WOW! It’s been nearly 3 months since I sent out the last Penny Tale. It is GREAT to be back in the U.S.A.! Tanzania was NOT coin friendly.
Several people have asked how many coins Doc and I found in Tanzania during our recent 18 days there. Easy answer: ZERO, None, Nought, Zilch, Zip, Nada! Doc was looking, I was looking, our son and his wife were looking, my brother and his wife were looking. The only time I saw any coins whatsoever was the next to the last day as my change when buying a few last postage stamps.
Of course we would not find pennies since they use Schillings as their unit of currency. To give you an idea about the exchange rate …A $3 bottle of water at the hotel would cost approximately 6,990 TNZ Schillings. ($1 US = 2330 TNZ). A postcard stamp was 2300 TNZ. In the Capital of Dar es Saalam we took our local guide and driver out to lunch at a nice café. Four delicious lunches on the rooftop of a downtown building were 50,000 TNZ. (That’s about $21).
There were thousand of zebras, wildebeest, elephants, giraffes, Cape buffalos, antelope, baboons and such, but not a single wayward coin!
In comparison: I found coins each of the three days immediately upon our return, then yesterday when filling my fuel tank at the gas station, I found a penny, dime and two quarters in just moments.
It’s Good to be BACK IN THE U.S.A.
