during our drive to the train station, the taxi broke down. We then switched to a Bajaj and the driver got lost. We got to the train station late, but managed to get on our first class sleeper train. The train was pretty disappointing with a hole in the floor for the toilet. We made it halfway to our destination, then they stopped at a station in Mlimba and disembarked everyone, telling us that the freight train in front of us had crashed (no additional explanation other than it would take three days before our train would be able to continue on)
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We were in a town that did not have any taxis so the stationmaster found somebody with a car that we could hire to take us to Iringa, where we could hopefully get a flight back to Dar Es Salaam.
Our drive to Iringa (180 km) was supposed to take five hours. The Toyota Prada SUV started smelling like gas when we were going up and down hills. I told Kate to be ready to jump out in case the vehicle caught on fire. After about two hours, the gas smell went away. I theorized that there was a hole on the top of the tank and that after we had used up some of the gas, it stopped spilling out the top. We then had a flat tire.
We arrived at the Iringa airport six hours after we had left Mlimba. Once there we found out the flight had been canceled.
Other than snacks, we have not eaten since yesterday afternoon. And I am writing this while we are waiting for dinner in a hotel in Iringa.