Waking at 5am in Sumbuwanga, I was pleasantly surprised when breakfast was being made for me. It was included in the room price but when I asked it it would be available so early, I had received a definitive “no”, which later changed into a maybe of sorts. I grabbed it to go and headed to the bus station for my 6am bus. I had a reserved seat but when I found it, it was impossible to even get my legs into the seat, let alone suffer there for 12 hours. I asked to change seats and was granted a front row seat with ample leg room. I settled in with my podcasts for the long ride.

It was actually a beautiful ride, and a lot of the road was paved. The roads in Western Tanzania are improving rapidly, likely because the last or current (I can’t remember) President was from the area. We drove through national parks, spotting giraffe, zebra and hippos (and no entrance fee required!). I had decided not to stop as it didn’t seem like anything I hadn’t seen before, and didn’t come cheap. Plus the tsetse flies were notoriously bad; I even had a couple of bites on the bus!

Finally, just as the sun was setting, we reached Kigoma, green as the rainy season had started (although I didn’t see any rain in my 4 days there). I grabbed a moto taxi and went to Jakobsen’s guesthouse, on a beach outside of town, where I had been recommended. I pitched my tent and looked around. Apparently there was only one other person staying there! 

Luckily I could use the monkey-free kitchen, so got through most of my leftover food from Mulanje in my four days in Kigoma. I spent one day running errands with the owner, including getting a bus ticket out towards Rwanda, securing fresh avocado (avocado season has begun!) and mango, and picking up his family from the airport. His son and his son’s fiance were visiting to try and hash out wedding details for the next year, so I tagged along to see a church choir perform and see if they passed the test. They did. They were incredible.

I also got through my 44th book of the trip, but unfortunately, disaster then struck. My beloved e-reader was broken. Luckily I was heading to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, where I was hopeful I could replace it. In the meantime, I at least had internet! Tanzania was proving to have much better wifi than Malawi (which set a very low standard) and I had high hopes for Rwanda. 

I was officially halfway through my trip!