On Monday I left my parents’ home at 2.15pm, arriving at Heathrow Terminal 5 at 4pm (thanks, dad & mum!) Flight departed at 6.45pm and, with hardly any sleep, I arrived at 7.15am at Dar International Airport (which is smaller than the smallest airport you have probably ever flown from in England!) Despite the early hour, it was already hot, and my taxi driver soon arrived to take me to our head office in Dar. After over an hour stuck in the usual Dar traffic jams, I arrived. Exhausted, I cat-napped on a couch, occasionally stirring to slap a mosquito, until it was time for lunch with a colleague followed by a restful afternoon ready for the gruelling day that would follow.
Wednesday morning came and unfortunately I had set my alarm wrongly, so I didn’t wake up until the taxi beeped its horn on arrival at 5am. I managed to get out the B&B in record time and we sped to the bus station, still in plenty of time for my 6am bus. I felt sick from tiredness but fortunately I am a bit better at sleeping on buses than on planes, so I had a reasonable doze before eating my peanut butter & jam sandwiches for breakfast. Most of the ride was hot and the seating was a bit cramped. Mid-morning we stopped for a quick loo break, and around noon a 10min lunch break at a service station (don’t think Costa Coffee and rows of clean toilets, instead think quick fried food and sodas and a row of not-so-clean-and-locks-don’t-work long drops!) We made good time, despite being held up in one place due to road works and another due to a truck having gone over the cliff and a crane was getting into place to haul it back up. However, there were no more loo stops, until there was an outcry on the bus and the driver found a convenient spot to pull over and there were no bushes to hide behind – it was just men round the front of the bus and women round the back, in full view of the open road!
The approach to Mbeya was beautiful as everywhere was fresh and green from the rains and the air felt cool. It was a relief to arrive at the bus station in the daylight at 6.30pm, to see a familiar face waiting to pick me up (thanks, Jo) and then to be welcomed into my own home with a meal waiting for me (thanks, Karin).
Not a trip to be repeated too often, but I thank God that everything went smoothly and I arrived safely and even, miracle of miracles, on time!
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