To Arusha

A hot breakfast was offered to us at 6 a.m. and Victor was there to pick us up at 6:30 a.m. Everyone has been so punctual. The only ‘African Time’ so far has been with getting meals.

Anyways, we were happy to leave the hotel as it was in the heart of the big city and we were anxious to get out into the country.

The 5 hour drive was easy and city views changed to views of Maasai people walking on the side of the road with their herds of cattle, goats or sheep. High rise apartments disappeared and rolling grassy hills and low mountains were on the horizon.

After 3 hours we arrived at the border of Kenya and Tanzania and were stamped in following paying $50 each for visas. It was a simple process. A new driver, Calvin, picked us up.

Two hours later we were in our hotel, the Karibu Heritage House, in Arusha. It is a lovely green place with a swimming pool and gardens. The power was out but it wasn’t due to protests, it was because a big maribu stork got electrocuted near the hotel and caused a failure. Poor thing.

The hotel has a restaurant so we had a pleasant lunch. We were told that we would be met by Pius, our original contact from the tour company, later in the afternoon.

We were offered a tour of Arusha - the city, local markets, Maasai market, Cultural Heritage Centre, etc. but we were tired of sitting while driving around. We felt that we just wanted to go for a swim in the hotel pool and chill, so that’s what we did.

So Pius and Hamis met us and we discussed the Tanzania plan. All is in place except for getting back to Nairobi to catch the plane back home. We have a few alternatives. Drive back or fly to Nairobi from either Arusha or Zanzibar. TurkishAir wants too much to change our flights again.

Anyways, we are happy here and start on a safari early tomorrow morning with our guide Norton.Read more