The Trip of a Lifetime Officially Has a Departure Gate
Tanzania • Amsterdam + Arusha Arrival • September 2016
This trip had a name before we even packed: The Trip of a Lifetime. We said it out loud constantly in the months leading up to it, partly to make it real and partly because nothing else quite captured what a ten-day Tanzania safari was going to be. We were also celebrating Matt’s Dad’s 70th birthday, which added a whole layer of joy and intention to the whole thing. This wasn't just a vacation. It was a milestone.
Our first stop was Amsterdam for a 23-hour layover, which I fully support as a concept. We got through customs quickly, hopped on the train from Schipol, and were in the city within minutes on a beautiful, breezy, sunny day. We'd found a loft apartment on Airbnb right off one of the canals. "Loft" sounds romantic, and it was. "Loft" also meant six flights of stairs with full duffle bags. I'm fairly certain the stairs nearly killed my Father-in-Law. The view from the rooftop terrace made it immediately, completely worth it.
I'd go back to Amsterdam just for that rooftop terrace honestly. Boats drifting down the canal. Droves of people moving through the streets below. Those enormous willow trees with their branches dipping into the water. People in the parks with their faces turned up to the sun. Friends and couples dangling their feet over the canal edge, eating, drinking, completely unbothered. And yes, the aroma of marijuana drifting through the air on basically every street corner, because Amsterdam…
After settling in we found a small café around the corner for bar nuts and cold drinks by the water, then took a canal cruise. I will not pretend we stayed fully awake. The warm sun and gentle movement had all of us closing our eyes at regular intervals. We found a Dutch pancake house for a late-afternoon snack: one traditional with ham and cheese, one sweet with sautéed apples, calvados, and cinnamon. Chewier and thicker than a crepe, really tasty, exactly what the tired and slightly jetlagged need. Walking back we discovered that Amsterdam is full of Calliopes, those old-fashioned fairground music machines that sound exactly like a merry-go-round. We'd seen one earlier and thought nothing of it. They were everywhere, each with a different theme and scene. Completely delightful.
We made a unanimous group decision not to nap (debatable call) and instead sat on the rooftop terrace until it was time to head to Bord'eau for dinner. One of the best meals any of us had ever eaten. We started with champagne to toast the trip, then everyone had the six-course tasting menu with the optional seventh oyster course added in because why not. Each course came as three smaller dishes, so the variety was incredible. My favorites were the seared foie gras in a broth I genuinely still dream about, and their famous apple dessert: apple sorbet shaped exactly like a core, surrounded by blown sugar in a crystal-clear replica of an apple, set on apple balls and pastry. Almost too beautiful to eat. Then a second dessert appeared: glazed strawberries with elderflower meringue. Michelin starred and completely deserved.
Tom and Matt took a late stroll through the red light district. I chose the warm bed. We had an early flight.
Schipol's security is not fooling around. Full contact pat-downs, double bag scans, the automated bag system that sucks your luggage into an underground two-and-a-half kilometer journey to your plane. We made it through with time for coffee and pastries, which is all you can really ask for.
We landed at Kilimanjaro Airport just after 7:30pm. Small airport, exactly as I'd imagined it. We descended the 777 via stairs out onto the tarmac. Getting our visas in advance was one of the better decisions we made: there was ONE window for on-arrival visas and hundreds of passengers queued in a line going absolutely nowhere. We walked past them with our stamped passports. I tried not to look too satisfied about it.
Our guide Babenga was waiting outside. He'd be with us the entire trip. The drive to Lake Duluti Lodge just outside Arusha took 45 minutes, and when we arrived they welcomed us with fresh watermelon juice and then showed us to freestanding cabins in the middle of a working coffee plantation. Tom, Matt, and I had African beers on the porch before turning in and sleeping like absolute babies.
The next day was an intentional rest day and we honored it completely. Breakfast at 9am, nap until early afternoon, four-course lunch, nap again. Every vegetable from the garden, every cup of coffee from the plantation right around us. We spent a perfectly lazy day enjoying the view before calling it an early evening, because tomorrow Babenga was picking us up to begin what we'd been dreaming about.