2 flights, 4 planes, 26 hours later

We finally arrived in Arusha, Tanzania after quite a long journey. Our first flight was scheduled to leave Atanta at 3 pm. We had boarded and were ready to go before a delay ensued. After waiting and waiting, we were told that we had to gather our belongings and move to another plane. After about a 3 hr delay, we finally took off and received $100 Delta voucher for our troubles. No big deal considering we were scheduled with a little over 4 hour layover in Amsterdam. Channging planes prior to takeoff was something I had never encountered before despite having been on hundreds of flights. It couldn't happen twice in one day on back to back flights or could it. After going through security at the gate and falling asleep on the plane, we were notified that due to mechanical problems we had to change planes. Our 10:20 am flight now was going to be heading for Kilimanjaro National Airport in Tanzania on a plane that was schedule to take passengers to Lima, Peru a few hours later. Another 8 hour flight later and our flight landed in Kilimanjaro Airport bringing it to life. The sleepy airport was now awoken with a 777 full of passengers. We deplaned our flight, handed over our passports and $100 for a visa, picked up our luggage, and on our way. Our driver and Discovery Adventures safari vehicle took us for a 45 minute drive to our hotel in Arusha. The drive was through rural Tanzania with not much to see except a couple small villages along the road. We arrived in Arusha , a relatively modern and safe city of close to 300,00 people. A base for many who have made the trek for wildlife adventures or Kilimanjaro climbs. East African Hotel was even nicer than expected. It is on the main road of town, yet secured and private. Each room comes with a suite including living room and full kitchen. It also boasts a nice restaurant, bar, and free wireless internet. Definitely wasn't expecting it to be this nice and very welcome after the long journey. After a good nights sleep, had breakfast and went for a tour and to experience the daily life in Arusha. We were guided by a young man Ebo, who proudly showed off his city to us and only wanted payment of practicing English. Ebo took us to the markets where anything and everything was being traded, bought, and sold. To my surprise, the vendors were not aggressive at all. The sight of American tourists at third world markets can often lend itself to a hard sell approach. Everyone was quite friendly and welcoming. It was time for a little bit of relaxing, updating the blog, and being connected to the world for what will likely be the last time for a bit. Tonight, we meet up with our tour group before heading out to Lake Manyara tomorrow for our first bit of Safari.