Today I am leaving Zambia to head to Monduli, Tanzania, (about 40 km west of Arusha) to volunteer at the MaaSae Girls Lutheran Secondary School for two weeks and then do some traveling. I left Serenje on Friday evening about 6 pm on a sleeper train that was scheduled to arrive in Dar Salaam, Tanzania, (about 1600 km North of Serenje) Sunday morning. There were 2 bunk style beds in the first class cabin that I had reserved and I shared it with two wonderful business ladies from Zambia. There was a restaurant on board where we could eat our meals, or a waiter would come to our cabin to take our orders. We stopped along the way in many different towns and upon our arrival the children would always be running and jumping to greet the people on board. Women would come to our windows selling their goods, so we could get snacks along the way. It was really a great way to see the countryside of both Zambia and Tanzania. I was really surprised to see how different the landscape of the countries was once we crossed the border. Zambia has dense brush in the bush area that has not been cleared for farmland, where as Tanzania has fields of crops and plantations everywhere. Tanzania also has beautiful mountains that we passed through and then as we got closer to the coast it became a tropical region filled with palm trees and rice paddies! Unfortunately, we had major engine troubles and were 24 hours late into Dar es Salaam. When we arrived, I quickly grabbed a taxi from the train station to the bus station to catch the bus I was scheduled to be on at 8:30 am and made it just in time. Then we were off by bus for Arusha (another 700 km North, 10 hours).
Again I was just able to sit back and enjoy the ever changing landscape of Tanzania. Leaving Dar es Salaam, the landscape was lush and green with tropical vegetation. About 500 km north, we started to see the desert region with blowing sand, tumbleweeds, and cactus plants. When we got about 150 km East of Arusha, I could spot the mighty snowed capped Mount Kilimanjaro! WOW! What a creation! It just soars above all the other mountains, including Mount Meru, which is taller than Mount Rainier, (largest mountain in the lower 48 states) and still Kili is a mile higher.
I made it to Arusha and stayed in a guesthouse before leaving via taxi to the MGLSS the Tuesday morning.
Again I was just able to sit back and enjoy the ever changing landscape of Tanzania. Leaving Dar es Salaam, the landscape was lush and green with tropical vegetation. About 500 km north, we started to see the desert region with blowing sand, tumbleweeds, and cactus plants. When we got about 150 km East of Arusha, I could spot the mighty snowed capped Mount Kilimanjaro! WOW! What a creation! It just soars above all the other mountains, including Mount Meru, which is taller than Mount Rainier, (largest mountain in the lower 48 states) and still Kili is a mile higher.
I made it to Arusha and stayed in a guesthouse before leaving via taxi to the MGLSS the Tuesday morning.
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