7 Tandala

From Songea we drove to Tandala, thanks to Mr Nandi who lent us the use of his college car again. For the first couple of hours to Njombe, the road was good. We were silent, nodding off occasionally, observing the passing of the gorgeous scenery. We stopped in Njombe for lunch and to see if Juanito's phone had been found in the cafe where we ate before, unfortunately the staff hadn't seen it. The cafe was quite small but filled with five round tables, with between 4 and 5 chairs each one, and a few people already eating. After ordering we each go up to wash our hands at the basin, squeezing through the tiny gaps between tables. Lunch comes to each individual as their order is ready, so the plain rice and meat the driver orders is almost immediate, as that seems to be already the main dish that people order and so a large amount is already prepared. This is followed with pilau rice and meat for Juanito, then chips and chicken for Carla, my chipsi mayai, then Wim's chicken curry, and so everyone finishes eating at different times so we take time to observe the people and staff around us. One of the waitresses is called Witness, who serves with another young female and a young male, and they are all very polite and quick to serve. Their English is mixed, but Witness speaks the best, and so she likes to converse a little.

After lunch we resume our journey and soon after Njombe we turn left onto a dirt track, heading for Tandala. It is dirt track almost all the way. The road and sides of the road are a rusty coloured orange, with the dust coating everything. As the occasional car or bus passes us in the other direction, we drive into a fog of orange cloud before it clears and we can see the road again. There are some houses by the roadside, set back maybe 10 metres or so, a few clustered together, sometimes a sign indicating the sale of phone vouchers or Pepsi. There are a few stacks of planed wood ready for construction, although it isn't clear whether they have been deposited there in anticipation of building something or if preparing this wood is the local employment and the stacks are awaiting collection. After about an hour the road begins to wind uphill and we stop to look at the view, which is literally breathtaking. The mountains, fields, trees and the valley below are just beautiful. The colours are in such contrast with each other: the orange of the road, the different greens of the fields and trees, the bright blue sky. A photo does not do it justice.

We reach Tandala and drive to the TTC where we are met by the Principal and Vice Principal. We drive a short distance to the hostel where we will be staying, and as we unload the luggage we are amazed to see it covered in orange dust! Upon subsequent examination we find our clothes, hands and faces are also covered in this dust! This sets the trend to follow our stay in Tandala. Blue jeans become rusty orange-coloured within minutes of walking, and feet - even inside shoes - are just covered in this fine dust. It's so soft to touch it feels silky, and is more powdery than icing sugar.

It is interesting to note the change in the air here: while walking you become easily breathless, and if you stop to feel the air as you breathe it in, it feels lighter, cleaner, definitely thinner. It is also quite full of dust, and you need to drink water and apply lip balm more regularly than usual.

In church this morning where we greeted the locals, it was also interesting to observe the people and see how they dress. Some wore the kanga and kitenge, and most wore western clothes, some of which was badly fitting. But on the whole, the clothes were clean, and the people were very presentable. That must be a huge achievement in this dusty environment. The service itself was inspiring, with the feeling of being led in worship when the vicar turned around to kneel at the altar and led some of the prayers from there. There were many references to various parts of the bible, with people flicking back and forth, not just 2 readings and then put it back down. You got the impression they really knew what the bible said.