Bagamoyo

A public holiday outing with friends Adam and Jay to the historic town of Bagamoyo, which I have long wanted to visit, around one hour north of Dar es Salaam. It would normally be around an hour if we hadn’t left late and if the traffic hadn’t been crawling painfully. It was practically 5pm and raining heavily by the time we arrived so we darted for food by the beach as the wet weather hung in the air like a damp cloth.

Afterwards we managed a sunset stroll on the beach through the old centre. Bagamoyo is known for its involvement in the slave trade between Africa and Arabia, its role as an ancient port and its status as the capital of German East Africa until Imperial Germany was ousted by its defeat in the First World War.

Although it was getting late, we tried to explore the ruins of the historic centre. The deserted Old German Boma (which translates as stockade or fort and is now most commonly used to describe livestock enclosures) has been restored and we explored it in darkness. It was atmospheric and our appetites were whetted to return for a proper visit.