Around Arusha

Day 11- True Date 6/16/13

Today served mostly as a day of rest. However, we did perform a number of smaller activities that would allow us to keep our remaining days here more streamlined and singularly focused on the safari. We met in the lobby of our hotel at 8:30 and headed to the dining area for breakfast. Personally, I felt that it was the worst breakfast selection we'd had to date on this trip (which I suppose is a compliment to the food we have had). At the buffet I got french toast and a crescent, with which I had some coffee of course. Given the quality of the hotel, I'd hoped for a larger selection.

After breakfast we had two things to do before meeting Justin and Ayubu (our driver/safari guide) at 10:00. One thing we'd planned for the day was to visit the local markets. As such, we needed to use the hotel to exchange our dollars for the local shillings. We then returned to our rooms to pack our bags before returning to the Ilboro Safari Lodge - our original hotel. We then met with Justin (who would unfortunately not be joining us on Safari) and Ayubu to discuss Safari packing, timing and planning.

We loaded into the jeep and headed out into the heart of Arusha. Our first stop was the Cultural Heritage Center. We had been advised that nearly everything here could be found later in the local markets at lower prices. The main attraction was the owner's business with Tanzanite. Tanzanite is a blueish-purplish precious gemstone that can only be found in some parts of Africa (or so we were told and I have neglected to research). Some of us paroosed his collections but none were willing to afford the stone jewelry that he had on display. The complex itself was quite fascinating. It will apparently be opening a coffee shop tomorrow (6/17/13) and that is only the first of many new additions. It is also home to the largest African art gallery (again... I was told and have not researched) and is sometimes referred to as the "African Guggenheim". Unfortunately, we did not take the time to explore the galleries, but rather headed back out to Arusha.

This was the part of the day when I realized how much I hoped to never need to personally navigate the local roads. First, cars drive on the left side of the road. It's an easy adjustment to make but is in this case just one of many. Many of the roads are either dirt or gravel and even the major roads are plagued with speed bumps and potholes. All roads appear to be only two lanes or less but passing appears to be legal at any time...anywhere. Cars frequently whip around each other, just narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic. This all occurs while people are walking or crossing, pulling carts along the roadside and more. Animals ranging from dogs to goats and cows are herded along the streets and must also be avoided. It makes for quite a hectic combination.

We then headed into a Massai Market. This is, in most ways, the crazy experience you'd expect. Hundreds of small stores and their vendors, all clearly working together, in narrow and compact alley ways. They invite and pressure you into their shops and offer deals on their merchandise while promising the best prices. Few of us made it through more than one row of these shops but I suspect the content in each row was quite similar. We had varying degrees of success with the haggling that occurs in this environment - I think Archer fared the best and Sabrina the worst. For me, I just need to remember when I was told that I must always be willing to walk away. Purchases among the group included wooded bowls, spoons, hats, shirts, scarves, cups and more. It was exhausting.

Fatigued from the adventure in the market we headed to lunch with Ayubu. It was a local spot that served Indian and Italian dishes. We all split a few pizzas made from a brick oven. The pizzas were closer to what I'd expect from Europe rather than the states. That is, the crusts were thin with minimal sauce and an emphasis was placed on the toppings themselves. It was simple but tasty - a nice change of pace from the market.

After lunch we were brought back to the Safari Lodge. The afternoon was free to relax and pack until we met for dinner at 7:00. Dinner was much what we were used to here. The food was served from a variety of Chinese, Italian, Indian, etc and our choices as a group certainly varied. After dinner we headed our own ways with the only remaining plan to meet for breakfast at 7 and depart at 8 in the morning.

As a random thought to tack in somewhere; Disney seems to have let me down with the Lion King (which by the way... I love). Let's first consider the king himself, Simba. For the longest time this was just a random name - like so many others. However, I've now learned that the word for "lion" in Swahili is none other than "simba". Not very original if I may say so... Secondly, the phrase "Hakuna matata" (youtube link here), according to Disney "means no worries". However, in Swahili it translates directly to "no problem". I don't understand why they needed to change it as the syllables still work for their melody:
"It means no problems,
for the rest of your days.
It's our worry free,
Philosophy...
Hakuna matata."

But, I still love Disney!