May 17th

Today was another great day. We left the African Tulip in Arusha at 8:00 for Lake Manyara. It was over an hour drive, but the route had a lot of interesting things to look at. The town of Arusha is full of colorful clothing and busy people. The women carry large loads on their heads. Although Tanzania is a 3rd world country, it is full of life. Outside of town we saw the Massai people. They are a native tribe. They are semi-nomadic and shepard cattle and goats. We saw giraffes on the side of the road and the really old and really big boabab trees. We checked in to our next hotel. The place is situated on top of a really big hill overlooking Lake Manyara. It is a really cool place. Right now I am listening to native African music being performed in the entertainment room. After checking in this morning, we left right away for Lake Manyara National Park. It started out as a dense jungle, and not far into our ride we saw elephants right in the middle of the road. A mother elephant and her baby passed not 10 feet away from our vehicle. We saw many animals in this park including impala, giraffe, wildebeest, buffalo, flamingos, hippos, elephants, dik dik, warthogs, baboons, and many interesting birds. There were a lot of hippos in the lake we saw, and they were huge! The elephants were my favorite. It was amazing to see them so up close. After a long day of safariing, we came back to the lodge and had a delicious dinner. Tomorrow we are stopping at a local school to visit with the kids and give away some of the gifts we brought along. Then we head to a farmhouse between Lake Manyara and Ngorogoro Crater. It is known for its coffee and beautiful gardens. Stay tuned for more and keep praying for our health and safety!