Arusha, July 2018
There is no easy way to get here. It has taken me three days, 3 flights, 2 taxis and a 6-hour bus ride. And did I mention 2 difficult border crossings? But I am a mother and I am motivated. My son is in Arusha, Tanzania for the summer doing a medical internship and he is waiting for me to arrive.
Epic Things to do in Arusha:
A safari
A coffee plantation tour
Wander around and barter at the Maasai Market
Eat lunch and drink lots of coffee at the African Café
Shop for Tanzanite
A safari is an epic experience. My son and his friends did a four-day, camp in tents in the Serengeti, four different parks and Ngurdoto Crater kind of safari and they thought it was epic! They saw all the big five and then some… They highly recommend their experience!
We did not have as much time, so we went on a one-day safari to Arusha National Park. We saw elephants, zebras, giraffes, water buffalos, tons of different kinds of monkey’s and birds, including flamingos. We had a wonderful lunch high on a hill, overlooking a beautiful lake with epic views! It was a wonderful day!
Coffee Plantation – The plantation we went to was a small, family run planation. Everything was done by hand – no machines. I call it truly organic, because it really can’t get any simpler and more natural than this!
The beans are grown on big bushes among banana trees, which helps the coffee plants stay hydrated. They get picked by hand when ready and put into a giant stone mortar, where are they are crushed by a giant wooden pestle to separate the hull from the bean. They then bounce them in a wicker basket to get ride of the hull. Next, the unshelled beans are stirred and roasted over an open fire. Once they reach the desired level of roasting they are returned to the mortar to be pounded into a fine grain. Once those beans are ground, we added them to a teapot of boiling water on an open fire and cooked our coffee. Success! It was strong and delicious!
Maasai Market – we knew we wanted some local souvenirs, so we wandered through the Maasai tribe market finding just the perfect things and then doing some serious bartering. I am not sure which is more fun – the shopping or the bartering!
We also love to stop in local grocery stores to check them out, buy drinks for our hotel room and look for things we might want to take back. Across from our hotel, Four Points by Sheraton, we found a great little grocery and purchased bags of locally grown and packaged coffee and tea from Tanzania.
Africa Café – My son was living in a local hostel, so he had met all kinds of friends from all over the world and they all loved to meet up at the Africa Café for coffee and lunch. We had a grand time joining them and learning everyone’s stories. The coffee and food were good as well, so we spent a lot of happy hours hanging out here. They were also one of the few places where you could use a debit/credit card and not have to use up your cash.
Tanzanite – is a blue gemstone that is mined only in northern Tanzania. There are five grades of quality, ranging from the best – AAA to C – the lowest quality. The price depends on the grade, color, size and inclusions. Anyway – if you visit Tanzania – this gemstone is an especially fun thing to learn about and purchase.
Overall – we spent more time getting there and back than we spent there but it was still worth the trip. I liked Arusha. Remember you are talking about a third world country, and certainly you need to be cautious with your possessions, but the city was lush with trees and plants and had a small-town vibe.
