You cannot keep me from my annual post-Christmas shopping excursion. Granted, it was one day delayed to December 27, but I did not let this little detail stand in the way of my cheap tendency and my motivation to shop! We went to a number of arts and crafts shops where I purchased this beautiful pink soap-stone carving and some traditional paper necklaces.
We met up with Taya and a number of her friends and went for a typically Tanzanian breakfast – at the tea shops. The tea shops in downtown Dar are an institution because they serve tea and all sorts of fried goodness including samosas, pakoras, chapathis, rotis etc. There is one photo of the case of goodies with the sign “A Tea Room” on top. This was by no means the Russian Tea Room in NY and it made no pretense of being anything similar, but I thought the sign was funny for the stark contrast to the NY institution. After feasting on the fried goodness, we walked towards the Karikoo market with the hopes of doing some last minute retail therapy and work off the effects of the fried goodness from the tea room. The Karikoo Market is in this large warehouse type building with a number of stalls selling all types of goods from woven baskets to textiles to bicycles to wheel barrows. While I did not buy anything, I always love visiting markets because it gives you such a sense of the local community and local practices! From there, I caught a taxi back home, packed my bags, wished Cristiano and Roanna a fond farewell, and made my way to the airport for my flight back to Addis! With that my Tanzanian adventure had come to an end leaving me with a series of fond memories, fun pictures, good friends and a strong desire to visit this country again. Tanzania – truly one of a kind!
