Arrival in Tanzania

After over 24 hours of travel we finally landed at Kilimanjaro Airport at 9pm. As we were seated near the exit and walked fast on the tarmac, we were one of the first few to enter the terminal. We got our visas and passed through immigration in no time. We had to pay US$50 each for the visa with newer crisp US money. Strangely enough for Americans and only Americans it is US$100 each. With our bags we made our way out to meet the driver to take us to the Kilimanjaro View Lodge. We are staying here for 3 nights – essentially to relax and get over the jet lag which usually hits me pretty hard.

The drive to the lodge was almost 2 hours. We passed through a police check along the way and they were armed with automatic weapons. They drive on the wrong, wait, no, I mean left side of the road and there were hardly any street lighting. There were many speed bumps along the road. The last hour was all uphill on a rough and steep dirt road. The dirt road showed signs of many heavy floods and rain that have carved grooves throughout the soft surface. We were stuck a couple times on the steep stretch and the van had to back up and take a run at it. Sometimes up to 3 attempts before we inched our way up. I felt uneasy thinking that the van might back us right off the edge of the mountain. My heart was beating fast and thought that it was way too soon to end the trip crossed my mind.

When we arrived at the lodge, I think pretty much everyone came to greet us. We were showed to our hut and went to bed just past midnight. Oh, I forgot to mention that the stars were so brilliant! Stars are simply amazing to gaze at, something that unfortunately is not common for us living in urban areas due to light pollution.

Jeff slept well but I woke up a few times that night. (Hm, I’m feeling quite sleepy now.) The next morning we saw the roof of Africa, Mt Kilimanjaro just outside our hut. Wow.

What a sight to behold in person. It seems so close and not that steep. Jeff said that I will think differently when we are on the mountain.

After breakfast we chatted with Lenny who is the lodge manager to learn more about the area. The lodge is right on the border of the national park. The park boundary is marked by eucalyptus trees. Yeah strange – wondered if the trees were brought here from Australia just like in Peru… The government made it illegal to enter the national park from this area due to illegal tree cutting activities. From the lodge we can see many farmers’ fields. Lenny said that maize (corn), plums, avocados, passion fruit, coffee, bananas and potatoes are grown in this region.

As for wildlife spotting, none in this immediate area. We saw many

birds flying around though..

We did not do much that day, just a little exploration around the lodge. We ended the day with a beautiful African sunset which was apparently more spectacular than normal according to Lenny.