Arusha town

Before Jackson came to pick me up in the afternoon for a trip into Arusha, I had a fabulous lunch at the lodge. It started with a pumpkin soup. This is not something that I would normally order or even attempt at home most likely. But I figured what the heck, I'm on a grand adventure so why not try it anyway. It turned out to be one of the best soups I have ever eaten. It was so rich and creamy, I could have had two or three bowls of it. The rest of the meal was just as good. The main dish was pork chops in a flavorful sauce that I think had curry in it. There were baby potatoes and fresh green beans from the plantation garden. Now I have had two wonderful meals, a nice room, and absolutely beautiful environment, wonderful people at the lodge, and now it was time to leave and see some more of what Tanzania has to offer.

Jackson said he would pick me up at 2:00 to go into Arusha. I was at the front of the lodge at 1:55 (didn't dare want to be late for my first adventure out into Africa. At five after, no Jackson. At ten after, still no Jackson. I am getting nervous now. Did he forget me? Or did I misunderstand him last night in the whirlwind of the evening. Finally, at 2:17, Jackson shows up (Africa time at work). I clearly was not yet adjusted to the way things work in Africa. I would quickly learn that the most important thing about a trip like this to Africa is to remember the line from the Lion King: "Hakuna Matata". Just relax, it will all work out.

As we drove into town, the people were everywhere. I know that many if not most of the houses and shops we drove past had no electricity and running water. And then it seemed that about one in 5 houses was only partially built. More on this later. The village looked different in the day light. We were truly in the jungle. The plant life was so lush and thick. What was not forested was planted in some kind of crop. Food around here could not be in short supply. I was completely enthralled with what I was seeing. It was just like being live in a National Geographic show. I was thinking, "This must be the classic image of what Africa is." The people were walking along the road carrying bags and bundles of items of who knows what. Sometimes carrying them on top of their heads. This was the scene all the way into town, a drive that took less than half an hour.

As we got closer to town, the numbers of people out along the road only increased. There was clearly more traffic along the sides of the roads than there was on the roads. In town there were people (always men) pushing or pulling two wheeled cars sometimes heavily loaded with a variety of different things. Before arriving here, I had done a lot of reading about the area. I knew that Arusha was a commercial and government center for northern Tanzania. From what I could gather, the population was about 100,00 in town and about 500,000 in the Arusha area.
I think I expected Arusha to look more like a city with a city center. The city center w very run down, dirty and crowded. Only a few buildings looked new and in good repair. One of those the big multistory white building that housed the Rawandan Tribunal where they were still trying people for the genocide in Rawanda many years ago. You would think for all of the important government and business meetings that go on here and the fact that this is one of the major starting points for safaris that it would be a lot nicer. Welcome to Africa!

There was at this time not one traffic signal in all of Arusha. The first traffic light was installed about two months after I left. That light caused so much havoc that it all but shut down the traffic at a very busy intersection. Progress comes slowly to Tanzania. They do not even have streetlights. Although there is a plan in the process to change that now. You can read about these developments in the Arusha Times. It is linked on the side. I did see a few street names but that was rare. The U2 song "Where the Streets Have No Name" was alive and well in Arusha. That song was written about conditions in Ethiopia but it seemed appropriate for here as well. Inspite of all of these third world conditions, Arusha actually is a thriving and growing community. There is a lot of progress going on here. I would learn much more about this as the trip went on and even more after I got home.

Before we left the town, Jackson said he needed to stop at the Hoopoe Safari office for a few minutes. He was gone less than ten minutes, sitting on the street in the car by myself was a very interesting experience. Across the street from the car were several street vendors and other people "just hanging out". I felt like I was being watched by everyone. And of course, I was watching and looking at them like they were some kind of novel sight, which to me this is exactly what it was. For a few minutes, I was all alone in a strange world and really not sure what to expect next. I have to admit that there was a little bit of nervousness for this short wait. Jackson soon returned with another Hoopoe worker who he introduced as Innocence. He would be the store clerk and cook for the nights we spent camping out in the bush later in the week. Oh wow, this safari adventure is really going to happen. But still two days away.