Hi Ho Silver

I’m in the Kilimanjaro airport waiting for my flight to leave in about 2 ½ hours. I probably won’t have a chance to post this for another day or two: I can’t connect to wifi because it is too weak. But I thought I would put down my thoughts while they are still fresh in my mind.

Arusha is about an hours drive from the airport and you don’t want to rent a car, so I needed transportation. Daniel set me up with a taxi driver, Mr Mwanga, a friend of his. He is a lovely man,  a Muslim, who is married with three sons. He picked me up at the airport and drove me to my hotel in Arusha and on Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon he showed me around town. We went to the Tanzanian Cultural Center where they have many fabulous wood carvings and a great store. On Sunday he took me to the Masai Market where I bought a few souvenirs. Mr. Mwanga’s picture is below.

                                    

My flight doesn’t leave until 9:10 pm so I was able to go horseback riding at a stable I found on the internet that is midway between Arusha and the airport. I hired Mr. Mwanga for the afternoon so he drove me to the stables and waited for me. Likini was the person with whom I rode from the stables. I rode Phoenix, a good horse with some get up and go.
Below is a picture of Likini with Phoenix.

                            


We started around 3:00 pm. After walking a bit, he asked me if I wanted to trot which, of course, I did. After trotting he asked if I wanted to canter which was a definite yes.  When he determined that I knew how to ride, we did a lot of cantering. About a half hour into the ride the skies opened up and poured on us. So we headed back early and cantered almost the whole way in the driving rain. It was really a blast. It was also fun to be riding in the African bush and see different kinds of antelope and some gorgeous birds. There is a large and beautiful polo club about a mile from the stable and when we hit the edge of the field we cantered the whole way across it.

When we returned to the stables we were both soaking wet—literally. I had to dump water out of my shoes. Fortunately, I had put all clean clothes including a towel I had brought in a sack so that I could clean up. I am really glad I brought the towel. My passport was quite warped but fortunately still usable.

Mr. Mwanga drove me to the polo club for a soft drink after the ride because it was too early to go to the airport. What an incredible view of Mt. Mero, a miniature Mt. Kilimanjaro. From one side of the polo club you looked across the grass playing field and looked at Mt. Mero, and the other side you looked across another playing field and could see Mt. Kilimanjaro on a clear day. I was told that they play polo every Wednesday and Saturday night and every Sunday morning.

Sadly we had to leave that beautiful and peaceful place. We headed for the airport that took us about 30 minutes. I paid and thanked Mr. Mwanga (“Asante” in Swahili) and we parted ways. What a great day, what a great trip. I am so thankful to God for the privilege of coming to East Africa, participating in such an awesome partnership with WVU, meeting with Daniel from WVT, and having such a delightful day today.