Guest Post by Tim Larson - Tanzania

I’m an inexperienced traveler compared to Mariel, with only a few trips out of the country prior to this. Mariel once asked me where I'd go if I could go anywhere in the world, and I flippantly replied, "I'd like to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro." At the time it felt distant and abstract, I didn't realize how quickly it would become a reality. On the plane ride over I sat next to a doctor from Savannah, Georgia, who grew up in Nigeria before immigrating to the USA in 1974 at the age of 18. He now runs a charitable organization that arranges medical missions to places in Africa and South America, with a few days of tax-free all-inclusive R&R tacked on to each trip for good measure. He was surprisingly fond of Donald Trump – I gathered he’d dealt with some harsh things during his childhood.

After landing in Kilimanjaro airport I had a brief panic when our driver failed to show and the cell numbers we had on hand seemed to be disconnected. With the help of some locals we managed to get ahold of our safari company and get a ride to our hotel. Mariel was cool and collected during all of this.

The first thing that struck me was the massive number of motorcycles on the road, most carrying multiple passengers and large cargoes. We later learned that most of these are taxis and they are the cheapest way to get around quickly – without any safety gear of our own we won’t experience  that this trip, but it looks like an adrenaline rush given the chaotic traffic.

The signs are a mix of Swahili and English, and many people speak English very well, making life easy. Our hotels have had wifi and hot water (when the power was running), and the rain has accommodated our schedule and restricted itself to times when we were driving or sitting in our hotel room. The rains bring a chill wind, contrasting with my expectations for the weather. During the safari we could see rain off in the distance and feel the cold breeze, even it stayed dry in our area.

Our guide was great – his love of the animals was obvious, as was the enjoyment he got out of successfully running some of the muddier stretches of road. Our chef was younger – 23 – and was also quite skilled, making up dishes on the fly based on our preferences. He loved American hip hop and introduced us to the latest Justin Bieber song using his smart phone. It’s apparently a big hit here in Tanzania, as we heard another group of locals playing it at a bar in our hotel in Moshi. The national parks here are all well-maintained; I was impressed with the daily cleaning of our campsite in the Serengeti. I also got a kick out of the guides and local workers chatting to friends and family on their cell phones deep in the endless plains.

More later, my time is up here at the internet café. Kilimanjaro, here we come!

A view from our hotel this morning.