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This morning we another bus and another plane ride to the city of Mwanza. It is on the shores of Lake Victoria. This lake is second largest freshwater lake (after Lake Superior) for surface area. Mwanza was not originally in our plans for today as we were supposed to go to Lake Tanganyika and Jane Goodall's Gombe Stream Research Center where she has observed chimps since the 1960's. However, the plane service by Kigoma Air suddenly stopped running flights without warning two days ago. Boom. Just like that, we weren't going. We could have spent hours on a bus to get there, but the route would have taken us very close to the western edge of Tanzania near Rwanda and Congo. We were told we'd have to have two armed guards on the bus with us if we traveled that route. I actually still wanted to go. I am heart-broken at this point because this trip to Gombe was my heart and soul of this dream. Things change and I just keep telling myself that it is what it is. Make the best of the experience and try to live in the moment.
Mwanza is not a really a touristy town, but it could be- very beautiful! We stay in a gated area, Hotel Tilipia (but I don't think they have Tilipia in the lake?). Several of us would like to walk the street outside while we had a few hours of downtime, but have been advised that it is unsafe for people of our type (white and female) to do so without a local person by your side. Wow... an eye opener for me as I realized I am now the "minority"
That being said, it is beautiful here. As soon as I get off the bus, I could smell the freshwater moisture in the air. I felt like I was home for a brief second as I closed my eyes and breathe it all in. The sound of the waves, the warmth on my face, the anhinga sitting on a dock… Wait? How can I be this far away and see the same birds as I do at home? Funny! I can't wait to get out the binoculars and see what other birds are along the edge.
I ended up seeing egrets, kingfishers, men in boats made from reeds, a lizards, a kite (it's a bird), and hummingbird…good stuff! I am loving Africa!
Sunset cruise was amazing. We saw some interesting rock outcrops in Lake Victoria set against the reddest sunset I have ever seen. Dinner was good. I am not much for the seasoning curry. It is a little strong, but I supposed it helped cover up the bugs that had swarmed our dinner plates and probably ended up in our food!
They spray all our rooms nightly with mosquito and bug killing spray... cough, cough, yuck... but our little gecko friend hanging out on our ceiling survived--so there's hope for us! He's about 2 inches long, no idea what kind, but he's adorable! And we can hear a nice loud frog (I think) barking the night away!
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