Arrival

After 16 hours of flying time, we arrive at the Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania, Africa around 10:30 pm. Friday, February 23rd. One of the first things I notice is the lack of lights. As we are coming in for a landing, we don’t see any city streetlights, ribbons of headlights moving through the city, or building lights. As a matter of fact, we don’t even see any runway lights until they are directly beneath us.
We disembark from the airplane directly onto the tarmac and walk to the terminal. It is hot and muggy, about 85 degrees. The airport isn’t air-conditioned and we break into a sweat as we struggle to catch our luggage from the speeding conveyer belt.
I am beside my self with excitement. Already, I feel as if I belong. I immediately fall in love with Tanzania.
Springland Inn has a driver there waiting for us. The driver climbs into the back of the van and we load our luggage to him through an open window. Soon, we are on the 45-minute drive to the hotel. I look out the window. The headlights of our van illuminate the shadows of people walking along side the highway. I am surprised by the amount of foot traffic so close to a highway with no streetlights, traffic signals or sidewalks.
The driver’s side is on the right of the vehicle, but they drive in the left lane like we do. There is very little vehicle traffic the entire drive to the hotel. Periodically, there are strips of buildings that have a green florescent outdoor light to indicate the shop is still open. To call them shops is really an overstatement. They are more like storefronts, about the size of boutique display window. The shopkeepers sit outside on overturned buckets, benches, stoops or whatever was available. In the more populated areas I can smell meat cooking over a fire pit.
After driving down a dark dirt road pitted with potholes we arrive at the hotel. A 10-foot adobe wall with a solid metal gate surrounds it. Someone from inside opens the gate and we drive through onto a gravel driveway and immediately are overwhelmed by a lush tropical garden. It is so lush that we have to be led on foot down a winding path to the lobby to check in. A group of 6-8 men begin unloading our bags, Some of the men are dressed in traditional Maasai clothing, some wear what are clearly second-hand clothes, all of the men are friendly and eager to help with the bags.
Our group consists of five professional women. My stepsister, Lisa Hepinstall, Laura Garcia, Joan McLoud, Ada Abalo, and myself. We have been planning this adventure for nine months.
Despite the long journey, we are all so excited we can hardly contain ourselves. We have reserved two rooms. One has 3 twin beds; the other has four twin beds. Each bed has green gauze mosquito-netting hanging over it. There is no air-conditioning, so we open the windows. A refreshing breeze and a standing oscillating fan keep us cool. None of the rooms have television, radio, phones or clocks. The water-heater has to be turned on in advance for the sink or shower. It feels natural and free of distraction.
We try to get some sleep because we have a short nature hike and tour of the town planned for the following day.