There are no "scheduled" buses that run between Lushoto and Tanga. We had asked around a few days earlier, and it seems that beginning at 7:00am or so, they depart every ten minutes "or so". Considering it's a distance of 168 kms (104 miles), we thought that was an awfully lot of buses, but it turned out to be accurate based on our experience.
We left the house at 8:15am, and walked the 10 minutes to the bus station with our Chester Carry On Luggage and our day packs on our backs. The bus area was a hive of activity, as we expected it to be. Well before we got anywhere close to the buses, a guy came up to us asking where we were going, and I said "Tanga City". He and another guy grabbed our bags and led us to the bus. He loaded our bags inside the bus and brought us to the seats. He had the ticket book in hand, and charged us 10,000 shillings ($5.50 CAD, $4.30 USD) each for the ride.
He said "we leave in ten minutes".
While it looks very confusing and is kind of a zoo, things actually happen pretty efficiently.
We had left the house at 8:15am, and by 8:38am the bus started rolling!
We put our face masks on, and noticed that two other people were wearing masks as well. The bus was about half full. That would not last though!
Ready for the bus ride!
View from our seats.
Notice the Chinese letters on the entrance door? All the buses that we have seen here in Tanzania are manufactured in China. Tanzania has a long history and a good economic relationship with China.
Scenery from the road between Lushoto and Mombo.
Giant Coca Cola bottle.
It's a really pretty drive.
Once we got down to Mombo, this was the scenery for most of the balance of the trip.
The bus stops about every ten minutes. Sometimes less than ten minutes! Sometimes people get on for a very short distance, and other times they get on to go all the way to Tanga.
It was a LONG bus ride. We finally got close to Tanga when the bus pulled into a station in the outlying community of Kichangani, about 8 kms (5 miles) from the city center. Everyone started getting off. A guy came up to my window saying that this is where the bus stops and we would have to take a taxi, motorcycle, or tuk tuk from there to wherever we needed to go.
So it turns out that the bus to Tanga City doesn't go right into Tanga City!
Long story short, we paid another 15,000 shillings ($8.20 CAD, $6.50 USD) for a 7 km (4.5 mile) tuk tuk ride to our Airbnb. We were met by our host Ed and later met his wife Georgina. They are a mid 30's expat couple from England who have been living here for 7 years. He said the price we paid for the tuk tuk ride was " a little on the high side".
We got into the house (I'll show you some pics tomorrow) and they showed us around and we relaxed for an hour. By this point it was after 3:00pm and the fridge was empty. We walked the 3.5 kms (2.2 miles) to the major grocery store in town, and stocked up on a few things. Again, prices for anything not local are VERY expensive. And any type of meat is pricey.
No, we are not paying 18,500 shillings ($10 CAD, $8 USD) for a box of corn flakes!
We took a taxi back to the house at a reasonable cost of 5,000 shillings ($2.75 CAD, $2.15 USD).
Later, we had a talk with Ed and he recommended some other places to buy better quality beef at better prices.
I've just learned that our flight from Dar on the 18th has been cancelled. The fun of traveling during Covid!!
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Yikes! You spent a lot of time planning the next leg. Love all the mountain views. Safe travels.
ReplyDeleteYes, Kevin has spent some time planning this next leg but when we travel in times like this we have to expect that flights could be canceled. It has been a bit of a circus trying to deal with the airline companies, they seem to be a little messed up which isn't making things any easier. :-(
DeleteHopefully we get something worked out soon and that when we do, it won't change, fingers crossed!
You said it perfectly. The joys of traveling in uncertain times.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy the Adventure.
It's about time.
Yep, but I am sure that Kevin will get something worked out shortly!
DeleteGlad to see you have your masks on . Good luck in making your travel changes. Never a dull moment during these times !
ReplyDeleteNot really sure that they did very much good, the bus was very crowded and we were pretty much the only ones wearing the masks. The other couple of people had their masks removed within a half hour of being on the bus!
DeleteNope, there is never a dull moment when we are traveling during these times for sure.
Good luck on your stay in Tanga City while planning your next move. Like you said... you have to be flexible.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lynnette! Yes, being flexible at the moment is very important, and not getting upset over it either. :-)
DeleteHopefully you can get a flight soon! Meanwhile,I'm certain that you two will explore the area, and find interesting 'stuff'😊! How long are you staying? Take care, Rawn
ReplyDeleteKevin has rebooked us on another flight. Yes, we will have no problem exploring the area here, although it isn't nearly as pretty or interesting as the area around Lushoto.
DeleteWe are staying in Tanga for a total of a week, then we go the the big city of Dar es Salaam for six nights.
Glad you were notified this time about the change.
ReplyDeleteBut that's the thing, we weren't notified this time about the cancelation! Kevin only found out about it because he was checking to see what our flight times were, when he noticed that the first leg of the flight from Dar es Salaam was marked as "canceled", no email from them at all! :-(
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