TDA - Days 65 to 76

Tanzania

After the long break in and around Arusha we finally got on our bikes. We left lush Arusha and its coffee plantations behind guarded by Mt. Meru shrouded in thick clouds. The air was filled with drizzle, the sky was heavy with dark leaden clouds. Only to the South far away did the grey mass of clouds give way to some light: like a lid just cracked open over this green land, I thought.
Heading South we traversed the plains dotted red and purple by the Maasai herding their cattle.

We rode through Tarangire National Park and beautiful savannah. The pavement lasted one day only followed by delightful days of off-road riding spiced up by numerous flat tyres and thorns. The unpredictable roads made me think of redefining "good" and "bad" road conditions. There's no such thing as bad roads, just good roads with bad stretches or maybe bumps :-)

The red dirt road winding up hills was cutting through lush vegetation. And solitary sunflowers smiled at us from time to time from the roadside. Every uphill was rewarded with long downhills and fantastic views over lush valleys and fields. Sunflower fields; potato fields; corn fields. The biggest surprise were the sunflower fields brightening up the slopes like a massive flower beauty contest.

The light was fantastic, the clouds absolutely dramatic. Some of the most spectacular sunsets and sunrises spoilt us every day: dark menacing clouds filtering the warm sunlight, turning pink, purple, gold, red or orange at the sun's disposition.
The land was beautiful with saturated colours and stark contrasts. Quite often the view ahead made me think of a painting: it felt like riding into a huge canvas. Van Gogh would have loved this country.

But time passed very fast, the days were too short for the many sunflower smiles and the countless flat tyres.
Snapshots on the camera are complemented by snapshots in memory: the sunflowers against the dark leaden sky in the early morning light - not an image I'll be able to forget too soon; the large baobab trees along the road spending the much sought after shade to both people and cattle; the clouds so perfectly shaped and distributed across the sky as if painted by some rigurous artist; the lush jungle in the morning mist full of mystery and beauty; the children greeting us "Jambo" on their way to school; the wide golden-brown sandy flood beds cutting through the greenery; the late afternoon sunlight before the storm; the women carrying stacks of firewood on their head; the tent soaked in the pouring rain, puddles in every corner; the shadows casted by the clouds over the land; clouds of white and yellow butterflies; the green and brown patterns created by the furrows on the slopes around Mbeya; the women carrying their sleeping babies on their back hanging sideways just about to fall; the red roofless shells of the abandoned brick and mud houses pointing to the sky as if in prayer, some barely visible in the sunflower riot ...

The most memorable experience in Tanzania: watching the men and women work the land in the rhythm of the drum. There was rhythm and grace and music along with the sweat and pain of working the land. The sound of the huge drums echoed across the land. Finding them took longer - walking through fields and jumping over furrows. The sky was heavy and ready for yet another thunderstorm, the sun ready to set, a group of workers walking rhythmically to the new work area, the drums beating obsessively. But the people of Tanzania were camera-shy and I respected that. Yet I can close my eyes any time and see the scene and feel the beat again ...