We Made It...

Day Fifteen

I didn't sleep very well last night. I think it's because I'm looking forward to wrapping things up here on this train. That is not to say that this experience hasn't been absolutely incredible. A once in a lifetime experience. A special time with my Dad. A life changing experience. It has been all of that. But like all good things, this must too come to an end...hopefully to make room for many more good things in the future. Everything is temporary. It has to be. It's what keeps life interesting and makes you keep going after the next adventure. The next big life experience. 

We made it to Dar Es Salaam at 10:00am this morning. My Dad and I spent the last few hours out on the OC, watching the final moments of our Journey play out as we pulled into the Station. 

15 days. 5 Countries. 3700 Miles. Memories and experiences to last a lifetime...and the pictures to remind us of all that we accomplished along the way.

Because so many things can happen on a Rail Journey - unexpected delays, derailments, engine problems and the like - my Dad was advised to add a little "wiggle room" to the end of the trip so we didn't run the risk of missing our flight back home. So we said our goodbyes to all of the good friends we met on this Journey and headed into Dar Es Salaam to the Hyatt Hotel to wait out the next 48 hours before heading back to Chicago. 

Dar Es Salaam is a large landlocked Harbor Town with a large downtown City Center. This is the first time since we have arrived to Africa that it felt like a real City. A bustling, loud and busy City. Traffic. Tall Buildings.  The Hyatt Hotel is beautiful, which is good, because we were advised to kind of just hunker down and stay on the property. We were told that the City Center was not very safe and that tourists were often hassled for money and jewelry...and often times had it taken from them forcibly. There is a Marketplace 30 minutes outside of town that was recommended, so we may check it out on Sunday. 

But today, my Dad and I decided to just enjoy being in a place that wasn't in constant motion. Walking down a hallway that wasn't throwing you around. Sleeping in a bed that wasn't swaying back and forth.

There was a pretty nasty cold virus that whipped through the train during our last week of travel that I think my Dad and I both are at the beginning stages of getting. I decided to head to the Hotel Gym to try and "sweat it out" while my Dad headed to his room to take a nap. We met a few hours later in this beautiful little bar in the Hotel called the Flame Tree Lounge and had a drink and then an early dinner.

Just hours after getting off the train, and here we were already reliving our Journey. The people we met, the places we saw, the experiences we had. Something tells me we will be doing this a lot over the course of the next few weeks, months, years. Hopefully forever.