Nov. 3, 2012 - Road to Mbeya, Tanzania

Nov. 3, 2012 - Road to Mbeya, Tanzania

Today was all driving.  We left the campsite at 7:15 and stopped short of our intended campsite and stayed in a hostel around 6pm.  It was always going to be a long drive but all the road construction and the truck weight station added over 3 hours to our drive time.

Fortunately, some of the drive had some nice scenery. We passed through a Baobab tree forest.  Those are the trees with great big thick trunks and branches but arent super tall like you would expect for such a big trunk.

I also got to experience just how well things work in Africa.  There was a truck weight station through one town.  Since we are technically a truck we had to stop and wait in line even though its been transformed into a passenger vehicle.  Our driver did try to bypass the line but was told to turn around and get back to the end.  After about an hour of waiting our driver calls on me to do him a favor.  He gave me the truck papers/identification etc and asked me to walk to the front of the truck line, go into the office, and ask the official if we could go ahead and pass since we are just a passenger vehicle.  I grabbed Alene as my buddy and we walked allllllll the way to the front and walked into the office.  I politely asked the official if we could please pass through.  He asked where we were going.  I told him, then he said just go ahead and go through.  Hmmmmffff, that was easy.  So we walked alllllll the way back to our truck, I told Henry the news and we bypassed the huge line at the weight station.  I later found out Henry chose me for this job because of my tendency to smile a lot.  :-)  Guess these pearly whites are useful for other things than simply chewing.

We finally arrived.  The cooking team set up to cook but had to do so in the dark bc the power was out. That created a huge challenge for them as they were preparing food with only headlamps.  But they did manage to put together a nice meal despite the difficulties.

After dinner I immediately went to bed.  Long day.

What I have learned:
Africans are on African time.  Patience is essential.
There are people that have "squatted" on government land.  When roads come through the govenment goes through and puts X's on buildings that have been put up too close.  They eventually will be torn down with no compensation to the owner.  

My reading list so far:
The five people you meet in heaven
The count of monte cristo
Treasure Island
When we were orphans - I have 10 pages left, but its been the best one yet.
Traveling reminds me that I do thoroughly enjoy reading.  It has given me plenty of time to remember this.