Day 32

Tumesafiri kutoka Iringa kwenye Dar es Salaam (we just traveled from Iringa to Dar es Salaam). The drive took about 9 hours because we stopped for lunch and to say goodbye to our antiquities officer Emmanuel, who is returning home to his adorable 10 month old daughter Nema. When we head back to Iringa in a few days, we’ll be accompanied by another antiquities officer who will hopefully grow to become just as much a part of the team.

This time around, I enjoyed the scenery a little bit more. The transition from the arid mountains to a rich tropical forest is quite profound. It’s more than just a shift from baobabs to palm trees, but that’s where I notice it most. I also noticed quite a bit more about the villages. Each places piles its specific produce by the highway or strings handicrafts from trees, hoping that vehicles will stop and buy. Consequently, each village can be identified at a glance by its wares. There is the onion village, the bitter tomato village, the wood carving village, and my personal favourite, the basket village. This system is actually pretty effective, considering our driver stopped at a number of them to pick up gifts for his wife. Finally, I felt a little more adventurous this time around. When we stopped at a gas station in Mbuyuni around 10:30 am, I bought two mystery meat samosas from a local vendor. Since the first didn’t instantly make me sick, I enjoyed both. I don’t usually take such chances, but I guess I was in a street meat kind of mood. I only have one life to live, so why not try gas station samosas?

Perhaps most importantly, Mikumi national park did not disappoint on our second viewing. We saw elephants, giraffes, water buffalo, impala, warthogs, and baboons. That alone was worth coming all the way back to Dar es Salaam. I will never tire of East African animals.