Pole to Pole

Day 104: Kigoma

Day of rest and recuperation at the hotel. I have fixed the cistern by jamming a lavatory brush beneath the ballcock. Examine myself in the mirror (Serial Number TRC HOT GM NM 024) to see whether three and a half months of travel have left any damage. I gaze into dull, weary eyes set in sun-reddened features. A bleached immobility of expression. I look like a survivor from some awful natural disaster. Laugh at the thought, and only then do I recognize something of myself.

At breakfast - omelette, chips and sliced white bread - the manager apologizes for the lack of facilities. 'We have hot-water boilers and supply all ready, but no one comes to fit them . . . ' He rubs a handkerchief across his face and shakes his head. 'They are simply standing in waste.'

A few African horror stories with our omelettes . . . Craig tells us that in his opinion electric shocks are the best cure for snake bites. He recounts the story of someone whose life was saved after a bite - from 'some sort of cobra' - when he was wired up to an outboard motor.

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PALIN'S GUIDES

Series: Pole to Pole
Day: 104
Country/sea: Tanzania
Place: Kigoma
Book page no: 233

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