Dar Es Salaam

October 4, 2011 we travelled from Zanzibar to Dar Es Salaam. The flight is only 30 minutes, but the city is a grid lock of traffic on a Friday afternoon. It took almost 1.5 hrs to reach the hotel. The street sellers walk between the cars with virtually anything you need to buy for the week. You could do your grocery shopping from the car window. Lot's of motorbikes on the side of the road and road. The population is more mixed than Zanzibar where 80-90% is Muslim. Here you see more western style of dress rather than all the women wearing the Kanga (cotton wrap worn by most women in Zanzibar), but it is still very much a city with a Muslim influence and high population of Muslims.

The Movenpick Hotel in Dar is situated at a busy intersection adjacent to a golf course. Outside the hotel the streets are crowded with people and cars. The centre medians appear to the domain of the beggars. With three wheel hand driven bicycles they wait for handouts from the passing cars. This is very sad sight to see, some are crawling on the median without a bicycle or chair.

The hotel has a beautiful swimming pool where mostly business clientele congregate in the afternoon. The business day tends to end early or meetings are conducted around the pool. The majority of guests are European or from other parts of Africa. The lobby gives you the feel of a truly international hotel. The staff all speak English and Swahili. To work in the tourist industry Tanzanians must be fluent in several languages. The guides undergo rigorous training and are clearly the countries brightest assets.

We attended a social evening organized by the Canadian High Commission. The compounds for most of the consulates and commissions are on the Msasani Peninsula. The current High Commissioner is Robert Orr (Bobby Orr) who attended the informal evening. We met a number of interesting Canadians working for CIDA or the High Commission. The Tanzanian beer was good and it was nice to meet some other Canadians traveling and/or working in Tanzania. We met some staff from the American Embassy and also from South Korea. Even though the government has moved to Dodoma, the diplomatic community continue to live in compounds along this peninsula. We were invited back to their next social evening on November 3, 2011. Looking forward to seeing some of our new acquaintances later in our trip.

October 8, 2011 we headed out for Kilimanjaro. Saturday's drive to the airport was fast and the airport was quiet. It's about 90 minutes flight to Kilimanjaro from Dar. The airport is at a crossroad in the countryside between Moshi and Arusha. Very relaxed compared with the hustle and bustle of Dar.

Travel around Dar gets expensive. We were reluctant to do much walking, but were advised the daytime is reasonably safe. It is just at night that you really have to be careful.