Day 209 - Moving West to Arusha
Trip Start
Jan 10, 2011
1
142
221
Trip End
Jan 08, 2012
Where I stayed
Canaan Guesthouse
Arusha, Arusha, Tanzania
Monday, August 8, 2011
We stepped into a roadside café, where the bus had dropped us, in order to escape the persistent and price gouging taxi drivers. We purchased our go-to beer, Serengeti (better value than Ndovu), from a surly woman behind the typical wrought iron cage.
After some deliberate communication with bar patrons we confirmed that we were a 15min walk away from our hostel and didn't need to pay the exorbitant cab fare requested by the cabbies.
We walked down the dusty road, greeting locals call of 'Mambo' with 'Poa' or 'Jambo' in reply. The hostel Mia had booked was clean-ish (relative to 3rd world standards), had hot water and wifi in the room. A complete trifecta meant this accommodation met the requirements of a 'good place' for the Craig adventurers.
We inquired with the laid back gaggle of young women 'working' at reception about Safari contacts and they gave us a card. Evidently they called him and he arrived 15min later. We spoke with him and after some basic Google fact checking we booked a safari leaving the next day.
Eli went with a driver from the company to the bank to collect stacks of Tanzanian Shillings before finalizing (and negotiating) the terms at the small office. The stacks of bills were counted in the dim beam of a flashlight, since the power was off over most of the city. Despite knowing this was 'normal' for Africa, it FELT just a little bit sketchy.
The operator advised that we could catch a bus while in the in the Serengeti Park that would take us to our next destination, Mwanza, on the shores of Lake Victoria in northwest Tanzania. This would avoid us having to come all the way back east to Arusha and then travel all the way west to Mwanza.
Eli was glad to have a driver as the sun had set the dark night on the city. After picking up some water and snacks, he returned to our hotel room and we had a relaxing nights sleep.
