Africa Part II

So, now we're moving on to Africa Part II: the logistics and transportation. A humble suggestion: if you're packing to go to Africa, take a patience pill and get a light-weight suitcase. Each of us was allowed to take a suitcase that weighed just 27 pounds! The weight of an empty suitcase is quite a bit of this total weight, so my parents and I researched luggage for the lightest kind possible. Our end result: our star suitcase (1 of the 3 we as a family brought) weighed 7 pounds empty. The night before we left on our trip was stressful to the max. After countless trips to the bathroom scale to weigh our suitcases after every pair of socks was put in and every unnecessary shirt was pulled out, the panicked chaos of packing finally subsided. 
         I must throw in a thank you right here: Thank you REI, for having all the waterproof pants that shorten into shorts, all the sun-protective shirts that coincidentally weigh about four times less than a normal shirt, and for having all the fast-dry clothing that becomes imperative for anyone who wants clean clothes out in the wild!! Another little thank you: to Victoria's Secret, for the sole reason that they have underpants that are quick dry which, for anyone who hasn't either washed their clothes camping or in the middle of nowhere in Africa, means that you not only get to have cute undies--you also get to have clean ones. We still have a box in my mom's closet with AFRICA written over the top, full of all these useful pieces of clothing. Packing was an affair that lasted over a week; between our several trips to REI, Target, Sports Authority, and our closets, we finally completed our packing list and had appropriate clothing, gear, bug repellent, sun protection, and just about everything else--including lots of memory cards for cameras!!
         Packing was also complicated by our trip schedule; the three of us were flying into Amsterdam first for a few days--which, might I add, is FREEZING during this time of the year--before flying to Tanzania--which, not-s-shockingly, has average temperatures in the nineties or higher with baking heat, hot savannah, and a slight lack of rain... 
The short story of Amsterdam: we froze. With our ration of about 8 pounds of winter clothing--for me, this was ice skater leggings (sooooo useful if it's cold, especially when you have zero packing space), a winter Primp shirt, one other shirt, socks, a (too)-thin little sweat shirt minus a hood, a windbreaker (that doesn't break the cold), a scarf, a hat, and fuzzy pink gloves. Our daily strategy in Amsterdam: wear every piece of clothing at once, have a hot coffee/ hot chocolate break every two hours, and see as much art, city, and Dutch culture as possible. Despite temperatures just over freezing with no winter coats, Amsterdam was super-fun! 
          After easing into our jet lag slightly, we caught an eleven hour plane ride to Tanzania, our ticket to an opposite climate, adventure, and animals!! Amsterdam and Tanzania are almost on the same time zone, so the flight to Tanzania was basically an all-day flight down South and over a bit. It was the first international flight I've been on that was in the air when it was light out the entire time, but it was a fun plane ride!
         Out of a taxi-filled city, our transportation through Tanzania and Zanzibar was slightly less mainstream than that in Amsterdam; during our vacation there, we travelled in Toyota's equivalent of Land Rovers, small planes, and smaller planes.
         Two new truths we all discovered in Tanzania:
Small planes aren't always as glamorous as they look.
When you see a truck/car/ land rover with two tanks to fill with gas--BE THANKFUL!!
SAFARI SAFARI SAFARI SAFARI SAFARI SAFARI