Friday, travel home

Frank arranged for Emanuel to take us around to spend some time before my departure. I woke up to the Mosques and chickens and dogs one last time. I decided to just spend some time in the courtyard drinking in the moment. I watched Mt Meru wake up and the neighborhood come alive.

Frank made another one of his spectacular breakfasts. Emanuel, Frank, Venanche, Rose and I all crammed around his little table and enjoyed his omelets, bread, oranges and avocados. I took some time to repack everything and discovered that I had brought a flashlight. Huh, who knew?

We stopped by the bank one last time, we revisited the Maasai market for the few things that I regretted not getting. Then we went to Tanzanite One. This is the largest Tanzanite mining company in the world. I had never heard of Tanzanite before I left for Tanzania and now it’s all the rage. Apparently it’s only available in the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It’s a gorgeous stone. This company has a small museum in their building. The security was pretty high but it was quite nice. They gave me free coffee, an interpreted tour of the museum, a short (dramatic) video and of course a tour of their showroom. There was no pressure to buy, but I enjoyed getting to see what it was all about.

Afterwards, we walked to the AICC International Conference Center where security was very high and photos were not allowed. This is where the court of the Rwanda Genocide is held. This is also where the United Nations offices are located. We met Lawrence, James’ friend who took over the ownership of the phone that James had loaned me.

We drove to the marketplace where we were greeted by Patrick. He gave us a tour of the market from the fruits and vegetables, to the spices, to butchers, to kitchen goods. It seemed to be pretty bustling to me, but I was told that business was low because of Ramadan.

Next we went to the Arusha City Garden restaurant. I think I was too excited to eat, but it was a beautiful place. Frank was pleased to see a popular member of parliament eating there. Frank really dislikes politics and has no desire to be associated with it in any way. But he did recognize the politician and brought up that he is a member of the opposition party and very well loved in Arusha in spite of efforts to discredit him.

Frank proposed taking me to the Arusha museum, but I was anxious to get to the airport. I knew I would have a five hour wait, but I remembered the looooooong check in in Ghana and didn’t want that kind of worry again. So we drove to the airport. I finally got to see Mt. Kilimanjaro peeking out from the clouds and managed to get a few pictures. It was clear enough to see the peak, but not the base so it looks almost as though this cloudy peak is floating in the air. 

I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that the Mt. Kilimanjaro airport had unlimited free wifi! I used my time to chat with Mom, Eric and David which was really nice. Mom said that she had been enjoying my blog but it needs a lot of editing. That's not a big surprise as I am usually writing during in-between times and rarely have a chance to review before I post.

Most of the airport stay was a boring shift from one room to another with no problems except my 1” blade knitting scissors were confiscated.  The security officer mumbled something about how he needed to “sahch” and then he riffled through everything until he found this dangerous weapon.  I never knew that the regulations for what you can carry on weren’t standard. I pointed out that they were just for knitting, but they opened and shut them and said, “They’re sharp.” They just tossed them into this huge glass enclosed cube with maybe a hundred scissors all looking equally dangerous to mine. I was disappointed that I lost a nice pair of knitting scissors, but even more, I lost the ability to knit on the trip. I have purposely held off knitting as much as I could to make sure that I would have this to do on the trip home.

The security line went on and on and on. I saw them confiscate so many things from people. There was one woman who looked so much like Daveed Hero’s mother that I decided to ask her just to make sure – she wasn’t. When she went through security they wanted to confiscate her walking stick and argued with her until she started crying a bit and they apparently agreed to check it instead.

I saw my friend from Amsterdam going through one of the last groups of people through security. She and her boyfriend were very glad to see me. We spoke for a short time before we got the go ahead to board. There was no sequence to boarding but they did open both the front and back doors for boarding. But this time it was quite dark.

I was seated next to a man who didn’t say a word to me on the short flight from Mt. Kilimanjaro to Dar Es Salaam where he got out. For some reason, they didn’t turn the entertainment system on for the quick trip, but the headphones were repeating the same introduction to boring documentary movie background music over and over and over.

New passengers got on a Dar Es Salaam and a husband and wife who were speaking Dutch got on and only said, “Hi.” The entertainment system was turned on, but I discovered that my connector was faulty so I could only hear if I held my finger right there. If I moved just a bit the sound would go off.

The fellow in the seat in front of me reclined the full extent of the seat and that made the screen nearly un-viewable. So here I am, packed like a sardine, no knitting, no video and demanding work to get audio. I did manage to listen to a movie with Christopher Walkin and Philip Seymour Hoffman called “The Late Quartet” which was ok. I understood why I had never heard of it.

I also listened to a bit of Capote and I actually fell asleep! That was really nice. I think I slept for about two hours before we descended a bit due to turbulence, which woke all of the babies on board. But at least the two hours were nice.

I listened to television shows until it was time to land. I rushed to get power for my devices and to capitalize on the free wifi for a while. I really like this airport – they really get what it’s like to be stuck at an airport for hours and needing a bit of pampering.

When I get home and have some rest, I will be going back and adding the pictures that I've omitted until now. I will also be writing some final observations, in case you're interested.

Thursday, Safari Ends

As we finished dinner last night, the guide for the Irish group, Edison, addressed the group and asked that we please come to breakfast at 7:30 and be ready to go at 8AM start. Afterwords we agreed to take a collection to give the cook a tip from the group.

Team Irish was much quieter last night. I think they were worn out from the partying of the previous night and the big excitement of Ngorongoro. Shortly after I got into bed a group of people starting singing and playing drums. I didn’t think it was a good idea to get out of bed as I was just starting to feel sleepy, but I was disappointed to have missed it. They played about four or five songs.

Something did wake me at 1AM though and I had a really tough time falling back to sleep for a very long time. I used my iPhone to listen to “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me” and then “Radiolab” until sometime after 2 I did fall back to sleep. I woke up about 5 minutes before my alarm went off at 6:15.

It was still dark as I got ready to go. I was packed and ready for breakfast by 7:20. Anna showed up around 7:40...Luba about five minutes later. The first Irishman showed up about 7:50. The complete group didn’t arrive to the table until around 8:10. We presented Moses with his tip and I couldn’t take it anymore. I went to the car to finish waiting.

When we got to the entrance of the park I struck up a conversation with a woman from Amsterdam and it turns out we’re on the same flight tomorrow. We were talking about the difficulty of discussing religion in the US and how bizarre the atmosphere is in Salt Lake City.

Lake Manyara was quite different from the other parks as it is very lush and dense. There were a lot of monkeys readily viewable, but it was harder to find other animals. We did end up getting a lovely demonstration by a herd of elephants at the stream.

We stopped for lunch at a lovely park where colorful woodpeckers looked at me hopefully for me to drop something. I may have accidentally obliged.

I met a family from Bethesda. They had been to Serengeti and had seen a lion attack a zebra. It sounded as though it was quite a sight. Their daughter reminded me so much of Talia when she was younger. They also had some experiences with biting ants so they didn’t need me to warn them.

We did one more loop around the park before starting the long bumpy ride home. We lost track of the other group, but apparently it didn’t matter. We stopped at one more gift shop for a “bonus break” and then finished up. Frank met me at the office and we headed back to his place. I had enough time to load my previous blog posts before we went out for dinner.

Frank, Rose and I walked to Kwa Shabinga (where I was supposed to meet Frank to begin with) and we went to the Kill Time Pub where we got Ugali and Barbequed Pork. It was REALLY good. I wanted to keep eating past when my stomach would allow, but alas I could not. Frank’s friend Adam joined us. Adam has been helping Frank get his Tours business off the ground. We enjoyed the music as it changed from 80’s Tanzanian music to current Bongo Flavor music. The whole meal, with drinks for four people, came to 18,000 TShillings – or about  $10. We took a cab home and I bathed one last time, stared at the skyline one last time and sat down to write about my last full day in Tanzania.

Wednesday, Ngorongoro Crater

Our new Irish friends did not disappoint their stereotype. They got quite drunk and came to their tents around midnight and were quite loud for some time. Eventually they got quiet enough for me to get back to sleep. I did end up getting chilly and finally used some of the last pieces of “stuff” that I had brought with me and hadn’t used – my jacket and poncho.

I got up at 5:45, about a half hour before the alarm went off because the calls to prayer here are different. Not only were they unceasing, they were relentless. They weren’t just a few minutes of someone singing in Arabic, that was followed by what sounded like angry shouting. I couldn’t imagine what they were saying and wondered how many of the people who could hear the prayer understood either.

I decided to get up and do some things such as transfer pictures from Eric’s camera to my computer, top off the charge for my phone, and repack my bag which had already become an unusable mess.

It will come as no surprise that our Irish friends were late for breakfast and it was now clear that our close connection the day before was no accident. We were part of the same team and our drivers were partners.

We got on the road by 8:30 but when we got to the entrance of Ngorongoro we still had to wait for the other group.

On the way to Ngorongoro we had to pull over. Lewis looked embarrassed. He said that he had forgotten to switch the gas tank from the front tank to the back tank. He opened the hood, pumped something a few times, tried the key and it was fine. My heart skipped a few beats in the meantime, but I was glad it worked out.

On the dashboard, the rear gas tank always showed empty and the front tank always showed nearly full. The speedometer dial appeared to be completely missing. I guess having no dials on the dashboard to pay attention to helps to pay attention to the road because Lewis didn’t miss a beat.

I found myself imagining my mother taking this same trip so many years ago. I imagined her fear while going down the narrow winding roads. I imagined her marveling at the flora and fauna and seeing the same things that I was seeing today. Now that we have this shared memory so many years apart I have a lot of questions.

I do think there are a couple of things that are evidently different about taking the deluxe package that she had versus the economy package that I’m doing – she got into the part early enough to see the rhinos and for the hippos to come out of the water. By the time we got to the hippos it was mid-day and there was no way they were going to come out of the nice cool water for a photo session.

As we entered the park I was immediately struck by how dense the forest had become. I took several pictures but sometimes I had to stop just to “help” the driver from the back seat. I was worried about startling him so I had my hand over my mouth as I gasped and winced and moaned.

We got to a second gate where our guide, Lewis, took off the roof of the car but we weren’t allowed to go yet because there was a car coming out of the crater and the road is only one way because there’s not enough room for two cars.

We saw a lot more zebra and gnu. We saw a gorgeous hyena, grand gazelle and kite birds that tried to snap our lunches out of our hands as we watched the hippos (we had to eat in the car.)

We also got to see a gorgeous male lion sunning himself on the grasses and he was kind enough to pick his head up very briefly.

I always find myself surprised when we begin to leave without warning. I don’t know what more we could have seen but suddenly I realized we were ascending again.

It seemed much easier to come back than it did going down. In no time at all we were at the first gate and then the entrance. We were surrounded by baboons that were casually walking around the parking lot showing off.

We had to stop at another gift shop on the way back. It was explained to us that the drivers get a bonus for bringing us there even if we don’t buy anything. That didn’t seem to harm anything so in we went. There were more shelves and shelves of beautiful things that are more expensive than other places.

Next stop was Haven Nature, where I spent my free time writing and charging until dinner at 7. Moses cooked us a lovely dinner of Leak Soup, Rice, Meat, and a salad with Avocados. Dinner conversation was odd as Anna and Luba kept to themselves looking at pictures on Anna’s iPad mini and the Irish spoke mostly amongst themselves about food and didn’t seem much interested in making conversation. In addition, I really needed subtitles to understand them. I found myself acting as an interpreter between the Irish and Moses. He came out and asked if anyone wanted soup. One young woman ask, “Wha flava wood that bay?”  When Moses looked confused I said, “What kind of soup is it?” He said it was “Lake soup?” When the young woman looked confused I said, “It’s Leek Soup.” Almost everyone was pleased about that. Anna and Luba didn’t seem to notice the conversation was even taking place and they were the only ones who didn’t finish their soup.

Lewis tried to make conversation with me asking about my eggplant allergy (Frank had warned him) and my family, but there wasn’t a great deal to talk about.

It’s 8:30 so it’s about 3 days and 1.5 hours until I get that hug I’m longing for – not that I’m counting.

Tuesday, the Safari begins

We woke up just before the alarm went off at 7:30. I got ready and Frank had already started breakfast of eggs, bread, oranges and avocados. It was delicious once again. I made a last minute decision to bring my computer. I was worried that it would be better to haul it and never get an opportunity to write than it would be to have a chance and wish I had brought it.

We got Amhiri, the same driver who took us on our first outing, to give us a lift to the safari start point. Seconds after we arrived the Land Rover pulled up and Lupa and Anna were already inside. They are Russian and have been traveling for two weeks starting in Zanzibar. This is their first safari. The only downside of having two people who know the same language that you don’t share as safari mates is that they mostly talk to each other. It’s okay though because I am really focusing on enjoying the surroundings. 

Leaving Arusha is like a parade. All of the safari vehicles leave around the same time as a steady stream each passing each other and getting passed like leapfrog.

Man on a cell phone sits atop a
truck that wets to road to reduce dust.

As we are driving I notice the flora starts looking more and more like Dr. Seuss. We got to Tarangiri Park around noon. The restrooms are seats with plumbing so that was a change for me now that I’ve gotten accustomed to squatting – I think I’m almost getting good at it. There were a bunch of vehicles that arrived at the same time so all of the drivers were queued up at the registration to get in. It took nearly 30 minutes and then we were in. We saw lots and lots and lots of zebras (pumbamilia). The Russian young ladies were really taken with them and never missed an opportunity to get more shots. We also saw Gnu (Nyubu), wonderful River Bird nests, Warthogs (Ngiri). We learned that the word for river is tara and there are a lot of Warthogs in the area. Put the two together and get Tarangiri.

Baobab tree

We stopped for lunch and were surrounded by monkeys looking for any opportunity to steal some food. We met a group of young people who appear to be from Ireland. We’ve been essentially tailing them ever since and, in fact they are in the tents right near ours.

Monkeys try to steal lunches

After lunch we saw (pretty far off in the distance) a couple of Ostrich (mbuni) and then we heard of a lion sighting.

It was a whole pride of them walking down the hill, across the road and into the next field. It was great. This time Eric’s camera didn’t fail me.

We drove around some more seeing some giraffe (twiga) off in the distance and some elephants (temba, I think) up close.

Finally, it was time to go and take the long drive up to the camp. Along the way we stopped at African Galleria for some gift shopping. I was glad that I had already done that the day before. From some of the complaining I overheard from other customers it sounds as though the prices were really high. The one thing I did get to see was Tanzanite. I didn’t want to buy it – just see it.

Finally we made the trip to the camp. It’s really quite nice. It’s not much like the camping I think of. Yes, it’s in tents, but they are on cement blocks and have an outlet so I can plug in my devices. There are beds with mattresses, sheets and blankets.  I have a tent to myself so I don’t have to feel too badly about my snoring.

So, as it turned out it was a good idea to bring my computer after all. There is some downtime before dinner when we are settling in so I’m getting to write down my thoughts. My iPhone is nearly at 100%. Dinner is at 7:30 so I think I’ll have enough time to finish getting that to 100%, plug in the battery for Eric’s camera while I’m at dinner and then I’ll be good to go.

The driver doesn’t speak much English so he isn’t as engaging as others that I’ve had, but he’s very skillful at driver.

I’m finishing this entry a few hours later. It’s amazing what sitting down to a meal together can do for people. I asked Lupa and Anna if I could join them at the table and they were delightful. It turns out this trip to Tanzania was a big mistake. They had been planning a trip to South Africa since February. They had every day booked, planned reserved and set. When they got to the airport they discovered the one thing they had forgotten – a visa. Within three hours they had figured out which country they could go to that wouldn’t require a visa and they rebooked their trip with no idea where they would go or what they would do. So this whole trip has been just cascading events for them and they have had a wonderful time.

They also told me how they became friends in University. They were supposed to be roommates but they took an immediate dislike to each other. Anna suggested that they switch because she had a chum who wanted to be her roommate and Luba quickly agreed. As soon as classes started they found out that they were in the same section of about 18 students so they had to get to know each other and eventually became best friends.

We were also joined by a group of college students from Ireland. They are great fun. We had seen them at the park and ate lunch with them as well, but we didn’t interact much with them then. It turns out they have been volunteer teaching at a Masai Tuition school for the past five weeks, this is their first break and they go home on Monday.

I said good night and took a shower. While on my way to the bathroom I noticed that there was a fire going and some water dripping. It didn’t occur to me until the next morning that the fire was to heat the water for my shower.

It’s nine-thirty and almost exactly four days to the minute that I will see my beloved. Making friends has made it a little easier on me this evening.