I'm coming home, I'm coming home, tell the world I'm coming home

Saturday 31/05/2014

Saturday morning we had to get up early. Because of the party the night before we were going on little sleep, but we had no choice. The daladala would pick us up at 7, so we got up at 6.30 (which is way too early, even if you would have gone to bed on time the night before). We stuffed the last things in our suitcases and were ready to leave. To room looked empty. There were no pictures on the wall, no clothes lying around and no bags on the floor. It was strange and unfamiliar.

When it was time to leave we went outside to leave. Something we should have known after the past 4 months was that the daladala would be late. When it finally arrived and we had to say the last goodbye to Getamock both Issack and Leonard showed up. Seeing those boys made it even harder to leave. I told them they had to keep trying their best and that I believed they are going to make it. Johnny was AWOL. It broke my heart that I couldn't have a decent goodbye with my little guy. Costa on the other hand would make the trip with us to Karatu and from there he would travel to Arusha. For the first time since January, he would see his family. We got on the daladala and then it turned out Paul had invited quite some friends to ride with us. We didn't expect this but suddenly the daladala was filled to the brim.

When we got to Karatu we said goodbye to Costa and mister One Eye, yet reality didn't sink in yet. It still didn't feel as if we were leaving. We entered the guesthouse and then Happy told us there were no rooms available. For our last night in Karatu we had to find a different place. Fortunately, Happy helped us and brought us to a different guesthouse. From there out, we made our way to Happy Days for the very last time. We got our last 'Happy Days-pizza' and scurried back to the guesthouse quite early because it was incredibly cold. One of the waitresses refused to let us leave without a big hug. For the first time it really felt like goodbye to me.

In the evening, I got a text from Frank. He was supposed to come and pick us up the next day and we would visit Tarangire. Because of the weather the road from Arusha to Karatu was blocked and therefore we couldn't leave. We feared something like this would happen and that was why we had chosen to leave Getamock already on Saturday. He said he would try to pick us up on Monday instead. That night we watched a Bollywood film. For me, this was the very first time to see one. I've got to say, they're a little bit different from the films I'm used to :p Nevertheless, they're extremely relaxing and can take your mind off of anything. :)

Sunday 01/06/2014

Since we were supposed to be on safari on Sunday; we hadn't really made plans and were just walking through Karatu a bit. Suddenly, we ran into a boy who smiled shyly at us, one of our form 3 students. I had seen him Karatu before and then I wasn't sure it was really him, because why would one of our students go to Karatu for a weekend. Now I was sure though, it was one of our boys. When we went up to him, his smile widened and he quietly said: "Hi madam." We had a short chat with him and then he continued his trip and so did we. It was only a small interaction, but it was exactly what I needed before leaving. It made me feel as if the goodbye to our students might not be as finite as it felt.

This time we didn't have lunch in Happy Days.... No, today we went to Paradise Garden instead. It is a mix of local and not so local. It is quite nice. The only problem is that most of the time they don't have the things that are on the menu.

The rest of the day was quite pole pole. Oooh, yeah! Sunday night, I discovered Astrid can fit a whole fist into her mouth. It is honestly quite impressive.

Monday 02/06/2014

Monday morning we had to get up even earlier than on Saturday. Frank told us it would be possible to go to Tarangire but we needed to leave early because it was a long drive. But what a drive it was. It felt like we were already in the national park. Zebras, buffels and even giraffes at the side of the roads. When we got to Tarangire, it got even better. We weren't there very long before we saw cheetah's. Four of them! What a beautiful creatures :) Furthermore, we saw several big groups of giraffes, but there is honestly only one way to describe our day in Tarangire National Park. Elephants here, elephants there, elephants everywhere! Really big groups, that came really close to the car. It was amazing :)

In the evening Frank took us out for dinner at the best Indian place in Arusha. It's really cosy and the food was amazing! I could have kept eating. So if you ever go to Arusha, you have to have dinner at Khan's BBQ. Seriously, you won't regret it! :)

Tuesday 03/06/2014

The next day we went to Arusha National Park. Thankfully, we didn't have to get up that early again. Arusha National Park is completely different from the other ones. It is entirely surrounded by houses and people, but the moment you enter the park it's like you're in the jungle. Since there is so much nature around the animals can easily hide. Nevertheless, it is a really amazing place.

When we entered we passed 'Small Serengeti' and there we could see buffels, zebras and giraffes but they were quite far away. From there out we went to a small museum and when we got out of the car one of the rangers signed to us that we had to be really quiet and then pointed to a tree. There were monkeys in it and not just any monkeys. These were black and had long, thick, fluffy, white tails. Frank told us that Arusha National Park is the only place where you can find them. On our gamedrive we saw a lot of giraffes but always from quite far. Nevertheless, they looked more at peace.

We did a drive around some of the lakes as well and the nature there is mesmerising. While doing so, we passed giraffes really close to the road and there in the nature they looked more beautiful than ever.

Then did a walking safari of an hour and a half. During that one we could enjoy a beautiful view of Mount Meru, waterfalls and a lot of nature. We also passed close to the buffels. After the walking safari, we were on our way out of the park. Then we saw something Frank had only seen once before in the park. Elephants! Frank wasn't even sure there was more than 1 group in the park. Again, we were winning! ;)

Wednesday 04/06/2014 – Thursday 05/06/2014

Wednesday and Thursday were two pole pole days. We spent our time walking around Arusha, going to the maasai market – where we bought souvenirs – and ate at the Africafe. Sooooo delicious! Why didn't we come more often to Arusha? I have no clue! Probably because I would have overeaten myself every single time ;)

Friday 06/06/2014

Friday. Today. This morning we stayed at the guesthouse, packed our suitcases, started writing this blog.... We didn't do much until we had to leave for the airport and that's where we are right now. In an hour our flight will leave and all of this will be really over. I'm going to miss this place.

The next time you hear from me, I will be back in Belgium.

I'm going to miss you, Tanzania.

xxx

Laura