Tanzania has a multi-ethnic and multi-racial population that practices a wide variety of traditions and customs. In Mikindani, the influence of Shirazi Arabs from Persia and traders from the Indian subcontinent combined with the movement and mixture of different ethnic African groups have complemented each other to form a rich cultural heritage. This is something that is not always evident as people go about their daily tasks with invidious alacrity, but on joyous or sorrowful occasions such as weddings and funerals one realises how deep and fascinating the culture here actually is.

One of the most significant differences to European culture is how the concept of extended families and kinship works to benefit the people of Mikindani. It is common to find people living with and depending upon distant relations (“this is my brother’s wife’s uncle etc.), and kin ties through ones parents or by marriage appear to define one's rights, obligations, and opportunities. For example, educated members of the extended family are frequently held responsible for the education and welfare of younger siblings. This concept is a source of strength for the people of Mikindani, and provides a sense of belonging and togetherness that is lacking in our own society.

It is often the case that, in the face of a limited presence of science and technology, an individual person in Africa cannot achieve much without enlisting the support and efforts of others. In most aspects of Mikindani life, the role of men and women is vastly different. There is a clear and ingrained streak of gender inequality, which has dampened the potential, but definitely not the spirits, of the younger women here. Despite this, women remain by far the more jovial and animated members of the community, going about things with a grace, good humour, vigour and vitality that says much about the way in which they share their tasks.

At home, the women work so smoothly and quietly that when you are around, you sometimes wonder how water had arrived, the fire was started, or how the food materialised. Regardless of religion, it is rare to see men and women walking together, and almost non-existent to see a couple holding hands or making displays of affection.

Walking around the dusty back streets of Mikindani, it is possible to see groups of old men playing bao, women plaiting each others hair and younger girls skipping with a piece of twine. It is, however, the talking, shouting and singing that catches my attention. A typical Swahili conversation begins with multiple greetings followed by general banter; often these discourses are held purely for enjoyment rather than purpose. Here, talk, as pure entertainment is the equivalent of the Western vices of television and games consoles.

In Swahili society, much of the knowledge is shared and passed down to descendants encoded in stories, poetry and songs. This is the literature, art, law and science of Mikindani; the libraries and museums are in peoples’ heads. The Swahili language has proven to be a unifying factor in Tanzania, uniting more than one hundred different ethnic groups and forging a common identity. There is, however, a second language spoken in Mikindani – the tribal dialect of Kimakonde. The Makonde people represent one of the five largest ethnic groups in Tanzania, with a population of around one million. The tribe originated in Northern Mozambique, from where people migrated to the higher lands of the Makonde plateau (120km inland from Mikindani).

Many people in Mikindani still use Makonde, and the Makonde culture remains an enormous influence upon the traditions, customs and lifestyles of much of the local population. It is, however, their excellent woodcarvings for which the Makonde are internationally renowned. The skill is passed through the generations from father to son and some carvings provide an insight into the culture of the artists. Inland, many Makonde still practice their traditional religion even though they have been in contact with Muslim traders for hundreds of years. Their religion centres around the veneration of their ancestors, which ties in with the family tree carvings that depict the older generation on the bottom symbolically supporting later generations.

Today, the culture of Mikindani is changing faster than ever. Western influences upon such things as fashion and music are increasingly obvious. In particular, many young men are frustrated, it seems, with the limitations of their grandparents’ culture. The poverty trap and the phenomenon of Americanisation have hit each other head on. Younger children whose parents can barely even afford to buy them a pair of flip-flops draw global brands such as the Nike tick on the walls and doors of houses. Despite this, there is still a strong bond between the people and their cultural heritage; hopefully, as living standards improve and development takes place, that will always remain the same

The UK charity Trade Aid was founded in 1996 by a group of people headed by Brian Currie, a Salisbury businessman. The aim of the charity it to create sustainable employment in a village called Mikindani, a deprived and desperately poor part of Tanzania. The first phase of the project is complete – the renovation of a badly decayed but very beautiful German fort, situated on the side of a hill and overlooking the spectacular Mikindani Lagoon. The Boma, as it is called is now open as a 6 bedroom, country-house hotel. All the staff are Tanzanian nationals and most are local people from Mikindani and Mtwara, the local town. All of the rooms have been lovingly decorated and fitted out by local craftsmen. It’s an easy flight down to the south of Tanzania from Dar es Salaam, and the Beetle can vouch for the hospitality and effort that has gone into creating and running the Boma.

For more information on the work carried out by Trade Aid in Tanzania, see their website www.mikindani.com

As a result of the item about place names, Tom from N. Carolina wrote in to add: in the US state of Georgia we have Cairo, Athens & Rome. There is also Moscow in the state of Idaho; Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Frankfort, Kentucky and Odessa, Texas. The state of Connecticut has a bunch of place names reminiscent of England – Norwich, Devon, Stratford, Manchester, Windsor Locks, New London, etc.

Crystal from California wrote in to say: “isn't the joke about Simpsons that they called the town Springfield because there's one in every state? That's the rumour, anyway. Anyone know if there is some truth about this?”

Kim from Massachusetts also spotted Moscow, Russia and Moscow, Idaho and Moscow, Vermont.

Doug from Maine e-mailed the Beetle to say that although he lived for 11 years in London, he and his family now live Maine, topmost on the east coast of the USA. Doug goes on to say that Maine residents came from all over the world over the last 3 centuries, primarily from Europe. Many of those first immigrants liked to name their new homes after their previous homes in the “Old Country.” (Many, many came from Britain and we have too many British town names to mention here.) Some of the more interesting names of Maine towns include:

Carthage Orient, China, Paris, Lebanon, Peru, Levant, Poland, Madrid, Rome, Mexico, Smyrna, Moscow, Sweden, Naples, Troy, Norway, Vienna.

Many thanks to all of those who wrote in.

Scotland's first long distance walk, The West Highland Way, is 152km (95 miles) long and links Milngavie (north of Glasgow) to Fort William. It takes walkers along the shores of the country's largest freshwater loch, Loch Lomond, and on passed the foot of its highest mountain, Ben Nevis. What follows is a look how at how two new walkers got on through one particular day in June 2003…

A day’s hard walk along the West Highland Way ran ahead of us. From the Kingshouse Hotel lay 18 miles of military built roads, graveled tracks and rocky footsteps as our trail crossed Rannoch Moor and wound its way onto Tyndrum. Alan and I edged nervously out of the warmth and noticed that the darkly shrouded Buachaille Etive Mór seemed to regard our departure with disdain and scepticism. The reason probably lay in the near horizontal rain that drove hard at our fellow walkers, and us, as we made slow progress over the shoulders of early hills.

The weather used many tactics in its onslaught that day – from rain clouds swooping down from the high peaks of the Glencoe/Grampian mountains through to swirling winds and persistent downpours. Our quality clothing and boots struggled vainly to protect us from the worst but the unremitting nature of the elements soon ground down our resistance! The only respite came and went if the old military road changed direction out of the wind or if a forest plantation shielded our steps.

Strangely, this battering and the never-ending numbers of switchback turnings never caused me to want to stop – enough was never enough! Before this holiday I never knew I had it in me to enjoy such experiences. A large part of this was down to Alan’s brilliant idea of using a luggage transfer service – apologies to the many walking purists, but this choice seemed to liberate our efforts and we were able to enjoy the walk for walking’s sake. Another help was that forest plantations allowed us take breaks when we needed to – previously I would have cursed at these eyesores on Scotland’s landscapes but now the relative shelter allowed us to recharge our batteries and watch the countless stream of north to south human traffic pass us by. In some ways I got so accustomed to the day’s weather patterns that if we caught ourselves enjoying a respite and maybe the sun nearly breaking through, we knew we were probably due to receive a severe soaking within minutes!

And yet despite the weather dominating our day, there was still plenty to notice and marvel at. Rannoch Moor is a patchwork of grasses, wild flowers, granite, gushing streams and rugged settings. The professional road building efforts of Wade and Caulfield lifted our trail across bridges and allowed the downpour to drain off into nearby lochans. Foxglove, rhododendrons, buttercups and daises flourished where the suggestion of clinging on for dear life was the order of the day. Whilst I’m not much of an ornithologist, Alan was more than happy with his day’s bird watching – our tramping disturbed many a skylark and further down the way he was surprised to come across the pitched cheeping of an Oyster Catcher.

Comparatively, the day’s route was far easier going than the mountain walks of Glen Nevis down to Kingshouse and as such we made startlingly good progress to the halfway point at Victoria Bridge. We had covered almost 10 miles in 3 hours or so, which was well above my expected average of 2 miles an hour. Nonetheless the warmth of coffee and a glass of Macallan at the Inveroran Hotel did much to ready us for the struggle of the second half of the day, particularly up the contours of Mam Carraigh. My faltering steps were eventually rewarded with the descent into the Bridge of Orchy, where a sturdy military bridge has stood dominating the scenery for over 200 years. What really caught my eye though was the simplicity of the River Orchy flowing past all manner of colour from its merging with the Allt Kinglass river – the yellow gorse, green pines and red poppies all enhanced the location’s contemplative worth.

Away down the Way our trail crossed back and forth across the train tracks of the West Highland Railway, as we traversed our final valley into Tyndrum. As this valley narrowed considerably and the railway, our path and the main trunk road (A82) all sought the easiest route through it. However the stern munros (little mountains – Beetle) of Beinn Dorain and Beinn Odhar hampered all, and our weary efforts over the last 6.5 miles slowed as the day’s weariness compounded into our legs and another gusting wind met us head on. Even surly Highland Cattle seemed nonplussed at our presence and the fell runners who appeared from nowhere strode past us with an enviable ease.

Finally the last of these 18 miles were left behind and Tyndrum drew us into its warmth and left us to reflect on how and why we had enjoyed such a day.

If you’d like to contact Matt, to ask him any questions or ask advice, please e-mail him on: matt

As a result of our discussion on guidebooks, the following people have sent in their recommendations for guidebooks not on the Beetle’s list. They are:

From Globetrotters webmaster Paul, Sunflower books, based in London, are travel guidebooks with topographical maps for walking and touring in southern Europe, specialising in Mediterranean and Atlantic islands. For more information on titles covered etc, see http://www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk

Tracy from Illinois wrote in to say that she is a pretty big fan of the Rick Steve's Guidebooks, http://www.ricksteves.com. Tracy says: “He only covers Europe and fairly limited on Eastern Europe but I lived by these books for travels to many countries. I like his common sense approach to travel and his recommendations are pretty sound.”

Do you have a favourite guidebook that we haven’t covered, or one that was just terrible? E-mail the Beetle and let us know about it!