'What did the giraffe say when he entered the bar? "The highballs are on me!" (The Big Sick) Christmas was actually pretty festive here in Tanzania. It appeared somewhat comical to watch the bicycles and motor cycles bomb through the streets of Arusha, one hand steering and the other hand holding some kind of Christmas tree. All this occurring with the daily temperatures hovering in the mid thirties! Our meal turned out great all things considered. Our tiny little flat has a full kitchen, however we lack tables and chairs. A single small couch with a coffee table serves as our only area to sit, eat, write, read and watch the world news on Aljazeera. Sheddy gave us a wonderful card expressing his thanks and love for a pair of new found friends. Faraja gave Monica ... read more

We arrived in Arusha on the ninth of December, a Saturday, after another six hour African bus ride. We actually made our departure at the village of Shangarai, a few miles outside of Arusha. Our instructions stated that the apartment was located beside an orphanage - Faraja's Orphanage. The dirt road looked pretty bleak as we came upon the sign announcing the orphanage but, no apartments or flats in sight. A kind soul named Fernando helped us out by asking a security guard sitting in a roadside kiosk, the location of Rayan's apartments. He knew the place and pointed us in the appropriate direction. It turned out that we actually had to enter the orphanage itself, and the apartment was located a few hundred yards away at the backend of the alleyway. The structure was brand ... read more

Climbing off the bus in Mombo, we surely must have been quite a sight. It was mid afternoon and the heat was at its zenith. We were sore, both physically and emotionally, from our uncomfortably overpriced ride. This resulted in us hauling on our backpacks with a somewhat hardened, defensive attitude. We had been informed that another bus would come along and take us the rest of the way to Lushoto, where we could grab a taxi to our lodge. However, we were too tired and too low on patience to wait for another bus - to load and unload all over again and then, once more, find a taxi. We decided to hire a taxi here in Mombo that would take us all the way through Lushoto to Milemeleni Lodge. A driver wanted 45.000 shillings ... read more

'The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.' Proust Appropriate words for the two of us at this stage. Monica and I spent six years backpacking the world together through some of the roughest regions of Myramar, Bolivia, Nepal, Laos; to languishing for six weeks on a luxury cruise ship. However, for the past three years we have been settling ourselves anew on the far left coast of Canada and travel has been set aside. It is time to start up again. So East Africa it is with hopes of finding Monica's coveted silverbacks. A little older; a little softer. I know I packed a little less but when I hoisted up the backpacks they felt a little heavier. Older? For sure. Wiser? That will be the test. ... read more