It’s winter and it’s still beautiful here in San Diego, California. I wouldn’t get in the water, but sitting on the bluff eating a California burrito (basically carne asada with french fries) is definitely something I can do. ;)
Also, it was a beautiful day in Laguna Beach today. This is from my grandma’s house on the cliff in Laguna — I spent a lot of summers on this beach!
A few weeks ago we had a three-day weekend due to Mashujaa Day (Heroes’ Day), so my buddy and I decided to go to Tanzania for a bit of fun, food and sightseeing. I’ve been to Tanzania a handful of times before, and I like it more and more every time I go back.
Culturally, Tanzania is very similar to Kenya — food, language, dress, transportation, etc will all be very familiar for anyone who has spent time in Kenya (and East Africa in general). For the backpacker, Tanzania is more interesting than Kenya because it’s cheaper, but part of that might just be because I’m used to Nairobi prices!
Tanzania’s cheap and easy to get around. I jotted down some notes about what my buddy and I spent over the three-day weekend as we wandered around Arusha and Moshi. Part of that was because I bet him that we could do it for less than 5,000 Kenyan shillings (~$58), but it’s also nice for future travelers to be able to see how we did it, so they can plan their routes and wallets ;).
Prices in Tanzanian Shillings unless noted KES:
As you can see Tanzania’s very cheap, and you don’t have to skimp too much. For a seasoned backpacker, wandering around Tanzania on the cheap is very easy! The most costly items are for transportation.
It’s super easy to get to Mount Kilimanjaro, but it’s not entirely obvious. While the town of Moshi is sitting right at the base of the mountain, the national park entrance is on the other side, just up the hill from a town called Marangu. A matatu from the Moshi bus stage takes ~1.5 hours to get to Marangu, and will cost you 1,500 shillings.
Once you’re in Marangu, you can get a shared taxi to the park gates for 1,000 shillings, or around 10,000 if you don’t want to share/wait. After that you’re free to wander around the village, talk to people, and even enter the park gates to look at signs and stuff.
From Marangu village, just below the park gates. Nice and green!
A year or two ago I learned that making bread is really easy. Contrary to popular belief — if my friends are any indication of “popular belief” — you don’t have to do any messy kneading or rolling. Making your own bread isn’t just for hipsters anymore. In fact, you don’t need to look far for rationale…
For hippies, when you make your own bread you can control what goes into it. For cheapskates, making your own bread is way cheaper than buying it. For fancy people, home made bread tastes better than store bought loaf (ok, not the really fancy stuff).
It’s easy! Try it!
The ingredients are simple and wholesome!
Put the yeast and sugar into a mixing bowl along with the warm water. The yeast will activate and dissolve…
