Chapter 39

They drove south in their posh Volvo at fifty kilometres per hour after crossing the Indian Ocean at Likoni ferry and went past Ukunda township, a tourist holiday resort.

At Lungalunga on the Kenyan border, they stopped briefly at the Immigration Office, where they had their passport checked, stamped, and their luggage inspected before being allowed to proceed and move to Horohoro in Tanzania.

Again, their passports were checked and stamped by the Tanzanian immigration officials who advised Alfredo to purchase a three months insurance cover for his car. He complied, and after a while, the Tanzania National Insurance Certificate Company sticker was displayed on their Volvo.

They drove through dense forests on a dirt road as they snaked their way to Tanga. Here, they saw men and women dressed in Muslim religious robes. The men wore their white robes, known as kanzus in Swahili, and women appeared in their black cultural gowns or buibuis as they were known in Islamic culture.

They saw a small restaurant known as Cappuccino, parked their car outside, entered, and ordered for lunch, which consisted of rice, smoked fish, beef, and stew. They were also served with fruit salad; ripe bananas, and mangoes.

After lunch, they drove through quiet villages as they went past Muheza and reached Segera. Here, they saw traders who displayed ripe oranges in woven baskets by the roadside.

The fruits were quite appealing to the eyes and made Alfredo stop the car and buy two baskets of oranges, which he dropped into the boot of the car.

They went past sisal plantations and orchards and drove through rolling hills and many other villages.

As they went, they drove down a steep winding road and crossed a bridge over a river at Wami where they saw an electricity power station and a police base.

They rode up the hill and drove slowly past eucalyptus and tall jacaranda trees on their way to Chalinze. Here, they saw a junction and a large signpost, which showed the direction to Dar-es-salaam and Morogoro.

They turned left and drove along the road to Dar-es-salaam. Ninety minutes later, they went past Mbezi in the outskirts of the city.

At Ubungo and Manzese, they were briefly delayed due to the heavy traffic jam at that evening hour, but finally reached Dar-es-salaam at five o'clock.

They checked into Silver Hotel, where they booked two single rooms to spend their night. They felt exhausted from a journey spanning five hundred kilometres and lasting nine hours.

"Come down for supper in the restaurant at exactly 7 pm, for I'll be waiting for you," Alfredo told his son as he opened the door to the adjacent room number 201 where Esau was booked for the night.

The old man added, "Remember also to wake up by 7 am in the morning so that we go for our breakfast at 7.45 am and leave for school. By 8.30 in the morning, we should be there."

"Sure, dad, I will be there," the young man replied as he opened the door to his room. "I am feeling quite exhausted after the long drive."

"I will go downstairs where I parked our car and ask the security officer to keep a special watch over it. We are in a foreign land, and we should not take any chances or anything for granted," said Alfredo as he disappeared into his room, closing the door behind him.

Seeing his father gone inside his room, Esau also decided to drop into his bed and dozed off to sleep, which took him into dreamland.