Thursday, March 7, 2013

On our own

Well, the bus did indeed pick us up yesterday morning. It was a 6 hour ride from Kilwa to Dar. The ride was an incredibly bumpy, off road experience at times, due to road work. However, despite all the thrashing, I somehow managed to sleep most of the way. Later, I was told you could hear my head slamming into the window all throughout the bus. Today, I have a little sore spot, but it's worth sleeping through that miserable trip.

Once we arrived in Dar, our assistant field director met us at the bus station and transported us to a nearby hotel. She dropped us off with a quick goodbye and a slight "glad to have you out of my hair" attitude. So at that point, we were on our own. At first, we all felt a little overwhelmed by the chaos of an African city, but we've managed quite nicely. After a short rest, we found a small Indian cafe where we got some fried rice and curry. We then found a nearby supermarket, where we actually found some ice cream to enjoy! We also picked up some yogurt and granola for dinner.

Now, it's a bit past 8 in the morning and five of us girls are waiting in the hotel lobby. On our own, we arranged a private car to pick us up and drive us the three hours to Mikumi National Park. There, we have booked a one night stay and two safari game drives.

The feeling of being of overwhelmed has subsided a bit, and has been replaced by excitement. While we still have two more days to find our own way in Dar es Salaam, we feel accomplished for what we've managed so far!

Simba, here I come!

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