January 30, 2006: Arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport

We landed on the dusty airstrip at 9pm (8 hours ahead of the east coast of the U.S. (EST), and 3 hours ahead of GMT (UTC+3). We were the last ones through the lines at customs and were relieved to find that all our baggage had arrived with us. The arrival hall was clogged with representatives of various tour companies looking to pick up their parties. We found the representative of our company, ZARA Travel, a driver named Slim. We boarded a minibus along with about a dozen other travelers from what sounded like Germany, Italy, and the U.S., just as the winds were kicking up and a brief rain shower began. We began the 40 minute drive to our hotel. The highway was lit only by the headlights of passing automobiles, the solitary bulb or flourescent light that marked the front entrance of the roadside houses, and the occasional stars that peeked around the cloudy Tanzanian sky.

Although you couldn't see it, you certainly felt like Kilimanjaro was looking down upon you through the darkness.