This evening the President of Tanzania arrived in Arusha and put the hotel and local traffic into slight chaos, so that when it came time for us to catchup with our guide for the drive to the airport to meet Lee and Gordon (the other two members of our party) the parking lot was packed with cars and our driver could not get near the front entrance.
At the airport we soon discovered that the plane we had come to meet at 6:30 was not arriving until 8:35 and we settled in for the long wait. We were not the only ones waiting as the parking lot gradually filled and then over filled as the time passed. About an hour into our waiting a convoy of perhaps 30 vehicles came tearing into the airport with sirens wailing. We guessed, and eventually heard from the waiting crowd, that the convoy had come to meet the president. Sure enough about an hour later the convoy left again at high speed and with sirens.
Eventually the long awaited plane arrived and after the inevitable customs and baggage wait our travel companions appeared at the door. That brought hugs and greetings all round and then into the vehicle for the long drive back to the hotel.