Today we are on the move again. We are leaving Mwanza and heading to Bunda. Robert picks us up at 8am. Shabani is busy so Aaron will be our driver for the next few days.
Now Mwanza is a large town and is generally very busy. However today the daladala (small bus) drivers are on strike which seems to have caused there to be even more traffic on the roads as I guess people are using private cars etc. This means it takes us a lot longer than usual to get out of town.
Mwanza is commonly known as Rock City and it’s easy to see why. Everywhere you look you see houses built around the large rocks.
Once we are moving freely Aaron stops at a bank as Pete wants to get some money from the ATM.
Normally this is a very smooth quick transaction but today for some unknown reason the machine just swallowed our card…..Pete hadn’t even put the PIN number in!!
So we have to get Robert and go into the bank. The guy at the counter explains that it normally takes 24 hours to get the card back ……by which time we are going to be miles away. So this now means they have to talk to the branch manager who is very helpful and eventually, after about half an hour and on production of his passport, Pete gets the card back……but we still don’t have any cash. We are told not to try using the card again for 24 hours but don’t think we will risk it again while we are travelling …and so we move to Plan B, more on this later.
We are heading to Bunda to meet up with Bernard, another of the ACTT agents.
As always we see some nice scenery and some interesting sites along the way.
Bernard has arranged a teacher training course to start in the next day or so and wants Robert and us to come and talk to all the teachers before they start.
On the way we pass one of the gates to the Serengeti and actually see some pretty large herds of zebra and wildebeest.
When we get to Bunda we stop and get a drink and some snacks as it could be quite a long time before we get lunch.
At this point Pete decides to send Robert some money via MPesa which Robert can then withdraw and give to us. Again this is normally a very quick and easy transaction…however the payment just says “pending” and Robert doesn’t seem to get the money!!
So then Robert says he will pay the bar for the food and drinks on his MPesa……but again it doesn’t go through so it appears as if there is a problem with MPesa!!! (On to Plan C ). Luckily Robert has enough cash to pay and so we leave.
We drive another 20Km to Nyamuswa village where Bernard has his shop. We pick him up and his trainer Dickson and head out to the school which is close by.
The teachers are actually from 6 different local schools and have all gathered in a community built teacher training building. This is where they will do their computer training.
There are 15 teachers as well as the Ward Executive Officer and the Ward Education Officer. Bernard explains a bit about the computer training course and then Robert talks to them about ACTT and our project to support schools. The ward Executive Officer also talks to them and then the teachers have a chance to ask questions…..and of course there are photos. The aim of the visit was really to support Bernard and to encourage the teachers to do the training.
This all takes about 2 hours. We leave Bernard and Dickson and drive back to Bunda to get some lunch…..however we still don't have any cash. This will be a problem as anywhere we are likely to stay or eat will want payment in cash. Payment by card really doesn’t exist in many parts of Tanzania - it is still very much a cash society. In the end I remember that we have some dollars so we decide to go to the bank and change $100 into Shillings this should last us several days.
We the head back to the same bar where we had stopped earlier. They have a pretty good selection of food and between us we have chicken, beef, rice, sauce, bananas and greens. Portions are good and the bill for food and drinks for 4 of us is TSh 27,000, about £8.
After lunch we drive back along the road to Lamadai and then do a quick detour to visit Speke Bay Lodge. This place has been recommended to us and we are just interested to see it in case we fancy staying there on a different trip. The lodge is lovely but quite pricy but it’s interesting to look around. Aaron loved it and kept taking loads of photos! I don't think he had been anywhere like it before.
Here we meet up with Thomas, ACTT’s agent in this town. We will be visiting some schools with Thomas tomorrow. We take a look at the hotel room for TSh 50,000 (£15) and it’s fine. It has a rather unusual bed!! Robert takes a cheaper room.
We sort ourselves out and then go and meet Robert for a drink and light meal. Paul, the manager, is very attentive and keen to make sure we are happy. I think by the end of the evening Pete is his new best friend!!
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