Africa Trip 2013 (June 6th-June 22nd)
The following 15 entries will all relate to a trip taken to Tanzania by myself, Sabrina Bluestone, Leisje Bluestone, Harrison Bluestone, Kelly Spector and Archer Biggs. To those who have not read these before, the goal is to be mostly informative and based around the events that took place rather than personal interactions and conversations that occurred. Feel free to add comments or thoughts, or share with anyone who is interested.
Day 1 and 2 - True Date: 6/6/13 - 6/7/13
As with most international trips the story begins at the airport. You could say the story begins with the ride to the airport, or the planning that preceded it, but lets say our story starts at the airport. The plan for the group was to meet in the check-in lobby of JFK airport and proceed from there as a group. Sabrina, Harrison and Leisje were the first to arrive, followed by myself and Kelly. Archer joined us about an hour later due to anticipated travel delays. As punishment he was forced to fly on the next two planes separated from the rest of us (but we'd have plenty of time as a full group in the days to come).
As a group we proceeded smoothly through check-in and security. On our way to the gate we all purchased some sandwiches for lunch. The discovery of a Shake Shack led to some excitement immediately before boarding and the group had some tasty shakes as we boarded the plane. The next 18 hours or so are where the "Day 1" and "Day 2" concepts become a bit hazy. Given the time zones and the continued flights etc, etc... Its always a bit difficult to tell where one day ends and another begins.
Our first flight left at about 4:00 p.m. from JFK airport (US time). We arrived 7 and a half hours later in Amsterdam airport. It was now 11:30 pm in the U.S. on June 6th, but 5:30 am on the 7th local time. The flight went quite smoothly (literally) as we only ran into two minor moments of turbulence. The in-flight movies (no individual choices) were Jack the Giant Slayer, Oz the Great and Powerful, and the Adjustment Bureau. It was a pretty light-hearted selection, though I'd say none of the movies were particularly stellar (The Bureau was my favorite). For me, much of the time was filled by resuming my work reading through Robert Jordan's series The Wheel of Time.
Having now arrived in Amsterdam we had between 4 and 5 hours before the next flight to Tanzania. We explored for a while, found our gate, and then returned to the main terminal to find some breakfast. I had an omelet with peppers, onions, bacon and cheese. It was served on a slice of delicious bread (bread in Europe is just like...better) and a cup of coffee. On our way back to the gate the group stopped to make a few small purchases in the side shops. As we waited outside the gate Harrison sat in some bubblegum. As unfortunate as that may have been it was entertaining. At 10:00 (ish) local time we boarded the flight to Tanzania. It was an 8 hour flight (mostly south) and brought us east one more time zone. Unlike the previous flight, I occupied my time on this ride by sleeping for nearly the entire duration. We arrived at 7:30 pm local (Tanzania) time. It was dark by now and the process was as you'd expect; paperwork, line, visas, line, baggage, etc. When we exit the airport there was a small delay as we waited for our ride, but then loaded a jeep without any problems.
The roads were dark (clearly), dusty and narrow. They were riddled with speed bumps and it appeared that passing was legal at any time. The drive from the airport to the hotel took us about an hour. We arrived at our location, the Ilboru Safari Lodge, and it was much nicer than I expected. We broke into our rooms and most people headed straight to bed. The plan was to meet for breakfast the next morning at 8 am and discuss the coming plans.
For reference, Tanzania is 7 hours ahead of New York, so if I ever mention a time and you're curious, go backwards 7 hours to get to EST.
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