Going to Mwanza

OK this is getting challenging.  Blogger has decided that I read Swahili and so all of the buttons, bars and commands are in a language I cannot read.  I don't know if I'm publishing a post or deleting it. Argh...
 

On Sunday we had to travel to Mwanza. Jeanne and I had breakfast with Alan Copeland and a fellow from Nova Scotia who was involved with an ISTEP project to do with mining practices. We exchanged some of our experiences in conducting international partnerships and hearing about the challenges he experienced actually made us feel a little better – there will always be obstacles to overcome and our project would be no different than any other in this way.

Then Jeanne and I packed our bags and waited for the driver out front.

   

Our trip to the Dar es Salaam airport proved interesting. First we had to stop at the international airport to get a receipt for taxi services and then we went to the domestic airport to catch the flight to Mwanza. We were in good time. Unfortunately we were at the wrong airport. The Mwanza flights leave from the International airport so we had to call our driver back and then get back to the airport we had left earlier. Thankfully we were still on time. After passing though security we went for lunch, but as we waited for our order, boarding started. It was a bit stressful but the food place gave us the order “to go” and I took my deep fried chicken (pretty tough stuff) with me on to the plane where I had a few jealous eyes watching once they figured out where the food odors were coming from.

The flight to Mwanza was from a company called Fast Jet. They subcontract other airlines (Swissair for one) to make the flights. We flew with Bulgarian Airlines. The pilot and crew were all very Eastern European looking except for one stewardess who was obviously African and could repeat the instructions in Swahili. One stewardess was one of those tall, gorgeous, blond, model-like girls that you see in James Bond movies. It was a little surreal considering the passengers on board.
 

In Mwanza we landed at a small airfield outside the city.  On our approach I could see the large freestanding rocks that the local territory is known for.  When we landed I noticed some derelict hulks of planes that were now permanently grounded and one small squadron of old fighter jets. Strange. The airport was not the kind of airport you might expect for a city of 2 million plus. Very small with one baggage carousel (you can see it in the picture below)

When the flight arrived we all waited out front for people to pick us up and there were a number of private taxi drivers who were looking to make a quick buck.  We had arranged to get picked up, but our driver completely lost track of the days and so we waited until the area out front looked like this:

He did make it there though and he drove a four wheel drive Toyota (everybody seems to drive a Toyota!). The drive to the hotel was even more interesting than the drives we had in Dar es Salaam. The paved roads had three lanes for two directions so the middle lane was a game of chicken. There were people all around the roads hawking goods and milling about and crossing the road willy-nilly and the numerous motorcycles just zipped in and out of traffic (just as in Dar). But the chickens, goats and cows made life even more interesting. 

Our hotel, the Isamilo, was built on a hillside and getting to it was challenging. There were several detours and we rode on rutted dirt roads that were more like cattle trails with deep grooves from seasonal rainstorms.

The hotel is a little less contemporary than the Harbourview. I ended up with quite a large suite, with two rooms, two bathrooms and two beds. It is a bit of a goofy set up as I walk through a room I have no need of to get to the room I actually use. Here are a few snaps of the room and the view from the balcony:

That's Lake Victoria you see in the background.

The hotel is nice, but it is rustic. It is nowhere near the city center so we are a little cut off. They couldn’t seem to get the Wi-Fi working to the rooms… so when I want to post my blogs I have to go to the lobby and use their Wi-Fi. And the stairs (and there are a lot of them inside and outside the building) are unevenly built, with the odd short step or tall step thrown in – just to keep you on your toes. In my case it put me on my knees and elbows when I took a nasty fall on my way to the lobby. It was a little embarrassing having all sorts of staff rush over to see if the old guy was OK.

 

But while the hotel is a little less than posh, the price is right and the people are great. And there are a lot of people on staff. Not to mention a cadre of uniformed guards that patrol around and open the gates to the hotel compound.