I made it!

All of this excitement and my trip hasn’t really started yet - lol! 

Both of my flights went as expected and zero surprises - other than good ones! I arrived at the international terminal at the YYC Calgary airport about 2 hours before boarding, and had dropped off my bags and was through security within 15mins, having lots of relaxing time to grab a quick bite and get all organized for 18 hours of flying. 

I was very excited to be flying KLM again as they had impressed me so much on a previous trip, and they did not let me down this time! 

There was a pillow and blanket waiting for me on my economy seat, however with a full flight and three strangers in my row it was very cozy and I only used the pillow. I actually found it a bit too warm and I made a mental note to take off a layer before boarding my second flight. 

It has been a while since I have gotten a full airplane meal, but I was excited for this one! (Food easily impresses me!)

I opted for the “shrimps and rice” while the two gentlemen next to me wanted the vegetarian pasta - but they had run out of it! I have experienced that disappointment many times on planes, so I was happy they had my first choice. I tried sleeping a bit on this 8 hour flight, but it just wasn’t meant to be. I did get in a few good movies - one I highly recommend, with Tom Hanks: A Man Called Otto. It’s definitely a tear jerker! I can’t decide yet whether or not I liked Brendan Faser’s: The Whale. I certainly did not like the ending, but still deciding on the rest. Who knew there were movie reviews in this blog also! As a bonus (I mean I guess it was a long flight and people usually eat every 4-6 hours) we got a “warm snack” about 90 mins before landing - fun!! Did I mention I’m easily impressed by food? It was an English muffin breakfast sandwich. I’m not totally sure what was on it, definitely cheese, and then something else that was yummy, but too moist to be any type of egg or meat and so I just stopped trying to figure out what it was, and enjoyed it. I was really impressed with my view above the clouds, although the window reflection kept me from getting perfect shots - still beautiful!

 

I have been a bit apprehensive about only having a two hour layover in Amsterdam at Schiphol Airport, as unsure of what I had to do before boarding my second International flight. All a waste of stress. Upon landing I asked a KLM crew member if I needed to collect my bags in between, go through security or customs etc. He said “Nah, you can do that when you get to Africa - we trust you here”.  So funny! And I just had to walk 10 mins to my next gate. So simple! Very nice airport and I am looking forward to doing more exploring there with my 4 hour layover on the way home…now that I know I’ll have time. 

I took off my long sleeve layer before boarding my flight to Tanzania - mistake. In this leg I had booked the emergency exit by the bathrooms, which meant about 4-5 feet of leg room in front of me, and only two seats in my row - I was frozen!! Also, since there were no seats in front of me I had no pocket to store anything in nor seat to store anything under - so everything had to go up above. Not a big deal, however I have long since gotten out of the habit of putting anything I may need in the overhead bin. I have had the privilege of many long flights, and I have never understood the mad rush to line up early to get on the plane first - especially when you are going to be on it for 9-10 hours!! Enjoy the space inside the airport. However, if you need some of the precious, never enough, space to stow your suitcase up above, then I see the desire to board early. We learned early on that the ability to pre board early with children is not the advantage it may appear to be. Who wants more time on the plane with kids!? Minimize that as much as you can! And if you have a couple of things to stow overhead you will still find plenty of room near the end of boarding as a family of four, taking up a whole row! 

I had made the ingenious decision to pack a smaller backpack inside my larger backpack so that I could split them before boarding the plane - one filled with things I need on the plane, but also one that only had stuff I would need when I landed - all of the important things I didn’t want to check like a camera, extra set of clothes, medications, 2 things extra books etc. Airports with one, but two for on the plane. And even my stow up top one was small so I had no worries it would fit. Now, on this second flight I saw the errors of my “hacking the system” as they both had to go up for take off and landing. It was fine - although this flight was a bit delayed leaving and then it took longer than usual once in the air for the seatbelt sign to turn off - so I sat their frozen, missing my long sleeve layer and my blanket and pillow - which the flight attendant had kindly (?!?!) stowed for me until after takeoff. I am annoying to be with while I am following the rules and everyone around me is not. Everyone was getting up, walking around, using the bathroom - while the seatbelt sign was still on!!! If you have ever met me you know that this is one of those things that I really don’t handle well. I think travelling alone actually helped because I had no one to complain to! I sat there patiently, enjoying every time the announcement came on to “Please return to your seats. The seatbelt sign is still on.”  Reminder to self to never become a flight attendant - these people have some of the most patience I have ever witnessed. That perma - smile…I just hope your face muscles get used to it because I remember how much smiling hurt all day for my wedding photos - and that was just one day! I mean, I smile a lot as a teacher, but I also get breaks to give the “teacher look” so my muscles get a chance to relax…

So the seatbelt sign eventually went off. I immediately grabbed my bag and extra layer and bee lined to the bathroom. Sitting right next to them was nice as I could always tell when they were empty AND I had the window seat but didn’t have to climb over anyone to get up - perfect - if only I was dressed properly - no additional body heat! Even the blanket didn’t help that much, but I was finally comfortable enough to catch a couple of naps on this 9 hour flight as my body now knew it was feeling like after midnight for me. No movie reviews this time, or photos of food. However the food was still a treat:  chicken with rice and green beans for the main meal, followed by a delicious veg pizza for our final “warm snack.”  

Also this flight was very uneventful - other than being cold…so many takeaways for my flights home! It was beautiful in the dark!

We landed in Tanzania, at Kilimanjaro International Airport. Unfortunately, both my arrival and departure flights take place in the dark, so I don’t get to see much - like Mt. Kilimanjaro, but I’m hoping for a view as we drive around for my tour…not sure if it’s possible - but there are many awesome pictures of it online. 😉  We deplaned walking down stairs outside, and into the airport. 

Other than waiting in a line, which was very orderly and efficient, my plane departure was so quick I didn’t really get to take much in. I easily cleared immigration, having prepaid for my Visa online, and my one checked bag was waiting for me right after that. I thought about exchanging some money there, but I was so exhausted that I just wanted to get to my hotel (I’ll regret this decision later). As soon as I walked outside with my luggage my driver was the 3rd sign I read, and there must have been 20-30 signs. I was looking for my name, but it said “G Adventures, National Geographic Joyneys” and it was plastic, not just printed on paper, so I went over to him. He looked at me and said “Mrs. Julie?”, so I knew I was in the right place. He took my luggage and walked me out of the crowd where he gave me the most beautiful little welcome speech: welcome to Africa and Tanzania, we know you have many options for your vacation, so glad you chose us, I will take care of anything for you, do you need some time in the bathroom before we leave? Etc…I know it was a prepared bit he gives everyone, but it made me feel so special and welcome. I was his only passenger, so we took off. He was so kind and friendly - he kept asking me if I had any questions, and I had EVERY question but I was just so tired (it was 10pm Tanzania time - absolutely no idea what time my body thought it was. I was ready to embrace Tanzania time (or so I thought) and I pretty much sat in silence for the hour transfer to my lodgings. I looked out my half open windows and took in as much as I could in the dark. I was quite surprised to see that about 90% of the words on the buildings we passed were in English. I mean they looked like places where locals would go, not tourists, and I know they speak English, but the main language is Swahili. I loved seeing all the neon lights lit up, hearing music playing and lots of people gathered around. This was just the road to my hotel…not a big city etc. Everything was set close to the road, many people were getting around on motorcycles and many motorcycles were grouped together at places along the way. Sometimes I could smell delicious food for sale being cooked on outdoor grills along the road. It was a very relaxing ride. Not relaxing in the sense of speed, horn honking, passing, people walking on the road, and we even saw very bad car crash between an SUV and a bigger truck, where the whole front of the SUV was smashed in, I mean relaxing in the sense that I could tell my driver knew what he was doing and I could just sit back and relax. They drive on the opposite side to Canada here, and the steering wheel is also on the opposite side…I was happy to sit back and relax. 

It was almost an hour until we got to the city of Arusha. Life really picked up once we got here, and it kind of reminded me of Vancouver - but no ocean and dark, plus we didn’t drive through downtown…so I may be way off. We turned down a side street to make our way to my lodge. You are not supposed to take any photos of people unless you get their permission first, so I just kept my phone away and didn’t bother taking any. The last 5 mins to my hotel were 1km, down a dirt road. I had read online in reviews that it was a “bumpy” road, but I was nowhere prepared for how bumpy. I can’t even explain how bumpy and insane it is! I’ll have to get a photo of it - but there are always people walking around and I shouldn’t take photos of them…I’ll figure something out. 

As we pulled up to the hotel there was someone waiting inside the gates to open them for us. It looked beautiful outside in the dark with all of the lights setting it aglow! I was met by two porters, plus the gate guy and someone else who opened the door for me. And my driver walked me in and showed me where to go - I felt so important! I was met at the front desk by a lovely lady who knew who I was and checked me in. I had to fill out a form first, including my passport number, but I didn’t have to leave a credit card or show ID, which is very typical in Canada. My accommodations were already paid for by G Adventures as I had to book my two early nights through them. So maybe they weren’t worried? I’m not sure. My driver said goodbye and left (this was where I wish I had exchanged money - I knew I was supposed to tip $3-5 US or in local shillings. I had US dollars, a 1, a 5, 2 tens, and 20s. I gave him my$5. Then my porters carried my luggage and walked me to my room. I gave them my $1 to share!!! I was humiliated to not be prepared. I thought I had way more smaller ones so I didn’t bother getting any before I left. Another lesson. I’ll save my lodge for the next post as this one is way too long - imagine once I see animals!!! Although I expect those will be shorter with less to say and more photos! But who knows!? Remember that I am writing this for myself and I don’t want to forget a single moment or feeling. You don’t need to read all of it 😉