Chill out time

I had my last goodbye hug with Mark at Dar es salaam airport 'Departures' on the 5th Jan, and 30 minutes later I was hugging Anita, excited but knackered at 'Arrivals'. Smooth timing or what? I think Mark actually went home on the plane she arrived on.

So after a fantastic Chinese in Dar and a night in a not so special room at the Peacock hotel (what? no mini bar? - yes I have been spoilt!), we got on the 'Luxury' bus to Moshi. This is a ten hour ride, I was accepting nothing less than Scandanavian Express for this trip!

I'd managed to organise a safari for Anita through Eco-tours which is run by a great guy called Philip and seeing as I'd done safari a couple of weeks ago, decided Moshi would be a good place to hang out for a few days.  Still, I was pretty sad and lonely after saying goodbye to Anita the next day.

So what is there to do in Moshi when you're bored and alone? Well there are certainly plenty of touts to talk to. Some of them got to know me pretty well over a few days, although not well enough to realise that when I said I didnt want any paintings I MEANT IT!

I found a couple of good coffee shops and internet cafes spent quite a while updating my diary and blog, sorting out our transport and accomodation for Zanzibar (this always takes hours here) and reading.  It was pretty relaxing once I'd got past that first day of going I'M SO BORED and Anita had left me a rather racey but pretty interesting book to read! The hotel was pretty cheap and I was saving money by not doing the safari again, so I had to keep that in mind.

I also decided to make the most of the opportunity to use the paints that Mum and dad sent over for Christmas. I printed off a few photos from our safari and Zanzibar as there's not a lot to paint in Moshi unless you get a clear view of Kilimanjaro.

I decided to check that I was all clear of malaria and other tropical diseases while in Moshi as the KCMC hospital is supposed to be the best in the country.  After a 20minute taxi ride I arrived feeling quite lost and looked for someone who could speak English. I could not believe how many people were there! I would have had to wait for hours. There were sick people even laying out on the grass outside.  This is the best... apparently in a lot of hospitals people who are admitted have to double up in beds with other patients they don't even know!  I couldn't bare the smell and the heat so got out pretty quick and was even more grateful to find out I was healthy from a small private clinic in Moshi.

I celebrated, in fact I am still celebrating by eating lots of delicious food!!