Week 26: down lake Tanganyika: first day on the Liemba

September 23, 2015

There is a quiet patience the Africans have learned in order to cope with the inefficiency of a system. We are also learning this lesson, after all this is Africa.

We check out of the guesthouse by ten, then while away the time in a sitting area until noon. Again as the past 3 days, we walk to the big resort and have soup, bread and salad of cucumber and tomato. Back at the guesthouse we wait another hour before heading to the ferry dock to check in and see if loading really starts at 3:00pm with a 4 o’clock departure. We are pretty certain that won’t happen.

And this is how it goes.

Around 2pm, we cycle to the boat dock and Jill, British backpacker takes a dala dala (boda boda in Rwanda) and we meet up in the outdoor waiting area. Patrick goes to a desk to pay the 2USD port fee and told that we can board the boat. We go to the “gate” and are stopped only to be told we also had to pay a fee for each bike, another 5USD each. Once we have all the paperwork and fees paid, we go to the boat. The gangplank to the MV Liemba goes over a scuttled boat, but no matter, we are first passengers on the boat.

And we watch the process of boarding from the deck outside our cabin. Slowly, single file people are let through the gate and board in competition with porters still loading cargo. 4 o'clock comes and goes, 5 o'clock comes and goes...finally just before 6, the horn blasts, the ropes holding the boat to the shore are tossed on board and we are off.

We enjoy the beautiful sunset over Lake Tanganyika and then go to dinner after 8pm. Dinner is basic african fare and beer, there is plenty of beer. Another muzungu onboard, Marvin, a german who has been volunteering in Kenya for 6 months and now travelling a bit before heading home, joins us. Just as we are finishing dinner of chicken or beef and rice....the horn blasts again.

We are up and out on deck to witness the first port of call. A process that continues on through the night about every two hours.

Photo bombed in front of the Liemba. First-class passengers like ourselves (😊) get to board when they please. This is nice because we can observe the third-class boarding mêlée instead of being part of it.

At first I try to haul our bikes nearer to our cabin, but then just put them on the front deck.

Our bikes locked to the railing on the front deck.

In a frenzy the lower decks and open deck fill up with people and cargo. Meanwhile the crane lifts on heavier cargo overhead......

About two ours late on the very unofficial schedule we cast off.

Time to celebrate, we made it onto the Liemba, have a first-class cabin and the beer is very cold!

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