The Circle of Life

It is amazing how fast time flies by. It feels like yesterday that arrived in this country, when everything was still so new and I had to find out that my project did not exist. It felt even stranger that this journey was coming to an end soon. Nevertheless, I decided that my last journey should be to a place I went first: Bagamoyo.

After coming back from Lushoto we spent some days with Jin-Ah and Anna. We went to the beach for sunbathing (and of course to get really brown), watched movies and therefore enjoyed the time we had left together. Still, I had to repack my bags and I left some of my things behind for Anna and Jin-Ah to use up. On Monday we had planned to go back to Dar es Salaam. Anna and Jin-Ah did not only had to get back to work, also Luisa and Mathew were waiting for us. Thankfully, it was not too hard to say goodbye. As Anna put it, it was only temporary as we had already planned several visits to come in Germany.

The temperatures were really high these days. Even the wind coming in through the bus´ windows was not of any help. It was like having a hairdryer blowing right in your face. Therefore, Anya and I were quite happy travelling in one of the few luxury busses between Tanga and Dar.

There were a few changes in Dar es Salaam. We already knew that the dissappointment about the wildlife project and other complaints concerning different projects had led the German organisation to quitting the contract with the Tanzanian organisation. The organisation in Tanzania had only now found out about the new developments and had to close down the studenthouse. For that reason we had to rent some rooms in a hostel which was situated on the same camp as the former student house. Previously, we had already asked the people from our organisation in Dar es Salaam to collect all our belongings which we left in the studenthouse and to take care of them.

After we arrived we grabbed some fruits and while having a snack all the latest news were exchanged between Luisa and Mathew and us. Then we wanted to pick our stuff up that was left behind in the student house. We did not leave a lot there, Anna left a picture frame, Anya a blanket and I a picture. All the things, except for my picture, were there. The people responsible could not explain where it could possibly be. It had to be somewhere. Obviously someone had taken the picture or they simply threw it away. Of course I was running mad as I went to Zanzibar to get the picture and had spent ages arguing about the price to get a nice Christmas present for my mum. But once again I was let down by this bunch of weirdoes and the picture was never to be found.

The hostel provided us with a whole house which had even one more room than the old student house! We settled down and played cards way into the evening. As I said, we had planned to drive to Bagamoyo the next day. I was haunted by a slight déjà-vu feeling as we arrived at the bus stop and climbed into the overfilled dalladalla to make our way to Bagamoyo. First, we wanted to visit a local crocodile farm. This idea turned out to be a flop. In my opinion the cages were far to small for these animals and the guide barely spoke English so he could not answer our questions. Still, it was amazing to see those huge crocodiles some of which were about 30 years old. Nevertheless, we declined the offer to take a picture with one of them for only a little extra tip.

After this rather weird trip we were growing hungry. Luckily, we still knew the way to the Poa Poa Restaurant. We stopped some Pikipikis and my last Pikipiki drive was to that restaurant. On the roofterrace we enjoyed ourselves. We ordered Wraps, chicken, iced coffee, smoothies and fruit juice. This was one of the few places where you did not have to spend a fortune for good food. While sitting in the warm sun and digesting the huge meal we reminiscent about the past four month. Once again we laughed and talked about all the things that we experienced.

It was nearly time to go back to Dar but we wanted to quickly go shopping. Still, “quick“ is relative here in Africa. First we went to an artist we already met the last time we where in Bagamoyo and suprisingly he even recognised us. Obviously we are quite unique :p He offered really good prices so I was tempted to buy a bowl carved of real ebony. It is about as long as my forearm and twice as wide and it only cost 20€. That was a real bargain! Nevertheless, I had to stop myself from worrying about how to get the tropical wood past the customs. On the local art market we also filled our bags with plenty of stuff to take back home. I watched a lady working on one of those ebony pieces called Makonde. She explained how she uses a pick and hammer to get the stonehard wood into shape and afterwards she uses a rasper to smooth the surface. In the end the wood gets sanded and sometimes even polished to finish it off. I was really impressed by this wearisome work.

On Wednesday we all were more or less fed up with the heat. After all that travelling in the past few days and weeks we were now growing tired. Nevertheless, there was only little time left here in Tanzania. This meant that we had to make the best of these last days. First we still had to get some souveniers. We started our tour at the Mwenge Market. The last time I went to that market was on my first weekend with Hannah, Anya, Lucy and Robert. Although there were a few things on offer there you would not get somewhere else, the prices were comparatively high. We continued our shopping tour at the Slipway. There was not only a cash machine but also a lot of things to buy. Fortunately, we roughly knew what we needed to get otherwise this whole shopping trip might have been a disaster. At midday we got everything we needed and were totally exhausted after bargaining at every stall. Therefore we felt obliged to get an iced coffee at the luxurious hotel across the road. We decided to spend the rest of the day at the beach to relax a little.

Back at the hostel we sorted out our shopping an divided bajaji fees. Because Anya was going to leave the next day she wanted to invite us for dinner down town. After we all had a shower we drove into the banking quarters of town to eat Southafrican burgers and to have a few cocktails on the rooftop bar.

Saying goodbye to Anya was totally different compared to all the other farewells I had to go through previously. After all, we had spent ages together. Luisa, Mathew and I went to the airport and waited until Anya was through the security gate. Afterwards I wanted go to the beach for the last time. We caught the ferry to the peninsula and spent hours at the Sunrise Beach. After all, I wanted to be as brown as a little bear when returning back home. It felt really weird to leave all this behind. I had the best beaches virtually on my doorstep I loved finding my way in the chaos of the street and discussing prices animatedly. I would not be able to do those things in future.

Therefore, I insisted on going to a pub which sold my absolute favorite shot. You could get the “G-Spot“ only in that bar as it was their own creation. The shot consist of a brown dark liquid tasting intensely of chocolate and it had a sweet milk froth topping. I absolutely love that stuff!

As everything gets to an end I was really looking forward to get back home, have a nice dinner, wear clean clothes and cuddle up in my own bed. Nevertheless, I was going to miss this country and all the adventures.

Luisa and Mathew left for Tanga early on Friday morning. They had planned to go to Pangani with the Tanga-Girls. As we were saying our farewells they gave me a photograph of us in Morogoro and our old but beloved set of cards to take back as a memory. A little lonely I spent the rest of that day in the hostel. I packed my suitcases, sun-bathed, bought some fruits and watched films. As it was already getting dark a guy from my organisation finally picked me up to go to the airport. After being stuck in the traffic for one and a half hours we eventually got to the airport. This guy from my organisation helped me unload the heavy suitcases and left. So this was it, my adventure to Africa, which was completely alien to me before. I had seen unbelievable things and experienced a whole lot more and even if things did not work out the way I wanted them to beforehand, I was glad about how things went. I would not change a bit about this adventure!