Wednesday, February 13th, 2013
Well it’s been a few months…ok weeks since I’ve left Riyadh so it was clearly time for my next adventure. I told you in my last post that I would be off to Africa for the first time (yes I’ve been to Egypt but “northern Africa” is not very often considered “Africa”) and I was a little excited about it. Of course as usual I had to get there first. I must say all my planning and submitting stuff at the perfect moment actually worked out this time. I needed a new multiple exit/re-entry VISA however my Iquama (my Saudi residency permit) was set to expire so I needed to get my Iquama renewed and my VISA application in at the correct time and in the correct order. In this case it worked out perfectly and both were processed without an issue (Alhamdulillah......that's "thanks be to god" in Arabic).
So paperwork covered (the tickets and trip had been long bought and paid for) I just needed to finish packing and
head to the airport. Our flight left at 0410 (a ridiculous hour I know unless
you live in Riyadh) and the airport was surprisingly busy but we made it with
plenty of time (being girls once again got us bumped right to the front of the line). Also a good thing that baggage allowance to Tanzania from
Riyadh is 30 kg (66 lbs) because my bag was a little heavy (my dive gear alone is about 23 kg (50 kg) so you can imagine most of the time I don't have a lot of room for extras). I also had 2 fully packed
carry-on bags which at some airports might cause a problem but in Riyadh it's almost expected.
Our first flight took us to Addis Abada Ethiopia. We rolled
in about 30 minutes early (when does that ever happen?) and found ourselves in
a very interesting little airport. There were lounge chairs set up so people
could sleep (and many were……apparently there are a lot of long layovers in
Addis Abada), the duty free shop was not much bigger than my bedroom and the little restaurant was sure to be a little Mom and Pop run place. The best part was the “smoking
room” which was a little glass box with an open door and open ceiling. I assure
you the smoke was not contained but at least the smokers were.
Eventually we hopped aboard a shuttle bus that took us to
our plane and an hour and a half later we were in Kilimanjaro. Just to remind you, the “we” I talk about is
myself and Lola…very often my partner in crime. We headed to Tanzania to spend
7 days climbing Mount Kilimanjaro followed by 5 days on a safari. Lola would
then head back to Riyadh and I would head to Zanzibar for some beach time and
diving.
Upon arrival in Kilimanjaro we needed to pass through
immigration, which first entailed showing that fancy yellow card that proves
you’ve had your yellow fever immunization…..they then looked at your passport.
Entry Visas (purchased at the airport) are 50USD and really easy to get. You do
have to be fingerprinted and pictured as well but that is pretty minor. Mostly it was just "hellos" and "welcomes".
The short walk from the plane to the terminal once we arrived in Kilimanjaro.
It was then off to pick up our luggage. It became quickly
obvious that Lola’s bag had not arrived. We tried to pack pretty much everything
we needed for the hike in our carry-ons just in case this happened but Lola’s
sleeping bag was in her checked bag. We had high hopes it would still arrive
before we left in the morning.
Once outside the airport it was easy to find the man holding
the sign with my name on it and it was off to the van for the 60 minute ride to
the hotel. Although I was exhausted I found myself just watching my first views
of Africa go by the windows. It really was everything I expected; skinny goats
and cows grazing along the road side, women in bright coloured clothing with
babies strapped to their backs carrying jugs of everything on their heads, crowded
buses, street markets, shacks, schools, school children, men on bikes, cold coca cola being sold (everywhere), mangoes
and lots of smiling faces. Not sure I expected to see so many advertisements for mobile phones but that at least made the part of me that has difficulties disconnecting happy.
The tiny little International airport at Kilimanjaro.
Arriving at the Springland Hotel in Moshi (which would be our home base) we got a quick introduction into
African Hospitality. Everyone you meet says “thank-you” and “how are you?” and
“Jambo” and “You’re welcome”. There are a lot of young staff members working
and training and they are all so nice. Of course many people ask me if I found them nice just because in Riyadh in general people are unfriendly ( I blame it on the separation of men and women and the lack of relaxed socialising this results in) but no, people here are just so nice and polite.
On this first day we mainly unpacked, repacked, met our mountain guide
and climbing buddies (Axel and Greg, a couple border guards from Norway), had a
fabulous buffet dinner (seriously if this is any indication of the meals we
will get while here I won’t go hungry that’s for sure), and then headed off to
bed. Ok we sampled the local beer first. A 500ml bottle of Kilimanjaro beer
goes for 3USD and it is pretty good I must say.
Day One of our mountain trek would start early. The plan
would be to leave the hotel at 0830.
The first of many Kilis I'm sure to be sampling.
Wish us luck!
Julie
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