Day 3 Moshi

We arrived at the AMEG Lodge in Moshi, Tanzania around 11 PM last night. Staff readily greeted us and carried our suitcases to reception and then Suzan and I were escorted to room 12 with two twin beds (that would be a bit short for anybody taller than 5’10”!  Beautiful room - that had air conditioning!

After getting to the hotel late - we still went and had something to eat and drink for supper at the restaurant, so we didn’t get to bed till about 1:00 AM. Most people had a reasonable night of sleep - I was not one of those people!! All 90 minutes of shut-eye were what  powered me through today - so good thing it was a low key, but thrilling day!

When I left the room about 7 AM our co-leader, Chris Fisher pointed out a Marabou Stork in the trees. How exciting.  Better picture of the Marabou Stork on the ground. 

The reason we first spotted the stork was because we’re looking at Mt Kilimanjaro - all 19,341 feet and it is situated less than an hour away from us. 

My picture of Mt K. was comical so this photo credit belongs to Suzan!

Did I mention that Suzan is a professional photographer and owns Photos with Finesse? ☺️

We then went for breakfast, enjoyed the gardens at the hotel and had a refreshing swim!

Kristin pointed out a blue heron just outside our room so I caught a picture of it too. There are way more savvy birders and photographers than me on this trip so I have many opportunities to learn!

We then headed into town and then to NBC - the bank. An armed guard stood outside the bank, our drivers were outside the bank with the vehicles and our guides came inside to teach us how to withdraw Tanzanian shillings. Ten thousand shillings is about $6 CAD. The maximum you can withdraw is about 400,000 shillings in one transaction. We will need Tanzanian shillings to tip porters and other staff at the remote safari canps away from the cities. 

We then went to a supermarket which was like a small sized grocery store in Canada and bought a few local foods. I bought an ice cream treat, passion fruit Fanta pop and a box of tea. 

Lunch for the group was at the Indoitaliano Restaurant. People either ordered Indian or Italian cuisine!

Can you guess where Neil’s beer label ended up?

I want to share some sites from the Moshi city tour - but will post a second entry for today (Jan 15) - to ensure I can upload the post without issue!!  (Too many pictures at one time can be problematic!)