My last couple of days in Arusha were spent with my "African brothers," the guides I met and hung out with before I left for safari.
I had mentioned I wanted to see Mt. Kilimanjaro so they offered to accompany me and take me to a closer "viewpoint" accessible via minibus taxi. My homework was to pray for clear skies but it turned out to be a miserably cloudy day. Still, they were optimistic so we went anyway. But I suspect they must have known because they brought along pot and lit up while we waited for the clouds to part. And the viewpoint turned out to be a field by the side of the dusty road. So there we were, two pot smoking Arushanites and a mzungu (foreigner) sitting under the tree waiting for Kili to appear.
No luck but we did experience an epic sandstorm. The horizon started turning yellow and it grew into a giant dust cloud and moved towards us until the sky was yellow.
I was scheduled to leave for Nairobi the next day around 1pm but one of the guys came to my guesthouse at 8:30am and said, "Pack your stuff; it's clear, we're going to see that stupid mountain!" So we relived the first day but this time without the mary jane and devil dust. Score.
If anyone would like to go on safari or climb Kili, let me know and I will put you in contact with these awesome guys- Beka and Chriss. They are trying to venture out on and establish their own company do support would be much appreciated! Plus they know how to have a good time and will introduce you to some local African food and liquor :)
No comments:
Post a Comment