08.31.08
Africa Day 7: End of Safari
Day 7: March 21, lunchtime
through the metal detector
Our guides take us back to the airport to catch our flight to Kigali, Rwanda. We anticipate a leisurely good-bye lunch in the airport parking lot. Unfortunately, in the first of several travel snafus, we discover that we are not going to be let back out of the airport after checking in for our flights. Worried that we won’t get to eat lunch and see our guides off with proper good-byes, we talk airport security into letting them come through with our lunches. They also carry four knives through (for cutting vegetables), which is kind of amusing.
Up until this point, we have been well taken care of. Our guides are friendly, efficient, and helpful. What we don’t realize is that this is going to be the best service we experience. We have been spoiled, and we will sorely miss their punctuality and propensity for planning ahead in the days to come.
the food is safe
Most of us eat standing up, and we are very sad to say good-bye to our wonderful hosts. Our safari experience has been fantastic, meeting our lofty expectations. It’s also made any hotel seem luxurious for providing a roomful of dry space, water, and electricity. We are slowly adjusting to being in a completely foreign land; now that we’ve been introduced to Tanzania by our guides and the animals, I’m feeling a bit less intimidated by the cities. Next stop: Kigali, Rwanda.
