In the winter of 2019, Henderson Productions took a small group to Tanzania for a 14-day adventure. This blog series tells the story of the trip and our fellow travelers. Using our network around the world, we curated a tour to give us local connections and experiences beyond the normal tourist choices. For more information about our upcoming trips, subscribe to our newsletter.
Colorful regional dances are part of a visit to the National Village Museum
The Village Museum includes 8-10 different tribal villages in a well laid out path. Each dwelling of buildings is factually dark on the inside with only the artifacts or equipment normally found in that tribal use. We began our 1.5-hour visit with a colorful and rhythmic dance show with four drummers in plastic lawn chairs and four elderly women stomping and singing for 15 minutes with a break midway to tighten/tune the drumheads by literally heating them on a smoking coal fire. Except for a 20-something male drummer, the other 7 of the troupe were female, at least 60+, and full of energy and mojo. We LOVED it.
By 2 PM we were on our way to the Cape Town Fish Market restaurant for a fabulous late lunch across from Slipway on the bay. I had ahi carpaccio with a balsamic glaze lightly drizzled over the raw tuna, peppers and avocado sprinkled with poppy seeds. YAAS! Several guys had fish n chips which was deemed excellent. Our local friend explained, as we checked out, there’s a local tax of 18% for tourists. Wow. Still, my sumptuous meal plus a beer and liter of water came only to $15.
Back to the hotel around 4 PM with a quick turnaround for D, K and I on the grocery run. It’s a modern grocery store though the expats prefer to purchase meats and fruits more directly. We did have fun spending $200 on breakfasts and chicken, cheese, water, beer and wine for the group. Plus, I found a couple “gift” items like lemon/honey soaps for a fraction of tourist locations.
Quick stop at a butcher’s – an upscale British butcher shop complete with biltong jerky which we tasted and then purchased for the safari. A quick repack to prep for the safari was all I had to meet the 6:45 walk around the corner to the local haunt, Mamboz Masaki. This highly affordable hangout sits above the Pizza Hut with an open-air terrace to maximize the ample breezes. Eleven meals – plus tip and tax came to under $100 but no alcohol as the owner is Muslim. Sigh.
He came and answered all questions from the vast menu and I ultimately took his suggestion as a favorite and ended with the hit of the night – snapper filet grilled with a lemon spice rub. It was fabulous and ample enough to share a bite with several others. Perfect for my recovering digestive system.
Wish I could say I slept well but we all still have the 1-4 AM jetlagged wakeup happening. I played with pics and a movie til almost midnight and then woke from 2-4 AM. Total of 4.5 hours was an improvement but need to not make this a routine!
