Day 018: A national outdoor museum was initiated in Dar el Salaam in 1961. Makumbusho now highlights a number of traditional home construction from various regions in Tanzania. The colonial-drawn boundaries have never matched up with geographic regions nor ethnic groupings. The country varies from seaside villages to homes on the slopes of Kilimanjaro with a permanent cap of snow throughout the year. We saw around 20 or 30 examples from different parts of the country.
Jay and I got a tuk-tuk, called a Bajaj for the Indian manufacturer here in the city. It took around 20 minutes to get to the area by our hotel. We witnessed the construction that will eventually be a metro-line as we drove. That area is growing rapidly with a lot of new buildings.
We came back for a late lunch at the hotel and rested until after 5:00 pm. We'd seen Coco Beach on the map and read it was a common place for the locals to go on the weekend.
We got another Bajaj and were dropped off at the area by the sea. It also took around 20 minutes over the Tanzanite Bridge with its large gem imitation above the structure's center. I am pretty sure the new road in that area is called Barak Obama Drive. The beach was large but not overly impressive. We had a bit of trouble hailing a return Bajaj to come back after it was dark. However, the driver dropped us right at the door of our hotel for 10,000 shillings.
It seemed like a full day. The weather gets pretty hot during the day due to the humidity. One's shirt can only be worn once without a quick wash. The evening are pretty comfortable.