 Welcome to Blue Ocean Studios  Around the World
After breakfast, we packed up, and finally received a call back from our safari company, letting us know we would be picked up at 1pm. We had 3 hours, so we decided to venture into the town of Arusha. We were originally going to have a guide escort us into town, but after asking the front desk, and the outdoor security guard about the safety of walking into town, we decided to do it alone (just the four of us). Tom and I brought our cameras, but were a bit nervous to use them, so we held back. We walked into the center of town, where we began to get surrounded by street vendors. We decided to duck into a souvenir shop, where we ended up buying some items. Of course they were a bit more expensive than the street vendors, but some of the items were a lot nicer as well.
As we walked back to the Impala Hotel, we were swarmed by street vendors who saw that we were obviously in the business of buying souvenirs, so it was quite difficult to make our way. After a few city blocks, we were free - and enjoyed our 10 minute walk back to the hotel.
Once back, we enjoyed another meal at Impala's Indian restaurant, checked out, and waited for an hour for our safari ride to show up. Finally on our way, we took some pics of everyday Tanzanian life, while our guide, Nickson, gave us information on Arusha, Tanzania, the local people, and even pointed out the location of the UN Rwanda war crime tribunal that has been going on for years.
Dinner at the lodge was fantastic - we were very impressed with the 4 course meal. Too bad we were only staying here one night! After dinner, we called it a night, as we had breakfast at 7am and a 7:30 am departure for our game drive the next morning!
View Manyara Safari Photo Gallery View Serengeti Safari Photo Gallery View Ngorongoro Safari Photo Gallery View Tarangire Safari Photo Gallery Day 71 - Arusha < | Index | Photo Galleries | > Day 73 - Serengeti © 2007 Blue Ocean Studios, LTD. All rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Services | About | Contact Prints | Return Policy | View Cart World Travel Galleries | World Travel Blog | Links |
I awoke this morning feeling much better. We had a date with Jaimie's parents at 9am for the Impala breakfast. Even though we had revised our impression of the people at the Impala, our statement about how horrible the breakfast is still stands :). 
While Tom and I were taking care of the bill, one of the outdoor vendors caught Jackie's eye with banana leaf weaved paintings similar to the one's we had bought on our way down Kilimanjaro. She ventured outside with Jaimie, where they were both swarmed with vendors trying to sell them anything (of course they had no money, so this made it a bit easier :). She ended up getting one of the banana paintings - it was just very funny to see her surrounded.
At about 5pm, we arrived at the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge - it was a beautiful 4 star nature lodge, complete with an infinity pool overlooking the lake and plains below. After checking in and receiving a mango juice welcome drink, we made it to the pool to relax and enjoy the scenery. After our dip in the pool, we went back to change, and uncork another South African bottle of wine.