Thursday 12th of June: The Dar Es Salaam fish market

After meeting with the French Embassy, we had a few hours to kill so Kapembe and Mama Bakhita took me to the fish market, which is a main attraction in Dar Es Salaam.
It was fascinating. We walked through the market encountering a bidding war to buy sharks that were laying on the ground, freshly killed. I walked by women cleaning the fish out, a man cutting through a manta ray, another stall selling a small flat type of shark I have never seen before. In the middle of the market, there is a canteen for the fishermen with smoke bellowing out of big pots and women cooking. A few workers sitting down to eat asked me to take their picture and were very friendly. A few stalls a man was selling tiny smoked fish and cooking them too. Mama Bakhita bought some and snaked her way through them. We kept walking to the other side of the market where they sell shells from the coral reef (amazing looking but illegal), and also spices. Of course, I bought some more cinnamon and cardamom… And off we went back into the Dar heat, dust and traffic to our next appointment.