9 March
Arusha (Snake Park)
Erik:
Dave got Steph and I slightly intoxicated last night. Ma and BJ (owners of Snake Park) fed us dinner and breakfast, Wayne is a super chill S. African overlanding with no schedule, Amy is a development worker from Yorkshire and Dave and Ishi rock. We love our new friends. We all get on really well and just chat and drink. It's fun.
Steph:
We were in no condition to set up the tent last night. Haha! But somehow did it anyway. It's baffling and impressive :)
Snake Park is a very cool place. It's a major stop for most overland trucks and caters almost exclusively to them. The owners are Ma and BJ, from South Africa, and the way Dave and Ishi greeted them last night makes one think that they are their favorite aunt and uncle. This community is really close knit. Every truck stops here aprox every 3 months, if not more often, for several days while passangers go on Safaris in the nearby parks. So the crews get to bond and know each other like family. Ish said it felt good to be home.
In addition to running the campsite, Ma and BJ started a free clinic for the local community. It's top notch and the only one in the area that treats snake bites. It's funded 100% by the "World Famous" Bar. It's one of the coolest I've ever seen and, thanks to the overlanders, packed every night. AND they also have a little bit of a zoo. A ton of snakes, all of them local and most of them lethal. Black and Green Mambas, all kinds of cobras, vipers, pythons, etc. They're really cool. Plus, a few crocodiles, monitor lizards, tortoises and several birds that have been injured and rehabilitated.
So yeah, this place is great. We've been introduced as "the stow-aways" and accepted into the group very graciously.
Today we went to Arusha to get some things done. The main goal was to find some bus tickets to Dar Es Salaam. Done. After some internet, laundry soap and getting hassled a bunch, we decided to take a matatu (mini bus – you know the ones that drive crazy fast and we've been avoiding on the bikes) back to the camp to save some money. We finally found one going the right direction but it was full. As in FULL full. People's arms and legs were practically hanging out of the windows. But does that stop anyone in Africa? No, it doesn't. So here we go, the mzungus are squeezing in. There are no seats left and (somehow) 3 people are already standing. So we crawl into the space between the inside and the sliding door. Except the door won't shut anymore and so Ishi's (who is tall) one foot is literally hanging out of the car. I've got my hand on someone's leg and nothing to hold on to. Erik is squashed between the very large woman behind him and myself. Ishi's hair is in my face and I'm standing on one leg because there's just no room for my other foot. We're giggling (in the beginning) but everyone else on this car refuses to smile at us. They all just glared. It was a long 20 minutes. A really lonnnnnnng 20 minutes. Erik counted 33 people. I couldn't turn my head to count the ones behind me so I'll take his word for it. Toward the end, we were all cramping up and in pain but the whole thing was hilarious. Totally worth the $0.45 (vs $7usd each in a cab).
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| Snake Park Bar |
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| Matatu ride :) |
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