Day 9 - YWCA - Dar es Salaam

It's proving difficult to update this regularly (no internet cafes open on sunday when we arrived in Dar - actually make that nothing open in Dar when we arrived).

We had an eventful trip from zanzibar to Dar - came on the ferry (got up at 5am to get to the port and buy a ticket) - Jon spent most of the trip in the toilet thanks to some very unwelcome sea sickness. Still, the welcoming ladies at the Dar YWCA took care of us and set us up in a nice flat. We stayed there fora night before heading to Bagamoyo up the coast - I will never diss the underground again, it is like being carried by angels compared to the hell that is the Dar es Salaam public transport network - lots of matatus going here there and everywhere (I;'m sure I saw one going to Holborn). The one we got back from Bagamoyo got 26 people in a toyota hi-ace.....amazing..but so cheap too. Em nearly got run down by a cyclist and we nearly got ripped off by the bus touts at the station (just don't trust anyone) - apart from that (oh, and the constant loss of water and electricity in the YWCA) it's just like anywhere else.

Bagamoyo was a very interesting place, where lots of the explorers set off from on their journeys into the interior (Livingstone, Speke, Burton) - lots of german architecture (dilapidated) and a huge catholic mission with a brilliant museum (we managed to visit it as a funeral was taking place - as if that didn't make us stand out ven more!)

We were the only guests in the beach hotel we stayed at but that was nice - lovely food and a view of the indian ocean (this isn't all fun and frolicks, I just want to say...)

anyway, not much more time so just enough to say we're catching the luxury bus to Tanga tomorrow - planning our safari next week - onto moshi on friday and arusha on saturday - lookng forward to meeting up with Penny on the 14th (Nyerere day!).

Sunburn update - jon now peeling; emma now brown - hooray!

Off our for some icecream at the sno-cream then probably back to the YWCA for tea and to write our diaries/pack for tomorrow/get a shower while the water is on and we can see where we're going...TTFN