Kigamboni Beach

Last weekend Imee and I decided to join two other Americans for a trip to one of Dar's many beautiful beaches. We grabbed a daladala into town (we are now getting pretty good at public transport - at least in our neighborhood), and I had my first successful "Shikamoo" interaction with an elderly gentleman that sat down next to me (this is a greeting used only for elders). He had his bible with him and was on his way to church. I had a book and some sunscreen with me and was on my way to the beach :)

First Imee and I met up with Jamie and Emily for a morning coffee at what I'm fairly certain is the nicest, most expensive hotel in all of Dar. I regrettable did not take any pictures of said hotel, but I will be sure to go back there (especially when I need to use some good wireless internet!) and take some.

From coffee, the four of us headed to the ferry. The ferry was a relatively chill form of transport, except for actually getting on the ferry. It felt kind of like cattle being herded through a small gate - with a huge crowd of people all waiting peacefully in the designated waiting area and then rushing to get on the ferry as soon as the gate was opened. Remembering that in TZ there is no such thing as "personal space" should help add to your mental image.

Getting onto the ferry....

This is the view looking towards where we were going...

Once we had arrived across the bay, we caught another daladala and headed to the Sunrise Beach Resort, where we spent the afternoon swimming, relaxing, eating, and attempting to do the crossword puzzle in one of the English language local newspapers (I actually have quite a lot to say about that crossword puzzle, but I'm not sure I would be able to do it justice, so I plan to either scan or photograph a crossword puzzle example so that you will all be able to see for yourselves its full glory). Oh, we were also quite amused by the newspapers' horoscopes.

The beach was like many other African beaches I've seen - beautiful and endless, with people selling a variety of items including coconuts, sunglasses, kites, soccer balls, hard boiled eggs, ice cream, bathing suits, and more.

There was a mix of foreigners and Tanzanians hanging out and swimming, but the thing that was unique about this beach was that the mixture of Tanzanians included all of the Tanzanian races and religions. Tanzania has large populations of Muslims and Indians, which tend to have more conservative styles of dress that range from burkas to "normal" clothes combined with simple head scarves. And you could see all of this on the beach! There were people wearing Western-style bathing suits playing in the ocean alongside men and women who were essentially fully clothed! Very strange.

And then there was this guy.....chilling on his bicycle and talking on the phone. One of my favorite pics thus far...

Until I saw the cows on the beach. Then that might have become my favorite picture...