The Day of the Flycatcher and the Bus to Dar es Salaam

After getting back to Arusha from my three day visit to the village of Ilkiding’a, I spent a day trying to arrange a safari. I had planned to spend the day visiting several offices and comparing prices, etc. Little did I know that the flycatchers would get me.

I had a few run-ins with flycatchers already in Arusha. They lurk around touristy spots in town, waiting to latch on to unsuspecting travelers. Once they start a conversation with you, good luck getting rid of them. They try to sell you jewelry, arrange a safari for you, help you find a guide to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, etc. Over the course of my day, I got stuck with at least four flycatchers. I guess it’s not in my personality to be rude to get rid of them and I try to remain somewhat friendly. A couple of them had gotten to know me by name and recognized me on opposite ends of the city. One even somehow got me to buy a couple bracelets from him. In spirit of trying to stick to my plan, I let one flycatcher bring me to “his” safari company and listened to their sale.

Arusha at night

The next morning, I woke up at 5:20 am to catch a 6:30 am bus to Dar es Salaam. I had to catch a taxi to the bus station, since it’s not supposed to be too safe that early in the morning. I had been told the bus ride would take anywhere from 9-13 hours and had heard some horror stories about their safety.

Just by chance, my seat happened to be next to an older Tanzanian man who was very friendly. He had a wealth of knowledge about Tanzania, and throughout the ride would tap me and give me some insight about the area where we were, even if I was sleeping. He was also very kind - he helped me find lunch at a roadside stand during the halfway break, and bought cashews (which are for rich people) from a vendor through the bus window for me to try.

 A view from the bus ride

In the end, the bus ride took 10 hours and 15 minutes to get to Dar es Salaam. But my trip wasn’t over at that point. The bus dropped us off at a station 8 km out of the city center, where I planned to spend the night. So I found a daladala that cost 300 Tsh ($0.20) to get me into the city. A daladala is like a very small bus that they cram people in and has various stops along its route. There is a ton of traffic in Dar, and not really any traffic control to speak of. After half an hour of creative driving by the daladala driver, I made it into the city. After a while of walking around, and with night descending, I found a YWCA to spend the night for 10,000 Tsh or $6.67. It was very basic and the electricity cut in and out when the generator stopped working, but it was fine for a night.