Go for the rich culture, go for the history, but please stay for the Pilau (spiced rice).
Bagamoyo is a picturesque fishing village on the Tanzanian coast line only 50 km away from Dar es Salaam which makes it the perfect getaway for anyone wishing to escape the busy metropolis. With a history dating back to the 8th century one can’t go wrong strolling around the narrow streets of this village. Bagamoyo also happen to house a restaurant serving the best Pilau in the country (according to me) so it’s definitely worth a visit.
My friends and I began our mini road trip just before noon and as we drove further out of Dar es Salaam we traded high rise buildings and glass panelled shopping malls for local markets and the smell of the salty ocean breeze. A mere 45 min later we had arrived at our destination and we were met by a young man who upon spotting us directed us to a small white building with a sign reading “tourist information”.
Drenched in sweat and with no working fans in the little building we used our hands to cool ourselves down as we listened to the enthusiastic guides options for tours. We decided to visit the Old Fort, the German cemetery, the Boma, the fish market and the arts market.
“Drenched in sweat and with no working fans in the little building we used our hands to cool ourselves down as we listened to the enthusiastic guides options for tours.”
The Old Fort
Our first stop was the Old Fort - a historical building dating back to the 17th century. With dark green moss covering the stone walls, the Fort looked like an abandoned castle forgotten by its previous Omani sheiks. As the guide led us through intricately carved wooden door frames he recited the stories hidden within the fort. We climbed the uneven staircase till we reached the top of the building and stepped out onto an open air rooftop with a 360 degrees view of the surrounding area.
We continued to the old German cemetery, a shaded resting place right by the beach formerly used by german soldiers and colonial settlers.
As we walked between the withered tombs I couldn’t help but wonder who those names had belonged to. What where their stories, how did they end up in Bagamoyo, did they know that they would never return to Germany? Those thoughts swivelled around my head as I watched some boys laughing and playing on a swing hung up on a tree.
Boma
From the cemetery we walked along the busy beach filled with dowry boats and fishermen until we reached the Boma. Built by the Germans in the late 19th century, the white building served as a state house and residence for the colonial governor. From the outside, the bare stone building did not look very spectacular. But walking through the 37 rooms was a whole other story. Behind every corner arabic style windows revealed rows and rows of white pillars and huge balconies fit for a royal palace. The girls and I spent ALOT of time taking pictures and filming snapchat videos there but luckily our guide was very patient with us. We were happy to hear that the historical building was being refurbished by the Tanzanian government to become a university.
Our next stop was the fish market, it was the polar opposite of the other sites we had visited so far; busy, noisy and smelly. Nonetheless, it was an experience that we loved. We saw hundreds of fishermen and local business men arriving and leaving the beach on dowry boats delivering goods between Bagamoyo and Zanzibar island. We also saw relics of the historic slave trade mounted in the sand like steal ghosts. Captured people had been chained to those steel beams as they awaited their fate as slaves on Zanzibar or other foreign lands.
We also visited the arts market and I must say that even though I never shop at these types of places I did find an abstract black and white painting of two Maasai warriors which I became quite fond of. My friends also bought paintings from the same artist and we couldn’t have been more happy with our purchase. Bagamoyo is home to the countries most renowned arts college so their market has high quality art in a wide variety of styles.
By the time we left the arts market, our one and a half hour tour ended up being four hours long! We were starving to say the least. So we tipped our guide and headed over to Poa Poa restaurant- my all time favourite restaurant in Bagamoyo. While sipping on the most delicious mango juice and taking in the beauty of the very instagramable alleyway outside the restaurant, we ordered a prawn pizza and pilau with fish. After a good 45 min or more we finally received our food.
Note: Everything, including food establishments operate on Swahili time in Tanzania, so instead of getting annoyed I suggest you go with the flow and enjoy the slow pace of time.
The food did not disappoint. As usual the pilau and prawn pizza at Poa Poa were delicious and I had yet again initiated new members into the pilau club. My friends loved it! After our bellies were full we rolled our way over to the Firefly lodge to chill by their pool and let the sights of the day sink in. Filled with plants and local Swahili art, the Firefly is a bohemian oasis tucked inside a refurbished historical stone building perfect for a chill afternoon. As we sat on colourful pillows under the shade of palm trees sipping on passion fruit drinks, I couldn’t help but feel complete bliss to have been able to show the beauty of Bagamoyo and scrumptiousness of pilau to my childhood friends. It was the perfect Bagamoyo Dream.
Cost of tour: To see the sites described in the article the local price was 2000 tsh/person and the tourist price was 20,000 tsh/person. We also opted to get a guided tour which cost 40,000 ths per group.
How to get there: Dala dala (local minibus). Costs 2000 tsh/person one way from Dar es Salaam. From the Bagamoyo bus station one can easily grab a tuk tuk or motorcycle for a few thousand shillings to get to one of the sites.
Taxi: 70,000 tsh one way
Uber: 35,000 tsh one way (but prices fluctuate depending on demand for rides).
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