Into the Heart of Tanzania

There is one more post below this one!

After the loooong drive, it was so nice to have a comfortable bed & a full night’s rest at the Lutheran Church, which included a dining where we were served breakfast.

All too soon we were back in the van, but went only as far as Iringa town. LuRue had expected more of a city like Dar es Salaam, but the streets were dirt. They are lined with tiny shops selling everything imaginable. It reminded Montana a little of Peru. Morgan was our guide as she knew her way around & also knew a few of the shopkeepers that Global Volunteers uses. The town was bustling, but mostly people ignored us. A couple of older men stopped to chat & teach us some Swahili words.

Edward had us go to a small Indian restaurant to place our lunch orders to be eaten at a later time. We then did a bit more exploring around that area, including browsing a bookstore. A few of us decided to go to the ATM for cash. The first one was closed early for the holiday, so we found another. Big mistake!! LuRue put in her card but didn’t have any luck. Montana also was trying at the same time in another stall, but not only didn’t she get any money, she didn’t get her card back either.  They stood vigil by the machine until someone could get Edward. He said that the card would remain in the machine & that they will have to go back tomorrow to retrieve the card.

LuRue actually bought a couple of things—very uncharacteristic…a colorful bag for carrying things (made by people who are physically impaired) and from another shop a pair of wild pants, black & green with yellow elephants. She figured they’d work for both Tanzania and for India.

The trip to Pommern was almost 3 hours because of a couple of more stops we had to make along the way (a different route). We are hoping that tomorrow’s trip to the bank doesn’t take as long. Our entertainment was waving at people along the way who were shocked to see a van full of white people (wazungu) bouncing along their road. The younger crowd in the van also began to go a bit crazy with wild flights of imagination that the more mature people couldn’t comprehend.

Fiiinaaally, we arrived at the Mission House. We were taken on a tour of the large house first built in the early 1900s. It can accommodate about 20 people, so our small group had the pick of the room. Montana and LuRue ended up with the pick of the lot. They are the only ones with their own private bathroom. Sometimes age pays off.

Before dinner, Morgan led us around the town for an hour-long tour. Pommern is a very rural town, but the people are used to Global Volunteers so are very friendly. Just before we returned for dinner, we stopped at Edward’s house & were invited in by his wife for a short chat.

After dinner we were given an outline of how tomorrow will go. Atleast for the others. Montana and LuRue get to go on yet another van trip…hopefully to retrieve a devoured debit card.

This one will probably be the last post for a while, so goodbye for now.

P.S. No pictures, because the internet is slow!