Tanga

 

Tanga Bay

Tanga is the third largest city of Tanzania but it has the quiet and charming feel of Dumaguete or Bacolod. The streets are clean; there is hardly any traffic; and many people are riding bicycles. The city center is surrounded by buildings from the German and British colonial eras and several green parks where locals sit and hang out.

Tanga is situated in Tanga Bay and is also the location of the second largest port in Tanzania. When we visited the port, it was nowhere as busy as Dar or Manila. While Tanga is beginning to grow again, it has obviously seen better days. In its heyday, Tanga and its surrounding districts were the largest producer of sisal in the world. Sisal is a plant whose fiber is used for making ropes and handicrafts. Then prices plummeted in the 1970s and the industry collapsed.

On our first day in Tanga, we met our hosts from the TCCIA. One TCCIA member, a spice trader and teak farmer called Amrish took us out for lunch at the Raskazone Swimming Club. There were outstanding views of the bay with Toten Island in the distance. He told us that every morning the old men who were members of the club would swim three kilometers across the bay and back. They would then have a nice breakfast at the club while reading the papers. That is the life, I thought.

He regaled us with more interesting stories. He said his grandfather was a stowaway from India at the age of 7 on a ship that traveled to Mombasa, Kenya back in the 19th century. He then journeyed on foot until he reached Tanga where he worked and founded the first post office. Indeed, the post office we saw in the city center still is still in an old house because it remains the residence of his family.

We felt this small town vibe everywhere we went. We felt a warm welcome from everyone. Everyone seemed to know each other and we kept running into people like Amrish while doing errands like buying groceries. I have been in Tanzania for three weeks and I do miss my family badly, but I am already feeling sad about leaving my second home in Africa.

On our first weekend in Tanga, we explored the surrounding attractions. We traveled to the Amboni Caves. We went deep inside the caves and we saw thousands of bats and spiders. There were passages that were so tight I had to duck or crawl to get through. It must have been tough for my tall colleagues from America. We saw a site where locals continue to leave offerings for the spirits. The caves were also used as a hideout by the Mau Mau rebels of Kenya. We, of course, had the requisite tour of rock formations that looked like fruits, animals and certain delicate body parts. When we emerged from the darkness, we heard beautiful singing. It was a Sunday and a Christian congregation happened to have a service right outside the caves.

We then went to the Galanos Sulfur Springs a few kilometers away. We had to walk several kilometers through plantations of coconut and other fruit trees. When we finally arrived, it was really nothing more than a small pond that looked bluish white because of the sulfur. We did see a crocodile and birds' nests.

Finally, in the afternoon, we journeyed north for an hour to the town of Pangani. It was a rough road as many of the roads in Tanzania remain unpaved. The countryside remained wild and beautiful. We saw villages from time to time but most of it was bush. When we arrived at the beach resort, we had a nice lunch of grilled fish and a cold Kilimanjaro.

I took a dip in the Indian Ocean. The water was brown and warm, warmer than I ever felt in the Philippines. The beach was wide and the sand was reddish. It was almost deserted; there were hardly any resorts. A few hundred meters away was a river. I always bragged to my colleagues about how nice the beaches were back home, implying I did not care much for them, but they had a hard time getting me out of the water as I had too much fun swimming. I appreciated the solitude. I still could not believe I was in Africa and I was swimming in the Indian Ocean! I thanked God for my good fortune.

Pangani Beach

In the evening, as we were exploring the nearby sandbars and admiring the majestic dhows sailing home, we had a beautiful, unexpected moment of silence. Mahesh and Isma were walking in the distance when Mahesh started sitting in an Indian lotus sitting position. I sat down too and faced the horizon. I began breathing deeply and rhythmically. I listened to the sound of the waves while I admired the clouds. Marta then sat beside me and started holding her Buddha beads. Birgitte followed suit and sat beside her in silence. Off to the distance, Isma also sat and stared in empty space. We were IBMers from all over the world with different religions. I did not even know if they knew about meditation, but, all of a sudden, there we were communing with nature, admiring the sunset, and being in the moment. What an astounding spiritual experience!

It was quite dark when we decided to head back to the bus. We marveled at the bright stars, which were so much brighter in a place so remote from the blinding lights of the city. Many stars I saw for the first time for I had never been to the Southern Hemisphere before. I thanked the stars for such a wonderful day.

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