RTW ’23: Hakuna Matata

In Swahili, the phrase “Hakuna Matata” means “there are no troubles”. While on Safari the past few weeks, I felt relatively trouble-free. I was in my “happy place”, I had a plan in place for the next leg of my adventure, and I really enjoyed just being in the moment. I ended my Safari experience on cloud nine, thankful for the abundant amount of time that I had in nature amongst my safari tribe. I left the safari, prepared for the next leg of my adventure. I had a plan in place to take a train to my next location… but as life sometimes does, my plan began to unravel. On Monday, March 4th, Khoza heard from the train office that the train would not be going all the way to Dar in Tanzania. Instead, it was stopping at the border. It was possible to get a bus from the border in Tanzania to my final destination, but I would arrive at the border at night, and the train office was not open to help me get a bus. The area itself is not very safe– especially for a solo woman traveller– so I asked Khoza and Mosia (my chauffeurs, if you will) if they could go with me as an escort until I got on a bus. However, neither of them had a yellow fever vaccine, which is required to enter Tanzania, so they couldn’t accompany me. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place: I could risk my well-being and safety for the sake of using slow transportation, or I could find a flight to my destination in Tanzania. I felt quite defeated. I had just gotten off of a cargo ship just a few short weeks ago to avoid taking a flight across the ocean because my slow-transportation guideline (using only means of transportation available before 1920, the year women got the right to vote) was so important to me. I weighed my options and seriously considered what all of the outcomes could be. Though using slow transportation was my goal for RTW ’23, I knew that risking my safety wasn’t ideal. I reasoned that, surely, the women who fought for equality and proper treatment wouldn’t want me to risk my life for the sake of not taking a plane. Mike and Corrine were also on board with erring on the side of caution, and supported safety over anything else. After speaking with them, my heart was more content. So, I swallowed my pride, shed a few tears of defeat, and booked a flight. “Hakuna Matata”, I thought to myself. It will, eventually, be alright.

That evening, we stayed at a local hotel, which happened to be in a really bad area of town. We got lost, and with out of country plates on our car, coupled with the fact that I was the only white person to be found, we stood out. Thankfully, the hotel was near a police station, so Mosia got out of the car and came back with a police escort to the hotel. The officer was off duty and stayed with us, which was a huge relief. After we found the hotel and checked in, we went to the “Hungry Lion”, a fast-food chicken place. I bought all of us dinner, thankful for all of their help, and we brought the food back to the hotel to eat. I received a lot of looks from the people around me, and I remained in a relatively constant state of fear. After that experience, my decision to book a flight settled better within me– choosing my safety was the right thing to do, even though it was devastating to veer off of my plan.

I finally made it to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Wednesday. Once I got off my flight, I felt relieved to finally be at my destination. I was ready to put the grief of the flight behind me and explore my new home! I had planned to stay at the Gallivanters hostel for two nights. There was good WiFi, air conditioning in my private room, and the price was right. Once I arrived, it was more run down than the photos on the internet suggested, but I figured it would be good enough until Karen arrived later in the week. On Thursday morning, I woke up at 6 a.m. to use the bathroom and realized that the power was out. It came back on within 5 minutes, but I wasn’t thrilled– especially after experiencing the constant outages in South Africa. I looked it up online, and it seemed like the power outages would be similar in Tanzania… and at 7 a.m., the power went out again and didn’t turn back on. Without air conditioning, I knew it was going to be a very hot day. Around 8, I went to the common area and asked if they knew when the power would be back on. The woman who checked me in told me that she wasn’t sure– it could be 5 hours, could be 10 hours. That was enough motivation for me to find another place to stay. I took an Uber to a few hotels near the CCBRT hospital, the place I was supposed to be working at four years ago, but COVID prevented the move. It was surreal to realize that I had finally made it there! The first hotel I found was very nice and had power from generators. I was shown around the hotel, and the air conditioning alone sold me on switching over. So, I went back to my original hotel, packed up, and didn’t look back. DUring my walk, I saw a large flyer for a women’s run for International Women’s Day. I took it as a sign! Later in the day, I went to the restaurant listed on the poster and signed up for the run! Things were really coming together, and I was feeling better about being in Dar.

On Friday, I received an invitation from Anatasia from CCBRT to attend a Women’s Day celebration in the afternoon at CCBRT, just two blocks from my hotel, so I decided to walk there. That ended up being a huge mistake. It was the hottest time of day, and I was dripping wet by the time I found my way to the maternity ward where the event was happening. My phone, yet again, succumbed to the heat as well, so I wasn’t able to get as many pictures as I would have liked. Anatasia and Regina (both of whom I worked with remotely in 2020), saw me in the crowd and came right over. I was wiping sweat off of my hands and brow with my handkerchief before extending my hand out for a shake, and we hugged. I apologized for my overheating, but they didn’t seem to care about it, anyway. I imagine they are quite used to it! The event itself was in an open courtyard, which meant no air conditioning. The speeches and presentations were in Swahili, including a deaf interpreter. Anatasia saw that I was still overheating and brought me to a bench in the shade, for which I was quite thankful. After the event, everyone had soft drinks and small bites. Anatasia offered for me to join her in her office, which had air conditioning, so I joyfully accepted the invitation. After she wrapped up a few emails, we left together to join her friends for a drink, followed by dinner at a yacht club. It was a really fun evening! At dinner, we exchanged travel and sailing stories. My cargo ship experience was a hit! The sailors in the group even gave me suggestions for finding a boating passage from Dar. Anatasia and I got along easily and felt like fast friends right off the bat. She gave me a lot of recommendations of things to do in the area and offered her assistance if I needed anything during my stay.

I was really excited for the Women’s International Day 5k on Saturday, so it was pretty easy to wake up before the sun. Once I arrived at the starting point, the atmosphere was festive and lively, especially for 5:45 in the morning. I was excited to get started, but they had DJ’s and instructors on a stage leading a “warm up”– a mix of Pilates and Zumba. It was wildly different from what they have for pre-race prep in the U.S.! I stretched and took in the vibe, but I didn’t go all in on the moves. I knew I needed my energy to withstand the morning heat and miles. The sun was rising as the 10k race started, with the 5k race starting about 45 minutes after the listed time. Thanks to Anatasia’s local knowledge, I wasn’t surprised by the delayed start. There were about two hundred people doing the 5k, a good mix of runners and walkers. I started out running, but as we approached the Tanzanite Bridge and the morning sun rose, I slowed my pace to a jog. It was very cool to see the bridge up close and get a peek of the surrounding neighborhoods. There were no mile markers or pace clocks on the course, but there was some much appreciated water available to drink on the turnabout. At the end of the race, I received my participation medal and got something to drink. After I cooled down, I went back to my hotel. The hotel is conveniently close to the hospital with some nice coffee shops and stores nearby. It doesn’t have a pool, or beach access, but they have a sister hotel ten minutes away with those amenities that I was permitted to use, so I hopped on a Bajaji (Tuk-tuk) to check it out. The pool was wonderful, and the perfect spot to enjoy a Tanzanian sunset!

I went to Sunday mass at St. Joseph’s cathedral. I enjoyed the mass, but the cathedral didn’t have any air conditioning, so that made it a bit uncomfortable. There were a few fans, but not nearly enough fans to combat the excessive heat. After mass, I scouted out the ferry terminal and bus terminal to prepare for Karen’s arrival in the evening. I was glad that I did, because both places were very hectic, and I felt far more prepared for her arrival and our eventual departure. She arrived late Sunday night, and I immediately felt relieved to be with her! It was so nice to have one of my best friends with me, ready to explore Tanzania together. We got a good night’s sleep, and picked up first thing Monday morning over a leisurely breakfast. We looked through the Tanzania Lonely Planet book for day tour ideas and booked one that covered most of the attractions that we wanted to see. Karen and I have traveled together many times when our sons were growing up– sports events, NYC, and even overseas to Gent, Belgium and Amsterdam! During the day, we found ourselves taking notes about the differences between life in NJ (Karen’s home state) and in Dar. In Dar, we walk on rocky, dusty roads with cars, motorbikes, buses and tuk-tuks all whizzing by in many directions, with tuk-tuk drivers pulling up along side of us asking “mama, need a ride?”. The heat and humidity in Dar is oppressive, though Karen noted that it was just like Florida in July! In Dar, there are open fruit and fish stands, whereas NJ boasts Wawa on the corners. We stopped for lunch at the Waterfront Grill, a beach restaurant right on the Massani Bay, followed by some browsing in the local shops until the heat got the better of us. We took an extra exciting tuk-tuk ride back to our hotel during rush hour, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

The heat is something that I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to! It continues to be oppressive, even with brief moments of relief in air conditioned spaces– which are far and few between. Most of the places we visited on Tuesday during our tour with Mike weren’t air conditioned, including the National Museum. The restaurants in Dar are mostly outdoor venues with fans, but the fans aren’t enough to offer much reprieve from the heat. We visited a local fish market, which was an explosion of the senses: various smells, sights and sounds completed with one another. It was overwhelming! We were inundated with vendors and customers shouting at one another, overwhelming fish smells from every which way, and fish guts scattered across the dirt floor. I was warned not to take photos unless specifically directed to, as vendors will often ask for compensation for photographs, up to and including the request of the entire phone! It was challenging to not photograph all that was happening around me, but I was able to abide by fish market rules. Some good shots were missed, but better to be safe than to get into a bargaining match with fish auctioneers! After the fish market, we drove around the Kariakoo Market. It was unique to this city to see people from all different countries and religions selling everything from fish to refrigerators. Mike confirmed that the power outage situation is, in fact, what I thought it was– and that my experience at the Gallivanters hotel is a common occurrence. There were several traffic lights not working, which made traffic even worse than normal. Mike was, thankfully, a very good driver with the patience of a saint. Because Karen and I were the only two people on the tour, Mike was able to tailor the stops to what we needed and wanted, which was really cool. The whole day was an assault on our senses, coupled with the struggle of dealing with the heat. There is a smell in Africa that can only be experienced in person– there just aren’t enough words to describe it. The combination of spices, garbage, food vendors, burning plastic, and animal smells compete with one another. It all goes together in one wave, and with the heat, it smacks you right in the face when walking out of a sanitized, western hotel. Karen and I will remember this smell long after Africa is behind us! At the end of the village tour, a group of men and women who work there did a dance performance and, naturally, one of the dancers grabbed me to join in– grass skirt and all! I don’t know how they did the dances in the midday heat, as I was exhausted after just five minutes of trying to keep up with them. It was so much fun!

Though getting to Tanzania was a challenge– physically and emotionally– I am thankful that I arrived safely. It was so much fun to explore a new city, network with old colleagues, and welcome a dear friend to the country! I am so thankful that I have so many people who love and support me, and it’s such a blessing to be able to share parts of my journey around the world with some of you along the way. Having Karen here in Tanzania with me makes each day a little bit brighter, and for that, I am thankful. Hakuna Matata! Until next time, dear friends: stay safe, stay healthy, and always remember to make space for what brings you joy.

Hakuna Matata!
What a wonderful phrase
Hakuna Matata!
Ain’t no passing craze
It means no worries
For the rest of your days
It’s our problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata!
-Timon and Pumbaa, The Lion King