In Africa!!!

LEFT: Pool and grounds at Arusha hotel

Hi all,


Well we arrived in Africa late last night after a grueling, if uneventful 24 hrs of flying. Some high/low points:





- Newark airport. We had to go out and reclear security, as the various terminals are not interconnected via shuttlebus. What a PIA, and how incredibly stupid of them. At least we made our connection.


- Flying KLM (dutch airways): Where to start. 6 foot tall blonde stewardessess who actually smile and don't throw food at you (AKA USScare). Recliner chairs in the terminal in Amsterdam...awesome for the weary traveller. Not being treated like cattle. But, the downside, no concept whatsoever of queueing...just open the door and everybody pushes and shoves to get on the plane.





Funny story 1: Guy (let's call him "moron") goes to clear security. He has about 200 metal items on him, and proceeds to attempt to clear the metal detector one by one!!!! Finally, he gets the last metal piece out of his various pockets, turns around, and then drops the air-safe bag containing...yes, about 5 bottles of RUM!!!! Rum everywhere, as of course the broken glass split the bag open. So, the next 200 people boarding have to step through the rum in their socks and the entire plane smelled like a Jimmy Buffet concert.





Funny story 2: Upon arrival in AMS, we're deplaning on the 200 yard long jetway. Tom, of course, is meandering along, touching everything that he can along the way (except the stewardesses, of course Laraine!), so the person in front lets go of the door, and it shuts closed. When tom pushes on it, it doesn't open, but triggers the entire alarm system...international incident....american trying to circumvent security. Alarms and flashing lights everywhere. Luckily we got him release on good behavior and could continue or trip. He did have to claim that he was a Republican however.



Weird story 1: bob, flying in from Minneapolis, overhears the guy behind him chatting about his hike up kilimanjaro. Turns out that he is "Sam" from Denver, one of our party of hikers. Too weird...never had met him before, he was also coming in 3 days early for the hike, same plane as bob, one row apart. So, we had a new playmate for the trip. Big, strapping young guy. I probably don't need to go any further with Gill stories here...

Arusha airport is just like Rochester, well except for the single too short runway (can you say "air brakes"), the rich mahogany floors, the civil service passport workers, and, of course, the 200 taxi drivers in their 1942 Land Rovers all trying to get the ride. Even worse than a Saturday night at MSG after a Knicks game!

As we came in early, they put us up at a hotel for a couple of nights. Kinda like the Ritz-Africa, incredible woodwork (mahogany?). Gill immediately tried to strip the wood down and refinish it in cherry. The hotel people could not have been more accommodating, and we spent our first night sipping "kilimanjaro beer" adjacent to the pool. Awesome evening. Breakfast even better, a massive fresh buffet, lots of native fruits and foods. Gotta love that fresh bacon just cut from the pig out back.



Off to town today to check things out, then safari tomorrow.




Lumpy out!!!