Eagle Has Landed

Having spent one day in Arusha for socializing with friends and fixing the ailing safari vehicle which suffered quite a bit during our safari from Kiabakari to Arusha on Sunday, yesterday (Tuesday) was a day to receive my friends from Ulmerfeld in Austria, arriving to visit Tanzania and Kiabakari. It was a logistic mess, to be honest. I checked before Tuesday several times with fly540.com airline offices about the airport where my friends were supposed to land. It was written on their tickets that it was Arusha airport. But they told me that in fact it will be Kilimanjaro International Airport. So, we drove to Kilimanjaro airport yesterday, some 50 km from Arusha. Then, I checked again with the airline and the booking office confirmed that they would land in Kilimanjaro, though the plane was late. Then Katrin called from Dar es Salaam (an Austrian volunteer from Ulmerfeld, working since this month in Dar) and told me that my friends called her that they landed safely in ARUSHA. Geez! And we were 50 km away awaiting them at Kili airport. What a mess! So, we drove as quickly as possible back to Arusha and met at the airport. I felt so sorry and embarrassed! They had to wait for some two hours, having arrived from -20 C or so in Austria to our 35+ in Tanzania... Thank God, the trouble was over and we checked into our motel, my friends got refreshed and then we drove to Cinema Complex in Njiro district in Arusha for late lunch in the food outlets of Cinema Complex. We came back late in the evening, got a few schnappes for a good schlaff and went to bed. Now, it is time to wake up, Agata and I prepared sandwiches last night for today's safari to Lake Manyara National Park. We bought water, soft drinks, sweets etc. prior to arrival of our friends, so I guess we are ready for the three days safari back to Kiabakari. Wish us luck, please, and say a prayer that we arrive home in Kiabakari safely and our guests have a wonderful time in the wild! God bless us all!