Tuesday, February 27 Into Tanzania; Arusha, Tarangire

 Tuesday, Feb 27

A hearty breakfast and we head for the Tanzania border entry.  We drive through Amboseli a bit to another gate (nice short cut) but not very many animals this way.  Mt. Kilimanjaro has wrapped itself in clouds.

Another hour and a half to the border, where we are happy not to have to wait in the long line for trucks!

 There are many workers here as we leave Kenya officially and then walk a few yards to enter Tanzania.  Luggage is scanned and we go through several lines for health, passports and visas.  The only health requirement for Tanzania is yellow fever vaccine IF you are entering from Kenya and a handful of other places.  But, according to the CDC, you shouldn't get it if you are over 60, so we have a printed out and signed waiver.  No one makes any comments and everyone passes through fairly quickly.  A small case that Greg used to carry his passport in goes missing in the scanning, but since it was empty we don't worry about it.  

Our new vehicle is similar to the old and our new driver is George, who is from Tanzania.

Adam says Tanzania's economy is not as good as Kenya, but here each person can get a piece of land from the government and farming is popular.  We see several vehicles with animals tied to them or people on motorcycles with one person holding a sheep or goat.

Occasional posters of the president.

Similar landscape to Kenya with small towns/trading stations but more farms. Similar speed bumps.  Nice 2 lane road with occasional cattle or livestock on the road.

There are 5 tribes in Tanzania.  George is Maasai, and lives near the large town of Arusha. The Maasai here go to school and are not nomadic. Adam is Bantu, shorter and stockier.  Most of the houses we pass in this area are made from cinderblock with colorful metal roofing, but that will change. 

We see several fields of corn and one of sunflowers - they use sunflower oil.  Many of the people we pass wave.  Adam says they have a positive image of white people because of missionaries and others that help them.  Some also are asking for handouts depending on hand gestures, which I never quite understood. 

Welding fabrication seems a common business and gates are sometimes elaborate compared to the buildings they go to.

In Arusha there is a protest march going on.  George says it has to do with elections - local elections are this year and nationals will be next year (they are every 5 years).  Later, Adam tells us they were protesting the recent sharp rise in price of basic staples like flour and cooking oil.

KFC but no McDonalds.

We go the Sheraton Four Seasons for lunch.  Very nice hotel where, we are told, both the Clintons and the O'Bamas have stayed.  Nice buffet lunch.  Arusha is a busy modern city known as the safari capital of Tanzania because of its proximity to the Serengeti, Tarangire and other parks.

We pass a large coffee plantation outside of Arusha, and begin to see Baobab trees.  They are huge and long-lived. They hold a lot of water and their bark is used to fight fever and for other medicinal purposes. Some call it the "Tree of Life". Unfortunately when it is extremely dry the elephants eat the bark and damage the trunk. Suzy wanted to touch one so we made a quick stop by this one that George says is probably over 200 years old! 

Around 4:30 we enter Tarangire National Park.  We see giraffes, ostriches and a few other animals but apparently we are running late so George and Ben drive quickly over the bumpy roads to reach our lodge before dark. 

Our earlier rest stop had this huge termite mound outside.  Termites set up a colony at the base of a tree and over time devour the entire tree.   When an aardvark (nocturnal so we don't see) or other animal destroys the queen, the mound dies.  The earth from it is sometimes used in bricks.  And other animals like mongoose and hyenas use the mound and its underground chamber as a den.  The termites made small tunnels in the mound for air circulation and temperature control, so sometimes cheetah or other animals will lay on top of them for warmth.

This collection of elephant bones is also on display. 

We arrive at our lodge as daylight fades, and are taken to our rooms before a 7:00 dinner. This tree hyrax who is normally nocturnal, peers at us along the trail.  It looks like a rodent but is actually a close relative to the elephant!

Really Related????

 Nice rooms with four to a building.   I skip dinner and Greg says I missed some entertaining singing.  We have a small sitting area and a balcony where we are able to catch the end of a pretty sunset.