Coco Beach, Dar es Salaam
This was going to be an easy post, although I quickly
remembered that people using search engines would probably enter 'Coco Beach,
Florida', which is why I needed the addendum in the title.
The beach itself is a long sand and cliff strewn strip
hugging the eastern coastline of the peninsula here in Dar Es Salaam, no more
than a couple of miles long. In my opinion, it is one of Dar's best kept
secrets. The beach itself is rarely crowded, although it has all of the
ingredients for a nice reprieve from city life. Along Toure Drive, Coco Beach
is mostly sand from the moment your car/bajaj/bike/feet enters the peninsula,
and the water is closer to the street than it appears.
You will rarely see foreigners here. Every now and then a kitesurfer might find himself enamored by the surf, but for the most past, the locals have the beach all to themselves. On Saturdays, for example, this is the primary destination for dozens of running clubs here in Dar. It's hard not to hear a running club pass your house. They are reminiscent of military or police cadets in that they usually run in formation, a constant chant or song belted out in unison that accompanies their run. Coco Beach is where you will find them afterwards for their calisthenics or for stretching.
One of the most enduring images I have of Coco Beach is of a man praying. Here is this Muslim, surrounded by these tall palm trees bending in the wind, the waves crashing in the background, and the sunshine washing over him as he points his body northwest toward Mecca. I must have seen dozens of men praying on the beach, and I can't say I blame them. Unlike most city beaches, Coco Beach is not overcrowded and will allow for a healthy pint of serenity every now and then.
Coco Beach is one of those 'bath beaches', as I call them. You will have a strip of sand, put your toes into the water and, bam, only a few feet into the water you are already up to your chest. Of course, that is during high tide. Coco Beach at low tide in the morning is a different ballgame altogether. You can be wading through the water up to your ankles for hundreds of yards, along the rocky algae-covered grounds until you spot anything resembling a wave. The low tide in the morning almost doubles Coco Beach in size. Whenever I babysit dogs, this is where I take them for walks.
As you walk in the sand, you'll see several vendors renting out tubes for the water; this is nothing formal, just a wooden contraption of a booth with a wooden pole looping dozens of rubber tubes. The beach itself gradually ceases the further north you go up the coast along Toure Drive. Here the sandy beaches give way to rocky cliffs—the swimmers stay away from these. The strongest of surfs will easily upend you anywhere along the strip, so I guess it's safe to assume that the swimmer wouldn't want to be anywhere near the cliffs during high tide.
Surfers apparently love the place, although I have rarely seen more than two riding the waves at a time. Kitesurfers love to skip over the waves, and the consistent winds confirm what sailors have already learned: that Dar is a haven for most water sports.
The only time you will find Coco Beach crowded to capacity will be on the weekends. The sun, sand, and waves have nothing to do with this, but Dar's musical acts! Very rarely will you have a weekend without a concert, and with the beach less than 200 yards from my house, I hear it very well. On Sunday afternoon after the concert, you will find hundreds of people heading back home, many of them shuffling past my house.
The only eyesore is the number of container ships lingering on the horizon, a reminder that we still live in Dar, a city that yields to commerce as much as any world capital.
That said, give Coco Beach a try. Walk your dog, walk yourself, take a dip.
Meanwhile in my next post, I will be reporting from nearby Amani Beach, where I will be spending the next weekend. Stay tuned.
You will rarely see foreigners here. Every now and then a kitesurfer might find himself enamored by the surf, but for the most past, the locals have the beach all to themselves. On Saturdays, for example, this is the primary destination for dozens of running clubs here in Dar. It's hard not to hear a running club pass your house. They are reminiscent of military or police cadets in that they usually run in formation, a constant chant or song belted out in unison that accompanies their run. Coco Beach is where you will find them afterwards for their calisthenics or for stretching.
One of the most enduring images I have of Coco Beach is of a man praying. Here is this Muslim, surrounded by these tall palm trees bending in the wind, the waves crashing in the background, and the sunshine washing over him as he points his body northwest toward Mecca. I must have seen dozens of men praying on the beach, and I can't say I blame them. Unlike most city beaches, Coco Beach is not overcrowded and will allow for a healthy pint of serenity every now and then.
Coco Beach is one of those 'bath beaches', as I call them. You will have a strip of sand, put your toes into the water and, bam, only a few feet into the water you are already up to your chest. Of course, that is during high tide. Coco Beach at low tide in the morning is a different ballgame altogether. You can be wading through the water up to your ankles for hundreds of yards, along the rocky algae-covered grounds until you spot anything resembling a wave. The low tide in the morning almost doubles Coco Beach in size. Whenever I babysit dogs, this is where I take them for walks.
As you walk in the sand, you'll see several vendors renting out tubes for the water; this is nothing formal, just a wooden contraption of a booth with a wooden pole looping dozens of rubber tubes. The beach itself gradually ceases the further north you go up the coast along Toure Drive. Here the sandy beaches give way to rocky cliffs—the swimmers stay away from these. The strongest of surfs will easily upend you anywhere along the strip, so I guess it's safe to assume that the swimmer wouldn't want to be anywhere near the cliffs during high tide.
Surfers apparently love the place, although I have rarely seen more than two riding the waves at a time. Kitesurfers love to skip over the waves, and the consistent winds confirm what sailors have already learned: that Dar is a haven for most water sports.
The only time you will find Coco Beach crowded to capacity will be on the weekends. The sun, sand, and waves have nothing to do with this, but Dar's musical acts! Very rarely will you have a weekend without a concert, and with the beach less than 200 yards from my house, I hear it very well. On Sunday afternoon after the concert, you will find hundreds of people heading back home, many of them shuffling past my house.
The only eyesore is the number of container ships lingering on the horizon, a reminder that we still live in Dar, a city that yields to commerce as much as any world capital.
That said, give Coco Beach a try. Walk your dog, walk yourself, take a dip.
Meanwhile in my next post, I will be reporting from nearby Amani Beach, where I will be spending the next weekend. Stay tuned.
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