We are awake. We are showered. We are somewhat alert. Time to check out the town, find some food and see what this African town is all about

As we’re leaving, the security guard asks us where we are planning to go and then proceeds to ‘get us’ a guide that just happens to be waiting for us. Hmmm. Well, we do need to find a currency exchange bureau so we go with it. At this point, getting help for a nominal tip seems like the right thing to do. Off we go, Umbre leading the way. As he brings us literally 30 steps away to two different bureaus, we feel a little silly, but whatever. We get some Tanzanian shillings and discuss whether or not we keep Umbre for longer.

We do need to eat, and we figure he knows where we can at least get a good meal. Can you believe it? He knew exactly where to go and was happy to lead the way. We agreed to BBQ – because, honestly, who wouldn’t? We go down a street/alleyway/dirt path (?), somewhere we never would have walked down ourselves, especially the first day! We end up at a huge outdoor restaurant and it is packed full with locals. This is boding well, he didn’t just take us to the nearest ‘safe’ tourist place.

We had no idea what to order (no menus) – it’s a good thing we brought Umbre with us! He not only found us the only server who spoke English, but he ordered for us too! A sampling of the meats? Sure! Some sides? Sure! Drinks? Yes, please. Then the food came. A plate of grilled beef. A plate of grilled goat. A plate of grilled chicken. A plate of spinach and saucy vegetables. A plate of rice. A plate of fries, chipati (bread), grilled bananas, & coleslaw. Gulp. It has to be said that when it comes to BBQ, we are well versed and therefore, quite snobby. Not our fault, we just have a great neighbourhood. So, this meal fell a bit short. It was tasty, but boy, was it over cooked.  We actually couldn’t eat most of the steak. We tried! We chewed and chewed and chewed and added water and chewed some more. Nope, it wouldn’t disappear. The goat wasn’t much better. <sigh> Luckily, the chicken was edible – not necessarily tender and juicy, but we finished it all. That means a half a chicken between the two of us, plus steak, plus goat. We could barely even touch the sides. I am glad we tried that banana though – a surprise hit for Jason! We asked for the bill and our cute little waitress was so surprised that we didn’t clear the plates. Does she remember how much food she gave us??? LOL. Anyway, we cleared our tab – it was not an extreme amount – and found Umbre waiting patiently for us at the exit.

Side note – most people eat with their hands here so there is a hand washing station in the restaurants. It usually consists of a water barrel with a spigot and a soap dispenser. No towels; it is warm enough that you’ll air dry quickly.  This one was especially neat because they warmed the water by placing hot coals in a pan over the barrel. The water was quite hot coming out!

Moving on, Umbre guides us to the central market. He is very informative, very kind and very quick. Jason and I like to take our time in the market, Umbre likes to rush. Oh well, he is keeping us from getting lost. The market is interesting, full of vegetable stalls, most of them selling tomatoes and red onions. Then we saw the biggest avocados ever – the size of a small football!! All we could think about then was guacamole. We only walked through about 3 of the 30+ lanes so I can’t tell you all that there was, but it was all plentiful and fresh. Seeing white people was fun for them and they would yell out Hello! Welcome! How are you! They were all very friendly and not pushy at all. It was a real pleasure walking through this market.

We head back to the hotel because it is getting a bit late so we tip Umbre and thank him. His help was truly appreciated; we now feel like we know the city a bit better and can get out on our own now. $20 USD well spent.

Back at the room, we have some administrative/computer things to deal with so the rest of our trip will, hopefully, go smoothly. We are going to do our best to stay on top of journaling, posting, picture transferring and culling so that when we return home in 6 weeks, it is not an insurmountable task.

Finally, it is dinner time. Both breakfast and dinner are included in our room cost, so we are excited to see what that entails. Tonight, it is an Indian buffet dinner. Interesting. As we are heading to the restaurant, we pass by a live band playing music and a ton of people laughing and dancing and singing and having the best time. We are a bit sad, thinking this must be a private event.

We sit outside on the patio, just above this amazing party, we are able to hear the music and feel like we are a part of the celebration. At one point, they played “We are the Children” and EVERYBODY sang along to it. These are young people who weren’t even alive when this song was released, yet they all knew it! Both Jason and I became unexpectedly emotional. This song is still making a difference. Right here in Africa. <sniff>

After a really good dinner, we found out that the band comes once a month to play for the guests in the pub that is right below us. Huh. We missed dancing to them, but we did get to enjoy their music with dinner.

What a first day. Short but filled with new things and a learning curve. Can’t wait to keep going.