Tanzania Ahoy!

Adventure may not well come in neatly sanitised packets but our naval experience of the last few days on MV Liemba is one I would not wish on my worse enemy. The relief of arriving here in Kigoma, Tanzania is indescribable. The luxury of a clean flush toilet is not one to be taken for granted, ever. Mpulungu is a quiet, underdeveloped port at the bottom of lake Tanganika and in the few days we spent there, we’d kept the locals highly entertained with our attempts to speak the local language (there are only 73 in Zambia and the few words we’d learnt in Lusaka weren’t really that useful). Being “Muzungu” – white - most people wanted to shake our hand, perhaps to see if we were really real rather than just a ghostly vision and when we answered in the local dialect, the usual reaction was one of intense amusement. Even the army boys were warm and welcoming and tried to encourage Andy to have enough children to front a football team. And then the rains came and came and didn’t stop. Having already stayed an extra day waiting for the boat to arrive, we were delayed leaving by yet another day while they unloaded the cargo but by that time, we’d seen the boat and the hideously filthy toilets and were already plotting alternative routes. Sadly, none were feasible. How best do I describe the conditions in polite company? Both of us have travelled far & wide and experienced too many unpalatable places but those on the boat took disgusting to a new level. We entered them in full combat gear – complete with lavender scented face mask (we felt a bit like grave robbers during the bubonic plague). Washing was out of the question – we would have ended up dirtier and smellier than before. Our first class cabin was a necessary survival tactic not the luxury you may imagine from the comfort of your armchair….& that were grim enough. Only the thought of clean water and a nice hotel in Kigoma sustained us during the 4 days of floating hell with the constant stench from the toilets mingled with the delightful aroma of rotting fish. Still, we took the opportunity to brush up on our Swahili and bring the game of yahtzee to Central Africa. The best part of the trip? Getting off!