Monday, July 29, 2013
I Am Here
Tanzania, Part 1
It's Monday, but I'm not really aware of this fact. A great benefit of travel is that you lose track of the days, and that happened soon after Jenny and I arrived in Tanzania. With no conception of whether or not it's a workday or weekend, my mind is very much focused on the present moment.
Jenny and I are on the balcony of our second-story hotel room (the Sunshine Hotel near Matemwe on the island of Zanzibar. It was sunny and warm yesterday, but today's afternoon has been windy, muggy, and overcast. We had plans to read and journal by the pool, but retreated to our balcony to escape the wind.
We arrived at Kilimanjaro airport 9 days ago after a very long flight (for me, SFO to Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro, taking 28 hours). My last intercontinental flight was on business class (to India), which totally spoiled me. I begrudged not flying business class until the flight from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro, when I sat by a Norwegian family and chatted them up. Quickly I remembered a reason why I travel - to meet people, compare notes on our respective lives, and to learn. So with this conversation, my vacation began.
I used to be an aisle person (and still am on business flights), but have started to prefer window seats so I can see things from above. I've been taking window-seat photos since right before business school, and will make an album of these photos someday. On the trip to Kilimanjaro, I saw the Dutch irrigation system, Venice, the North African coast (incredibly cool - light blue water contrasted with white sand and a circularly-planned city, which might have been Tripoli), and the Sahara desert.
Tired from our trip, Baraka met us at the airport to take us to the Ahadi Lodge in Arusha. He picked us up in a massive Land Cruiser, which we were pleased to find out we'd be using for the safari. Baraka seemed like a nice, and knowledgeable safari guide, and had a hilarious way of saying "eh heh" after everything. We liked him.
The Ahadi Lodge is located down a dirt road, and is basically a walled garden in the midst of poverty. The food is all western-style, and delicious. There are about 8-10 rooms, and we were one of only a few guests our first night. To my dad's horror, the bathroom only had a curtain separating it from the main room. We did our best to sleep, but roosters and dogs started making a racket around 4 or 5am, so we didn't get much sleep.
My hands are getting tired of typing, so I'll continue this blog post in a bit.
Jenny and I are on the balcony of our second-story hotel room (the Sunshine Hotel near Matemwe on the island of Zanzibar. It was sunny and warm yesterday, but today's afternoon has been windy, muggy, and overcast. We had plans to read and journal by the pool, but retreated to our balcony to escape the wind.
We arrived at Kilimanjaro airport 9 days ago after a very long flight (for me, SFO to Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro, taking 28 hours). My last intercontinental flight was on business class (to India), which totally spoiled me. I begrudged not flying business class until the flight from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro, when I sat by a Norwegian family and chatted them up. Quickly I remembered a reason why I travel - to meet people, compare notes on our respective lives, and to learn. So with this conversation, my vacation began.
I used to be an aisle person (and still am on business flights), but have started to prefer window seats so I can see things from above. I've been taking window-seat photos since right before business school, and will make an album of these photos someday. On the trip to Kilimanjaro, I saw the Dutch irrigation system, Venice, the North African coast (incredibly cool - light blue water contrasted with white sand and a circularly-planned city, which might have been Tripoli), and the Sahara desert.
Tired from our trip, Baraka met us at the airport to take us to the Ahadi Lodge in Arusha. He picked us up in a massive Land Cruiser, which we were pleased to find out we'd be using for the safari. Baraka seemed like a nice, and knowledgeable safari guide, and had a hilarious way of saying "eh heh" after everything. We liked him.
The Ahadi Lodge is located down a dirt road, and is basically a walled garden in the midst of poverty. The food is all western-style, and delicious. There are about 8-10 rooms, and we were one of only a few guests our first night. To my dad's horror, the bathroom only had a curtain separating it from the main room. We did our best to sleep, but roosters and dogs started making a racket around 4 or 5am, so we didn't get much sleep.
My hands are getting tired of typing, so I'll continue this blog post in a bit.
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