Tanzania!

After Amboseli we headed down to Tanzania, our second country in Africa. The border was completely chaotic, with little instruction on where to go, nothing to keep anyone from walking across, and too many Masai nicknack sellers to count.

The border. No guards.

The aggressive Masai pushers (for lack of a better term) were annoying throughout Kenya. They didn’t take no for an answer, and continually harassed anyone and everyone who wasn’t stern to them. It was impossible to enjoy the park, city, or gate where they were present, as we had to barricade ourselves in the car without looking outside in order to persuade them to leave. And the tactics didn’t even seem successful – we rarely saw any purchase, and we bought our Masai gifts at the far more relaxed markets that were found in each town.

A Masai woman who refused to leave me along at the border,.

But in the middle of the chaos we were able to find our shuttle bus to our next town (Arusha), get our passports stamped, and head on the road, praying that our luggage was safe on the roof. Throughout Africa we found that bus drivers would say anything and make any promises to get us to board, and this one was no different. We had been promised an easy connection, the ability to stay with our bags, and two seats saved for us. Instead, the bus arrived hours late, without any free seats, and with no room for bags. On, well – TIA!

We immediately liked Tanzania, particularly its roads, which were far smoother and more orderly than Kenya’s (although it seems they were all under construction). A small issue, maybe, but with we amount of time we spent on long drives in vans and buses, it really made a difference!

A Masai man biking along one of the nice smooth roads

Tanzania road construction

Arusha was also a nice home base city, especially the friendly and welcoming Ujamaa Hostel.

Ujamaa Hostel