Dar Es Salaam – Hakuna Noma – It’s all good!

Dar Es Salaam – Hakuna Noma – It’s all good!

After awakening this morning from a very sweaty sleep and our first night under our mosquito net, Jamie and I headed downstairs for the 7:30AM complimentary breakfast at the hostel. Yet another timing mishap – I had forgotten to change my alarm back 2 hours from Dublin to Tanzania time so we were actually 2 hours late for breakfast. We shrugged this off and took off for the day – Hakuna Matata as they say.

Jamie went on a little adventure and came across a new friend, James. James took Jamie to pick up a SIM card and to the local bus station to look into our fare for our trip to Moshi on Monday. He left Jamie with a nickname, “John Cena” (something to do with his arms, manly strut and his American-like persona) and Jamie left him with $5 for his help.

Jamie and I then joined forces back at the YWCA and we set out for a day in Dar. We bumped into our new friend Willy as we left the YWCA – he proposed that he give us a day tour of Dar and we accepted. Our first stop was the botanical gardens which were very nice. 2^nd stop was the National Museum which was quite a learning experience. In between we walked through the wealthy government district. We then ventured to the fish market on the coast of Dar Es Salaam – we were told to simply “follow our noses” and they weren’t lying! It was the highlight of our day – hundreds of fisherman on the wharf lugged in their catch to the market where they were bid for and sold to the local women (this auction of sorts was quite a sight). The fish were then sent onto the gutting and skinning tables then off to the fryers. Final destination: the city centre to be sold – quite the process!

From the fish market we had our very first daladala ride – we’re alive (enough said!!).

Next stop: Kariakoo District (African district). We took a stroll and Willy guided us into the Kariakoo market – the biggest and brashest market in Eastern Africa. It was gigantic and sold everything under the sun. As usual we were the centre of attention. We scored ourselves a gigantic pineapple that we would save for our dessert.

Somewhere between the fish market and the Kariakoo market, Jamie acquired the new nickname “Justin Timberland” (compliments of Willy) – something to do with his street swagger. The Africans sure love their nicknames.

We popped into the bus station to book our tickets to Moshi for Monday morning. Dar Express, which was recommended to us, was 10km outside the city so we went with Kilimanjaro Express to later discover that it is listed under the “avoid due to reckless driving” section of our tour book – say a little prayer for us!!

Finally it was time for some Tanzanian beers. Willy thought it was only appropriate to take us to an authentic Tanzanian pub for supper and drinks. It was Tanzanian through and through. The beers were great and the food (chicken, friend bananas stuffed with potato, chips and omelete, and sweet Tanzanian ketchup) hit the spot.

Willy and I ordered the chip and omelete and were served approximately 1hr20 minutes later – according to him, this is the African norm (very laid back). Desert was pineapple. It was absolutely DELICIOUS. We then headed home to relax and unwind for Day 4!