Good morning Dar

Wilf may be getting tired of me saying ‘well, this is a place I never expected to be.’ But really – Dar Es Salam! After the rather depressed feeling of Maputo, Dar was an explosion of energy. I’m sure life is difficult, but the sense is one of energy. The city has a modern skyline

At street level it has a very entrepreneurial air – lots of little booths selling all sorts of things (and if you ever wondered where your donated clothes wind up – I have an idea about that)

We took a bus tour of the city, which started at a village museum. It had many examples of traditional huts and houses throughout the country. And a performance, of course.

We visited a marketplace where the artisans worked with the ebony – this piece is a work of four years:

I met Mariane, who sold me a dress and sent me on my way with many blessings.

For lunch we were taken to a beach resort for a very nice lunch. And beer. To say it was hot doesn’t even begin to describe the situation. The scenery was lovely.

The downside was that the big wide exposed foreshore – well, it smelled very bad. I suspect the seaweed cooking in the sun was probably part of it, but we were suspicious of the sewage system. The fishermen didn’t seem concerned. There was a pool to use, but it that means one has to deal with the issue of getting ones sweaty self into and out of a swimsuit. That usually includes unseemly grunting, cursing and the risk of a dislocated shoulder. The discussion on the bus was that perhaps this was an occasion for the North American ladies to abandon their modest one piece suits and join our European sisters with their two piece suits.