On our way to Kili
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Arusha,
Tanzania
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Today we leave from Arusha and head to Marangu to start our trip up Mount Kilimanjaro. We have spent the last couple of days not doing too much - booking flights and rooms for the rest of trip, looking into shuttles, getting laundry done, that kind of thing. It was nice to relax a bit, but yesterday at about 3 pm I started getting antsy - I'm ready to get going on the next stage of the trip.
Arusha is pretty touristy, so the street touts get pretty annoying after a while, making just looking around a bit of a nightmare. There are a number of good restaurants though, so we have had some really good food over the last couple of days.
This morning Chris and I went to this great market and even though Chris spent most of his time trying to get rid of impromptu 'market guides' it was really interesting. The have everything - all kinds of vegetables and spices, fruit, huge bags of dried beans and rice, kitchen wares, live and dead chickens, baskets... It was really fun to walk through. A couple of ladies taught us how to say a couple of Swahili words. I'm a bit unsure of their meaning and when exactly I should use them, but I will clear that up soon once I check our guide book again. Chris bought a bag of garlic to counteract the altitude on Kili - good thing I'm not too bothered by the smell of garlic.
Jessica and Lachlan arrived from their trip to Rwanda last night - they sound like they had a great trip. We will all head to Marangu later today. We have one night in a hotel and then we head up the mountain Monday morning. I am really looking forward to this trip, as well as spending a week without any bus / car travel. We attempt the peak on Friday, so please send good thoughts our way on that day. There won't be any Internet access until next Saturday / Sunday, so look for my next entry after that.
Take care, stay well and wish us luck!
