Round The World with Peter
9th May 2006 - 12th May 2006Lake Tanganyika There’s a boat that the Germans built back in the early 1900’s that is still sailing on Lake Tanganyika, the M.V. Liemba. For a long time it was sitting at the bottom of the Lake after the Germans sank it to make sure it didn’t end up in the hands of the British after World War I. It was later restored and put back into service. To this day it’s still doing a weekly round trip on the Lake from Kigoma, Tanzania in the north to Mpulungu, Zambia in the south. At first I had thought I’d go to Zambia on this boat. But because of Zambian visa regulations I decided not to. So I would get of the boat at Kasanga (the last stop in Tanzania) instead and see the Kalambo Falls. Getting on the boat I was expecting it to be like the boat between Egypt and Sudan. Complete chaos. But it wasn’t. It was actually very civilized. The funniest thing I saw there was an old, thin, Muslim man who ran around waving a stick shouting and telling everyone what to do, wearing a pair of Bart Simpson socks. Probably you had to be there to see the fun in it. The boat ride itself was very nice. Relaxing and enjoyable. There weren’t too many people on it. I was in second class but the cabin was still quite good. It was basic but still ok. Basically it had 4 beds and nothing else. Jim and Adele were in first class so I used their cabin to wash in and keep valuables in. There was also plenty of space to sit outside, on the life rafts. If it just hadn’t rained so much. But we were sitting there as much as possible looking at Tanzania on one side and the Congo on the other. Watching the loading and unloading was very interesting as well. At the smaller stops along the lake there are no docks. So they have to come out to the ferry in smaller boats, mostly without engines, with the cargo. Then they will manually lift everything on and off the ferry. Also passengers have to disembark the ship this way. At Kasanga, my stop, there was a proper dock to get off on. But there was another boat already there. So we had to climb over that one to get onto land. Somewhere in all the commotion I lost my jacket. Ahh well, luckily the rainy season is almost over so I guess it’s just less weight to carry around. If it just hadn’t been for the winter season that’s quickly approaching in Southern Africa. On the boat I also had to say “Auf Wiedersehen” to Jim and Adele. They were continuing to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. I had spent 3 weeks with them and I had had a great time. It’s always sad to leave new friends, but these 2 I’m sure I’ll see again. All I have to do is find the road leading to Edmonton on my way from New York to Mexico (more or less a straight line I think). They will take me to the biggest mall in the world if I do. And they’ll take me to a hockey game. So my only question is “Where do I book my ticket?”.
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