Killing Time in Kigoma

No meeting is more famous between travelers than that of Stanley and Livingstone in Ujiji, not far from the shore of Lake Tanganyika. Ujiji is just south of Kigoma, with any dalla-dalla (Tanzania's version of the collective mini-van stuffed to the gills with people) passing by. A fifteen-minute walk from the highway takes me to a barb-wire-topped fence surrounding a stone monument. A plaque, donated in 1927 by the Royal Geographic Society, marks the spot. Nearby a mango tree said to be graphed from the original of Livingstone's time, completes the scene. Another plaque across the way designates that captain Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke passed this way, too, during their expedition to determine if Lake Tanganyika was the source of the Nile. Note, to get in the fenced area, you must pay the "museum" across the way.



Mission accomplished. The next task is figuring out how to get out of Kigoma. My original intention was the train to Dodoma. It runs once a week, and I'm in luck that it runs today. However, they've done away with the sleeping cars and 50,000 people have pressed into the station to board the third-class only cars. Um, I pass on this. The bus takes some days through dust (only 25% of Tanzania's roads are paved, but they say they're getting better all the time) to get across to Dar es Salaam. This passes through the Serengeti National Park, but I'll have to pay a hefty entrance fee, and this is not exactly how I'd like to see the Park. I pass on this, too. I look for an airline office, but the electricity is off. And since Africa hasn't made the complete leap into the electronic world, I am issue a handwritten ticket.

The power goes off in Kigoma regularly, or the water doesn't turn on, so it's important to take advantage of electricity or water when you've got it. Power goes on--start charging your iPod. Here comes the water--shower immediately. I found an Internet cafe here with the fastest connections since leaving California. And with really nice laptops!! (This is a big deal for the traveler in Africa).

Kigoma