For our one night in Dar Es Salaam, we decided to return to Couchsurfing. This is partly because we had no idea when the train would arrive, so couldn’t book accommodation in advance, and partly because the best way to explore a new area is with someone who already knows it well. We made contact with Gidion, who works in tourism, and organised to stay with his family.

When we arrived, it turned out that Gidion was away in Arusha park but his brother William came to meet us at the station. After a short dala dala (minibus taxi) ride and a long and confusing walk down winding dirt tracks, we arrived at the family home. The family speak a varying range of English so after some chat and some acting we settled down to a delicious lunch of rice and spiced potatoes. The spices were a welcome change after bland train food.

Gidions friend Don, who also works in tourism, then came to take us on a tour of the area. As well as working in tourism he does web design, works for an NGO and collaborates with a local orphanage. He showed us the sites and then took us to his house to meet his family and to show us some photos of the orphanage. On the way we bumped into a group of 10 local kids who form part of Don’s football team. He’s looking for the next Ballotelli!

Later in the evening we returned to the house for another meal and a bucket shower, which was much appreciated after a 3 day shower hiatus. We had a dinner of spaghetti with the family, before Gidion’s sister Grace taught us some Swahili. We then watched a film with the family before heading to bed. Tomorrow we head to Zanzibar.

Breakfast time

The family