It would have had to be this morning that the hotel staff managed to arrive late for preparing breakfast. We stood outside the restaurant at 7am having loaded the bikes, so we could quickly eat and then head down to the bus station. Instead we left with no breakfast having run out of time.
Arriving at the bus station the first thing that we noticed was that there was no bus. The guy from the booking office reiterated the reporting time of 7:30am and departing time of 8am to us, by way of explanation. All the same it seemed a little strange bearing in mind our assumption that the bus started from Dodoma main station. While we were waiting, we got chatting to a friendly guy, Louis, who told us where to wait and talked about how he had helped with 'Tour d'Afrique' when they came through. 7:30am came and went as did 8am, by now we beginning to wonder what had happened to the bus. Having experienced Africa time before though, we knew it was too early to start getting concerned!
Eventually at 8:15am the bus arrived already half full of passengers. Where they had all come from we will never know. Thankfully Louis was on hand to help us get the bikes loaded; he at least understood that we didn't really want our wheels crushed underneath all the luggage! When we started to load the bikes on, we were told that it was going to cost 15,000TZS (£6) each to carry them. This was a little on the steep side bearing in mind it was more than our tickets. I tried offering 10,000TZS each thinking that we had paid 5,000TZS last time and it was twice as far. Somewhat annoyed about the situation we eventually settled on 12,000TZS; apparently the bikes were 10,000TZS and the luggage an extra 2,000TZS. What makes it a little galling is that not once did we see any other passengers charged for their luggage, no matter how many sacks of rice, flour, grain or chickens and ducks they loaded on. In the end, the most important thing was that the bikes were stowed and we were on the bus. Seeing a mechanic covered in oil and laying under the front axle, didn't fill us with a great deal of confidence that we would have a trouble free journey though!
8:30am and we were on the road, certainly not at walking pace but not a great deal faster. About five minutes later and we were stopped to pick up more passengers and five minutes after that and so on and so on. The bus could seat 62 people with probably 10 children sitting on laps, plus at least 20 standing in the aisle. Add the driver and two ticket collectors/helpers and you have nearly 100 people on board at any one time. To say it was a little crowded was an understatement! Crowded and not particularly fresh smelling; especially later when everyone seemed to be eating dried fish and there were three joints of meat hanging from the sun roof!
The journey was 9 hours of bone jarring, sweat inducing, organ-rearranging pain. The constant vibration meant that we were too concerned about ourselves to worry about the bikes in the hold. Thank goodness for Ipods as they helped to block out some of the noise from the rattling windows and creaking, banging suspension. On a brighter note it was certainly an experience, one we will happily never repeat, and at times the scenery was very attractive. Fortunately the bus diver stopped for a break after about 4 hours, so we could get some food and stretch our legs. Prior to this there had been no toilet stops at all. Sipping our water had been the order of the day, although with the heat on the bus we had been sweating most of it out. Lunch was a tasty chip omelette each and I mistakenly had a cold Pepsi. What hadn't occurred to me was that a cold fizzy drink on top of a greasy chip omelette added to a heavily vibrating bus may cause a certain amount of nausea. For a short while I felt like I would have to get the bus to stop, so I could run off into the bush! Gradually though the feeling passed and I was able to, if not enjoy, at least put up with the rest of the journey. By the time we arrived in Iringa at just after 5:30pm, we would happily say that we never wanted to get on a bus again.
Unloading the bikes and luggage brought great plumes of dust from the cargo hold and sadly two quite badly scratched bikes. It looks like they had rubbed against the metal floor in a sawing action, going straight through the paint to the bare metal. Fortunately they were not dented, so it looks like we will be on the lookout for some more stickers to cover the damage. For now they have been patched up with duct tape! It is very difficult to get too precious over the bikes, considering the type of journey we are on, but it is still quite sad. Once again though we are glad that we have bought bikes with heavy duty steel frames, the damage could potentially have been much worse instead of just cosmetic.
Watched on by seemingly the whole bus station, we reassembled the bikes and laughed at taxi drivers who kept approaching us to see if we wanted to go on a trip today/tomorrow etc. Obviously they were the only ones who hadn't noticed that we had our own transport with us! With the bikes back together and loaded we headed up the road to the 'Central Lodge' guest-house. The room seemed alright, so we will be here for a couple of nights. We have to get some supplies before we move on and apparently Iringa has a good market.
The room may be alright but the restaurant was a bit of a let down. Having rejected 'Hasty Tasty too' across the road for being too expensive we returned to the guest-house, only to find that they had run out of just about everything. We had hoped for rather more than rice and beans, especially as they had such a large menu on display. To make up for the lack of food the bar does sell the cheapest beer we have had in Tanzania though, 1600TZS (70p) is a bargain. One beer was enough tonight and we were glad to head back to the room. The journey had taken its toll, so it is a good job we are not moving on tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment