Tanzania is a place I never expected to visit. My blog makes it pretty obvious that I love to travel. But to me, a location like Tanzania always sounded too exotic or too far away. Tanzania has always felt untouchable, except for in my dreams.
Yet just two short weeks ago, I was there for the first time. One of the greatest blessings in my life are the many special and moving experiences my travels have introduced me to. Somehow Tanzania was on another level. It exceeded every expectation I had and more. It has carved out a deep and permanent place in my heart.
As usual, my trip was for work. I was starting in Dar es Salaam and continuing on to Zanzibar. Swiss flies direct from Zurich with a brief stopover in Nairobi on the way down. As the plane touched down into Nairobi, the view outside of my window showed endless, lush greenery. “Africa, I have arrived”, I thought.
My schedule had me staying in Dar es Salaam over the weekend at the beautiful Hyatt Regency. A work colleague kindly offered to show me around the bustling city. We ventured out early on Saturday morning, just as the sun started to touch the water in the port. As I entered our vehicle to begin our journey, I had no idea how much my life would be impacted by the end of that day.
We ate a deliciously authentic local brunch at a restaurant called Salt. It is the type of restaurant you would find on the beaches of San Diego – barefoot, outdoors, quirky, and delicious. In true California fashion, I ate some avocado with my eggs. I learned Tanzania not only produces many avocados, but that they are about 3x the size of what I am used to.
We then went to Tinga Tinga to view and buy some artwork. This is a small, dusty street hosting a variety of local artists and their exceptionally vibrant collections. Most of the artwork showcased what Africa is so well known for – wild animals. There were zebras and lions and elephants galore. I felt like I had stepped into a re-make of the Lion King. One place was able to customize the paintings, and I had Matilda’s name added to a bright image of giraffes and zebra.
By this point, I was hearing more and more of the local language, Swahili. “Asante sana” means “thank you very much” and “karibu sana” means “welcome”. As I practiced these new words, we made our way over to the most important stop of the trip. We proceeded to a local orphanage my colleagues often partner with. As it is located in a more remote and less safe part of town, we brought along some colleagues known for their security skills. As soon as I laid my eyes on the children, my breath caught in my chest.
In two bare rooms sat about 45 boys and girls, ranging in ages 4-15. The head of the orphanage gave us a small tour. There were three dirty squatter toilets; an open steel stove known as the “kitchen”; one couch with cushions sunken in; barely any running water or electricity. I have felt deeply in situations like this before, but now as a mother, and especially when children are involved, I feel pain and guilt much more profoundly. With every turn in the small space, I saw Matilda’s face and felt Matilda wanting. It took every ounce of my being not to burst into tears.
I put on a brave face and smiled big as I entered the room with the kids. They were very timid at first. They didn’t know how to react to this woman with hair different from them and a big American smile. I passed out snacks and juice, not speaking a word of Swahili, and tried to make them feel comfortable. We sat and stared at each other for a lot of the time. I started to teach them how to high 5 and asked my colleagues if they knew any games.
I started trying to play the hand clapping game of “avocado is the name of the game”. Given the huge avocados they produce in Tanzania, I figured they’d understand. However, the kids immediately took over because they already had a similar game. Before I knew it, I was pulled into multiple groups, holding hands and running in a circle. I didn’t know what we were saying, but my heart was bursting. The smiles on their faces are now tattooed in my memory. When it was time to go, I ran around trying to hug as many of them as possible. I know the kids had fun that day but I kew there was more I could give.
After an afternoon at the orphanage, I didn’t know what else Tanzania could possibly offer me. Then I was introduced to Kivukoni fish market. Once again accompanied by my security friend, I made my way towards the water to view the Sunday morning fish market ritual. Just as you might expect, it became smellier and smellier the closer we got. It also became louder, more crowded and more frenzied. I thought I might hate it, but it was such a unique experience that I ended up loving it. We entered the market and within seconds were surrounded by fish “middle men” trying to get us to visit their tables. Part of it was because they don’t often have young Western women visiting the market. They clearly thought I had every intention of buying thousands of dollar’s worth of fish!We sadly couldn’t take photos, but there are plenty to see on TripAdvisor and Flickr. Of course nothing but experiencing the fish market live can do it justice. The fish come straight up from the sea, with small boats collecting at the salt water’s edge. Fish actually pass from hand to hand, from the boat to the table for cleaning, gutting and selling. There were many people sitting down and de-scaling fish, their hands and feet glistening with the silver flakes of fish flesh. The smell of the sea water mixed with fish blood, guts and fried seafood made me want to puke and yet stay forever. Through it all, I stepped in a puddle of water and fish guts, had to push multiple people out of my face, and was shown up close how the fins work on a picture-perfect tuna. It was awesome!
After the chaos of the fish market, we hopped on a quick ferry to Kigaboni. We were on our way to Kipepeo, aka Butterfly, Beach. As we got closer I knew immediately how it came to get its name – there were butterflies everywhere! It was such an unexpected surprise, to see hundreds of butterflies fluttering amongst the flowers and roadside fruit stands. We ended up at a gorgeous location where the white sand made way towards the aqua blue sea. The sea met the sky at the horizon and I wondered how I got so lucky to experience a place like this. After enjoying a few Kilimanjaro beers and munching on fried sea food, we went for a swim to cool off. I also picked up some beautiful African scarves with the words “hakuna matata” traced across the top.
After such an incredibly eye-opening visit in Dar es Salaam, I boarded a ferry to Zanzibar. As the Hyatt Regency is right on the water, it’s very easy to get to the port. The ferry itself has a variety of classes (i.e. business class) if you desire a more comfortable ride. The trip is also best taken earlier in the day. The sea becomes more volatile as the day goes on, making the journey bumpier and bumpier. There were definitely some pukers on my ferry both to and from Zanzibar.
Zanzibar is such a fascinating place because of the many varied cultural influences it has absorbed over the centuries. The small island is inspired by Arabic, Western and Eastern settlers. There was history and nods to these cultures everywhere – I even saw the house Freddie Mercury grew up in! In fact, the Park Hyatt I stayed at is a UNESCO world heritage site, having originally been built in 1850 by a prominent Arab merchant named Salim Bushir al-Harthi.
I didn’t have a chance to stay in Zanzibar very long, but I am already planning my return. The few small things I got to experience reinforced what a paradise the island was. I fell asleep listening to the waves of the ocean, and dined on fresh coconut water laced with Tanzanian spices. Fish plucked directly from the sea found its way to my stomach and I made countless new friends. I even received an incredibly colorful African dress!
Even though I was happy to head back to my family after a week in Tanzania, I was really sad to leave. I had tears in my eyes as I hugged my new friends at the airport, not daring to learn the Swahili word for “good-bye”.
Tanzania, and especially the orphans I met, will remain in my heart forever. As a symbol of how much these children have impacted me, I started a small fundraiser for them.
Update in 2024: While a few years later, we raised enough money to re-tile the entire orphanage, build proper bathrooms, and add a stove. Unfortunately, the headmaster passed away after COVID, and the orphanage was disbanded, with the children being sent to various other orphanages throughout the area. I am still in touch with my colleagues in Dar Es Salaam for updates.
Until we meet again, Tanzania…
Leave a Reply