The post about Kilimanjaro requires a lot more time so I’ll give a quick update about Arusha and then get back to Kili later.
We changed hotels from the Summit Lodge (no hot water, spotty wifi) to the Acres hotel (great hot water and wifi, much better room and half the cost). We spent September 27th having our laundry done (everything from the climb was trashed/dirty/dusty) and walking around town looking into safaris. Looks like we can pick one up for a 15% discount by once again by asking for a last minute discount rather than booking in advance.
As far as walking around Arusha – it’s worse than Istanbul. You need to keep one eye on the sidewalk/streets which are so cracked up that it would be easy to trip and sprain an ankle; one eye on the traffic which goes every which way inches from other vehicles and pedestrians; and, as I found out yesterday, your third eye has to watch out for low hanging signs. There was a sign 5’11” above the ground that I hit my head on (most of the people here would pass right under it). If I hadn’t been wearing a hat I probably would have needed stitches.