East African sailing trip – log 74

SAILING LOG74

November 22, 2004
We slept soundly, hardly conscious of any movement under us. We wake early as usual, in time to see the suns rosy greeting; sipping our morning ‘cuppa’ in the cockpit and drinking in the magnificent sunrise in this pretty setting.

The wagtails and kingfishers replace the little swallows that frequented our pulpit railing in Mtoni Marine. The wagtails are a lot friendlier; allowing close encounters. They even venture as close as the suspended dingy swaying on the davits, which is only 1.5mts from where we sit enjoying our tea.

After a leisurely breakfast we drop out dingy and motor towards the shore. We inspecting the gardens and the cute little clubhouse and introduce ourselves to the staff. They tell us where to find the immigration authorities and we make our way to the dhow shed to complete the formalities.

Tanzania is the only country we visited where we had no form of official corruption whatsoever. They assure us that our dingy is safe if left against the wharf, so we leave it and walk into town.

It was noon and the sun, at its peak, burns mercilessly down on our hatless heads. Sweat pours down my body in rivers. My face is red and burning up, I am the colour of a ripe tomato; I realize I am dehydrating, I feel weak but push on up the hill to the shops. Without hesitating I make my way into the first one displaying a Coca-Cola sign and down a soda in a few quick gulps.

Tanga is a quiet little city compared to Mtwara the capital of  the southern region of  Tanzania and the most southern port of entry, the people are extremely friendly. We felt none of the aggression and frustration towards us, from the locals, that we felt in some of the other areas we visited in Dares Salam and Zanzibar. In fact it was almost the opposite and we assumed that perhaps Tanga is not on the tourist radar and our dollars are welcomed.

Back at the boat we go ashore and enjoy a quiet time on the veranda watching the activities in the harbour and another superb sunset. The yacht club is friendly and welcomes visiting yachts.
The heat is unrelenting and incessant, persisting long into the night making it difficult to sleep even with our fans blowing air continually on us.