Naura Springs Hotel Arusha

... bus was supposed to pick us up in Tengeru at 8 am showed up at 10 mmn) and finally got to Tanga (at the coast) around 5. Took a taxi straight to the hotel inn by the sea which is actually on the sea the most amazing setting on this cliff with steps down to the beach incl breakie and all for 5 pounds a night just brilliant. On Saturday we hired a local guide and some push bikes and we cycled to local caves amboni caves which apparently stretch all the way to ...

... case in such a way that would allow them to be honest, but Mel and Kate and some of the others expressed that the only person who had dampened the trip for them in any way was Heini, so that made us feel better. Gabe wanted to invite Anthony to come and join us but Heini was with him, so being the bigger man he suggested that they both come and join us and make peace.<br><br>They did and I asked everyone what their favorite moment of ...

... to Lushoto (again spelling?) on Tuesday which is also in the mountains and GREAT for hiking. We'll be there for 2 days and then we'll be heading to the coast. As a group we decided to cut a few days off else where so we could go to Zanzibar, a small Island off the coast of Tanzania. About a 2 hour ferry ride over. I think we'll be staying there for a good 3-4 days. Google where it is....breath taking white sandy beaches and unspoiled by tourists and ...

... a Spanish couple ( in their late 30's), 2 UK girls, an Irish girl, 2 US girls, a Canadian girl and a Canadian man (49 yrs the oldest single traveller) a German girl, a Japanese young man and 2 other guys from USA. A strange group as some had been on an earlier leg of the trip and the rest of us began to chat and suss each other out if we had not met the night before. There were already dynamics from the previous group so it was interesting finding out the issues. Our trip begun in ...

... 8217; power at certain times. As we were trying to settle in and unpack in the dark, the power went off because the city decided to save a little water at that time. The people of Arusha are just accustomed to sitting in the dark or getting around by candlelight without question which was completely new to me. We began our dinner by candlelight but soon after the power came back on. After dinner, we were exhausted from the drive and soon after went to bed.

... HOLE!!! Oh my god. When I saw it for the first time I felt butterflies in my stomach. It's a real, sit down toilet. Wow. Anyway, I'm with a father and mother who are really really sweet and their two adorable daughters, Joyce, who's 9, and Vanessa, who's 6. And since they seem like they're an upper middle class family, they attend pretty decent schools so they both can speak English fluently. I hung out with them for a ...

... a pretty good comedian, well they all are). Then I played Tetris and listened to a bit of Frank (the chairman of the board) and Adele as I slept. Pretty uneventful. But then&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;<br><br>WE LANDED IN TANZANIA!!!!!!!!! We stepped off the plane into the most beautiful weather ever. Harold Hussein couldn&#8217;t have even forecasted this. It wasn&#8217;t too hot, too cold, it was just right (why do I sound like freaking Goldilocks; get it ...

... loud singing and prayers.<br><br>So with the Longido part of our trip over, that left us with a month of travelling before returning home. <br><br>We spent a couple of days in Arusha, saying goodbye to our friends there, and a disturbing day visiting the local snake park where we unfortunately coincided our trip with feeding time &#8211; those chicks didn&#8217;t stand a chance! Not helped by the newspaper cuttings everywhere about snakes eating humans ...

... the girls were hysterical.<br><br>Today, at the Masai camp (one of the Tanzanian tribes) they're having an "Arusha's Got Talent" show at 3PM. A bunch of us are meeting up for lunch then heading over there, so it should be interesting.<br><br>Unfortunately I have Monday and Tuesday off this week, I really want to continue teaching but because of scheduling I have to wait till next week to start again. I'll write again soon, love and miss everyone!