Africa Trip 2024 -- Day 1, First Day in Arusha

  

[This is post #3 of what will be multiple posts about our 2024 trip to Africa. To go to the first post in the series CLICK HERE.] 

After our 5+ hour flight from Doha, we landed at Kilimanjaro International Airport at about 7:30 am Tuesday, September 10. 

When first looking at the possible flights I was a little surprised that Tanzania was still more than 5 hours from Qatar.  Africa is huge and much larger than apparent from most common maps that use the Mercator projection which projects (and hence distorts) the round surface of the earth onto a flat map.  It exaggerates the size of countries nearer the poles (such as the US), while downplaying the size of those near the equator (Africa).

Here is what is supposedly the true size of the U.S. relative to Africa.

The true size of the continental U.S. vs the true size of Africa.  The tip of Maine is touching Qatar.  The southernmost point of Texas is almost touching the northern border of Tanzania. (From https://s3.amazonaws.com/thetruesize.com/mockup.html#?borders=1~!MTU3NTY0Njk.NDU0NTE1Ng*MzE0MTk4OTM(NjA3MjIzNg~!CONTIGUOUS_US*MTAwMjQwNzU.MjUwMjM1MTc(MTc1)MA~!IN*NTI2NDA1MQ.Nzg2MzQyMQ)MQ~!CN*OTkyMTY5Nw.NzMxNDcwNQ(MjI1)Mg)

 

BTW  In case recent travelers to Greenland would like to know, Greenland appears to be roughly the same size as Africa on maps using the Mercator projection. In reality, Greenland is 0.8 million sq. miles and Africa is 11.6 million sq. miles, nearly 14 and a half times larger.

Unfortunately the weather when we landed was overcast so we could not see nearby Mount Kilimanjaro, however that was the only slightly disappointing aspect of our arrival.  Everything else was fantastic.

We walked down the staircase from the plane and across the tarmac where we were met by the super friendly Africa Dream Safari representatives.  They whisked us through the terminal and out another door, down the tarmac, and into a separate small building, the VIP reception area.  Africa Dream Safaris is apparently one of only a small handful of safari companies that can use the VIP service.

The VIP area had its own screening machine for our carry-on luggage.  There was no waiting because we were the only ones there.  We barely sat down on the overstuffed couch and took a sip of the drinks offered to us when we were ushered into a small office, the dedicated customs officer.  He looked at our visas and passports, asked a couple of questions, and we were good to go.  While all of this was going on, someone else retrieved our checked bag.  They then ushered us into an Africa Dream Safaris van standing outside the door and we were off.  It all happened so fast I am not sure how long it took, but I am guessing 15 minutes.  There is no doubt in my mind many people from our flight were still standing in line in the terminal.

We were then off to our hotel, Arusha.Coffee Lodge.  According to the map, it is about 73 km or 45 miles.  However I never saw distances between sites in Tanzania listed in km or miles in any literature, always time.  It was about a 90 minute trip from the airport (east of Arusha) to the Coffee Lodge (west side of Arusha).

Here is a picture through the windshield of the van as we passed through one of the many villages along the way.  There are multiple things to note.

• Driving is on the left side.  I never did quite get used to that.
• The road is paved.  Most roads in Tanzania are not.
• Even though this is one of the few major roads, it is only a two lane road.  Plans to widen the road may be coming soon based on a major loan from Japan in 2022.  That would be a huge improvement because lots of very slow truck traffic kept the road at a snail's pace much of the way.
• Gas, at least at this station, was 3198 Tanzanian Schillings per liter or $1.17 per liter.  That would be $4.44 per gallon--definitely expensive by Texas standards.
  
• Just ahead is what looks like a crosswalk, but is also one of the many road bumps.
• Although only a few in this picture, there were motorcycles everywhere.  They used them to transport almost everything, including quite large items.  They are also a common means of public transportation.  We saw many young men sitting on them near intersections waiting for a possible customer.  Used in this way they are called boda bodas.  The motorcycles nominally drove on the far left next to the shoulder, but they tended to weave in and out of traffic and do all sorts of strange maneuvers.

Another means of public transportation not seen in the photo above is the slower but safer tuk tuk.  Built around a motorcycle, it has two wheels in the back where up to three people ride behind the driver.

Tuk tuk on the main road nearing Arusha

Arusha Coffee Lodge.  It was not long before we made it to our hotel, the Arusha Coffee Lodge.  It was fabulous and stood in stark contrast to the countryside through which we had just driven.  In almost every way it seemed like a throw back to colonial Africa.

Main entrance to the lodge on the left, restaurant straight ahead.  The outdoor luncheon buffet was behind these buildings under the trees. ( https://www.elewanacollection.com/arusha-coffee-lodge/photo-gallery)

 

Located within one of Tanzania's largest coffee plantations that dates back to the early 1900's, the hotel consists of 30 cottages spread out among the evergreen coffee plants under the shade of tall trees.

The paths wind through the coffee plants to the individual guest cottages.  The leafy plant on the left is a coffee plant.  They are kept relatively short to accommodate hand picking of the beans. Almost everything is in the shade of old growth trees.  (https://www.elewanacollection.com/arusha-coffee-lodge/photo-gallery)

Our cottage was huge.  

Cottage #3, our home for two days.  The couch in the foreground faces large doors that open onto a patio with outside seating.

 The bathroom wasn't too shabby either.

Bathroom in our cottage

One of the nice things about staying here while trying to work through our jet lag after such a long flight was the opportunity to explore several things on site at our own pace without the need for an Africa Dream Safari guide.  

Coffee Tour.  One of the things I had been looking forward to here was the coffee tour.  We were escorted by the very knowledgeable guide with one other couple.

Although out of season, this small group of coffee plants were in bloom.

Coffee blossoms with a Mother of Pearl butterfly

A few out of focus coffee beans

He showed us the cut trunks at the base of the plants.  They cut back the plant near the base every seven years and allow it to grow back from the roots.  They could do this up to seven times, so any plant could be growing on roots that were up to 56 years old.  We also saw multiple termite mounds.  To control these, they periodically brought in aardvarks.  We had to be careful not to step into the large holes the aardvarks created to go after the termites.

After a very detailed  tour outside, we went inside for a roasting demo.  Our guide actually roasted the beans in the small roaster on the counter.  Periodically he pulled out the beans and allowed us to smell them.  Even with my terrible sense of smell I could notice the difference after only a few minutes.

Roasting the beans

He had a full display of the different "roasts".  This wiki article explains many of the characteristics of each roast and labels them in terms of temperature.  What I did not realize was that it was primarily just how long the roast was allowed to proceed since the temperature increases with time.  All the various roasts are from the same batch of beans, just longer roasting time.  From start to the finish of the longest roast was only about 10 minutes.

 

We did not stay to taste any of the coffee since I was having a serious allergic reaction to something.  My eyes and nose would not sop running.  We still got to see and learn a lot.

Shanga.   The Coffee Lodge had a number of shops on their property that were also interesting to explore.

However by far the most interesting and unique were the Shanga workshops.  Shanga, the Swahili word for bead, is a self-sustaining enterprise that trains and employs people with disabilities to produce creative products.  The activities include weaving, glass blowing, beading, paper making and metal work, using recycled materials whenever possible.  These products are then sold in the gift shop on site and also around the world.  Having started with one individual in 2007, Shanga currently employs 34 disabled crafts people.  The disabilities include physical disabilities, the deaf, and the blind.  As noted on their webpage,  Shanga’s aim is not only to provide employment opportunities to those that need them most but also to remove the stigma that people with disabilities often face in East Africa.

The various workshops are located around a central courtyard.  We visited twice, but unfortunately there were not a lot of people working while we were there.  We did see a large group doing bead work, and several individuals doing glassblowing.  

Shanga courtyard.  The tree is decorated with necklaces made from glass beads.

 

We were intrigued by the bicycle parts incorporated into the spinning wheels.

 I did find a bead bracelet that I liked and a metal and fabric Christmas tree ornament.

 

Christmas tree ornament and bead bracelet.  As an unexpected bonus, the bracelet came in a really nice cloth pouch.

Walker, Texas Ranger.  We spent some time talking to the greeter/host/interpreter working in the Shanga courtyard.  He asked us where we were from.  United States.  Then we asked him if he had heard of Texas.  His eye lit up and said "Oh, yes!  Chuck Norris is my favorite actor!"  Apparently Walker, Texas Ranger is a popular TV show in Tanzania.  He was the first of several people we encountered who had the exact same reaction.  

Everything had been great and the people were so so friendly.  Anytime we encountered staff even walking the grounds they always greeted us with a smile and a "Jambo Jambo".  I especially appreciated the desk clerk at the hotel who found some anti-histamines for my allergy reaction when I asked for the location of a pharmacy.  It was an incredible first day in Africa.