Day 138: Travel Day to Arusha
We had a long, 6hr drive plus a border crossing ahead of us today. After a big breakfast at the hotel, the driver from the day before picked us up and took us to our minibus. The drive through Kenya was uneventful, just very long. When we got to the border, everyone had to get out of the minibus and guide themselves through the process as there were big signs everywhere prohibiting tour guides from assisting tourists through Immigration.
We checked-out of Kenya easily enough, but once we exited the Immigration office, we had no clue where to go next – the Namanga border is a chaotic mess of government buildings and shops, with dozens of aggressive Masai hawkers bombarding tourists with snacks and trinkets. As with our ATM scam the day before, we quickly learned there are plenty of opportunistic folks hanging around to escort you to the Tanzanian border, however this time Igor up front told the guy, “I have no cash to give you, buddy.” No worries, we followed another tourist and eventually found the right line. After a “health inspection,” where you stand in a circle painted on the ground while a doctor looks at you from 6ft away to see if you are visibly sick, then checks your Yellow Fever Immunization Card, we headed over to Passport Control. When we tried to pay the USD $100pp for our on-arrival visa (twice the price for Americas as any other nationality, in retaliation for our costs to Tanzanians trying to visit the US), the agent took our passports and told us we had to exit the building and pay our fee at the bank next door, then return with the receipt. Jumping through hoops much? FYI, we did notice the agents accepting cash from other tourists when we returned a week later.
Hopping on to our minibus transfer from Nairobi to Arusha, and navigating the Nairobi rush-hour traffic
Immigration fun at the Tanzania border!
On the road to Arusha – President Obama has a lot of fans in East Africa!
Once we arrived in Arusha, we were picked up by Joseph, our guide from Basecamp Tanzania. He took us to our hotel where we had a comfortable, lazy afternoon. When we headed over to the restaurant for dinner, we discovered an acrobatic troop was holding a performance near the pool! But once the fire-limbo started, Lindsay dragged Igor upstairs to get some food – no burns for us thanks!
Checking into our hotel in Arusha
Lindsay beats Igor in a round of Jenga!
An acrobatic troop visits the hotel to give a performance. Halfway through, one of the performers goes through the crowd with a hat for tips – made us feel like we were in Central Park!
As darkness fell, the troop lit up some batons and started playing with fire
Fire swallowing…yummy? That reminds me, I’m hungry. Time for dinner.
Very interesting process to get through the Tanzanian border. Your hotel looked very comfortable and glad you had a lazy afternoon after jumping through all those hoopes to get through the border…Jenga —looked like you both were having fun…