At the beginning of this trip I would not have felt confident taking convoluted public transportation to get around. Confidence changes with experience.
Momella Lodge is isolated. We needed to get from Momella Lodge back to our home base in Arusha. The quandary we faced was the most direct route from Momella Lodge passed through Arusha National Park. Tanzania residents don't have to pay, or pay very little, to go through the park. Staci and I would have to pay the full fee, $45 USD apiece, to go through the park, plus taxi or bus fares.
The taxi driver we previously hired quoted us a $70 USD price to retrieve us from Momella Lodge. It would have cost us more than $160 USD to get from Momella Lodge to our hotel in Arusha. This is about 40 km as the crow flies. After conversations with quite a few folks, we finally came up with an alternative.
The clerk at the desk at Momella Lodge didn't understand much English, but she understood we were frugal. Our day's journey started with piki piki (motorcyle) rides of about ten kilometers to the nearest village of Ngare Nanyuki.
While we waited for the piki pikis to show up, we were entertained by this giraffe frolicking. Mount Kilimanjaro is in the background.
While first in Tanzania we noticed many folks on piki pikis used helmets, it doesn't happen in rural areas. We hired two piki pikis. Nobody local would have done this. They would have put two passengers and two backpacks on a single piki piki without thinking twice about it.
You may notice Staci's driver is wearing a Denver Bronco ball cap. American logos and clothes are present everywhere we have travelled. A young girl in town, who has probably never seen a mzungu before, is seen wearing a Hannah Montana top and it seems normal. A guy wears a Gators Lady Softball t-shirt and undoubtably doesn't know what softball is, or that the Gators are from Florida, or that Florida even exists. One of my favorite shirts was a political advertisement for Coroner for Cherokee County, Oklahoma.
The clerk at the desk was a saint. She caught on that Staci and I were very nervous about the piki piki ride. She must have threatened them. They drove safer than any piki piki drivers we have seen. She also told them of our plan to catch the bus in Ngare Nanyuki that went to Arusha via King'ore.
They stayed with us until the right bus showed up. My driver met with one of the bus employees who gave us the thumbs up, he knew what our plan was. Staci and I aren't always huge tippers, unless folks deserve it. These drivers deserved their tips.
The bus ride was about three hours. We went through beautiful, rural areas. We would stop at villages and pick up, and drop off, passengers.
It's a little difficult to tell from this picture, but this woman is bringing a live chicken onto the bus. This is normal.
We sat in the far back of the bus, on purpose. One time Staci and I were put in the very front of the bus, and we were both terrified. It's most fun watching the reactions of children when they see a mzungu on the bus. They are fascinated, and so cute. Mzungu is not a derogatory term, it's a matter of fact term. They say "jambo mzungu," or "shikamoo mzungu" and they're being respectful and polite.
As the bus stopped in Arusha the regular herd of taxis were lined up. The first driver headed straight for us. About a week ago we took a nearly identical taxi ride and were charged 3000 Tsh (~$2 USD). We expected to pay about the same. The driver quoted us 60,000 Tsh. I laughed and started walking away. Staci, assuming he made a mistake, offered to pay (in Swahili!) elfu tatu, 3000 Tsh. He responded with elfu nne (4000 Tsh). She accepted.
Instead of paying $160 USD to get from Momella Lodge to our hotel, we spent 18,000 Tsh, less than $12 USD.
We had been told it's better to negotiate in Swahili, it appears to be true.
We had to direct him through town to our hotel, it was easy once we found the clock tower in the middle of town. The clock tower in the middle of Arusha has significance. It's the halfway point between Capetown, South Africa and Cairo, Egypt.
Humorously, we were asked a few days before, at the Momella Gate, if we were Tanzanian residents! Our Swahili must be getting better. I don't think it has anything to do with our tans.
It feels so good to be back at our home base.
JANUARY 9-Shopping and Preparing-and Being Lazy
We had our lists, and now we have the lay of the land in Arusha. With our game plan in hand Staci confidently named our low price for the taxi (accepted immediately), and we were off. We have become efficient shoppers.
I got new reading glasses, my duct taped glasses were driving me crazy. We went to the drug store and got Tums for me and anti-histamines for Staci's hives. We decided against the crazy expense of insect repellent. They must figure only tourists use insect repellent, so they jack up the prices accordingly. We have noted that sunscreen is also very expensive. We both came with plenty of sunscreen however. Then we hit the outdoor store and the grocery store.
At the outdoor store Staci pointed out the sleeping pads. My ill-fated, unreliable, obnoxious, slow leaking air mattress really was not okay for the cold, high reaches of the mountain. I spent 50,000 Tsh in the hopes of being able to sleep better at night in the cold. Heck, I'd spent 50,000 Tsh just to try to get a mob to shut up so I could sleep.
The grocery store is something like Costco. One time they have just what you want, the next time it's sold out and you're out of luck.
They only had two Knorr Pasta Sides left. My food variety on Mount Kilimanjaro will be limited. Thank goodness for the great version of a Top Ramen type meal they sell here. Combining that with dried coconut milk, and a few other concoctions, will sustain me. Also, I found Snickers bars. I learned from my friends Princess and Mr. Sandals on the PCT that a person can survive, and thrive, on a Snickers based diet.
With food and other necessities in hand, we packed. We rested. I still ached from the Mount Meru hike, so extra days to recover were needed.
Staci and I read and read. We both finished our latest books. I've read a few books on the trip. It's been an unexpected benefit of the zero days we've had.
At the local bookstore I picked up a high school world history text written by a man from Moshi, Tanzania, very near Arusha. I wanted to learn about the local slant on world history. It has been fascinating reading. Tanzania has a conflicted history when it comes to slavery, for instance. Tanzania is the combined areas of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Tanganyika is the inland area where we have spent our entire hike. It's mostly Christian, primarily Catholic. Zanzibar is the coastal portion of Tanzania and mostly Muslim.
Zanzibar had slavery for nearly 400 years, and was one of the latter areas to do away with slavery. I was shocked to read that Ethiopia didn't agree to end slavery until 1926. Much of Africa suffered greatly from the loss of the 15-35 year old strongest cohort of their population being taken away for generations. Depopulation had an incredible long term impact on the economy and social structure. It's a fascinating read.
We watched events with terrorists in Paris unfolding on the TV in the lobby of the hotel, and worried about Martin and our other new French friends from Mount Meru, and what they were heading home to.
JANUARY 10-Meeting with Guide
Relaxed and finished preparations for the climb. Met with guide in the evening, and all is set to head to Londerossi Gate in the morning to begin the eight day ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro!!
