On the road

The buses are the most dangerous objects on the roads of Tanzania. The drivers tear through the country at high speed. With the contempt for their own passengers and other road users. Immediately catch up with slower traffic. Ignoring the maximum speed and the white lines in the middle. The oncoming traffic is looking for a safe escape without hitting the pedestrians. And we just manage to survive among all this violence.

Police blocks
The many cursed police blocks in almost every village and beyond have speed controls as the highest priority. A bus directed to the side feels like justice. It is unfair to be arrested yourself, the tourists complaining. We now have a successful police control strategy. Onno will not be taken. He brakes strategically for a speed sign, when passing exactly the correct speed on the counter. Onno's announcement: 'Roadblock' has a Pavlov effect on me. In a reflex lipsticks. Hide the expensive camera. And open the window. The agents with a big smile say hello and ask how they are doing. That is my job. After all, I am on the 'driver's side', from a left-hand perspective. We can immediately drive on again. No ticket on the counter yet. So far, at least.

Freight traffic
The trucks are usually very long. Lengths of 22 to 25 meters are no exception. The trucks are overloaded. The axes somewhat sagged. Africa also has maximum loading. Witness the weighbridges for enforcement along the road. Driving past the scale is heavily fined. The capacity of the trucks is low. Not calculated on the load. They crawl up the mountains with great difficulty. Most professional drivers assist drivers with overtaking. Flashing light on the roadside does not mean passing away. Blinking on the other hand is the signal: you can now accelerate and go.

Church visit
Almost no kilometer without pedestrians next to the road. The women wear cloths wrapped as a skirt. Often also beautiful dresses. A tightly fitted bodice with a wide skirt over the knees. In the Netherlands, the design would not look out of place at a reception. In Tanzania, the women are working the land in their beautiful dress in their fields. On Sunday we sometimes even see a long gala dress. The men wear suits on this day of rest. Two sizes too large and made of shiny nylon. Cycling for miles with a plastic seat on the back. On the way to the building of a religious movement. Such as Jehovah, Catholic or Lutheran.

Restock
We scrape the groceries together in the small shops and markets. Tanzania has no supermarkets or shopping malls along the road, as the other countries did. The first supermarket was opened two weeks ago in the capital Dodoma. The store is large, the choice wide. Even western brands present. The prices are inscrutable. A can of 330 ml of cola costs € 1,65 and a 750 ml bottle of cola costs only € 0,35. One prepackaged muffin, which ends up in the shopping cart, is charged for € 6,10. A package with two kitchen rolls and a deodorant comes with a price tag of 13 euros. We put it back. There are limits. There is a helpful employee at every aisle. Four cashiers wait patiently behind the cash register for the first filled shopping cart. We are and remain the only customer. We have never done so much shopping. That must be the photo. The Indian owner gives permission. The origin of the supermarket entrepreneur sheds a different light on prices: the difference between locally manufactured and import.

Lake Victoria
Driving from Serengeti to Rwanda, Lake Victoria is in the way. The largest lake in Africa and the second largest freshwater lake in the world. Only Lake Baikal in southern Russian Siberia is larger. That deserves a visit. Onno has a beautiful location on the lake in mind for the next two days. A ferry transfers the traffic into a spur of the lake. Ferries in Africa have a bad reputation for getting across safely. Detouring over small roads means 200 km extra driving. The choice was made quickly. The queue for cars is long. Trucks and buses take precedence. The costs are low. A passenger only pays € 0,16. We safely cross the road. Although the name suggests otherwise, Rocky Bay Campsite has no camping options. We sleep in a chalet at a greatly reduced rate. Take a break in the beautiful garden by the lake.

Potholes squared
Another 250 km to the border of Rwanda. The last 75 kilometers in Tanzania are marked as bad roads on iOverlander. Angry users of the app find that an understatement; it's a horribly bad road. The day before the border crossing we do nothing but mileage eats. We try to get as close as possible to the border of Rwanda. The centimeter-thick asphalt rests on sandy soil and indeed has a very poor quality. Large holes on the surface of a car. Deep pits the size of a truck wheel. Driving a car is not a difficult task here. It is also the trade route between Tanzania and Rwanda. Many large trucks struggle past and through the holes. Some trucks lose their load while zigzagging on the road. The drivers are having a hard time. They wave grateful to Onno when he lets them go. A truck stands still in a bend. A large amount of bags on the ground. Men are hired to load the truck. Two bags on their heads at the same time. That goes faster. One bag already weighs more than the Dutch Arbonorm. Almost 100 other trucks are standing behind the truck until they can overtake. We are lucky that we drive in the opposite direction past all the waiting drivers. Just before the border we spend the night in a shabby hotel. Between the many trucks and their drivers. As soon as it gets light, we jump out of bed relieved. We can go to Rwanda.

Zeal
The vision of Rwandan customs is' Faster process. Easier to trade. A lot of trade travels through Rwanda from Congo to the port of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam. They have a "one-stop border" with Tanzania. Arrange everything in one building. At least that is the intention of Rwanda. The customs officers of Tanzania do not yet fully embrace the vision. They are in a building 200 meters back. We walk back and forth for the stamps on the carnet of the car. Awaiting the visa in our passport. An East Africa visa, also valid for Uganda and Kenya. Digitally applied for three days ago. The agreement already in the mailbox after one day.
In the last three countries we crossed we had no (physical customs check of the car. Rwanda does. Or rather, check the bags of bus passengers. The G is treated like a bus and we as passengers. We get the order all We believe that a bag and photo bag fall into the bag category, and I gladly drag them in, hoping that it is enough. The office worker keeps shouting that all bags must be brought in. That is, after all, Onno tries to convince the civil servant that the many storage bags in the car are not bags. Fortunately, after Onno shows us a chair in a bag. Africa, where we will spend the last days of 2019.