Pizzas, Zebras and Impalas

I should have known that my lucky streak can never last that long. Today I awoke at 3 o’ clock in the morning to be brought to Dar es Salaam Airport again. Upon my arrival at the airport, at 4:30 in the morning, after completing security (in front and behind the incheck counters) I was told that my 6:00 o’clock flight had been cancelled. The next would leave tomorrow.


Luckily there was another way, around the same time, with another airline, but that joke would cost me 260 dollars. I could get a refund for my previous flight; I just had to fill out the refund forms upon arrival in Mwanza. In Mwanza I came to the conclusion that those refund forms did not exist.

 
But after that the sun shone brightly on me again, Dr Chirangi picked me up from the airport. He was in town for some meetings and delivered me to his hotel, a few hours later, we hit the road in search of banks that accept either Maestro or Mastercard. The first ATM was out of money, the second only accepted VISA, the third was under construction, the forth only accepted my credit card for a meager amount of Shillings (and >10% fee) and the fifth did nothing at all. Far cash poorer than expected I went on my way to Shirati, a town known for it’s beautiful hills and lack of ATM machines. Dr. Chirangi bought me pizza for lunch to eat in the car, to sweeten the deal.

 
The ride was absolutely breath taking, the road went along side a part of the Serengeti and I saw my first share of zebras, baboons, wildebeest and impalas. Heavy rains in the distance gave the hills a multi coloured hue that would inspire me to paint, were it not for the fact that I can’t draw for the life of me. At the end of the ride those distant thunderstorms weren’t so distant any more, and the roads turned into slippery slopes of red clay.


At 6:00 pm  we arrived at Fred Chachas home, a beautiful sunflower yellow house in a nice green garden. I was warmly invited to join a pancake dinner. Renée and Brian are guests at Freds as well, an American couple. She teaches, he fixes everything and he made sure that my bedroom would have a lock. “The good news is; there is only one key, the bad news is; there is only one key”. Dr. Inge from the Netherlands and het little daughter Daphne were also there for a while. Carmen from Austria and Yvonne from Groningen are the other two interns at the hospital. The evening was amazing, and I am totally looking forward for tomorrow, maternity ward here I come.


Filled with pancakes and avocado salad I went to my room. It’s HUGE! I have my own bathroom! I have one wall that’s an entire closet! Somebody pinch me, I think I’m dreaming