How is it that we were far more tired after four days sitting in a vehicle, than five days climbing a mountain? I'm also sad to say every calorie burned going up that mountain, seemed to be coming back tenfold from the unbelievable amounts of food. Again, absolutely incredible what the cooks can do with such minimal resources! They baked me a birthday cake over a fire, for goodness sakes!
We made the long, slow ride back out of the park and back into "civilization", which goes to show how truly secluded we had been feeling. When referring to the smattering of Masai Mara huts every ten minutes as "civilization", it speaks wonders as to how low our standards had dropped over the course of this trip. How would we ever be able to handle the city again??? In our minds, buildings had already been replaced by termite hills... three story high ones, mind you, but still... As we got closer to the city, small buildings and houses appeared. We asked our guide typically how much it would cost to build a house. "Roughly $300 - $400", he replied. However, the really expensive ones that very few people can afford are at least $3000. Three thousand dollars...for a HOUSE. We all sat there quietly reflecting on how much this trip had cost us. Doesn't that put things into perspective?
We arrived back in Arusha where we finally went out for our first real Tanzanian meal and took turns sneaking into the wedding that was going on at the restaurant. It was incredible and I have vowed to be a guest at one one day. We had our laundry done, which cost us more than our clothing did. The experience was punctuated at the end when Andrea realized a pair of her socks were missing and the laundry lady, with a high-pitched (as I recall, villainous) laugh pulled them out of her pocket. Nice.
A quick pack and a few good-byes and onto Chapter Three of our trip. ZANZIBAR!
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