Arusha

Working in hotels for the past 10 years, I am always interested in where I stay.   In Tanzania, we were not roughing it.  We stayed in some great places, and I'll post the pictures and the websites.   Sometimes it would catch me off guard.   You'd be on what you think is the long bumpy road to nowhere, and then the lodge would appear.   Love the Tanzania welcome at each hotel with a class of fruit juice to cool off and a warm towel to take away the dust.

Our first night our flight didn't get in to the Kilimanjaro Airport until almost 10pm.   We drove right past the mountain, but couldn't see it.   We stayed at the Arusha Coffee Lodge.   There was, in fact, coffee grown on site.  But, like Mt. Kili, we couldn't see it because it was dark.   Unlike Mt. Kili, I did get to see the coffee plants on Sunday morning when we explored the property.

And crucial to any sort of travel, is trying the local flavor.  After 2 days on a plane, a cold drink tastes great.  The "Big 5" when it came to beer in Tanzania:  Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, Safari, Tusker, and Ndovu.

And on Sunday morning, prior to heading out with Alphayo on our first day of adventure, we had a chance to learn about mission work in Africa through a career missionary with Africa Inland Mission.   Having done a variety of short-term mission trips both in the US and central America, I was fascinated by what long-term missionaries do - especially on a continent as big and diverse as Africa.