Dar Es Salaam -> Lusaka

I got up early today to make sure I got to the train station with plenty of time to spare. My cab driver from the previous day had told me that traffic was very bad in the morning and that I should allow extra time. But I wasn’t going to need a 6:00 am pickup for that much time. The train was scheduled for 10:30.

My hotel helped me secure a cab (that, wouldn’t you know it, was less expensive than my cab the previous day! Shocking, I know).

I arrived at the station with plenty of time of spare. After about an hour of waiting, a British woman walked up to me and asked if I was in the train to Mbeya, to which I replied in the affirmative.

“Well,” she said, “it looks like we may have a problem. The train has been cancelled.” It turns out there had been an accident the day before, probably related to a massive rainstorm that had hit the area a couple of days before (and, my dear reader, this is a different storm than my Rwandan Rains). The track was probably washed out. The next train “might” leave the following Tuesday (it’s Friday now). Refunds would be coming later in the day, once the railroad company came back from the bank.

I ended up waiting with a very diverse group of backpackers from Cyprus (the British woman who is now an ex-pat, having lived in Cyprus for the past 30 years), a German, Brazilian and two women from Japan. We ended up waiting four hours for the refund, which was always “in a half hour”.

I ended up making the executive decision that my time, especially as the day wore on, was more valuable trying to get an air ticket out of Dar, rather than waiting interminably for a $23 refund. I gave my ticket to the woman from Cyprus, wished her and everyone well and grabbed a taxi to the airport.

And yes, I know some of you will again call me out on taking an airplane, in violation of one of my rules, but I’ve ended up losing a couple of days to unexpected delays. In the interest of making it to Cape Town on time, I’ve had to bend my rules. But, hey, they’re my rules, so I’ll set and break them as I see fit!

Trying to get a same-day ticket out of Dar to Lusaka was neither easy not cheap. But I really didn’t feel like spending another day in Dar Es Salaam. While I’m sure there are some people who like this city. I was already way ready to be on my way out of here.

I went to number of airline windows to see if they had a one-way ticket to Lusaka. Nope nope and nope. The only airline that had a seat was a regional carrier that only accepted cash. 780,000 shillings in cash. After four trips to the ATM, which dispensed a max of 200K per transaction, I paid for my ticket and finally had a seat out of here.

I ended up hanging out at the airport for another seven hours while I waited for my departure. Locally, everyone refers to this as “Africa Time”, which means things happen when they happen, and not a moment sooner. Hakuna Matata (No Worries). Anyone who isn’t patient will have a very crummy time here indeed.

I met two charming women from the US (St. Louis to be exact even though one now lives in San Francisco – my old stomping grounds). We had a couple of hours to chat, and it was such a refreshing respite to speak to a couple of Americans. They were delightful. Retiring to the US after climbing Mt. Menu, doing some game viewing and spending time on Zanzibar, they were not ready to go home. But job expectations were beckoning for them .

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Goofy Lusaka bathroom selfie.

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My plane had a parrot on it.

I caught my flight to Lusaka, had blessed WiFi when I landed at the airport, and ended up sitting around with the airport police while I charged my phone. I was able to book a room at a backpackers hostel (on an hour’s notice very late at night) and catch up on other items. While waiting for my phone to charge, a heavy-set police officer came and sat down next to me. With large jowls and an extremely lazy eye, I couldn’t help but think of him as the personification of a hippo. He was very friendly and we chatted for a bit. I got up to get a cab, and the officer told me there were no cabs anymore at this hour, but that he knew of a driver.  He walked me to the other side of the airport where he introduced me to a wonderful driver named Biggie, who whisked me off to my hastily  and recently reserved room.

I am now well ensconced in a room. Sleep will be quite welcome tonight……

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