journal entries

Jul 05: [DW] Land of Pharaohs

Jun 05: [TS] Crazy Cairo

May 05: [TS] Sudan

Apr 05: [DW] Serengeti

Apr 05: [TS] Bandit Zone

Mar 05: [DW] Rwanda

Mar 05: [TS] Zanzibar

Mar 05: [TS] Into Interior

Mar 05: [DW] Ethiopia

Feb 05: [TS] Nile Challenge

Feb 05: [TS] The Pilgrimage

Jan 05: [TS] Mtwara

Jan 05: [DW] Tanzania

Jan 05: [TS] Wheel Clamped

Dec 04: [TS] Madagascar

Dec 04: [DW] Malawi

Dec 04: [TS] Mozambique

Nov 04: [DW] Okavango Delta

Nov 04: [DW] Zimbabwe

Nov 04: [DW] Botswana

Nov 04: [DW] Sesriem & on

25 Oct 04: [DW] To Sun City

22 Oct 04: [TS] Etosha Nat Park

18 Oct 04: [TS] Namibia

2 Oct 04: [TS] Lesotho

28 Sep 04: [DW] Wild Animals

24 Sep 04: [DW] Wild Coast

16 Sep 04: [TS] Garden Route

9 Sep 04: [TS] Arrival

Aug 04: [TS] Intro

mtwara

Mtwara is a city on the south coast of Tanzania. We arrived into Mtwara at in the early hours on Sunday morning after an adventurous border crossing from Mozambique. It is situated about 500 kilometres south of the main city of Dar Es Salaam and is the main port of southern
Tanzania.

We ended up staying there for a few days and met some great people including a
policeman who helped us try and change some money on the black market, but ended up leading us some. On the long slow trip north from this city we stopped at a place for some lunch and were asked where we were coming from and I said Mtwara.

My reply was met with some giggles and laughter from people listening in. From there we picked up a hitchiker who
spoke some english and I asked him why they were laughing. He said the way I was saying it meant "women with big buttocks" in Swahili. Which made me think of how many times I may have said it in Matwara itself. So I got this guy to help me say it properly. I said Mtwara and he said no its Mtwara. I said Mtwara and he said no its Mtwara. Damien joined in but he still
said no its Mtwara.

When we arrived at Dar es Salaam, which by the way was another late night entry into a city, we had some business to do the next day which involved going to a couple of banks to deposit money into some accounts. In the first bank, when I was asked which branch I wanted the funds to go into, I paused and noticed the eyes and ears of quiet a few employees and
customers waiting for my reply.

Trying my best to remember the way our hitchiker friend said it and keeping my voice down so only the people that needed to know could hear it, I said Mtwara. It was as if someone had stuck a microphone in front of me at that very second.It instantly brought raucous laughter from many people in the bank. I had another bank to go to,
to do a similar transaction, so I had to come up with a plan. The other bank wasn't far away and the best I could come up with was something we used to do at school.

The situation was exactly the same as in the first bank with many people waiting on my reply but this time I didn't pause as long and said Mtwara under a small cough and while passing my hand across my mouth. I stood there as straight faced as I could but this time there was a slight delay and then everyone just cracked up.

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tom@stuckintoafrica.com.au | damien@stuckintoafrica.com.au