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.