A Day spent in Dar

Have had a wonderful day so far, and am taking a short rest before dinner and a big party at the
Hotel Mediterraneo in Dar Es Salaam. The hotel is right on the ocean. It is a single story hotel with a nice small front patio - as you should be able to see in the picture. There are 18 total rooms in the hotel, and we have 11 of them - though they say that tonight at their monthly party, that there will be 400 or so people coming to this hotel. The rooms are nice - the power seems to go out frequently for short periods, and the hot water doesn't last too long - but I'm told to expect that everywhere. Should be better when I get to truly unpack in Dodoma tomorrow and find my flashlight. The beds are comfortable, there is wireless internet, and the grounds are pleasant.

There are paths throughout the grounds flanked by a border made of empty wine bottles, with the neck of the bottle into the ground - which I think is really creative.


We started the day with a nice breakfast at the hotel, and then our per diem allowance and cell phones were given out. It was very pleasant.

We took 3 taxis into town to exchange money, add minutes to the phones, visit a small seaside shopping/restaurant area, and have a nice lunch. Lots of little vendors offering a various assortment of things like chess sets, carved animals, and scarves. There was a hard sell to get me to buy an Obama Kanga (big fabric wrap used to wrap into a dress or skirt), and an Obama beaded bracelet. I did manage to resist that in hopes of finding more authentic items as we head more into the middle of the country.

We have an early morning start to get on the bus to Dodoma. We have to arrive, get settled, and plan to have a formal dinner with the chancellor of the university - so there is no room for lengthy time lags in getting ready. The group is doing well together so far - though it did take over an hour to split up the dinner bill - we're going to have to get a bettery system!

More later.