizza is an amazing creation that’s basically like an Afro-Mid-eastern crunchwrap supreme, consisting of elastic pastry dough wrapping a mixture of spices, vegetables, and egg, folded into a tidy packet and fried on a griddle with copious quantities of oil

 

Perhaps the best part of Stone Town rooftop dining – reclining in splendor after you’re done