Horizons

Having a mid-summer birthday has meant some pretty lucky locations for celebrating and this was one of the best yet. Nick managed to score champagne from the duty free, creatively found a way to make nutella-frosted cupcakes, and we continued my birthday dinner tradition with a bunch of new friends at a Chinese restaurant in Arusha.

On Friday we headed out to another great weekend escape, taking the bus an hour to Makuyuni (tiny stop on the side of the road where the driver looked at us and then tried to stop us from getting off, so sure was he that this was NOT our destination) and then heading two hours deeper into the savannah of Tarangire Conservation Area. Boundary Hill Lodge has definitely now earned a spot on our life list of places to visit--solar power and rain water, 50% owned and run by the Maasai (on whose land it sits), and uninterrupted views of Tarangire National Park from every angle of each self-contained and environmentally camouflaged room. And an outdoor bathtub (basically earns an automatic spot on the list). We thought the fiery sunrises were the best part until we saw the stars. It was an indulgent trip, and felt a little like robbery, since the resident rates made it a total steal.

... The only downside was that I was attacked by tsetse flies on the way back to Makuyuni--which led us to an adventure of seeing the UN clinic (which almost refused to see me because Nick is on a defense team)--but I'm now fine (fingers crossed I don't develop sleeping sickness)!