Although I didn't plan it, the theme of the weekend turned out to be flowers, birds and butterflies - TOTALLY up my street!
We went to a little resort near Lake Duluti in Arusha called the Serena Mountain Village. You can apparently see Mt.Kilimanjaro on a clear day (Arusha is near the foot of the mountain) but the Kili was having none of it. It was cloudy most of the time so we didn't see a thing at the resort.
The only time the Kili decided to grace us with its presence was when we were going back to the airport (it was a lot clearer in real-life but this was the best we could get out of our good camera with the crappy zoom lens). If you squint your eyes and really focus, you'll see the snow-covered peak, peeking out among the clouds, right in the center of the picture.
The Engineer captured a better shot from the airport but the street lights are spoiling it and I don't know squat about cropping. Here it is anyway:
The Engineer says that Mt.Kili is one of the few tropical mountains in the world that can boast a snow-covered peak.
We initially had vague plans to hire a driver and go to Lake Tarangire from our resort. We've been told that you can see loads of elephants at the lake (apparently it's the equivalent of the local George and Dragon for elephants because it's like a neighbourhood watering hole).
When we discovered that we would have to drive for like 6 hours (one way!) we gave up the plan immediately (you can drive the length of Malaysia - Singapore to Thailand - in about 10 hours. Malaysians aren't into looong drives!).
Instead, we opted to do nothing and I realized just how boring The Engineer and I really are when I mentioned this to a friend today and she said:"but you guys do nothing ALL the time!". Well, my only defense is that this time, we were doing nothing in Arusha as opposed to Dar!
The weather there wasn't cold but lovely and mild (in Dar you feel like you're at the mouth of hell at 9 am and roasting in hell-fire by noon)
The entire resort was set along a coffee plantation. The main house, where the reception and dining area were located, was apparently an old farmhouse and still seemed to retain an English farmhouse ambiance with wood floors, cosy armchairs and even a fireplace (although they didn't light it).
I kept expecting someone to come up to us and say something like:"I say old' chaps, would you like a spot of tea?It's frightfully cold out"
The rooms were circular affairs with a lovely little bathroom, glass doors that opened out into a lawn with a view of the lake and even a TV. Shockingly enough, neither one of us was inclined to watch anything so we spent the time reading and listening to the birds (or in the case of The Engineer, sleeping!).
That last shot (above) is the view from out little cottage - lovely, isn't it? The bathroom had real roses in it. The Engineer and I had to touch the petals to confirm this because they were so beautiful they looked fake!
I must say, it was very restful to get away from the hell-fires of the city but we've realized since we got back that the rainy season seems to have begun and it's all dark and cloudy and rainy in Dar. The rainy season is usually not for another month or so but with this unpredictable weather, I think we can safely assume that Al Gore wasn't kidding around on An Inconvenient Truth!
At least, I get to read and drink coffee while the rain falls outside. I was getting fed-up of Dar before I went on this holiday (and so was The Engineer although he's not as vocal about it as I am!) but we're both feeling far more forgiving right now.
Despite all its drawbacks, I'm often surprised at how the place manages to redeem itself. Tanzania is like Angelina Jolie, each time you think you've had enough, she does something that makes you re-think your opinion!
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