The adventure began before we even left Austin when the security scanner found Jane’s long lost pocket knife hiding in a side pocket of her backpack.  A souvenir from California, Jane was desperate that the knife be saved, while Joe was stressed we’d miss our chance to eat before boarding. Mommy was escorted with the dangerous weapon from the secured area, paid $16 to ship the knife home, went through security a second time, and we still had time to eat before boarding.

In Chicago we were meet by Qatar Airways representatives who (eventually) escorted us and other passengers through a gauntlet of passageways, and a bus trip across the runways, to a chaotic gate teeming with travelers from the world over.  The routing on our one checked bag was corrected (hopefully) and we finally boarded the huge plane. We had a complete middle row.

Jane was immediately overjoyed at the luxury!  We each had a pillow, blanket, and a case containing an eye mask, toothbrush, toothpaste, and socks.  A large screen offered a huge library of movies and TV shows.  When the attractive attendants passed out wet wipes, Jane declared this was the best plane ever and a wonderful place to spend her birthday.

We slept little during the 13 hour flight.  A horrible chorus of crying babies and toddlers never abated.  The flight ended on a high note after the long wretched night when the crew sang happy birthday to Jane and produced a dinner menu transformed into a birthday card and an overflowing dessert plate.

We disembarked into the huge, uncrowded and ultra modern Doha airport.  Many travelers wore the hijab and we saw some men dressed as sheikhs.  Not a beer or glass of wine could be found and we were mindful not to eat or drink in public until after sundown it being Ramadan. After checking into the nice Airport hotel, we enjoyed a swim in a luxurious lap pool and dinner. Exhausted, we fell asleep easily. Jane slept solidly through the night, but Ruby, Joe and I were up from 1:30 AM onward for the most part.

The next morning the gate for our final flight to Kilimanjaro was only steps away from the hotel. After a five hour flight we landed at the small airport with a fantastic view of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  Here met our guide Said Salim http://www.usambaraadventures.com and his driver Barikituma (spelling?).

I expected a long drive to arrive at Irente Farm at 8 PM, but we did not arrive until 10:15 PM.  Said was great company for the long drive. He is from the Usambara mountain region and speaks Kisamba as well as Swahili, English and other languages.  It was amazing to look out the window of our van as we drove across northern Tanzania. Beautiful Mt. Kilimanjaro was out our window for the first while.

Later amazing baobab trees appeared.  All along the way were many Tanzanians along the road, maasai in shukas herding animals, and women in kangas carrying packages on their heads. We stopped at a modest cafe for a dinner of chips, eggs, and chicken. The last part of the drive was in darkness. We were stopped by police several times at checkpoints, but it was not a problem. Finally we turned off the main road and snaked upward for the last hour on steep windy dark roads, then on to a rough dirt road, arriving at Irente Farm where the night watchman let us into our amazing apartment.