Day 268 / 33

Date: 5 January 2023
Sleeping location: Holland Hotel, Sumbawanga, Tanzania 
Distance (km today/total/total Part 2): 65 / 16534 / 1697
Estimated climb (m today/total/total Part 2): 600 / 143100 / 25100
Going: Dutch
Day in three words: The Big Sky*


I was woken up by the wind rattling something awful outside my window and was immediately worried that this was going to be a problem, but a check of the Windy app suggested it was going to be a crosswind (for the next 300km, in fact). Having found bananas I was able to make a damn fine fruit salad, jazzed up with the addition of raisins peanuts and honey, and made coffee in the bathroom again. I'm slipping back into the rhythms of eating well in Africa, it's all about forward planning and hoarding nice things. So much for keeping Maggie’s weight down though. 

Thankfully Windy was correct and it was a crosswind, so I was able to make progress calmly and listen to some podcasts, also calmly**. Having climbed another couple of hundred metres I was now up onto the rift escarpment proper, and there were vast rolling plains either side of me, big big skies and still more cows. The temperature was absolutely Goldilocks and it was pretty pleasant riding aside from the odd gust from the left. Traffic was infrequent and I could generally see it from a mile in either direction. Another good spot on a bus - a picture of the Pope making a blessing pose, plus the narrative "things fall apart". Perhaps a tribute to the Chinua Achebe novel? I also realised that I can just wave silently at everyone who stares and it really seems to break the ice. A revelation - maximum engagement for minimum effort. 

It seems more wealthy up here than it has since I entered Tanzania. The houses are noticeably bigger, more varied things are on sale in villages, cafes are just that little bit nicer. The one I stopped in for second breakfast had pink drapes and little fake flowers on the table. Such fripperies would not have been allowed in the fishing villages on Lake Tanganyika. I ask for chips mayai and chappatis but instead receive an omelette*** and some pancakes and with the addition of some chilli sauce it’s actually really tasty. Is the enforced rice and beans period finally over? On the way out of town I made a small detour to check out an establishment listed on google maps as "Nyaki the Terminator Metal Workshop." Was it a metal workshop run by a Terminator called Nyaki, or a metal workshop run by Nyaki manufacturing Terminators? The employees seem baffled at my interest but I didn't spot any Terminators so the results were inconclusive.

I arrived into Sumbawanga around 1 and decided to get a fancy hotel, take it easy and stay for just short of 24 hours to effect a sort of lopsided rest day. I also wanted a room with a desk as I was well behind on my blog and needed to pretend that I was a struggling writer holing themselves up in a snazzy hotel to get their novel finished. Even when things are fancy they are still uniquely African. At lunch I asked for cutlery for my chicken and chips and was given two spoons. The shower in the room could only be on at the same time as the tap below it. The man on reception confirmed that breakfast was "between 7 and 10", paused, then clarified "...AM". 

Sumbawanga is quite a nice quiet town and had a good little mini market where I stocked up on nice things for the few days ahead, then sat at my desk and wrote up my blog for a few hours, helping myself to beers from the hotel's fridge because nobody was around to serve me. Charles and Anne-Claire arrived late afternoon having taken the bus direct from Hippo Gardens. We had (a surprisingly decent) dinner together and resolved to cycle together the next day, albeit I planned to set off later and catch them up. Charles has spied a shortcut between Tunduma and the Malawian border which skips Mbeya, where I had vaguely been planning to rest for a couple of days. This is intriguing and frees up some time to cycle at their more leisurely pace, so I will have company again which is nice. 

**One additional problem with a headwind is that it's noisy
***This is less weird than it sounds as "mayai" literally means eggs

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