I’m still in Kigoma, waiting for the ferry that should leave for Zambia on Wednesday (but I’ll disembark before crossing the border and stay in Tanzania for now). I want to go to Malawi first.

Kigoma is a nice place with great beaches (and the weather was very beach-compatible) but there’s not that much to do so after 10 days here I’m looking forward to move on.

I’m using OpenStreetMap data as my primary means of navigation. For backup and overview I also have paper maps. Those are mostly Reise Know-How world mapping project maps. The ones for Eastern Europe have been great, as has the Uganda one. The Tanzania maps has some errors, distances are sometimes off and the size of towns/villages listed (which is an important indicator for whether you’ll find accommodation there) is not always accurate.

But back to OpenStreetMap, here’s something I learned along the way and how I prepare the maps for my GPS device:

I’m in Kigoma now and I’ll be here for a while because the ferry I want to take to the southern end of Lake Tanganyika won’t leave before Wednesday next week.

After 2 weeks there I left Bukoba on Monday. I hope to be in Kigoma in about a week.

I liked staying in Bukoba once again (I think I have been here 6 or 7 times now). It was nice meeting old friends there and making some new ones.

I’m still far from able to have an elaborate conversation in Swahili but I feel confident about the basics (asking for accommodation, buying stuff, ordering food, bargaining). And I’ll get more practice every day now.

Here’s some pictures from Bukoba and a trip I took on Saturday to a nearby place where you can see ancient rock paintings.

While there’s a nice beach directly in Bukoba there are other ones in the surrounding area. Last Sunday we went to visit Maruku beach.

I’ve arrived in Tanzania yesterday and in Bukoba on the shore of Lake Victoria today.

The border crossing in Mutukula went really smooth, I did not even have to fill out forms like all the previous times I’ve been here. Maybe it’s a good idea to come on a Sunday. And it definitely helped to be on a bicycle, all the immigration officers were very helpful and interested in my travel plans.

I’m back on the road again. I returned from Hoima to Kampala with the bus (the bike stowed away in the back) because I was in a hurry to meet a friend who was about to fly to India.

I’ve arrived well in Hoima yesterday.

As I had some time (and pretty good mobile internet) today I’ve reorganized the map pages a bit. There are now 2 maps in the Route & Map section, displaying the African and European part of the routes I have cycled so far.

Then I’ve moved the planned route so a separate page and added some explanation on how the plan evolved.

I have completed the first two days of cycling in Uganda. The first day was from Kampala to Busunju, today I went to Kiboga. I hope to be in Hoima tomorrow.

I’ve arrived in Kampala, the capital of Uganda on Tuesday night. So I’m finally on the continent I was planning to cycle in the first place.