Though trains may be scare,
and buses are many...as are hired cars and....
and buses are many...as are hired cars and....
....and buses are many...
...as are hired cars and with drivers. We opted for David's "go to" driver, Nasoro for the four hour drive....
...along the Tanzam (Tanzania<>Zambia) Highway, from Dar-es-Salaam to Monogoro.. Long stretches of green fields and hills were interspaced by towns...
...with rows of roadside vendors hoping to catch a passing customer.
David's house is a gentle uphill walk from city center ...
...heading for the challenging hills to the south.
David's house is one of two which sit behind a gate to the road, and fences between neighbors.
Rather standard construction, masonry between white concrete structure with parging cement on the exterior. The right corner is the kitchen...
...then a string of three bedrooms (with baths) on the side, then a living room (with screened porch) on the rear.
Thru a gate, the patio opens to...
...the back yard, which, beyond the fence, ....
...over looks a cascading river.
Pleasant temperatures, day and night, allow constant use of the patio by Raphael and David to....
...watch the trees, and wait for...
,,,birds, and ...
...monkeys.
Two people who assist David with the house are Bonzi, a security/maintenance man, and Beatrice, a kind lady who fetches and returns laundry, David pays them twice the going rate, with a sincere, and firm, suggestion that the extra money is to be saved for their children's education.
Up the road, and along the same river, is the Rock Garden Gafe, set among ,,,
plants and rocks with ....
...friendly wait people, such as Adiji, and her amazing trusses.
The rock at the exit says "Welcome Again!"
Really? time trials with golf carts? No, seems to be word used for...
...golf course, with rough tee boxes and sand "greens"!
David's work with farmers takes him all over his district, so he is based near the district headquarters office.
A simple structure, built to be a residence, so has some amenities (kitchen, full baths) not usually found in an office.
"I use the best seeds to increase my harvest and produce this." ( translated by Google and me...)
Though not out in the agricultural fields, the landscape planting around the office illustrates the lushness of the area.
.And this large land turtle, which emerged from the greenery, is a harbinger of animals to come.
It was the German's who first colonized here, and who set about building railroads, and Monogoro was on The Central Line from Dar-es-Salaam. When the Brits took over German East Africa, the name was changed, and in 1977, when Tanzania got control of the lines within its boarder, it was changed again to Tanzania Railways Corporation.
From the condition of the booking office, things don't look promising for passenger service.
And the daily announcement board confirmed it! "(Hakuna" means "No/none").
But there is fright traffic; one pulled out just a white ago.
But the name game isn't over yet. In 2007 an Indian corporation was given the concession to run much of the system,and renamed it Tanzania Railways Ltd., That didn't last long, the government regained control, but has kept the new name. And it has received some new power units: these two are Canadian via re-furbishment in Malaysia.
Needless to say, the vast majority of public transport travel is done by short haul minibuses, and ...
Monogoro's center is a German era clock tower and surrounding garden....
...whose condition and peacefulness is maintained by sturdy fencing.
Befitting a Regional Centre, shopping malls are slowing going up. This one is a history of its constrution phases, from early re-bar caging on the top, down to occupied retail spaces at street level.
Another example, this time residential, of the earlier and the new.
A shop with mosquito nets, and mattresses...
...a muddy field with a week end pop-up vendors' market.
Another language lesson, this time on the wall of a fish and meat store.
Time for lunch!
Not many foreigners drop in the Palm Garden Bar, so the manager, on right, and his friend, befriend them immediately.
Typical roadside restaurant, typical lunch: roasted chicken, beans, a starch, an uncertain commodity.
Being a major German railroad depot, Monogoro was involved in World War One. Casualties from both German and British Empire (personal from many of the British Colonies participated) forces are buried in this well maintained cemetery on the edge of town.
An unusually large, and formally laid out, residential front yard.
Plants grow with abundance in this climate, as seen in this roadside plant nursery.
Another lunch stop...
...in a shady courtyard...
...serving chicken curry with rice and instant coffee, or...
...a fresh salad and Sprite.
The Monogoro Hotel, conveniently located near the Gymkhana, ....
...is among the architecturally distinctive structures seen,...
...with dispersed courtyard housing units among lush landscape. Make it your home when visiting!
