July 31: Traveling Back to Arusha

I was awake before my alarm rang, partially due to all the thinking about the next few days of logistics, but also the early morning call to prayer from the local mosque. The Swahili coast of Eastern Tanzania is predominantly Muslim.

We were told our taxi (in a Land Cruiser, due to some bad dirt roads) would arrive at 7:00 am, but he arrived at 7:30. I was wondering if he’d be a crazy driver, trying to make up time, but it wasn’t too different from the last time. We arrived at the rendezvous place at 9:25 and waited for 1 hour for the bus from Dar es Salaam to arrive. It was hot in the sun, but at least we got to watch some laborers pack large bags with oranges.

The bus was loaded, except for 2 seats that were reserved for us. In the next hour, the driver passed on a solid line three times, had three conversations on his in-hand cell phone, and helped one of the additional riders in the aisle-way get settled on a pillow. He was a very animated talker, and very frequently looked at the people he was talking with! After an hour, I decided that it wasn’t going to help to worry, and I stopped looking. However, I did say some prayers along the way!

After 5 hours, we were on the outskirts of Arusha. I realized that we could be dropped earlier closer to our hotel and save the hassle of being driven into the city and then pay more for a taxi to take us back. So, upon seeing taxis at the convenient intersection, we jumped out of our seats with the bags that were at our feet or on our lap, but we forgot the one small bag up top. It only had a Maasai blanket that was given to us and my old Teva sandals that were 15 years old with worn out velcro, but it did have Anya’s Chaco sandals. She only wears them in Tanzania. I’m just letting these go under the circumstances and the hassle it would take to try to retrieve them with no guarantees of success. Most likely, they are long gone. In light of all our travels, that is not too much of a loss.

Our hotel is hostel like at the back of an Ethiopian restaurant. It is also within a somewhat close range of another mosque, as the evening call to prayer informed us. However, we walked half a block to the Impala Hotel, which has my favorite Indian food, Handi Lazeez (SP?). So, for $20, we ate in a fancy hotel restaurant with fresh made-to-order food with Fanta passion sodas.

This evening, we’re catching up on emails. I have my auto insurance set to be reinstated on August 2. It looks like Anya’s cell phone was automatically reinstated after 6 months.

Now, we hope to get some good sleep before the early morning call to prayer.

With blessings,

Beth