Blue collar chicken

 

Classic relatively make shift fried chicken stand

 

Cooked food availability can reveal a lot about a countries general economy. One example is examining the economics of chicken in a small village in Rufiji. There are several food options available in the village but only one specialized fried chicken place. They have a basic set up with two massive wok style charcoal powered frying station, a "display case", and then a food prep and serving area. They fry a bunch of chips before the chicken and put them in the display box. They also have the chickens, which are not local but rather the kigeni (foreign) type, which is a treat. 

The breast is the most expensive at 2,500 tsh ($1.07) a piece. Next comes the leg and thigh at 2,000 tsh (86 cents) a piece. The neck is pre-fried due to the demand. The neck is 800 tsh (34 cents) while the head and feet are combined into a two-for-one 500 tsh (21 cents). Take a closer look at how they package the head and feet combo; gnarly! I spent a significant amount of time loitering around this stand over the course of a week. I observed the head/feet combos sell out the fastest, followed by the neck. There are a few customers that order the larger pieces, mainly people ordering them from their shop and having a runner deliver the food to them.

The place is not the most hygienic with all the mixing of the raw meat with the prepared meat. This is less of an issue for the breast and thigh as they are prepared immediately on a piece of wood. It's difficult for a country like Tanzania to balance regulation and enterprise as most of these businesses have very little capital and extremely thin margins. There are also more permanent structures and restaurants that also serve fried chicken though there is also no promise of hygiene standards being enforced!

Full display of the product. Note the piece of wood in the upper left corner is used as a cutting board.

A little grotesque how they package the feet and head but it does seem practical.

Chole Island

Uh, pretty nice sunset!

I was excited to stay on a smaller island to the east of Mafia called Chole Island. There is a small locally owned place at the southern tip of the tiny island. My expectations were very low as the place looked pretty basic but given that we had already done a ton of activities we thought it might be a nice quiet place to kick back. 

Our arrival was dictated by the tides as we could only cross at high tide. The lodge is tucked within mangroves and the water level at high tide is some of the best that we've seen for swimming in the Indian Ocean (notorious for dramatic tide swings). We were quite pleased with the basic set up and even better, we were the only guests. There appeared to be only two other rooms for guests and all had a beautiful view of the west. 

The location is an absolute hidden gem. Sunsets were jaw-dropping (with bats over the water taboot), the water level near to high tide was suitable for swimming, and the area was extremely peaceful. True, the accommodation was very basic, but it was totally fine. There was no need for air conditioning and the solar power system could manage a fan at night. The breakfast and lunch were lacking but the fresh seafood dinner was among the best seafood I have ever had! 

We enjoyed a few days on Chole and we lucked out with the tides in the morning and evening. This meant we could do plenty of swimming and we ended up not going on any excursions which was relaxing given the relaxing environs. 

Low tide looking for critters

 

Seychelles fruit bat on Mafia Island

 

A total random and unexpected wildlife experience was staying on Chole Island, enjoying the sunset, when suddenly massive fruit bats began to fly towards us having come from across the bay. They ended up being Seychelles fruit bat or Seychelles flying fox (Pteropus seychellensis) and they were coming to the island to feed on the flowers of the Baobab trees. We were excited to follow them to a flowering tree and watch them crawl around the trees feasting on the nectar. 

It was funny because when we arrived at the hotel, the proprietor told us that there were nine different types of bats on the island. As the sunset we began to see some small bats and thought there were probably several species of the small ones. So we were shocked when we saw the gigantic ones coming over the ocean. I think we were also pretty lucky to have the trees flowering now giving the bats an ample food source.

Mafia Island: Snorkeling in Chole Bay

 

A look out into the waters, very inviting!

 

Snorkeling in Mafia Island is the best I have experienced in Tanzania. One of the more popular places is Chole Bay. Chole Bay is within Mafia Island Marine Park a short boat ride away from the mainland. There are a series of rock islands and reefs at the mouth of the bay that make for fantastic snorkeling. The reefs are healthy and there is a nice current that provides a kind of underwater moving walkway. 

We ended up snorkeling in two different spots and at the second spot we were lucky enough to see a sea turtle. It was swimming along the surface and taking in some air but was not thrilled at our presence. It went down to the bottom of the ocean and swam away but we got to view it as it glided away.

Whale sharks in Mafia Island

 

Looming below...

The first time I went to Mafia (Trip I) I had an amazing time swimming with the whale sharks. They had not been the primary motivation for the trip so I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. However, the weather during my previous trip was generally rainy and cloudy and my other half did not travel with me and as a result I was looking forward to another trip.

Overall the whale shark viewing experience in Mafia Island is very well run. We were out on the water by 730am and there were not very many boats. At the peak I think there were probably five total boats with each carrying around six people. I think there some level of communication and coordination between the lodges in an effort to consolidate all the guests into fewer boats. I was also surprised at how few people actually swam alongside the whale sharks. Our guides dropped us in perfect position but many people seemed to be either weak swimmers or unfamiliar with the snorkel gear. As a result they still would have gotten an intimate view when the whale sharks passed but I think swimming alongside them is ideal. I was not complaining as I in the end had the whale sharks nearly all to myself!

We were lucky to see a few individuals, including one very large one around. There were some views in rather murky water while other sightings were in shallower water with better visibility. Our guys did an awesome job of dropping us in the path of the whale sharks and we even had some nice views of them coming to the top of the water to feed. It's such a nice activity though we were really lucky to have such great sightings.