Day 3 - Tanzania

We stop at a soapstone carving collective outside Kisii. We learn that they mine the stone from local quarries. The artists then wash, sand, polish and carve the stones in to all kinds of items ranging from key chains to intricate chess sets, which these belong to.

This is the first place we learn that if you plan on buying anything in Kenya or Tanzania, you have to negotiate for it. You don't pay the first price they name. In the end, expect to pay at least 60% less than the first price. I did remarkably well at this, despite the slight educational guilt trip they gave us by taking us on the tour and explaining the process and meeting the artists. Other people in the group ask me to negotiate for them. (No, nobody got a chess set. They are many pieces and about $1200 USD after negotiation.)

We drive on to Isebania, one of the land borders between Kenya and Tanzania.
This border is serious business. There are men with AK-47s and bandoliers of bullets everywhere. We are not fully sure where to go or what to do because our guide is busy helping people who got their visas in advance. I did not do this because a) it was a LOT more expensive and b) I would have had to send my passport off. No thank you.

We eventually get some guidance and fill out the right forms. We have to get our temperature taken, exit Kenya and then cross the street to enter Tanzania. We get our temperature taken again (because we may have caught immediate onset airborne Ebola in 50 feet), give the nice border people our passports and money and are stamped to enter Tanzania. Eventually we are given clearance to get back on the bus.

Tonight we sleep at Lake Victoria. There is a tree with a heap of orioles and their nests. It is alive with activity.

The small, yellow birds make a tremendous cacophony.
There are also cormorants and herons on the lake; no roosters, thankfully.

 

We follow our guide in to Musoma Town market. It is cramped and crowded and smelly and exactly what you would expect an African market to be. I am fascinated because this is a <i>real</i> farmers market, with people who grew and picked the products available. The one here in St. John's is primarily craft based which is okay but not why I go to a farmers market.

 We spend the night on Lake Victoria, one of the largest fresh water lakes in the world.

Thunder rolled in with big, looming clouds but it did not produce anything.

I somehow managed to get a WiFi signal on my tablet from here and nearly cried with joy.