Tanzania

I spent a weekend before Kenya and a week after in Tanzania - I managed to spend both weekends in Zanzibar, and spent the week meeting with colleagues based in Tanzania about several different projects. Dar Es Salaam is right on the coast, and a fairly modern city. I started out in a beautiful hotel overlooking the ocean called Sea Cliff. The rooms were just spectacular!The grounds were lush and gorgeous, and overlooking the ocean. The second weekend, I headed to Zanzibar early Saturday morning and didn't return until Sunday evening. When my taxi driver picked me up on Sunday, he told me the hotel had burned down, and I thought he was playing a joke on me until I saw it! This was the picture of the blaze on the front page of the newspaper! And this is the back of the hotel, taken looking toward the spot the first shot was taken from. Tragic! Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the room my things were in was mostly untouched, so except for smelling a little smoky, my things were OK. I'm very fortunate!!
So I had to change hotels, and stayed at the Kilimanjaro Kempinski (www.kempinski-daressalaam.com/en/home/index.htm). It's unbelievable, and may be one of the best hotels in East Africa. I don't know who managed to negotiate a US government rate with them!! I won't bore you with the many pictures I took - but this is the view from the infinity pool on the third floor overlooking the harbor. It was such a treat to go for a swim!