Arusha, Tanzania, February 4, 2014

Still in a bit of a fog, Stan and I are managing much better than we expected. We slept soundly and deeply in our room at the Onsea House B&B last night, guaranteed by having been awake for over 38 hours and doubly guaranteed by my new best friend, Ambien.

Darkness had already settled in by the time we arrived so we saw nothing on the 55km drive from Kilimanjaro Airport to our B&B, nothing except three cows, killed on the road only moments before we arrived by a small local bus. Except for the cows, there appeared to be no injury to passengers or others. It was a little unsettling nonetheless. Welcome to Tanzania where the cattle run free and so do the vans, buses and motorcycles.

After about an hour on the road, our driver turned off the pavement onto a winding dirt road leading to our B&B. Both Stan and I were silently relieved when we actually reached the gates to our nice accommodations instead of some lonely, dark place where two naïve Americans would never be seen again. We were greeted with hot towels and a glass of chilled juice.

We woke to the sound of school bells and rooster crows. Saying this makes me suddenly aware of the sounds I hear at this moment (3:15 pm). There is a rooster still crowing in the distance, I hear china gently clinking and conversation in the restaurant on the terrace below us, and dogs barking in the valley . . . just sharing this peaceful moment with you.

A view of Mt. Meru (the second tallest mountain in all of Africa, we are told) and the rolling tropical hills below it are visible from our pleasant terrace. The sky is very cloudy today, the prelude, we are told, to the approaching rainy season. In fact it is far too cloudy for us to get a view of Mt. Kilimanjaro which is about 60km from here. I am hoping that on one of our travels in the next couple of days we can at least catch a glimpse of this famous mountain. Looking down the hillside, what can be seen, however, is a mixture of crude homes with tin roofs, banana gardens and small corn fields nestled among a few newer more spacious homes, all of which are terraced down the foothills of Mt. Meru to the valley.

We visited the busy city of Arusha today. The experience was mixed. The area is said to be safe, and the people were lovely. They were very helpful and friendly but also very intent on earning their keep. "Buy this or that!" "See my shop!" "Take your time!" "Let me escort you, etc." I felt my stress level building.

We saw the local market full of fresh vegetables and fruit, much of it just like the produce we all know and love at home. Cabbages were so plentiful, they were simply displayed in a huge pile on the sidewalk. I was tempted to buy an avocado - any of one of them was twice the size of the California or Mexican varieties we buy at home.

Next we toured the Maasai Market—this is where you can buy authentic African arts and crafts like carved African animals, painted canvases, handmade decorated purses and totes, beaded boxes and bracelets, sarongs, mats—much more that I can name. The authenticity is assured because many of the craftsmen were creating their work as they sat in their booth or shop. We also noted that all it takes to open a shop is an umbrella and something on which to display your stuff . . . a small table, a blanket on the ground or a cart on wheels. And there you have it.

My impression for the day? Nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live here. We simply did not know what to expect with Arusha, and we are a bit baffled after seeing it. It's far more modern than we expected. It has multi-story buildings and lovely hotels, all of which dated, certainly. Using the imagination, it appears that at various points in time, someone decided to invest and built, but few engaged to maintain the stuff go-forward. So, while we are not seeing mud huts, to our perspective Arusha is stil third world.