Jul 06 2008
Chilonga Art and Wood-Fired Pizza
Tom: I don’t have much to add - the safari was sublime, Active Tanzania took good care of us and are highly recommended as a small, reliable, fairly priced safari (and Kilimanjaro trek) operator. The hotel we’re in is ok, though the place across the street looks a little better for the same price ($65 for a double), we are headed there for dinner.
The close-up look at lions, the Panorama campground, descending into the crater, the elephants in the landscape at Tarangire, and all the other animals and birds, all of it was awesome. But I’ll add one more little story from last night, one of those coincidences that happen on the road.
We had one evening in Arusha and asked for a restaurant recommendation. We went to a place called the Maasai Cafe, with wood-fired pizza. As we waited for our food we looked on the walls and there was a show of paintings - for 2 weeks only - by a Tanzania painter named Haji Chilonga. Now of all the artists in Tanzania, I happen to have seen his work once before, in Dar es Salaam, and even bought two small paintings which hang in my room at home. I had even considered trying to see his studio when I get to Dar, and instead here we were eating in a room full of his most recent, and lovely work. I travel, partly, for moments like that - tasty pizza, a great safari to reflect on, and wonderfully unexpected bit of synchronicity.
PS I posted a simple map in our photos, which shows roughly where we went on safari, down to Arusha from Kenya and tomorrow on the Dar Express bus onward to the east past Kilimanjaro to the Usambara Mountains and Muller’s Mountain Lodge.
Wow. What a great series of posts. Thanks, guys. While I was Googling around for further context of your adventures I stumbled upon some travel synchronicity myself; the east side of Kilimanjaro has a glacier named Furtwangler! Wikipedia “Furtwangler Glacier” and you’ll see that its been right up there the whole time watching your trek among its lowlands. Enjoy the rest of your journey, and thanks again for the record.
Robert
Yes, Furtwangler Glacier is up there melting away. The erudite senior Furtwangler can probably post a comment with more details on the Herr Furtwangler it is named for, meanwhile we need to pack up and take our leave of Arusha, headed for a country lodge run by Herr Muller who promises to meet us off the bus and drive us up through the mountains to the place.
Thanks for the map, Tom. It helped! We had sort of lost track of your tracks. And these last 3 potings were terrific. Claire, your sighting of lion and lioness–what a gift! And Lyanda your posting also a great help for us trying to envision all this. Loved the story of going to your guide’s house. Remember: there’s always a Furtwangler watching from somewhere, high or low . . . love Cookie.
GOOD MORNIONG-AND WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU TODAY.I loved the juxtaposition of your visit to your guide’s family home with the European flavour of the Mueller lodge. As I was going around your site up pops an ad for a B&B of some style near where you are. Can’t avoid that internet ‘collaboration.’
P.S. I guess I read too quickly. Apparently you stayed at the B&B in Arusha. You all deserve a dip in the pool every once in awhile.