Into Tanzania

2009-10-05 20:05

Karonga to gas station near Kyela, Tanzania

August 5^th, Day 55:

After a couple of the wild and exhausting days, it was nice to wake up in a bed once again. It was also nice to finally get back to riding on a paved road, which had eluded us for what seemed like a forever, but was actually only a few days. Our new friend Chikondi decided to bike with us towards the border for a little while until we said our goodbyes and exchanged contact info. He was definitely one of the nicer people I had met in Malawi, he was not interested in our money and was genuinely interested in what we were doing so it was bittersweet to say goodbye.

For me, this was one of the best biking days I had because the road was almost completely flat, the weather and scenery were beautiful, and we were about to be in Tanzania, the last country we would have to cross in its entirety. I think Aaron felt the same way, but he was also dealing with some bad stomach problems so he could not enjoy it to the fullest extent unfortunately. It was also great that I was able to talk to both of my parents during our ride. We had some extra credit left on our cell phone, which would be worthless in Tanzania, so I decided to call my dad as we were biking along. It was pretty cool that I could be bicycling along in Malawi 8000 miles away from New York, and be talking to my dad as if he were standing next to me… Oh, the wonders of modern technology. I guess technology isn’t always that bad, although this debate could go back and forth for a long time.

We cruised to the border crossing in a very good time; the only problem was that I remembered a Tanzanian visa costing either $50 or $100 U.S. Dollars and I wasn’t sure if we had enough to get us both in. On the Tanzanian side, they told us it was $100 U.S. Dollars for a single entry visa and after counting up all our money, we only had around $100. This was no good. However, the customs officer told us we could pay for one visa now and pay the next one within five days at an office in the direction we were going. This was a big relief and we were able to keep biking. It was a pretty funny when we exited the customs office and were met by a group of people wanting us to exchange money; there was a sign right in front of us that said, “Money changing is strictly prohibited.” Yeah right.

It was around 5pm when we crossed the border into Tanzania; you could almost feel the difference between Malawi and Tanzania even though they were only separated by about 100 meters. You could tell their was a lot more going on in Tanzania, a country that has had a checkered past but in recent years seen rising economic growth. The country was plagued for much of the 20^th century as a German then British Colony before gaining its independence in 1961. However, one could make the case that the country took a turn for the worst as it brought to power a socialist regime, led by Julius Nyerere, which established strong ties with the communist bloc of China, East Germany, and the USSR. Much like the plans of the communist bloc, the socialist regime established policies of collectivization, and nationalization of banks and industries. This was partly in response to Western colonization that had controlled what is now the country of Tanzania for more than 75 years. Saying the socialist regime failed miserable might be considered an understatement, as the country became one of the poorest and least developed in the world.

When President Nyerere retired in 1985, Ali Hassan Mwinyi took over and immediately took steps to liberalize the country and reverse the socialist policies that characterized Tanzania under Nyerere. While Myinyi’s term as president included wide spread corruption, the policies he implemented have resulted in an economic growth and reduction of poverty. This was evident right over the border as there were many shops and stores and people busy going about their day. Somehow I managed to get two flat tires on a nicely paved road as we road towards our destination for the night, Kyela.

Once again our maps failed us and mismarked Kyela as sitting right along the main road, when there was actually a turn off sign for Kyela noting it was 10 miles east. At this point it was pitch dark out and we did not feel like riding for 10 more miles and then having to come back the same way in the morning. Luckily, we ran into a few local people who helped us out by telling us the safest place to sleep was in the gas station and also directed us on where to get food in the area.

The gas station was probably one of the safest places we had slept, because there were two armed security guards that patrolled the station all night long. They also happened to be very friendly and said there would be no problems at all. I felt reassured and we set up our tent, got some food, and were asleep by 9pm. The next day was sure to be intense, as it would entail climbing mountains for most of the day.

-Eric