and on to Tanzania

I had already extended my stay in Rwanda visiting and talking but now it was time to move on.

I had always wanted to 'do' Africa on public transport, so I set off on a smallish bus to the border at Rusumo Falls.  As it was Rwandan it was quite comfortable and only one person to a seat.  We approached the border where I had to walk over the bridge across the falls, quite spectacular; sorry I can't put in the photos.  Then the long trudge up the hill to the Tanzanian border, there was a Scottish truck waiting there.  Much hotter as it is lower and then on to another moto taxi to the nearest town ( I am quite the biker chick now).  I had expected at least a bank but no, so a little short of money, changing what ever currency I had, strangely $ and sterling are quite low rates here.  I managed to negotiate a bus to Mwanza on Lake Victoria, for early next morning and a room/cell, holey net, no air or electricity, although did eventually find some water. Nothing else to do but get some food and watch the world go buy.  Beneko is a former refugee camp and now a truckers stop to the border, very wild west as every one came in for the rum and brandy, some with rifles.  I had to give up and leave for my cell to avoid the drunks, a long dark night with slow reading to make the book last.

My bus set off earlier, unusual in Africa, but the man I had bought my ticket from came to get me and settled me on, I was very down cast to see it was small and I had to spend 8 hours on it! No breakfast or water we set off.  After a couple of hours, when there were at least twice as many passengers as seats and a cockrel, I was told to get on another bigger, although more ramshackle bus, Yippee I thought and celebrated with bananas and water, however we left the tarmac and had three more hours of bone shaking until we regained the tarmac, at least I had the comfort of a large man with a rifle sitting next to me. It seemed very poor compared to Rwanda and even Uganda although much more sparsely populated; it was a wonderful African sunrise over the acacia trees and scrub I expected to see Simba and friends at aany moment, sadly all I saw were a very few cows and goats. 

About three hours later I could see Lake Victoria so was looking forward to finding somewhere comfortable to sit and eat when it became apparent our destination was across a bay.  The scrum for the tickets, should earn me a place with the Lions or even the All Blacks.  I emerged with a ticket and both rucksacks almost in tacked, will be finding gaffer tape later.  What was most comforting about this journey was that I was handed over from one transport to the next, no common language but caring and curteous all the same.

I was heading to Mwanza, for a bank and to get a bus to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, I was somewhat perturbed to see the buses for Dar going in the opposite direction.  I think the lesson for to day is more research and available cash.  So I am off to the bus station to negotiate my next 12 hour journey.