Aahhhh....Vacation
In the flurry of activity that led up to my departure from Kindu (for only a couple of weeks) I didnt have time to post the good news that I was taking a vacation. That, and I honestly was worried that I would jinx it if I posted. Seeing as how I had to fly from Kindu to Goma, take a taxi from Goma to Kigali (Rwanda), fly to Nairobi (Kenya) and then to Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)...there was a lot of chances for missing flights! But it all worked out. On the plane out of Kindu I was with two friends also breaking free of Kindu for holiday. We sat in the small plane and looked at the plumes of smoke climbing from fires set in the jungle to clear lands. We cheered when we finally landed in Goma. We had escaped.
The taxi ride to Kigali was breath-taking. Beautiful hills that my driver sped through. The hills were striped with farmland, even on steep sides. Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa...if not the most dense. Not an acre looked untoiled. The airport in Kigali was very hassle-free. In Nairobi I ran into a French woman I had met in Ethiopia! She was still traveling. We arranged to sit next to eachother on our plane and exchanged stories about what had happened in the last three months. I arrived in Dar and hoped my mom and sis werent far behind. They had a flight from the states through Amsterdam. I got to our hotel and couldnt believe how great it was! With mom along, we're staying at nicer places than I would alone, and the change is lovely. Mom and Leah arrived with no troubles. They were also quite impressed with our hotel.
In Dar we did the "walking tour" outlined in the Lonely Planet. Gotta say, it was more "funny" than "fun." Not too much to see but we had made the effort.
We flew to the North and did an amazing safari for three days. Lions, zebras, giraffes, elephants...we saw it all. Now we are chilling for a day before heading down to Zanzibar for the next week. I am having such a nice time that it might actually be hard to head back to the Congo! Can't wait to post some photos soon.
The taxi ride to Kigali was breath-taking. Beautiful hills that my driver sped through. The hills were striped with farmland, even on steep sides. Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa...if not the most dense. Not an acre looked untoiled. The airport in Kigali was very hassle-free. In Nairobi I ran into a French woman I had met in Ethiopia! She was still traveling. We arranged to sit next to eachother on our plane and exchanged stories about what had happened in the last three months. I arrived in Dar and hoped my mom and sis werent far behind. They had a flight from the states through Amsterdam. I got to our hotel and couldnt believe how great it was! With mom along, we're staying at nicer places than I would alone, and the change is lovely. Mom and Leah arrived with no troubles. They were also quite impressed with our hotel.
In Dar we did the "walking tour" outlined in the Lonely Planet. Gotta say, it was more "funny" than "fun." Not too much to see but we had made the effort.
We flew to the North and did an amazing safari for three days. Lions, zebras, giraffes, elephants...we saw it all. Now we are chilling for a day before heading down to Zanzibar for the next week. I am having such a nice time that it might actually be hard to head back to the Congo! Can't wait to post some photos soon.
posted by Sahara Sarah at 2:29 PM
3 Comments:
Sounds like a fun trip. What's the name of the great hotel in Dar es Salaam? There's a chance I may head back to Africa for a short visit next year - undecided where to go. Have made 7 trips to RSA but thinking of somewhere different this time.
hi j, emailed zee address. mom and leah say hi back! steve the hotel is the Hotel Seacliff. we're heading back there today.
hi j, emailed zee address. mom and leah say hi back! steve the hotel is the Hotel Seacliff. we're heading back there today.
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