Today we flew from Zanzibar to Arusha then drove 4 hours to a new hotel near the game parks.
When we got to the airport, we had to wait (shocker, I know... More about that later). Then we got into out plane, it was more like a 14 passenger tin can but I was loving it! Chris was our co-pilot for the flight. The only casualty was an eagle who hit our wing as we were landing. Better the wing than the prop (a lot more cleanup for the prop). Eish. We were sfae though, which is always good.
On our drive we made a pit stop with 3 attractions. First, camel rides! They were so awesome and awkward. I was full of fear and joy as Connor's camel trotted next to mine and threatened to spit. The long face is kinda cute in an ugly goofy sort of way. Second, the reptile park. Equipped with two pythons who have actually eaten people and enough cobras to kill our whole tour... I was loving the danger! We held a olive snake, but he was small. I also held a baby croc (Trying to make the Erwin family proud). It was tough to be nice to a gator, but I sucked it up. Third was the Masai museum. There were creepy wax figures that depicted everyday life, but I learned a lot about their culture. A couple practices have me rethinking this Masai wife thing...I'll let you look that up on you own.I'll say it's this: When the women get married they wear a long chain around their neck, how fitting.
That was it for traveling today. When we got to the hotel we ate and celebrated Bryan's 22nd birthday. The hotel brought in traditional dancers and they pulled me into the circle to dance. My Masai partner and I put on quite a show, I owe eveything to the Loft...haha.
Now to random thought from Zanzibar...they tell us to report on what we think would make businesses run better. First, power (electricity) a basic necessity that cannot be trusted on this island. Evry store, hotel, and restaurant has a generator and they are relying on it for power 90 percent of the time. It's a tough life to run a restaurant where the fridge won't work or to sell clothes to people trying them on in the dark. They make due with candles. But we had to take a lot of fabric out in the sun to see the real colors. Service/ Time Management: I've heard of beach time but people her take that to the extreme. We actually napped at the tables while waiting for our lunch and one night for dinner took 2 hours to cook 3 burgers. Their hospitality is great, but they need to increase speed to keep business flowing in and out.
Enough ranting... I want to tell you about the highlight of my day. As our Land Rover at away miles of African savannah, the huge orb of the sun slowly snak into the horizon. it cast colors of deep red,peach, and pale yellow across the sky. The grayish pale blue slowly lingered across our natural ceiling and the mountains shone with a mistyy purple. Still no pictures for now, I'm sorry. As the Lion King sun set into the west, I saw the plains lightly salted with acacia trees and scattered Masai huts. The people were gathering theor cattle in for the night. This was the Africa I imagined and I couldn't have created it any better in my dreams.
It is amazing how that 15 minutes can make your day perfect, no matter where you are in the world.
Until the next sunset: Britt
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