Tanzania, finally

It only took 4 different flights and almost 20hours in airplanes, but we're finally here in Arusha, Tanzania.

Our day started with a chauffeur picking us up from our hotel in Dubai and shuttling us over to the airport. The woman at the Emirates business class checkin desk looked a little perturbed that Angela and I dared to check in with Michele, but she let us do it "just this once." Joke's on her.

Michele repaired to the business class lounge while Angela and I searched for breakfast. Aha! McDonalds! Chicken sausage McMuffins and hash browns. Score!

Our flight from Dubai to Dar es Salaam was uneventful to the point that I don't even remember who sat in our row. We had some kind of Indian-ish lunch that was excellent and 5.5hrs after we took off we landed in Dar es Salaam staring at a 4 hour layover until our Fastjet flight to Kilimanjaro at 7:30.

The airport at DAR was an experience like I've never had before. It's clearly a small airport that's trying to "act" big. We got our visas and luggage within 30 minutes of landing (it was hot as hades in the arrivals lounge), but the airport is such that we couldn't check in to our Kili flight until 6pm. We were approached by a guy offering to store our bags while we went upstairs to the one and only restaurant/bar in the airport (called the Flamingo Cafe) to wait for our appointed checkin time. While I was waiting for him to fill out a claim check/receipt , the red flags immediately began flying for Angela and Michele and they went to seek out an "official" to acknowledge that this guy was legit. Turns out he was, so we went upstairs to enjoy the pitifully inadequate air conditioning and almost cold cokes.

The Fastjet checkin process was less than efficient as I had to have my credit card "verified" at a different desk than the one processing the checked bags. The ticketing/bag check room was completely chaotic. We had to x-ray our bags ourselves; weigh them ourselves; practically tag them ourselves. All was well, however, and we made it up to the departure lounge to wait for our flight.

It was a quick flight up to Kilimanjaro (on a very nice and clean Airbus A320) and after picking up our bags we were met outside by one of our Thomson guides for our safari, Leonard Temba. It was pretty dark, so we couldn't really see anything on our 40 or so minute drive to the Rivertrees, our home for the next 2 nights before we head out to Tarangire, but Leonard did point out where the tanzanite mines are (we could see the lights). I also noticed many people walking alone on the shoulders of these very dark, unlit streets. I wonder how many pedestrian deaths there are here?

The Rivertrees is amazing. I have no idea what Arusha looks like outside of the property (I suspect it's pretty rough around the edges), but this place is amazing. The grounds, even in the dark, are very impressive. We were welcomed by several of the staff and shown to our rooms, which are very nice; if a little rustic. No air conditioning, but it's cool and dry enough that you don't really need it. Can't drink the tap water, but there's a pitcher of filtered water on the sink. The bar and restaurant are all open air with thatched roofs and a very nice outdoor area with a wood-fired oven and grill.

Speaking of the restaurant, we had some amazing wood-fired pizzas for dinner.

Leonard told us that another Thomson guide, Kumbi, would be picking us up at 8:30 or thereabouts for our day's activities: a visit to a Maasai village called Ilkiding'a and some shopping at a local market.

As I type this, Angela has burned one of her 2 toothbrushes by rinsing it out with tap water. Good thing we each brought a backup.