Dar es Salaam in the late 1930s This was my first glimpse of Dar es Salaam... a vast rippling blue-black lagoon and all around the rim of the lagoon there were pale-yellow sandy beaches almost white, and breakers were running up on to the sand, and coconut palms with their little green leafy hats were growing on the beaches, and there were Casuarine trees, immensely tall and breathtakingly beautiful... And then behind the Casuarinas was what seemed to me like a jungle, a great tangle of tremendous dark-green trees that were full of shadows and almost certainly teeming ... with rhinos and lions and all manner of vicious beasts. Over to one side lay the tiny town of Dar es Salaam, the houses white and yellow and pink, and among the houses I could see a narrow Church steeple and a domed Mosque and along the waterfront there was a line of acacia trees splashed with scarlet flowers... Roald Dahl, Going Solo. Not exactly our first impressions of Dar, but some similarities, Dar es Salaam is a city now, so the jungle is now an urban jungle, the beasts have been herded into National parks, but the beaches and and scarlet acacias trees remain. We made an airport taxi driver very happy, the cost of a ride into town equivalent to an average weeks wage here, and checked in to the cheapest hostel in town, 'its fun to stay at the YMCA'. We went out to buy bus tickets, heading southbound to Mbeya, for the next morning. We had talked about staying for a few days, but the city has nothing more than a museum as sights and activities, so we decided to head down to Malawi. We walked to the supermarket for some supplies on the bus trip and saw our first mzungo (white man) doing his weekly shopping. Patrick was a student doctor from Canada volunteering in the disease section of the main Dar hospital. We all went for a drink and he explained what are the challenges of living and working in Tanzania. There was an hour before dark so we walked down to the waterfront to see a slice of Dar life. People were hurrying around, the dalla dalllas (minibuses) calling out to passers by to take them home. Night-time is a dangerous time in Africa, the dalla dallas stop running and people don't want to travel in the dark. Almost everyone is at home by the time the sun has set, including us. Back at the YMCA, the fun was a meal of fried chicken and chips and a beer. Part of the attraction of Africa is the wild animals and so far to date: Exciting animal count = 0. Cooper Out Love Dan & Kat