IT'S TOOOOO HOT!!!

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In Dar now, and it's bloody roasting. Came on Scandinavian Express coach yesterday, and was pleasantly surprised as I'd forgotten that travelling can be comfortable, and you don't always have to encourage your bloodflow to return to your bodily extremities once you arrive.

Staying at the Jambo Inn, which is really expensive at 14000/= for a double (about 7 quid) - well expensive compared to what I'm used to anyway. And it's en suite with a sit-down toilet, and a giant fan on the ceiling, so I can't complain.

We've found a good safari deal this morning, which has freed us up from traipsing round all the tour operators today, so we can get to know the city a bit - next stop, the museum. It's damn cheap, without being suspiciously so, and we've had several recommendations from people and the company (Elephant Adventure) are in the Rough Guide too.

$400 (about 220 quid) for five days, four nights, park fees, food, tents, and cook included.

Day 1: Wednesday, we reckon. Depart early for Selous Game Reserve, then Game Drive in the afternoon.

Day 2: Walk safari first thing, 2-3hrs, then Game Drive until mid afternoon, and sunset boat safari on the Great Rufiji River, 2-3 hrs again.

Day 3: Drive to Mikumi National Park, then game drive there from about 11 until sunset. Mikumi National Park is very flat and has much less bushy vegetation, so the game drives will be much better there. On the coach yesterday we saw quite a few elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeast etc when passing through there (much more than when we went in the opposite direction a few months ago).

Day 4: Sunrise game drive in Mikumi, then on to somewhere else I can't remember the name of, and canoe safari at sunset there.

Day 5: Walk in the morning, then onto Iringa after lunch, where we'll be dropped off, with plenty of time to spare for the England-France match in Bottom's Up.

It was very strange yesterday, returning back the way we'd come from Dar in early February. Back then I was completely overwhelmed by everything and thinking things like, "Oh God, what have I let myself in for here?" and, "Those village houses look really run-down." Yesterday it was more, "Ooh, it's looking nice and green since the rains," and, "My, that's a nice house."

Dar itself is really strange - well, strange to me, having not been anywhere near a city for four months. There's lots of private vehicles on the road as well as buses, daladalas and taxis, and we even got stuck in a couple of traffic jams in the taxi yesterday.

The other strange thing is that it's Sunday, and most of the shops are closed. In Iringa, about the only places that are closed on Sunday are the banks, but here, pretty much everywhere is shuttered up. I guess it's just that people can actually afford to have a day off here, or at least the shopkeepers can - everything is so expensive here (comparatively).

We went on a bit of a wander yesterday evening when we arrived. Adam suggested we use the sun to help us navigate, as we knew it set in the west, and there was also a mosque nearby, whose tower was clearly visible. We walked along Ocean Drive until we became hungry and it started to get dark and we couldn't find anywhere, so decided to return to the Jambo Inn, and then find somewhere to eat near there. Of course, knowing where the sun sets was no use anymore, and there's a mosque about every 400m here, so we didn't have a clue where we were going, and just headed in what we thought was roughly the right direction.

We asked someone selling shoes by the roadside the way to Jambo Inn, and he pointed roughly in the direction we were already heading, and gabbled some very complicated sounding instructions, which we eventually realised meant, "down there, third right onto Morogoro Road, and ask someone the way from there."

So we got onto Morogoro Road, got lost again, and asked a security guard who was on duty in front of some office building or other. Once again, the helpful nature of Tanzanians shone through. Instead of simply offering directions, he told his mate to wait there, and then marched off down the road at a brisk pace for us to follow, carrying a big stick. He nearly lost us a couple of times as he fearlessly crossed the road through seas of reckless driving, and then we turned a corner and I could see the Safari Inn, which is just a few doors up from where we are staying. So, I thanked him at this point, but he led us right up to the door anyway. Then, after we had all thanked him for his kind help, he ran off down the road to resume his duty. I do hope the place wasn't robbed in his absence.

Then, we went round the corner to a place recommended in the Rough Guide, called Chef's Pride, but it was closed, apparently for renovation. At this point, we were wondering what to do, and a man came up to use and told us it was closed for a month and they were using a temporary premises round the corner. So, he led us to somewhere completely different, and they all looked very pleased to see us in there (Adam swears one of them made a "hook, line and sinker" gesture to the bloke who led us there). Nevertheless, it was very nice, the waiter was unfailingly friendly throughout, and the yoghurt was "Chef's Pride" yoghurt, so the man might not have been telling porkies after all.

I might leave it at that for the moment, and look at the news for my last ten minutes (we heard about the England result in the tour operator's office this morning - let's hope France play a little less like Japan and a little more like Iceland on Sunday).

Bye bye

Phil :)