June 27 - Tanzania: Arusha
Saying Good-bye to the Kiboko Group
We got up at 6:30 this morning to say goodbye to the group. The Bus-Truck is traveling to Nairobi today and everyone is flying out tonight or tomorrow. We are staying in Arusha to get gear for our Kili trek, and will meet our next tour either here or in Moshi - we haven't quite decided yet. Brendon and Vanessa are leaving the tents here, as they will be back with a new tour group on Saturday, so we'll stay in the tent until they return.
Jon is quite hung-over, but rallied so he could say goodbye. We helped them load up the Bus-Truck, gave everyone hugs, and waved as they drove off. The Aussies gave us an Aussie Send-Off by mooning us out the windows of the truck as it drove away. And Jon responded by putting mud on his hand and smacking whatever skin he could reach. It was all very touching, and I honestly got a little sad. We've been with them 24/7 for 3 weeks now, and things will be very quiet without the group.
So Jon went back to bed to sleep off the hangover, and I did some laundry even though there's no sun to dry it. I can now understand why women rejoiced at the invention of the washing machine. My hands were absolutely raw by the end of it. The white t-shirts were a huge mistake to bring, because the dirt just doesn't come out. So now we look for colored t-shirts wherever we go so we can get rid of the white ones.
Then I went to the campsite "lodge" (bar area) to do some laptop work to update the website. Jon began to move about at noon and I ordered myself a cheeseburger from the kitchen. It's nice to have a day of quiet where we don't feel obligated to do anything. I'm a little nervous, though, because our 'security blanket' of a guided tour has been removed. We're now on our own without a map or book or anything. Tomorrow we're going to walk into town and get things settled.
The Campsite Dogs
There are four dogs that roam around the campsite. We always hate dogs in the campsite because they're dirty, smelly, and they mark their territory on the tents whenever they get a chance. But now that most of the camp has cleared out, the dogs are relaxed and lay around all day. There is one particular dog that has adopted me. I don't know why - there are at least 10 other people here and I don't pet him or feed him. But he follows me everywhere I go and curls up at my feet whenever I sit down somewhere. He is black with white feet, a white stomach, and some white on his nose. Every once in a while, he will sit and look at me and make that doggie-whining noise as if he has something important to say and is upset because I'm not listening. I really have no idea why he likes me so much.
Pizzarusha
We met a nice couple at the campsite who told us about a great restaurant they had been to. So this evening, we got into a taxi and asked him to take us to the Mashele Guest House near the restaurant. It was dark, and we had absolutely no idea where he was taking us but we sat back and waited. So when he pulled over in town in got out of the car, needless to say we were a bit concerned. We looked at each other and wondered what we should do. A few minutes later, he came back with a man who looked to be giving him directions. They talked for a few minutes more, and then both got in the car and we were off again - with the second man pointing where to go. Shortly thereafter, we arrived at the Mashele Guest House. The guy kept stiffing us on the change we were due, but we eventually got it and jumped out of the car - happy to be where we needed to be safe and sound. The restaurant was directly across the street.
Pizzarusha (www.pizzarusha.com) is a precious restaurant with 10 tables, one waiter, and one cook with a little stove. The cook could only do one order at a time, so we waited 45 minutes for our dinner - spring rolls and pizzas - and we were absolutely starving. It was very yummy, and cost us about $10 total. Brilliant! By then, we were exhausted so we went back to the Maasai Camp and went to sleep.
Here's a note from Matt about the Aussie's trip to Nairobi.