Views of Mwanza and Driving

I've been slowly collecting city photographs over the past few weeks. Here is a collection of shots from our drive from Nyakato into Mwanza proper and some downtown Mwanza pictures as well... Mwanza is the 2nd largest city in Tanzania but the scenery just outside town changes from urban to rural very rapidly. Jeans to goat herds. Small "shops" are very common, such as where the man is sitting under the umbrella selling small wares. These may be fruit, small tools, or t-shirts. We also noticed a huge quantity of Coke brand (Coca Cola, Fanta, Dasani) ads, painted on buildings and homes, as sun umbrellas, and even painted on boulders jutting out of the hillside.

Most of the roads in Mwanza city are paved, with the obvious exception of "rough" street. Roads outside town, except the highway, are not paved. Apparently the Japanese paved these roads as a (successful) strategy of generating new customers for Japanese cars. However, people prefer to sweep and splash water on walked areas to keep the dust and debris down. People commonly walk alongside the highway as well as ride bicycles or push/pull carts. The traffic can move pretty fast when the road is empty but it can get very congested and people don't frown on passing using the opposite lane even in heavy traffic. People just kind of shift out of the way. Honking is not very common and angry yelling is even less so; almost never, actually. Driving LOOKS very hazardous but I have yet to see a single auto or pedestrian collision (knock on wood).

1) not REALLY from Texas...
2) View from the road just outside Mwanza city.

3) A look out of the back of our Land Rover onto Rough Street.

4) A typical store on the side of the road.

5) A view of the lake from Mwanza city, not far from the center.
6) The rice is drying on the side of the road in Mwanza suburbs. Lots of rice farming here.
7) Central roundabout in Mwanza. The "sick fish" fountain as Paula calls it.
8) A typical Coke stand. Lots of those.


9) A taxi stand in front of a secondary school. Way in the back, you can see the large brown building. This is Bugando Hospital.

10) My favorite children's store in the WORLD. Note it says "BABY" behind the thing with the ears... Oy.