Day 116: Mwagilia Mowo (nearby Singida) – Foresight Eco Lodge and Campsite (Ngorongoro)

We wake up early and, after a quick breakfast, quickly head out of the field.

While yesterday the landscape was rather flat, today it becomes somewhat hilly and greener, but then returns to savannah with some farmland. It becomes drier, and in the distance we see the shimmering, probably partly dry Lake Manyara. And far in the distance, we glimpse mountain ranges in the haze.

We can't say exactly why Tanzania seems more backward than Uganda and Rwanda. It's probably a mixture of impressions: donkey carts, tuk-tuks, bad roads, somewhat carelessly constructed houses without any "frills," lots of garbage, lots of people who seem to have nothing to do, and drinking water that's being lugged in from far away.

But we also see the construction sites of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Total Energies) from Lake Albert in Uganda through Tanzania to the Indian Ocean. When completed, it will be the world's longest heated pipeline, at 1,443 km.

We see several gold mines and a number of small chemical plants.

And we see a lot of police, but we're only waved over once. What follows is a long discussion, because we're pretty sure we weren't driving 71 km/h, as we had stopped for a photo shortly before. In short: After a long and heated discussion and a verbal acknowledgment of our guilt, we're allowed to continue driving without paying.

In Karatu, we want to restock on a few small items (water, biscuits, bread, yogurt), but are asked to pay over 35 euros for them. A rip-off. We're so fed up that we're leaving. All this can wait a while.

On the last stretch of the road, we encounter more and more Masai with their herds and "packs" of Land Cruisers in all shades of safari beige. A tourism hot spot.

The Foresight Eco Lodge and Campsite is a wonderful place. We're greeted with a singing performance by the team. Beautifully landscaped, surrounded by farmland, the lodge supports the neighboring elementary school with its profits. We're happy to pay $15 per person for a delicious dinner and $5 per person for a good breakfast. The pitch itself costs $10 per person per night, which is exactly what the swindler wanted yesterday.