Collected Emails No 4.

Collected Emails No 4.

Greetings from Cape Town! 3.4.04 (continued)

I was the only person to cross the border that day! On the Burundi side, they tried
to make me pay extra because I was so close to the limit of my 72 hour visa. I insisted
that because it had not yet run out, there could be no penalty, and luckily, won
the debate. Then on the Tanzanian side, the immigration officer had to be summoned
from his house, where he was apparently "playing at God" -- after I asked
several times to make sure I understood, I realised they meant "praying to
God", ...phew! I was again congratulated on being the only person crossing
the border that day, and I managed to use my new "multiple entry visa,"
which I had created the night before by altering the single entry visa in my passport,
using a ballpoint pen...:-)

Another overcrowded minibus to Kigoma, on roads you would not believe -- I am really
amazed they managed to get past the deep floods and steep muddy hills, and not even
with a 4WD! After 10 hours travelling, and with no breakfast or lunch in my stomach,
I arrived safely in Kigoma, to find all the guesthouses full, and the onward train
completely booked up for the next 2 weeks... Some moments are quite hard to handle.

Eventually, I lucked out and I found the last room in town, had some dinner and
a few beers, and the next day, a sleeping compartment place also became available
on the next train East.

The next day I got an email from one of the NGO friends I stayed with in Uvira,
Congo. The security guard at their house was killed at his home the other day, shot
point blank in the head, and his wife, eight months pregnant, was raped by his murderers.
My friend was the only one there to organise the coffin and funeral, go to the hospital
with the widow, etc. I met the man two or three times at the gate and he was so
friendly! My impressions of Congo were so positive, but this is Africa, where such
unspeakable violence too often shows itself dangerously close to the peaceful surface.

Just before leaving Kigoma, I met an 18 year-old refugee from Burundi, who was shaking
and sweating with Malaria. He seemed helpless and weak, and had no money, so I took
him to the hospital, and met the doctors to talk about the treatment, and then left
enough money for the boy to stay overnight and be treated for the Malaria on a drip.
Then got a minibus directly to the station, in time to catch the train.

Travelling on a train for the first time was a wonderful experience -- a completely
new kind of rhythm and sense of time. The train never went faster than 40km/h, and
spent more time standing at each of the hundreds of stations than it did in movement.
Once on board, there is nowhere to go, and no hurry, just plenty of time to talk
to strangers, eat the surprisingly good food, drink beer and look out the window.
There were three other Europeans on the train, and we all became friends and card
players. I found the three-day trip a real pleasure, both relaxing and exciting
at the same time, and wonderful break from overcrowded, bumpy and dangerous minibuses.

After getting off the train in Morogoro, the 4 hour bus trip to Iringa was not so
fun. Very cramped, bumpy and stressful. A couple of times, when the big bastard
bus went over a speed bump (which are everywhere in Tanzania), I was ejected so
far out of my seat, that I whacked my head on the ceiling, four feet above me, and
then hurt my back, coming back down on the hard seat!!!! To compensate, however,
there were plenty of Giraffe, Elephant and Antelope to watch through the window,
as we passed through Mikumi National Park, which made the trip feel much more special.

I came to Iringa because it is the nearest town to Ruaha National Park, where my
niece Rebecca is working at a Safari Camp. I had been promising to visit her for
two months, and was finally ready to follow through. In fact, the emails she wrote
describing her previous year of working as a volunteer, were so inspiring, that
she is largely responsible for my decision to start my travels in East Africa. But
it turns out that the park is three hours away from Iringa, and in two days I was
not able to find any vehicles going in that direction. In the end, there was no
option but to gulp and swallow the most expensive leg of my trip: a $5O taxi ride.
To add perspective, this is about what I spent during the whole previous week, travelling
over a thousand miles though three countries, including travel, accommodation and
food!

But it was worth it. It was great to see Rebecca, and good for her too, as I was
the only family visit she has received in a year and a half. It was great to see
how she has become a dignified woman, a good manager, loved by both guests and the
staff, to whom she speaks in fluent Swahili.
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