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Before departing for East Africa, I purchased a Nikon D90. I had wanted to experiment with a digital SLR for a long, long time, and the trip was the tipping point for me. I only had a few weeks to learn the basics (how to focus, the different shooting modes), and I still had almost no idea how to use the thing when I arrived in Kenya. Nevertheless, after 30 days I had taken some 3000 photos. Most were crap, or alternate exposures, different compositions, etc. When it’s all said and done, after editing and deleting the bad ones, I’ve got about 1500 photos from the trip. They won’t win any awards, or even come close to what a real photographer would produce, but I think they do a good job of documenting the experience.

I cannot say enough good things about the D90. It’s a wonderful camera, and very, very easy to learn the ins-and-outs of it. Today I purchased a 50mm lens for use around town. The 18 – 200mm zoom lens I used in Tanzania was great for safari and touring the countryside, but it’s a bit heavy and bulky for everyday walking around. Also essential was the Nikon lens pen, and the Zing case (hat tip to Craig for that one).

Flickr sets:

• Visiting Mary in Mombasa – my pre-CSC travels to Mombasa to visit my friend Mary.
• Safari – the team took a three day safari in Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire Park.
• Team photos and sights around Arusha and the Institute
• Visit to Arusha Primary School – the team visted the school and talked to the students one morning
• Around the IAA campus – photos I took to help them with some marketing materials, and to document the campus
• Trip into the Mangola bush – Abarani, Bakiri, me, and other took a day trip to visit a bush village near Mangola.
• Zanzibar – After I left Arusha, I spent three days by myself on Zanzibar, an island off the coast in the Indian Ocean. I explored Stone Town, Nungwi Beach, and a local spice plantation.
• Visit to Karim Childrens Centre – the team visited an orphanage in Arusha to meet and play with the 11 children there. They stole our hearts.
• Trip to Dar Es Salaam with IAA – the IT staff of the Institute of Accountancy Arusha took a three-day field trip to Dar Es Salaam. I tagged along for the fun.

And a slideshow of the highlights:

Between the frantic bustle of overloaded dala dalas (minibusses) and burly 4×4s shuffling batches of tourists off on safari move a eclectic mix of bicycles, filling the transportation gap for a large majority of the population here in Tanzania. The small, nimble bicyclists fight drivers and pedestrians for space on congested streets. The bicycles are usually loaded with a passenger on the back (one ride is a few hundred shillings, or $0.25) or a bunch of bananas on the way to market. The roadside is full of cycles repair shops where you’ll see men (always men, never women) fixing flats or truing wheels. It’s certainly no Amsterdam — riders are at the bottom of the road food chain. Accidents are common, as the riders must jockey for position between exhaust-spewing cargo trucks and men pulling carts overloaded with sisal and bags of cement.

Most of the bicycles in Tanzania, like the automobiles, are imported from China. They are heavy, up-right city cruisers with beefy 26″ wheels and thick tires, a requirement for the often potholed, uneven roads in the city. Riders will decorate their machines with tassels or bright-colored fabric trailing from the seat post. All bicycles have full fenders and mudflaps.

In Dar Es Salaam, I noticed a large number of tricycles, usually with a meter-long platform on the back. These vehicles were always manned by at least two people: one to pedal, and one to help push it up steep hills. Very few of the cycles here have multiple gears, and when they do, the derailleurs are often broken or full of dirt.

I have seen a handful of road bikes in the month that I’ve been here. One early Sunday morning I spotted a group of five or six riders decked out in full kit with older European road bikes. Perhaps they were discussing starting the Arusha Critical Mass?

Hard to believe that my time here in Arusha is almost complete. Today is the last day of real work; tomorrow is dedicated to presentations, handshakes (the cornerstone of Tanzanian business dealings), and goodbyes. Friday is a national holiday. The team leaves on Saturday at various times to go back to their homelands. I’m staying in Arusha for the weekend to visit Mangola, a local village near Karatu, and tour a friend’s uncle’s coffee plantation. Next week I’ll head to Zanzibar for a few days, then it’s back to the States on Thursday, with a pit-stop in London.

I’m happy with what we’ve been able to acheieve as a team here, and I’m very happy with what I was able to accomplish by myself. It’ll be tough not having our daily team dinners and card sessions, or to hear Bakiri’s piercing laugh, or almost being blindsided by a speeding dala dala, but I think we’ll manage.

Dar Es Salaam: hot, crowded, congested, brash, poor, dirty, lively, overwhelming, vibrant, humid, alive.