Hey everyone!! I decided that I should continue the blog throughout my stay here in Arusha, Tanzania. I miss Meg and Remi so much and I hope their travels went well. Writing on this won't be the same without them. Ok I'm going to tell you what I've been unto since the girls and I went our separate ways...
After I said my goodbyes to the girls in the Entebbe Airport, a new leaf was turned. I was on my own and on my way to Tanzania. Remi and Meg's flight was at 9:00am and mine wasn't until 1:30pm. I twiddled my thumbs in the cafe just outside security til they allowed me to go through border control and into the terminal. I shopped a little bit, checked out the overpriced shops, then waited until it wad my turn to get into the air.
The flight from Entebbe, Uganda to Kilamanjaro was only about an hour and a half. I could hardly sit back and relax because I was so excited. We were making our final descent when the pilot came over the intercom and told everyone to look out the left side of the plane to see Mount Kilamanjaro! The sky was so clear I could see the summit at eye level as we were just starting our descent, to describe how high this mountain is. Getting my visa ($100) and customs was a breeze. I had to get a cab for the 45 minute drive because the free shuttle service conveniently wasn't running. A part of me was a little skeptical of the idea, but when in Africa, take what you can get. I made contact with Annie and met up with her at her apartment. We were so excited to see each other. We grabbed a roadside roasted corn on the cob and tried to exchange some of our many stories. We then went with some other people Annie works with to grab dinner at a beautiful bar where a lot of mizungos (white people) hang out. We enjoyed a local beer with our pizza and we visited with everyone.
Saturday morning we woke up and prepared ourselves for a two day, one night safari!! Annie, her roommate, Sarah, Colleen (Annies friend from Chicago working here) and Karim(a guy Colleen knows from work) and I left at 9:00am for a two hour drive to a campsite we were to stay at for the night. Once we got there,we pitched our tents for tonight. We then headed out for our safari near Lake Manyara. The weather was so beautiful it made the day perfect. We saw so much wild life I couldn't believe it! We saw elephants, monkeys, baboons, wildebeests, warthogs, zebras, giraffes, and buffalo. All before luck time. Our lunch was set up on a cliff that overlooked the Lake and a grassland where elephants were grazing. The rest of the afternoon, we were able to get great up close pictures of the animals that got so close to our jeep.
Dinner was at 7:00 back at the campsite so we sat by the pool and drank wine to pass the time. Dinner was delicious. Cucumber soup, Fish and rice with fresh veggies and banana fritters for dessert.
Sunday morning came way too fast with my alarm going off at 5:00 to eat breakfast then we were to leave and go to the Ngorongoro Crater. This is one of the best places in Africa to find so many different animals all in one location. We saw many, many animals including two huge lions and a large pack of lionesses. The zebras were my favorite though. The weather was extremely chilly and windy, but it cleared up after our lunch by the hippo pool. I have been so lucky to have another safari experience during my time here in Africa.
We left the crater around 1:00 and went back to the campsite to gather up everything from camping. I bought a few souviners including a beautiful painting done by a local artist. We made our way back to Arusha by 5:00. After our much needed showers, Annie, Sarah, and I ate dinner in the lodge and discussed the highlights of one of my top 10 weekends.
Monday, (today) Annie and I woke up and went on a run through town. It is much different from the quiet, rural Kyarusozi as we had to dodge people and polluting vehicles on the busy road. It wasn't the same without Remi and the rest of the kids, but it was nice to have Annie. I then went with her to work. Annie is working at an organization called The Foundation For Tomorrow which finds sponsors for children in the different orphanages here in Arusha to help support them to go to school. I am excited to see the kids at the orphanages as well as the schools and see how different they are from Kyarusozi. Im sitting at work with her now finding out more about this foundation. I guess that's all for now!
Love,
Kelley
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