Last day in Tanzania

Saturday 25th July Another nearly sleepless night – the nearby pub again! We got up shortly after six. Unfortunately I knocked my glasses onto the floor when getting my towel off the towel rail where I'd hung them up, it being the only dry spot in the bathroom. It chipped a piece off the top of each lens, but they were still usable.
We were disappointed by the complimentary breakfast: a toasted sandwich and a cup of coffee or tea – she brought us hot water for a second cup, then took the sachets away! I think you weren't really supposed to have two cups!
We repacked our bags leaving out the guys’ gear as well as the peanuts, rice & dried native veges that had been given, then the Michaels turned up at 8.30.
Little Michael had woken big Michael up at 6, wanting to visit mama (me), but was told I might be still asleep!
As they hadn't had breakfast and we were still hungry and thirsty, we decided to breakfast somewhere else, it was far too expensive at the guest house. One of the neighbouring houses was serving breakfast in a little opened-up room and also outside, so we sat on stools and had refreshments: 4 teas, 4 chapattis, 3 maandazi for 1,250 Tsh! Compare this to the price of having one cup of tea at the guest house = 1,000 Tsh!
After going back to our room, we took our bags to the office and started to walk to Michael’s with his bags. He was very sad we weren’t going to take the peanuts, and I felt bad knowing how much hard work had been done, but we had tried to explain a couple of days earlier that such gifts are not advisable due to NZ regulations. Bruce said Michael could start up a small business selling them to other students, he thought it’d be fun but better if he could cook them first, but so far he hasn't bought any cooking or eating things. He’s still eating with his former landlord.
It was an interesting walk through streets lined with small dukas outside and between the houses. We passed through a narrow alleyway (not for fat people!), walked down a grassy hill, and crossed the deep, narrow, smelly drain at the bottom. It's nearly choked with rubbish. Michael's little room is on a lower level past some other houses, you have to climb over a wall that has stones set in it, and then go down past a row of little rooms to reach his at the end, near the thatched bafu & choo. It's very clean & tidy but not very big. He hopes to squeeze in a couple of chairs, and buy a cooker & cooking/eating utensils soon. He paid 140,000 for the year's rent, and an extra 10,000 Tsh get it re-plastered/whitewashed inside. He missed out on a much cheaper (only 40,000 a year ($50)) and nicer room in an apartment block nearer his school, originally built for government workers. His bed cost 60,000 Tsh then he had to buy a mattress, a mosquito net & water containers as well.
We went for a good walk back to the main road to go to the university internet building – what a fast connection - well, once I got a different computer, the first had a problem!
Then we went to a large complex that housed banks, fancy shops and a Forex, however, no-one was willing to change our traveller’s cheques. AT least there was an ATM so we used the Visa card instead, and also changed our large USD notes at the Forex into smaller ones to use at the airport - we'd been told there would be departure tax, but there wasn’t!
On the way back to the guest house, we stopped to buy ice blocks from a roadside vendor – most refreshing, as Dar was very hot & windy. We went to a cheap restaurant for lunch - HUGE platefuls of food, including very nice chips + a yummy salad of tomatoes, onion & cucumber.
As it was now after 1 p.m., we went to pick up our bags and head for the airport. We had a ½ hour walk to the main daladala stand, otherwise we'd have had to have taken two, and it gave another opportunity to chat. You had to watch out for cars using the pavement as a road to get past all the traffic jams, plenty of those! In the daladala, at one point it took twenty minutes to advance just two hundred metres!
We got to the airport bang on time, but were disappointed to find that, like Nairobi, passengers are screened on entry so other people are excluded. My hopes of a proper farewell were dashed, we had to say goodbye very quickly before disappearing out of sight. If we’d got there a little earlier or known the layout, we could have stopped in the gardens in front of the airport, taken a group photo, prayed for each other, & had a proper hug. I had also wanted an opportunity to say some encouraging words before leaving Michael again.
We gave him most of the money we’d got out of the ATM (apart from the cost of our accommodation & lunch), hoping no-one bad saw & would mug him on his way home, before saying a quick goodbye. I managed to slip in a quick hug, but Bruce had already gone on ahead!
It's a strange airport, there are only a few shops, a cafe and a restaurant in the lounge. There also were only two or three boarding lounges.
The boarding procedure took us by surprised, we heard our flight being called so went into the lounge and wondered why there was a group of people crowding round a desk near the entrance but no desks near the exit as there usually are. We almost went to sit down, but I looked at the time and thought it was too close to departure time. We decided to investigate the desk, which was now not chokka with people, and saw there were two girls, one checking passports and boarding passes, the other ticking names off the list. You then just walk outside onto the tarmac, get directed to the appropriate aircraft & climb on board using the aircraft's stairs!