Kilimanjaro Airport

Veta on the Patio

   The Living Room Veta in the Living Room The BathroomMount Meru

Today was an extremely long day.  My sister and I headed to the airport at 7:00AM for 14-hour flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and then connected with a 2-hour flight to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. We flew Ethiopian Air because it was the only airline that got us in Tanzania the next day before 2:00PM.  All the other flights had 2-3 layovers, which would take a total of 22-28 hours, essentially taking 2 days due to the time difference. So we picked Ethiopian Air, BUT the best part was that 2 first-class R/T tickets after using FF miles only cost about $400.00 out of pocket for taxes (no fuel charge for some strange, unknown reason).     

FYI: although the seats reclined to a flat bed, the cushions were not that comfy and the food was nothing to blog about, except for the sampling of traditional Ethiopian food that was passed out between the appetizer and entrée.  At least these dishes had a bit of spice, but left me rather gassy.  One passenger went into the bathroom and exploded, which filled the air with a lovely, eye-watering stench.  Then another passenger, a rather portly, preacher or just a beach ball of a man in glasses and suspenders, who just happened to be sitting across the aisle from me, gave Veta and me a good chuckle when he reclined his chair and then rolled onto his side facing me snoring lightly with his hand jammed down the front of his pants.  I tried to get a picture posing next to him, but the noise from opening the overhead to get my camera served as a warning and he quickly removed his hand.  The rest of the flight was pretty tame. The film selection was rather slim.  I watched a few Bollywood films and played a few rounds of Sudoku before landing in Addis Ababa.

The airport in Addis Ababa consists of what looks like two aluminum siding covered sheds with a mini-bus that runs between Terminal 2 (Long Distance International flights) and Terminal 1 (Short Distance Flights). Terminal 1 did have the Cloud Nine Lounge for business class passengers.  It was separated from the rest of the room by large glass partitions.  There were two computers for passengers to use that could only connect to the Internet for 15 minutes at a time because the building suffered from rolling brownouts. The décor had the vibe of a 70s basement club with worn and dirty burgundy carpeting, black and chrome pleather club chairs, with brown Formica coffee tables set before them to hold drinks and plates.  There were a few high tables and black and chrome stools with bits of the original protective plastic wrap still clinging to the base of the stools.  The fruit and bits of hot food that were dehydrating in the chafing dishes all looked a little hairy and as if they had been sitting there since 1986.  The place smelled of old socks and cigarettes.  Just outside the Cloud Nine Lounge was the smoking area – a 2 x 4 area enclosed in glass.  It looked more like a bus stop than a smoking lounge.  There were a few shops selling trinkets and t-shirts, a duty free that sold 4 different bottles of whiskey or vodka and Marlboro Reds and Lights.  Needless to say, 2 hours felt like 5 cuz there’s nothin’ to do. 

By the time we boarded the plane for Kilimanjaro, Veta and I were ready for a shower.  Unfortunately, the flight was delayed 45 minutes. The reason was never explained until we were in the air and it was a short statement from the pilot saying the bags took longer than expected to load.  There was an older woman who ran from the back of the plane demanding to be moved because the man next to her was soooooo stinky she was about to vomit.  The flight attendants explained there were no more seats in economy.  She argued and argued with the flight attendants until they gave in and let her sit in one of the 5 empty seats in first-class with the caveat that she would receive no services.  She yelled, “I don’t care about the services; I cannot sit next to that stinky man!”  In the end, she got the same stuff the rest of us got.  But the last time I went to Uganda, an old lady passed out and got bumped up to first-class, now this old lady got upgraded due to a funky seatmate – I believe I see a pattern here….

We landed in Tanzania around 2pm and zipped through customs. We were picked up by our guide for the day, George.  He was a rather tall, handsome chap with a lot of opinions.  We laughed because he was involved in the Obama visit.  His wife kept calling him while he was on the job to see if he could get a picture of Michelle.  He was on his phone so much that some of the secret service guys started questioning him wanting to know who he was talking to.  He finally had to tell them that it was his wife and she was desperate for him to get a photo of Michelle.  They laughed and left him alone after that.  Unfortunately, he was not able to get a photo because of all the security around them, especially since George W and Laura were there as well. 

Our guide George (not Bush) told us another heeheeelarious story about Andrew Zimmerman (not to be confused with the other George).  He is the bald guy from the travel channel who goes around eating all sorts of odd things.  His show is Bizarre Food.  Well, George was his guide for the Tanzania episode, so he (George) is often recognized by guests who come to Tanzania for being on Zimmerman’s show.  Now to the point, Zimmerman and his producers are not quite so honest in the way they present these bizarre foods.  They often request for the locals to make the food or present in ways that are not quite typical of the way they are usually served or presented.  Also, Zimmerman often pretends that he likes the local people or the food for the camera and then makes fun of them or says very insulting things off camera – big surprise.  But our guide George was very insulted by the way Zimmerman spoke about the Maasai women (calling them dirty behind their backs after telling them how beautiful they were on camera) and then trying to get the Maasai men to drink the cow blood with him in a manner that was not traditional.  They of course refused.  To make a long story short, at the end of the taping, Zimmerman asked George what he thought of the show and George let him have it.  He told him he was not a genuine person and that he felt his behavior was insulting to his country and his culture.  Zimmerman was shocked by George’s candor.  George said he has seen the episode and is not proud that he was a part of it.

Along the way to the Legendary Lodge (an old coffee farm that is still working) http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297913-d2184371-Reviews-Legendary_Lodge-Arusha_Arusha_Region.html, we stopped off to buy a few things at the Arusha Cultural Center, which is a huge mall and shopper’s paradise for all things Tanzanian.  It’s so big and crammed with so much stuff it’s completely overwhelming.

The Lodge is fantastic.  It is very peaceful with a great view of Mount Meru (about 1500 meters shorter than Kilimanjaro, but less forgiving to climbers due to the steepness of the climb – this is second-hand info from the manager of the Lodge, Natalie, because I would never attempt to climb either).  Our room, called the Kuru Room, is very large with a good sized living room with a fire place, a huge bathroom with a deep tub, and a lovely patio with a view of Mount Meru.  The staff is extremely warm and friendly, especially Joseph who pours an extra large and strong cocktail.  Dinner was delicious and now it’s time for bed.  We have got a 6am wakeup call and then we head out by 8am for Ngorongoro Crater in search of the Big Five.    

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