Wow I don't think I've ever been this bad at blogging. Sorry about that. The past month and a half were crazy because my boss waa here so work was constant. We had a very succesful fundraiser, I turned 23, and socially things are much better. It was so great to play classical piano again in public! A LOT of work but I'll say it was worth it :) And my black Talbot's cocktail dress find at mtumba was also great and quite funny since everyone else was wearing $1000 dresses courtesy of our finance person.
Uganda was amazing!!!! Beautiful country and beautiful people. I didn't feel like a mzungu nearly as much and it didn't get pointed out to me everywhere I went (only on public transport). After a horrendous bus ride from Nairobi, I arrived in Jinja where I was greeted by a wonderful CS named Micheal who brought me home and introduced me to his wife and baby. Women here have no problem nursing in public. It doesn't matter if it is someone else's home, a bus, or a church, they just pull out the milk makers right then and there and this women was voluptuous in a way I rarely see. Aside from seeing 100 school children at the source of the Nile where I learned Gandhi spoke and eating a full lunch of 10 diff kinds of carbs and Nile Perch fish for under $2, the day was pretty uneventful. The night on the other hand was the first time I knew what it felt like to be in a tin roofed house while a rain storm occurred and my stomach growling of hunger. Eventually, I asserted myself and they drove me to get some food, but that definitely took some courage and I knew what it was like for many who don't have a car to rescue them and go to bed hungry.
People were so helpful, helping me find my CS's workplace in Kampala. After dropping my heavy 7 kg bag off, I found a local place for lunch where I could finally have some greens and a yogurt. IT's so nice to be able to choose for yourself what food you want. As great as it is to eat with local families, food diversity is something that I learned in Chile was really important. I ended up meeting another CS who did art with local kids and aside from a great museum with a section dedicated to music, the highlight of Kampala was the Ndaris Center where I got to see several different Ugandan tribe dances and music. I also went to my CS's grandma's house for lunch after a mega-church service with a TV-like commercial and announcement video on a big screen. I couldn't believe I was in Africa with this high tech stuff.
But my most memorable part is the wonderful family I found at Lake Kifunika campsite after a taxi sedan with 8 people in it broke down and they refused to let me get out and a boda (motorcycle) ride through the countryside (the main way to get around). Meble helped cook there but she at age 21 was also teaching tourism students aged 19 and 20 birding and debate. They invited me to go along and I have never seen such excellent birds. Hear that? That's a ... See that? That's a ... which was succeeded by confirming it in the bird book. She was right every time. I also had a very detailed guide show me every type of botany we passed and went to two Ugandan schools and taught them a song I do with Umoja Ensemble and recorded it and then decided to be silly and do Head Shoulders Knees and Toes. They loved it! I didn't go to Murchison Falls but this Bugahoma Falls was GORGEOUS (and free)!. For the next three days I was a part of their family and no one wanted me to leave and the feeling was mutual. I had originally chosen this part of Uganda to see the chimps, but sadly aside from the beauty of the park it was a waste as I could only see a black blur of fuzz 100 ft. up a tree in a nest. I did learn about them and heard them coughing and through the binoculars caught a glimpse of their face but there are no photos to document this.
The next day was hell. I woke up saying a tearful goodbye and couldn't believe how attached I got after 3 days, realizing I did not feel this same attachment in my current location after 8 months! My host arranged a ride with a courier driver who was wonderful and stopped to let me take pics of the crossing of the Equator and showing me viewpoints of Queen Elizabeth Park, but once we arrived in Mbarara that was the end of the fun. I still had another at least 3 hr bus ride and didn't know anyone at the other end. But after repetitive ATM failed attempts, a really bad connection Internet cafe and no answer at home to see if they could transfer money, I got a really bad exchange rate and forcibly exchanged a $20 blil so I'd have at least enough money to take a bus and have accommodation for the night. Yet all the buses had already left after this 2.5 hr detour so instead I went in a dala dala shoved to the window by 3 other people and my knees pressing up against the seat in front of me only stopping once for a "short call." On the way I had one of the most horrific experiences. I saw an ambulance blur past us and hit a man who instantly collapsed with blood dripping from his nose. AN AMBULANCE! Suddenly the whole town went to help the poor old man and our dala dala continued on its way. I was so scared after that.
After finally arriving in Kabale, I found out where I wanted to stay was still another 1.5 hrs but I figured the day had already been ruined and I may as well do all my traveling in one day. So I found a taxi and found out it really takes 2.5 hrs to get there so this would be in at 8:30 and the park guide was willing to meet me and help me find accommodation. Greedy greedy taxi drivers. 5 passengers wasn't enough for him (4 in the back, 1 in front) and we did not leave til an hr later when we had 7 psgers (AGAIN!). I was realizing this was a standard in uGanda and that taxis are not safer, faster, or more comfortable than a daladala in Uganda and was very thankful that taxis were not like this in Tanzania. So I began as the 4th person in the back. Yet the road was meandering every minute and I could not handle the weight of three people crushing my ribs as I was shoved even further into the door. Once one passenger left, I decided it'd be more comfortable in the front even with a gear stick where my feet should go so I switched. Taxis were the ONLY thing that made me irritated in Uganda, but I was completely peeved both times and this time muffled tears into my fleece with all the talk of the "mzungu" and knowing I was arriving in an unknown location at 10:30 at night. Thank god the guide was going to meet me there.
The next day made up for the preceding. I got to see the gorillas and not only that but had my own private tour!!!! And they actually care if you're a resident there so I got charged $25 less than the tourist rate and had wonderful accommodation with a very caring staff and excellent food. I had no idea it could get that cold, but thankfully I had packed wool socks, a Maasai shuka (blanket) and one long sleeve shirt. After a hot bucket shower and a cup of hot chocolate with a vegetable curry and chapati I bathed in the sun and reflected on the amazingness that was the gorillas! They were so BIG and one shook an entire tree branch at me but they told me not to run away as they were testing who was friend and who was enemy. When he rolled on his back and farted, I realized just how human they really were. No one has stressed how difficult gorilla trekking is though so I will attempt. Bush as high as you, going up and down grass tufts, through thorny trees, and only with a walking stick to guide you. I was VERY thankful for my rain pants! And I saw Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. BEAUTIFUL area! Then it was boda boda to the border which I presented my passport and walked right across into the Land of Thousand Hills: Rwanda.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Safari w/ Parents
In summary, it was an experience I will never forget! To explain all the animals we saw would be way too lengthy, and I haven't stayed in accommodation with views like that ever. My dad spotted a black rhino with his spotting scope as soon as we arrived at the hotel (there are only 13 left in the world so it's pretty rare!). The food was unbelievable at the Serena lodges with things like red peppers, cherry tomatoes, and lots of other veggies I hadn't seen in quite awhile. YUMMY! Even the beef at lunch was delicious unlike the tough, chewy meat here. Our driver was a very nice 27 yr old who said things like war-thogs and everything was "no proh-blem". He was so cute saying he missed his sister and how much more important family was than getting a wife. We came REALLY close to lions to the point where I stopped taking pics I was too cared it would jump up and snatch it. We never saw an attack but we did see lions and cheetah enjoying their prey. Saw lots of birds I didn't expect to see like the largest owl in Africa, flamingoes, ostrich, coral bustard (which we kept thinking our guide said bastard), crane, stork, stalk, and hornbill. We saw hippoes in and out of the water. They are ENORMOUS!!! And lots and lots of giraffes, elephants, and the migration of zebras and wildebeests and their relative the hatabeest. I did not know they made such sounds!! It was like an animal choir. Warthogs necks are too short so they have to kneel down on their front knees. Quite hilarious!
We stayed in a luxury tent where we had the equivalent of a chamber pot, but hey there wsa a toilet in the tent, and we all gathered around a campfire before dinner. I love camping so much!!! I'm realizing I can't go more than 6 weeks without it. The Masai boma (traditional house) minus being hot was really cool and had a beautiful view. The crater was GORGEOUS and we were right on the rim.
It was so great to have my parents here. They got to see a lot for nine days and can understand why I'm here after they saw the outreach concert and Umoja Ensemble. Though the dynamic when I was teaching by myself was VERY different!! Much more chaotic and not as good listeners/obedience.
Check out Facebook for MANY a photo of Safari. I tried to upload a photo but it failed :(
We stayed in a luxury tent where we had the equivalent of a chamber pot, but hey there wsa a toilet in the tent, and we all gathered around a campfire before dinner. I love camping so much!!! I'm realizing I can't go more than 6 weeks without it. The Masai boma (traditional house) minus being hot was really cool and had a beautiful view. The crater was GORGEOUS and we were right on the rim.
It was so great to have my parents here. They got to see a lot for nine days and can understand why I'm here after they saw the outreach concert and Umoja Ensemble. Though the dynamic when I was teaching by myself was VERY different!! Much more chaotic and not as good listeners/obedience.
Check out Facebook for MANY a photo of Safari. I tried to upload a photo but it failed :(
Friday, January 21, 2011
Musings about Zanzibar (and a pinch of Dar/Bagamoyo)
Musing #1 Dala Dalas in Zbar
Aside from Zanzibar’s BEAUTIFUL white, fine sand beaches lined coconut and palm trees, abundant mangoes for less than a dime and whole pineapples for less than a dollar, something tour books fail to mention are the dala dalas in Zanzibar. They are more or less a truck with an open-aired back lined with long benches and a roof. We managed to squash 28 people onto these benches with luggage from flour sacks and pails of tomatoes to eggs, chickens, briefcases, and in my case a backpacking size backpack. So the benches are full of people and the area between the people are filled with the above mentioned items so you’d think that if someone gets on first, they would scoot further up the bench so as to allow other passengers to get on easier. Not so. Instead, me with my 73 cubic meter backpack, already too tall for the dala dala, crawling over the aforementioned tomatoes, eggs, flour sacks, etc. to get an open spot on the bench. But before I am seated the dala dala lurches forward and everyone follows suit. Of course there are no seat belts although the fellow passengers on both sides of you serve as a constrictor keeping your thighs glued to your seat because you are unable to move them either way due to the other people. I will note that this position when you have horrible sunburn on the backs of your thighs and butt is not ideal (never mind I put spf 55 on and wore a shirt when I went snorkeling). Another main difference is that the dala dala can lurch forward. In Arusha, there is so much traffic that you maybe go 30 mph maximum and most of that is when you are passing in the invisible middle lane. In Zbar, no traffic, no problem. So the daladala goes a considerable speed. Then the conductor taps with a shilling coin on the outside of the truck (yes he is just holding onto the back of the truck as are four other men) and the truck, brakes screeching and all, lurches forward again, stopping one second later. The word gradual does not exist! Then we pick up the passenger, load on the baggage, and with the tap-tap of the shilling coin lurch forward again. Even though we paid 4x what we should have, it was still 1/10th the amount of a taxi and why would I trade this experience for a $50 taxi ride?...
Musing #2 Resort food or fish market?
So besides the 8 cent mangos and dollar pineapples, there really isn’t any other food one can buy in Matemwe, a northern beach resort town with the best snorkeling I’ve ever done in my life! It was like looking at an aquarium! Except for the fish market. We were tired of going to resort dinners and spending a minimum of $12 on a plate (I haven’t spent this amount on food in a very long time!) and decided it would be a nice gesture to cook fish for our couchsurfers. They work at a resort and told us they ate there for every meal. What I didn’t realize is they truly meant EVERY meal. They had lived there four months and did not own salt, pepper, oil, a sharp knife, or even cooked in their kitchen-anything. Not cereal, bread, emergency pasta ration, nothing. So after buying this fish, which was a beauty and around $4, and carrying it by a string attached to its mouth for the 3k walk back home, we realized we had forgotten the key. It turned into a comedic act because of course many stopped us seeing mzungus carrying a fish on the beach. And then we walked by them again. The cook at the resort gave us a bit of butter, oil, and salt/pepper mixture and a sharp knife because they didn’t have any. The fish turned out quite well and the next day we were stopped multiple times with something along the lines of “Weren’t you two the ones with the fish yesterday?” I think we made a legend.
Musing 3 The Zanzibari/Western Muslim Wedding
So my main reason for going to Zanzibar when I did was my colleague’s wedding, which was a very cool cultural experience I will never forget. It began with a frazzled Sara trying desperately to find the place because there was no sign and the name I was given (Dhau Countries Music Academy) none of the locals knew. I walked in at 4 pm on the dot which is when the ceremony was supposed to begin. But upon arriving, I saw everyone was just waiting around and we were on typical Tanzania time once again. About 45 mins later the western bride walks in, decorated with 6 hrs of Henna up and down her arms and legs (and her shoulders were bare) and goes to her dressing room. 15 mins. later we hear drums and women fluttering their tongues. Down below 4 stories is a processional of the groom's whole family, probably 100+ people dressed in beautiful gowns, women all with their hair covered, and waving money above their heads. We were served lemongrass tea, a sweet gelatin with sesame seeds called halau, and a samosa, while the Arabic singing continued. I did not feel like I was in Tanzania AT ALL. Eventually, the groom showed up and entered the bride's dressing room, where I think is where the religious part of the ceremony took place. I saw a man (I would guess to be the equivalent of a preacher) putting his hand on her head as a sign of blessing and then unveiled her and they had a photo shoot and then walked out holding hands, no kiss. It then turned into a paparazzi shooting as they walked down the aisle with kisses on the cheek, and people attaching small bills of money to her dress. After parading around for probably half an hour, they did the exchange of the rings. It seemed very evident to me that this was not a common occurrence because all the women continued to talk and so it was very hard to hear. And then they finally kissed :) It was interesting to see how reserved they were with the family there because they had lived together beforehand for a year. Then we went to the groom's house where sat on mats on the floor and waited and then saw an Arabic men's dance where they all danced in kneeling synchronized movement with one hand behind their back and the other varying between waving in the hair and sweeping the ground and them leaning back on their calves.
Day 2 of the Wedding
The second night was mainly just a party. Though MUCH later than expected. I had arrived early because my CS host insisted on giving me a ride and I didn't want to tell him to wait for a certain time. When I arrived hardly anything had been set up so I helped fill the centerpiece bags of sand (for the candles). Luckily the ground was sand so it was an easy task. The bride lived in Japan for 3 years so each table had 3 origami flowers. It almost became a joke when the guests walked in at 7:30 to help with the various tasks still not done. By the time the bride and groom walked in (9:45!!!), it had rained, wind had blown all the candles out and had to be relit multiple times, and I could hear my stomach quite clearly, having not eaten a large lunch knowing dinner would be huge. The bride's dress was BEAUTIFUL!!! Purple and gold with a train. They were seated and Tarab music (a Zanzibar style where they use flat two, major 3, and lots of tetrachords) began followed by the most insanely awesome Capoera I had ever seen! They made the sand look like a trampoline doing flips right there! And then they dragged the groom out, he removed his suit coat, and took part. AWESOME! 11 PM food was finally served with the largest fish I had ever seen, pilau, salad, and sugar cane juice, delicious!! I was amazed to see all the Muslim women with uncovered hair, bare shoulders, and drinking beer. But one of the brothers explained that they can do these things for special events like parties or invites. Interesting. No wedding cake, but a delicious fruit salad and banana bread. This was followed by dancing starting with rockin' robin swing and evolving into Poker Face (club music) lol. And then the party was over.
The spice tour was really cool because they made leaf jewelry and made it much more about the presentation of the spices then the spices themselves. The most impressive was a guy climbing to the top of a coconut tree (pics will be on Facebook soon). A book that might be interesting to read is Memoirs of an Arabian Princess about a Zanzibari princess who learned to read secretly (women couldn't read) by writing Koranic verses on the shoulder blade of a camel and then escaped to Germany where she converted to Christianity and changed her name and gained independence. I also learned that henna started as a way to cool off with a simple dot and then people got bored and started making designs. Coolest sunset bbq with you-name-it seafood for under 5 bucks. And we stayed with a Zbar family which was a really cool experience! I love TZ children!
Bagamoyo had an interesting history being the resting place of the slave traders with bwagamoyo literally meaning lay your burden of your heart down. Dar, aside from being hot and crowded, was wonderful and traffic over the holiday wasn't bad at all.We fell in love with the bucket shower, which is exactly what it sounds like. You dump buckets of cold water on your head. Saves A LOT of water and is so refreshing when it's so hot outside. Though you really do get used to the heat and with a parasol it's not so bad. The university was so green and people were so friendly. I felt like I made more friends traveling and showing me all the local places and going out every night then I do here in Arusha after 5 months. This Sun marks the halfway point. And I actually can believe it. Back to work this week. Fingers crossed on parents coming in two weeks!
Aside from Zanzibar’s BEAUTIFUL white, fine sand beaches lined coconut and palm trees, abundant mangoes for less than a dime and whole pineapples for less than a dollar, something tour books fail to mention are the dala dalas in Zanzibar. They are more or less a truck with an open-aired back lined with long benches and a roof. We managed to squash 28 people onto these benches with luggage from flour sacks and pails of tomatoes to eggs, chickens, briefcases, and in my case a backpacking size backpack. So the benches are full of people and the area between the people are filled with the above mentioned items so you’d think that if someone gets on first, they would scoot further up the bench so as to allow other passengers to get on easier. Not so. Instead, me with my 73 cubic meter backpack, already too tall for the dala dala, crawling over the aforementioned tomatoes, eggs, flour sacks, etc. to get an open spot on the bench. But before I am seated the dala dala lurches forward and everyone follows suit. Of course there are no seat belts although the fellow passengers on both sides of you serve as a constrictor keeping your thighs glued to your seat because you are unable to move them either way due to the other people. I will note that this position when you have horrible sunburn on the backs of your thighs and butt is not ideal (never mind I put spf 55 on and wore a shirt when I went snorkeling). Another main difference is that the dala dala can lurch forward. In Arusha, there is so much traffic that you maybe go 30 mph maximum and most of that is when you are passing in the invisible middle lane. In Zbar, no traffic, no problem. So the daladala goes a considerable speed. Then the conductor taps with a shilling coin on the outside of the truck (yes he is just holding onto the back of the truck as are four other men) and the truck, brakes screeching and all, lurches forward again, stopping one second later. The word gradual does not exist! Then we pick up the passenger, load on the baggage, and with the tap-tap of the shilling coin lurch forward again. Even though we paid 4x what we should have, it was still 1/10th the amount of a taxi and why would I trade this experience for a $50 taxi ride?...
Musing #2 Resort food or fish market?
So besides the 8 cent mangos and dollar pineapples, there really isn’t any other food one can buy in Matemwe, a northern beach resort town with the best snorkeling I’ve ever done in my life! It was like looking at an aquarium! Except for the fish market. We were tired of going to resort dinners and spending a minimum of $12 on a plate (I haven’t spent this amount on food in a very long time!) and decided it would be a nice gesture to cook fish for our couchsurfers. They work at a resort and told us they ate there for every meal. What I didn’t realize is they truly meant EVERY meal. They had lived there four months and did not own salt, pepper, oil, a sharp knife, or even cooked in their kitchen-anything. Not cereal, bread, emergency pasta ration, nothing. So after buying this fish, which was a beauty and around $4, and carrying it by a string attached to its mouth for the 3k walk back home, we realized we had forgotten the key. It turned into a comedic act because of course many stopped us seeing mzungus carrying a fish on the beach. And then we walked by them again. The cook at the resort gave us a bit of butter, oil, and salt/pepper mixture and a sharp knife because they didn’t have any. The fish turned out quite well and the next day we were stopped multiple times with something along the lines of “Weren’t you two the ones with the fish yesterday?” I think we made a legend.
Musing 3 The Zanzibari/Western Muslim Wedding
So my main reason for going to Zanzibar when I did was my colleague’s wedding, which was a very cool cultural experience I will never forget. It began with a frazzled Sara trying desperately to find the place because there was no sign and the name I was given (Dhau Countries Music Academy) none of the locals knew. I walked in at 4 pm on the dot which is when the ceremony was supposed to begin. But upon arriving, I saw everyone was just waiting around and we were on typical Tanzania time once again. About 45 mins later the western bride walks in, decorated with 6 hrs of Henna up and down her arms and legs (and her shoulders were bare) and goes to her dressing room. 15 mins. later we hear drums and women fluttering their tongues. Down below 4 stories is a processional of the groom's whole family, probably 100+ people dressed in beautiful gowns, women all with their hair covered, and waving money above their heads. We were served lemongrass tea, a sweet gelatin with sesame seeds called halau, and a samosa, while the Arabic singing continued. I did not feel like I was in Tanzania AT ALL. Eventually, the groom showed up and entered the bride's dressing room, where I think is where the religious part of the ceremony took place. I saw a man (I would guess to be the equivalent of a preacher) putting his hand on her head as a sign of blessing and then unveiled her and they had a photo shoot and then walked out holding hands, no kiss. It then turned into a paparazzi shooting as they walked down the aisle with kisses on the cheek, and people attaching small bills of money to her dress. After parading around for probably half an hour, they did the exchange of the rings. It seemed very evident to me that this was not a common occurrence because all the women continued to talk and so it was very hard to hear. And then they finally kissed :) It was interesting to see how reserved they were with the family there because they had lived together beforehand for a year. Then we went to the groom's house where sat on mats on the floor and waited and then saw an Arabic men's dance where they all danced in kneeling synchronized movement with one hand behind their back and the other varying between waving in the hair and sweeping the ground and them leaning back on their calves.
Day 2 of the Wedding
The second night was mainly just a party. Though MUCH later than expected. I had arrived early because my CS host insisted on giving me a ride and I didn't want to tell him to wait for a certain time. When I arrived hardly anything had been set up so I helped fill the centerpiece bags of sand (for the candles). Luckily the ground was sand so it was an easy task. The bride lived in Japan for 3 years so each table had 3 origami flowers. It almost became a joke when the guests walked in at 7:30 to help with the various tasks still not done. By the time the bride and groom walked in (9:45!!!), it had rained, wind had blown all the candles out and had to be relit multiple times, and I could hear my stomach quite clearly, having not eaten a large lunch knowing dinner would be huge. The bride's dress was BEAUTIFUL!!! Purple and gold with a train. They were seated and Tarab music (a Zanzibar style where they use flat two, major 3, and lots of tetrachords) began followed by the most insanely awesome Capoera I had ever seen! They made the sand look like a trampoline doing flips right there! And then they dragged the groom out, he removed his suit coat, and took part. AWESOME! 11 PM food was finally served with the largest fish I had ever seen, pilau, salad, and sugar cane juice, delicious!! I was amazed to see all the Muslim women with uncovered hair, bare shoulders, and drinking beer. But one of the brothers explained that they can do these things for special events like parties or invites. Interesting. No wedding cake, but a delicious fruit salad and banana bread. This was followed by dancing starting with rockin' robin swing and evolving into Poker Face (club music) lol. And then the party was over.
The spice tour was really cool because they made leaf jewelry and made it much more about the presentation of the spices then the spices themselves. The most impressive was a guy climbing to the top of a coconut tree (pics will be on Facebook soon). A book that might be interesting to read is Memoirs of an Arabian Princess about a Zanzibari princess who learned to read secretly (women couldn't read) by writing Koranic verses on the shoulder blade of a camel and then escaped to Germany where she converted to Christianity and changed her name and gained independence. I also learned that henna started as a way to cool off with a simple dot and then people got bored and started making designs. Coolest sunset bbq with you-name-it seafood for under 5 bucks. And we stayed with a Zbar family which was a really cool experience! I love TZ children!
Bagamoyo had an interesting history being the resting place of the slave traders with bwagamoyo literally meaning lay your burden of your heart down. Dar, aside from being hot and crowded, was wonderful and traffic over the holiday wasn't bad at all.We fell in love with the bucket shower, which is exactly what it sounds like. You dump buckets of cold water on your head. Saves A LOT of water and is so refreshing when it's so hot outside. Though you really do get used to the heat and with a parasol it's not so bad. The university was so green and people were so friendly. I felt like I made more friends traveling and showing me all the local places and going out every night then I do here in Arusha after 5 months. This Sun marks the halfway point. And I actually can believe it. Back to work this week. Fingers crossed on parents coming in two weeks!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Two Mountains in One Month
2 Mountains in One Month
I figured instead of writing about each mountain separately I could do a compare/contrast thing. But it ended up really long. Well, here goes.
Statistics
Mt Meru: 4512 metres, 3 days, 60k, 3000m vertical
Crew: A 53 yr old man from Texas (more or less a colleague) by the name of Tom, an armed ranger, a porter, and me
Mt. Kilimanjaro: 5895 metres, 5 days, 60k, 4000m vertical
Crew: Tom, a guide (we couldn’t do this one independently), 2 porters, a cook, a waiter, an assistant guide, and me
Day 1 Mt. Meru
After learning they don’t accept cash in the parks to prevent corruption, we stood in line at the bank for 45 mins. waiting to get these park cards. Going back and forth between lines and just a lot of red tape we find out that despite these are national park cards, they are only accepted at some parks, of course not the one we were going to. I had put the majority of my money on this card, we were 1.5 hrs out of town, and still had to pay..Luckily, Tom had a Visa card so we paid with that and were so thankful we had wasted 45 mins. of our lives standing in line at the bank for nothing! (Luckily we were able to recover this money later after writing a letter to the branch manager, coming back when they were closed, and eventually getting the money).
After arriving to the park, we found out that the fees for the porters had changed from 10,000 tsh to $10/day. Of course we were in favor of supporting the porters with a better wage, but again not knowing this was very frustrating when it came to budgeting. Then despite we were an independent group they told us we were going to be with 3 Germans and 7 of their porters! We wanted to leave soon so that we could go to the Mt. Meru Crater after arriving at camp and they told us we had to wait for this group. After, yes I’ll admit it, being very stubborn and okay a bit of complaining, they gave in and we got our own group and went to the huts via the crater…Little did we know this would involve an extra 10k. Beautiful botanically, not a whole lot of wildlife, some buffalo scat, lots of ants, a dyka, and a few birds, but a road full of scree and quite literally 20k straight up hill! The crater was beautiful and it was the first time I could just sit there and hear nothing-no birds, no wind, no people, nothing. Despite Lonely Planet guidebook telling us it was a short walk from the hut and the ash cone could be climbed, we found out you needed a special permit from the director of TANAPA (the TZ parks association) and had to be doing geological research. We saw the huge tree that the Meru people consider sacred and our guide who was from the area told us we were the only ones he had ever taken this way. We realized what idiots we were, but it was a beautiful detour! As we arrived to the hut, it began to rain. Perfect timing! This rain was a blessing because it served as fresh drinking water for the next day. We made some delicious soup on our camp stove and attempted cribbage without a board (not recommended). We were the only people without a guide, but we didn’t mind. The huts were really nice! Shared bathrooms with 4 bunks in each room and each group had their own room so we had two spare bunks to put our stuff on and no roommates. We conked out quite early with Ibuprofen digested ready for another day.
Day 1 Kili
We had pre-paid Kili Bike &Trek so we didn’t have to worry about park fees upon arriving. HIGHLY recommend them if anyone is thinking of doing Kili and we got a really good deal (well Kili pricewise). They picked us up from our houses and we went to see the waterfall in Marangu which also included a Chagga (an indigenous tribe) cultural lesson. The first day was only 7k and SO beautiful! We went through the rainforest and saw lots of monkeys, birds, and beautiful green rain forest. Each day had a designated lunch spot with a bathroom (well a square hole in the ground, why it was square I will never know!) and picnic tables. We arrived at the hut and then only had a 15 min walk (contrasted with the extra 10k) to view the crater. We could see the plains of Kenya and a waterfall in the distance. We also saw some hyrax on the way. The huts were a little more basic with a mattress on the floor and much smaller. But the food was substantial! A vegetable soup followed by a main dish followed by fruit, oh and I forgot the tea and popcorn upon arrival. We played cribbage, this time with a board (Tom got me one for Christmas), and went to bed.
Day 2 Mt. Meru
This day was very misleading because it was only 5k..but that actually translated as 4 hrs of stairs! I climbed 1000 official stairs and then probably another 1000 things that I would call stairs but the ranger told me were not included in the 1000. At the top we began to see Little Meru (3800 m). We had dinner around 3:30 and slept from 4-12, ready for the midnight climb.
Day 2 Kili
We left the rainforest and went onto the moorlands. Many open meadows with beautiful flowers, a lot of birds that no guide knew the name of, but black with turquoise and black with red both beautiful!, and had some beautiful views across the mountain. It was a much easier climb than Day 2 Meru with a gradual ascent and a GORGEOUS view! 11k but MUCH more scenic and no stairs :) Pretty uneventful.
Day 3 Meru 12 AM
Made some midnight oatmeal and then began the what-I-didn't-know-at-the-time 6 hr climb! We had a full moon so my cell phone torch was not needed. But I DEFINITELY underestimated 30˚ with no sunlight! In my mind, 30˚ is xc-skiing in a t-shirt so I figured climbing a mountain would keep me warm. I forgot about how cold wind can be and how hard it is to stay warm with no sun. Despite having leggings, two fleeces, a scarf, a hat, and woolen socks, I would say the only thing on me that was warm were my feet. Unfortunately, I had left my other woolen socks at the hut so my poor fingers had to wear cotton socks as mittens, which as you can guess was very poor insulation! My hands were literally molded into the pole position and took quite awhile to straighten them. And so we began pole pole (slowly) up the zigzag ridge. I can do this, I thought to myself. Little did I know this was just the beginning.
We reached the point they call Rhino Point that is the same altitude as Little Meru and then began the true adventure. To get off of Rhino Point, you had to walk down a knife ridge with 100m drop off on each side (remember it's dark). This was followed by walking across a rock wall. My thrill transformed into terror when I slipped on the wet rocks and had nothing to hold onto not being able to see where the drop off was. That was when I began to doubt and yes some tears were shed. The guide was very good, helped me to calm down, and had me put my foot on his, and took my poles so I could tangibly grasp the rocks. Pole pole I made it across, not knowing this wasn't even a 1/4 of the way! Next was climbing up a very narrow volcanic ash cone with huge drop offs on both sides. One wrong step and the rest was history.
At this point, I could feel the altitude and exhaustion and knew the only thing keeping me upright were my poles! After a steep incline and repeating to myself "I can" in as many languages as I could think of over and over again, I made it to the top of the ash cone and began climbing up rocks, more or less rock climbing. I had thought I had seen the top and I kept telling myself the only way is up. But the guide told me that was only the halfway point. That was when I thought I couldn't do it anymore. I have no idea how I continued, but it was getting dark so the guide handed me his headlamp and I continued onward.
After many more ridges, we finally had thought we reached the top-AGAIN-but the sun was on the verge of rising and I told our porter (who became our guide, our guide stayed where he gave me his light and took a nap I later found out) I didn't want to miss the sunrise over Kili-that was my motivation for climbing. So we kept climbing and continued to check for the sunrise. It happened and it was GORGEOUS! We could see Kili peaking above the clouds (see photos on FB) and the light was hitting the ash cone so beautifully. Morning light is so beautiful! The sky turned an aquamarine color and the first rays of warmth for the past 6 hours appeared. I realized how hungry I was and ate some dried fruit and nuts watching the beautiful sunrise. Tom and I looked at each other and were quite content. We had seen the sunrise, we had climbed the ridge, we were ready to go down. But our guide wasn't having it, "Twende," he says (Let's go!). So we continued. After 4 more ridges and 2 more false quits, we reached the boulder, that once we reached the top would FINALLY be the summit. It was marked with the TZ flag. I continued to climb as my eyes were fixed on that flag. There was no way I was giving up now! 40 mins later we had reached the top, signed the registrar, and saw all of Arusha. I tried to locate my house, but it was too foggy and far away.
And then down we went! Down, down down. The drop offs were even more magnanimous than I could ever have imagined in the dark. No wonder you climb in the dark. No one would do it in the daylight! After 4 hrs we made it back to the hut, had a quick lunch, and went down. We figured going down the stairs would be quick..but 3 hrs later we had only arrived at the first hut ready to tackle the last 3 hours down. We took the route that most people took to climb up and after being in a permanent 45˚ angle descent for almost 4 hrs I am very glad we took the longer more scenic way up! I was quite literally limping by the end and there got to a point where I couldn't walk any longer and the park truck came and picked me up. By that time I had walked continuously with an exception for lunch and a brief 5 min stop at the 1st hut for a little short of 16 hrs!!! The only high point was seeing a giraffe and buffalo on the way down. I got my certificate, had a delicious Mexican meal, and fell asleep by 8:30. That was BEYOND pushing my limits, but it just goes to show your body is capable of anything even if you don't think it is. Mind over matter and I felt like I could do ANYTHING after that!
Day 3 Kili
Day 3 for Kili was only the halfway point so not nearly as exhilarating or exhausting. We decided to take the "longer route" (by less than a km) because it was more scenic and brought us to the base of Mawenzi, another peak. On the way, we saw some very interesting rocks appropriately named zebra rocks, an eagle flew over us so I felt we had luck for the night ahead of us (the climb to Uhuru peak), saw many alpine chats (a small bird), and learned many plants. Did you know the pretoria flower from S Africa comes from a flower found in TZ called Pretoa? Or that there are two types of Arica, red and white? This route also gave us our first view of what we would be climbing that night..daunting to say the least, but this view soon disappeared with clouds and fog completely surrounding us. THe last few steps to Kibo Hut were the most difficult as we were now at the altitude of the peak of Mt. Meru, couldn't see what we had already traversed and what was ahead of us except for the hut way off in the distance. Walking on gravel sand that gradually ascended with a chill and sudden sting of cold in the air. I used my Ckon knowledge and started walking up in a zigzag formation not letting myself stop and very thankful for the Camelbak on my back.
Upon reaching the hut, we checked into a much bigger dorm room type hut with 10 other Aussies and tried to not smell the stench coming from the hole-in-the-ground toilets as it is too high for them to empty so nothing circulates...We had dinner at 3:30 and attempted to sleep from 4:30-11.
Day 3 11 PM-Day 4
My alarm clock went off and I brutally made my body leave its warm 30˚ sleeping bag and start piling on the layers. I ended up with a long sleeve, a light wool pullover, a down vest, and a waterproof heavy jacket, wool pants, pants, and snow pants, 2 pairs of wool socks, a scarf, a fleece hat, and goretex warm gloves. No this wasn't overdressing! I was not going to have another Meru again!
This time called for a flashlight as the moon had already left the sky giving us nothing but stars to look at as we began the zigzag climb up to Gilman's point. Note: there was a trail the whole way. I knew there was a 5 hr climb ahead of me and knowing there were only 2 hrs, 1.5, 1, 30 min. etc left really helped! At the halfway point I got some hot tea and ate some chocolate and chapati (Tanzanian tortilla) realizing that was the main problem. I had only eaten 2 biscuits and some hot tea before beginning to climb (they don't give you a lot of food because many throw up with the altitude). Luckily my diamox was doing its job (high altitude pill) except it serves as a diaretic..I started to get a horrible stomachache but in 45 mins would reach Gilman's Point where everyone told me, if you make it there you can do it for sure! Seeing shooting stars also gave me hope, and I saw Venus and Mars, and the sky turn orange in the distance as a thunderstorm occurred in Moshi. BEAUTIFUL.
After Gilman's Point, my water was completely frozen and I saw my first snow since last winter! It was so weird, but yet felt so familiar to be walking on ice and so the trek across the ice cap began. Then the sun began to peak on the horizon and I was on a ridge. All around me glaciers lit up with the ice gleaming, the clouds were like a puffy blanket, and Uhuru Peak was in sight. The hardest part were those last 40 mins to the top! I could definitely feel the altitude, I couldn't drink my water, and I was so tired! But 7:52 AM I finally made it! It was beautiful. I could see Meru across from me, the clouds were completely surrounded and the glaciers were beautiful. Honestly, I think the climb up to Uhuru from Gilman's point onward was just as gorgeous as the peak itself but there I was a bit short of 6000m on the highest point in Africa!
The best part: coming down. Whoever said you need snow and skis to ski is wrong. I skiied in hiking boots, hiking poles, and sand. We began to traverse down the zigzags and then he asked do you know how to ski? And so we went straight down (with more-or-less parallel turning of course) and were at the bottom in an hr 15! It felt so great to ski knowing it was my only opportunity this year and I can now say I've skiied down Kili!
A 20 min rest, a bowl of hot soup, and so began the 8k back to Hurongo Hut where we spent the 2nd night. 8k in my mind doesn't sound like anything, but I assure you this was the longest 8k in my life! Perhaps because I had already done 12k (6k to the top, 6k down), perhaps because I had been awake the past 12 hrs, or because of the nature of the path being super rocky and again in the permanent 45˚ descent making my toes push against the front of my shoes. It involved climbing some ridges and going down, down, down. We went the "shorter route" back and it made me very glad we had done the "longer route" because the shorter route did NOT feel shorter, was not scenic, and was a lot less gradual. We got to camp around 3:15 and I slept til dinner at 5 and then went to bed at 6!
Day 5
Down, down, down. My feet were hurting so badly, but the views and weather were beautiful and I didn't mind going through the rainforest again at all! We reached the bottom, I bought a Kili shirt with all the diff routes and my fav pole pole saying on it, and were treated to Kitimoto (hot pork chops), ugali, fruit, salad, and cold beverages. We finally met the other 3 people in our group who sang the song of Kilimanjaro for us (yes I took a video) and had an awards ceremony receiving our certificates.
Came home and crashed!
And that is the end of my mountain climbing in Africa! Mind over matter! Kili was MUCH easier and really cool to meet people from all over the world! I got to speak some Spanish, a lot of Swahili, and a bit of Italian. Now back to work tomorrow :(
Dar/Zbar entry will have to wait
I figured instead of writing about each mountain separately I could do a compare/contrast thing. But it ended up really long. Well, here goes.
Statistics
Mt Meru: 4512 metres, 3 days, 60k, 3000m vertical
Crew: A 53 yr old man from Texas (more or less a colleague) by the name of Tom, an armed ranger, a porter, and me
Mt. Kilimanjaro: 5895 metres, 5 days, 60k, 4000m vertical
Crew: Tom, a guide (we couldn’t do this one independently), 2 porters, a cook, a waiter, an assistant guide, and me
Day 1 Mt. Meru
After learning they don’t accept cash in the parks to prevent corruption, we stood in line at the bank for 45 mins. waiting to get these park cards. Going back and forth between lines and just a lot of red tape we find out that despite these are national park cards, they are only accepted at some parks, of course not the one we were going to. I had put the majority of my money on this card, we were 1.5 hrs out of town, and still had to pay..Luckily, Tom had a Visa card so we paid with that and were so thankful we had wasted 45 mins. of our lives standing in line at the bank for nothing! (Luckily we were able to recover this money later after writing a letter to the branch manager, coming back when they were closed, and eventually getting the money).
After arriving to the park, we found out that the fees for the porters had changed from 10,000 tsh to $10/day. Of course we were in favor of supporting the porters with a better wage, but again not knowing this was very frustrating when it came to budgeting. Then despite we were an independent group they told us we were going to be with 3 Germans and 7 of their porters! We wanted to leave soon so that we could go to the Mt. Meru Crater after arriving at camp and they told us we had to wait for this group. After, yes I’ll admit it, being very stubborn and okay a bit of complaining, they gave in and we got our own group and went to the huts via the crater…Little did we know this would involve an extra 10k. Beautiful botanically, not a whole lot of wildlife, some buffalo scat, lots of ants, a dyka, and a few birds, but a road full of scree and quite literally 20k straight up hill! The crater was beautiful and it was the first time I could just sit there and hear nothing-no birds, no wind, no people, nothing. Despite Lonely Planet guidebook telling us it was a short walk from the hut and the ash cone could be climbed, we found out you needed a special permit from the director of TANAPA (the TZ parks association) and had to be doing geological research. We saw the huge tree that the Meru people consider sacred and our guide who was from the area told us we were the only ones he had ever taken this way. We realized what idiots we were, but it was a beautiful detour! As we arrived to the hut, it began to rain. Perfect timing! This rain was a blessing because it served as fresh drinking water for the next day. We made some delicious soup on our camp stove and attempted cribbage without a board (not recommended). We were the only people without a guide, but we didn’t mind. The huts were really nice! Shared bathrooms with 4 bunks in each room and each group had their own room so we had two spare bunks to put our stuff on and no roommates. We conked out quite early with Ibuprofen digested ready for another day.
Day 1 Kili
We had pre-paid Kili Bike &Trek so we didn’t have to worry about park fees upon arriving. HIGHLY recommend them if anyone is thinking of doing Kili and we got a really good deal (well Kili pricewise). They picked us up from our houses and we went to see the waterfall in Marangu which also included a Chagga (an indigenous tribe) cultural lesson. The first day was only 7k and SO beautiful! We went through the rainforest and saw lots of monkeys, birds, and beautiful green rain forest. Each day had a designated lunch spot with a bathroom (well a square hole in the ground, why it was square I will never know!) and picnic tables. We arrived at the hut and then only had a 15 min walk (contrasted with the extra 10k) to view the crater. We could see the plains of Kenya and a waterfall in the distance. We also saw some hyrax on the way. The huts were a little more basic with a mattress on the floor and much smaller. But the food was substantial! A vegetable soup followed by a main dish followed by fruit, oh and I forgot the tea and popcorn upon arrival. We played cribbage, this time with a board (Tom got me one for Christmas), and went to bed.
Day 2 Mt. Meru
This day was very misleading because it was only 5k..but that actually translated as 4 hrs of stairs! I climbed 1000 official stairs and then probably another 1000 things that I would call stairs but the ranger told me were not included in the 1000. At the top we began to see Little Meru (3800 m). We had dinner around 3:30 and slept from 4-12, ready for the midnight climb.
Day 2 Kili
We left the rainforest and went onto the moorlands. Many open meadows with beautiful flowers, a lot of birds that no guide knew the name of, but black with turquoise and black with red both beautiful!, and had some beautiful views across the mountain. It was a much easier climb than Day 2 Meru with a gradual ascent and a GORGEOUS view! 11k but MUCH more scenic and no stairs :) Pretty uneventful.
Day 3 Meru 12 AM
Made some midnight oatmeal and then began the what-I-didn't-know-at-the-time 6 hr climb! We had a full moon so my cell phone torch was not needed. But I DEFINITELY underestimated 30˚ with no sunlight! In my mind, 30˚ is xc-skiing in a t-shirt so I figured climbing a mountain would keep me warm. I forgot about how cold wind can be and how hard it is to stay warm with no sun. Despite having leggings, two fleeces, a scarf, a hat, and woolen socks, I would say the only thing on me that was warm were my feet. Unfortunately, I had left my other woolen socks at the hut so my poor fingers had to wear cotton socks as mittens, which as you can guess was very poor insulation! My hands were literally molded into the pole position and took quite awhile to straighten them. And so we began pole pole (slowly) up the zigzag ridge. I can do this, I thought to myself. Little did I know this was just the beginning.
We reached the point they call Rhino Point that is the same altitude as Little Meru and then began the true adventure. To get off of Rhino Point, you had to walk down a knife ridge with 100m drop off on each side (remember it's dark). This was followed by walking across a rock wall. My thrill transformed into terror when I slipped on the wet rocks and had nothing to hold onto not being able to see where the drop off was. That was when I began to doubt and yes some tears were shed. The guide was very good, helped me to calm down, and had me put my foot on his, and took my poles so I could tangibly grasp the rocks. Pole pole I made it across, not knowing this wasn't even a 1/4 of the way! Next was climbing up a very narrow volcanic ash cone with huge drop offs on both sides. One wrong step and the rest was history.
At this point, I could feel the altitude and exhaustion and knew the only thing keeping me upright were my poles! After a steep incline and repeating to myself "I can" in as many languages as I could think of over and over again, I made it to the top of the ash cone and began climbing up rocks, more or less rock climbing. I had thought I had seen the top and I kept telling myself the only way is up. But the guide told me that was only the halfway point. That was when I thought I couldn't do it anymore. I have no idea how I continued, but it was getting dark so the guide handed me his headlamp and I continued onward.
After many more ridges, we finally had thought we reached the top-AGAIN-but the sun was on the verge of rising and I told our porter (who became our guide, our guide stayed where he gave me his light and took a nap I later found out) I didn't want to miss the sunrise over Kili-that was my motivation for climbing. So we kept climbing and continued to check for the sunrise. It happened and it was GORGEOUS! We could see Kili peaking above the clouds (see photos on FB) and the light was hitting the ash cone so beautifully. Morning light is so beautiful! The sky turned an aquamarine color and the first rays of warmth for the past 6 hours appeared. I realized how hungry I was and ate some dried fruit and nuts watching the beautiful sunrise. Tom and I looked at each other and were quite content. We had seen the sunrise, we had climbed the ridge, we were ready to go down. But our guide wasn't having it, "Twende," he says (Let's go!). So we continued. After 4 more ridges and 2 more false quits, we reached the boulder, that once we reached the top would FINALLY be the summit. It was marked with the TZ flag. I continued to climb as my eyes were fixed on that flag. There was no way I was giving up now! 40 mins later we had reached the top, signed the registrar, and saw all of Arusha. I tried to locate my house, but it was too foggy and far away.
And then down we went! Down, down down. The drop offs were even more magnanimous than I could ever have imagined in the dark. No wonder you climb in the dark. No one would do it in the daylight! After 4 hrs we made it back to the hut, had a quick lunch, and went down. We figured going down the stairs would be quick..but 3 hrs later we had only arrived at the first hut ready to tackle the last 3 hours down. We took the route that most people took to climb up and after being in a permanent 45˚ angle descent for almost 4 hrs I am very glad we took the longer more scenic way up! I was quite literally limping by the end and there got to a point where I couldn't walk any longer and the park truck came and picked me up. By that time I had walked continuously with an exception for lunch and a brief 5 min stop at the 1st hut for a little short of 16 hrs!!! The only high point was seeing a giraffe and buffalo on the way down. I got my certificate, had a delicious Mexican meal, and fell asleep by 8:30. That was BEYOND pushing my limits, but it just goes to show your body is capable of anything even if you don't think it is. Mind over matter and I felt like I could do ANYTHING after that!
Day 3 Kili
Day 3 for Kili was only the halfway point so not nearly as exhilarating or exhausting. We decided to take the "longer route" (by less than a km) because it was more scenic and brought us to the base of Mawenzi, another peak. On the way, we saw some very interesting rocks appropriately named zebra rocks, an eagle flew over us so I felt we had luck for the night ahead of us (the climb to Uhuru peak), saw many alpine chats (a small bird), and learned many plants. Did you know the pretoria flower from S Africa comes from a flower found in TZ called Pretoa? Or that there are two types of Arica, red and white? This route also gave us our first view of what we would be climbing that night..daunting to say the least, but this view soon disappeared with clouds and fog completely surrounding us. THe last few steps to Kibo Hut were the most difficult as we were now at the altitude of the peak of Mt. Meru, couldn't see what we had already traversed and what was ahead of us except for the hut way off in the distance. Walking on gravel sand that gradually ascended with a chill and sudden sting of cold in the air. I used my Ckon knowledge and started walking up in a zigzag formation not letting myself stop and very thankful for the Camelbak on my back.
Upon reaching the hut, we checked into a much bigger dorm room type hut with 10 other Aussies and tried to not smell the stench coming from the hole-in-the-ground toilets as it is too high for them to empty so nothing circulates...We had dinner at 3:30 and attempted to sleep from 4:30-11.
Day 3 11 PM-Day 4
My alarm clock went off and I brutally made my body leave its warm 30˚ sleeping bag and start piling on the layers. I ended up with a long sleeve, a light wool pullover, a down vest, and a waterproof heavy jacket, wool pants, pants, and snow pants, 2 pairs of wool socks, a scarf, a fleece hat, and goretex warm gloves. No this wasn't overdressing! I was not going to have another Meru again!
This time called for a flashlight as the moon had already left the sky giving us nothing but stars to look at as we began the zigzag climb up to Gilman's point. Note: there was a trail the whole way. I knew there was a 5 hr climb ahead of me and knowing there were only 2 hrs, 1.5, 1, 30 min. etc left really helped! At the halfway point I got some hot tea and ate some chocolate and chapati (Tanzanian tortilla) realizing that was the main problem. I had only eaten 2 biscuits and some hot tea before beginning to climb (they don't give you a lot of food because many throw up with the altitude). Luckily my diamox was doing its job (high altitude pill) except it serves as a diaretic..I started to get a horrible stomachache but in 45 mins would reach Gilman's Point where everyone told me, if you make it there you can do it for sure! Seeing shooting stars also gave me hope, and I saw Venus and Mars, and the sky turn orange in the distance as a thunderstorm occurred in Moshi. BEAUTIFUL.
After Gilman's Point, my water was completely frozen and I saw my first snow since last winter! It was so weird, but yet felt so familiar to be walking on ice and so the trek across the ice cap began. Then the sun began to peak on the horizon and I was on a ridge. All around me glaciers lit up with the ice gleaming, the clouds were like a puffy blanket, and Uhuru Peak was in sight. The hardest part were those last 40 mins to the top! I could definitely feel the altitude, I couldn't drink my water, and I was so tired! But 7:52 AM I finally made it! It was beautiful. I could see Meru across from me, the clouds were completely surrounded and the glaciers were beautiful. Honestly, I think the climb up to Uhuru from Gilman's point onward was just as gorgeous as the peak itself but there I was a bit short of 6000m on the highest point in Africa!
The best part: coming down. Whoever said you need snow and skis to ski is wrong. I skiied in hiking boots, hiking poles, and sand. We began to traverse down the zigzags and then he asked do you know how to ski? And so we went straight down (with more-or-less parallel turning of course) and were at the bottom in an hr 15! It felt so great to ski knowing it was my only opportunity this year and I can now say I've skiied down Kili!
A 20 min rest, a bowl of hot soup, and so began the 8k back to Hurongo Hut where we spent the 2nd night. 8k in my mind doesn't sound like anything, but I assure you this was the longest 8k in my life! Perhaps because I had already done 12k (6k to the top, 6k down), perhaps because I had been awake the past 12 hrs, or because of the nature of the path being super rocky and again in the permanent 45˚ descent making my toes push against the front of my shoes. It involved climbing some ridges and going down, down, down. We went the "shorter route" back and it made me very glad we had done the "longer route" because the shorter route did NOT feel shorter, was not scenic, and was a lot less gradual. We got to camp around 3:15 and I slept til dinner at 5 and then went to bed at 6!
Day 5
Down, down, down. My feet were hurting so badly, but the views and weather were beautiful and I didn't mind going through the rainforest again at all! We reached the bottom, I bought a Kili shirt with all the diff routes and my fav pole pole saying on it, and were treated to Kitimoto (hot pork chops), ugali, fruit, salad, and cold beverages. We finally met the other 3 people in our group who sang the song of Kilimanjaro for us (yes I took a video) and had an awards ceremony receiving our certificates.
Came home and crashed!
And that is the end of my mountain climbing in Africa! Mind over matter! Kili was MUCH easier and really cool to meet people from all over the world! I got to speak some Spanish, a lot of Swahili, and a bit of Italian. Now back to work tomorrow :(
Dar/Zbar entry will have to wait
Indigenous Tribes at Lake Eyasi
So I guess I should start out by saying don’t listen to Lonely Planet. Momoya is not the “enterprising” man LP claims him to be. More like he sees that I’m mzungu and the things he said in the email “work with your budget, give you the resident rate” etc. go out the window. There is serious reverse discrimination. We were even going to give him a ride. Anyway…after much off-roading, we found Lake Eyasi, or the place they call lake Eyasi. The lake is actually completely dry until the rainy season and feels a bit like walking on the moon with the dry, crispy texture of the salt crunching beneath your feet. Anyway, a nice Jambo tourist guide hut awaits us and the guide tells us half the price Momoya did, hops in our car, and shows us a campsite for $5 and then gives us a complete tour of the area showing us a huge vegetable garden, telling us about the surrounding flora and fauna, and then taking us to the Datoga tribe free of charge. This was a very interesting tribe similar to the Maasai, but their hobby is taking scrap metal such as a padlock and melting it into jewelry. They trade this with other tribes for things like honey. Sadly I don’t support this business with money because the only things money can buy in these isolated tribes are things like glue for sniffing, marijuana, cigarettes, or alcohol-i.e. nothing good. I had my chance at grinding corn flour to make ugali, the local white flour here, which was quite difficult and saw their boma. After a gorgeous sunset, a starry night and the goodness of camping, we woke up at 6 AM to go hunting with one of the last hunter-gatherer tribes, the Hatzabe. Upon arrival, after some extreme off-roading in a Suzuki Escudo, they were roasting a monkey over a fire and skinning a dik-dik. Breakfast time. We went hunting with them with our game being a Francoline. It takes a lot of skill to hunt with a bow and arrow! Right there and then, they plucked off the feathers, rubbed two sticks together and voila there was fire. I tasted it and it wasn’t too bad. I’d describe it as chewy chicken. It was certainly an experience I will not forget!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Things truly do work out
Here I was so worried about Christmas break and it's turning out just swimmingly!!! I started volunteering at an orphanage and met one of the managers on Tues. We went to what she appropriately calls the "African Starbucks" and then daladalaed to the girls' home (she doesn't like the word orphanage). There is a lot of legal stuff going on as she is trying to help another orphanage, but there are people who are there for the wrong reasons, so it's complicated. But this girls' home is a two story, very spacious, girls' home with toys, puzzles, and 1 hr of school each day. They know very little English so it's a good opportunity for me to practice my Swahili. But they decorated a Christmas tree with homemade ornaments. I might get them to make some for my tree :) I taught them Away in a Manger with hand motions and we're going to sing it at the Christmas luncheon! Christmas day they're having a potluck with carols and we're giving each kid a stuffed animal. So my problem of spending Christmas by myself is null AND what a cool way to spend it! It will be a memorable one! The girls are so lovable. When I first walked in, they said "upendo," love. They were so fascinated by my mole and my flip flop earrings. Many of the schools here require girls to shave their heads to keep uniformity, but Tammy (the woman who helps out/owns) believes girls should be girls and got all their ears pierced, does their hair, and got them all sorts of dresses and skirts. Mitumba (2nd hand clothing) is a wonderful thing! I got a nice blouse there for less than $4. We played hopskotch, but since we didn't have chalk we used their shoes and lined them up in different formations. We did some puzzles, which I haven't done in so long and brought back the days of the puzzle board my dad made me that I stored under my bed. I was most impressed when they had lunch. One of the older girls brought it to each girl, they all said thank you, and waited for each girl to receive her lunch and then prayed together. They are becoming a family and Tammy only wants to introduce kids in small numbers to keep the familial atmosphere.
Today when we went to get the toys, I thought we were handpicking 200 toys out, but a guy at the Mitumba market said he'd give us 100 for 100,000 about $80, so it ended up just being a day of shopping and a girls' day out. AND I met a volunteer who 1) is 21 2) FEMALE 3) going to be here 3 years 4) has lots of other volunteer friends and 5) likes to go out and do stuff so YAYAYAAY! I got a dress for the wedding in Zanzibar (long and with sleeves), and stuff for my awaited Christmas tree, donated by one of my piano student's parents, like Christmas lights for $4 and they're even awesome with different settings, little ornament balls, and tinsel. SO excited!
Came home and Collin (my "nephew") was running around naked. Oh to be a kid again! I cooked a great meal of Indian spiced fried pancakes and vermicelli vegetable turkey broth soup. It's so great to have time to cook. I've missed it! Oh and we found little plums today and went to a really good RAW place for ciabatta sandwiches and smoothies (Mom and Dad, I'm def taking you here!) So it ended up being a really good day!
Tomorrow bright and early, we take off for Lake Eyasi to see one of the last hunter-gatherer tribes and to camp at a beautiful lake. Super excited! Then it's Christmas caroling and then the CLIMB OF MT. Meru!!!!! Will update afterwards :)
Break is wonderful! And I was worried about not going to Lake Eyasi today. Then some people cancelled on Meru but we got a new crew together :) Then Zanzibar accommodation was really scaring me since it's peak season and everything is full. BUT we found a woman couchsurfer who's 25 and owns a beach resort and shares a house with the chef and is .5m from a quiet, coconut tree, white sand, no creepy beach boys (her words) and only 40 mins from town instead of 2 hrs like we were looking at! And of course is free.
I'm still working a bit and Umoja has A LOT of stuff going on right now, but the new website should be up by the end of break hopefully. Check out the Facebook page I created. Search Umoja Arts Project!
Oh and The Book Thief is an excellent book, highly recommend it! Gonna go finish it :)
Today when we went to get the toys, I thought we were handpicking 200 toys out, but a guy at the Mitumba market said he'd give us 100 for 100,000 about $80, so it ended up just being a day of shopping and a girls' day out. AND I met a volunteer who 1) is 21 2) FEMALE 3) going to be here 3 years 4) has lots of other volunteer friends and 5) likes to go out and do stuff so YAYAYAAY! I got a dress for the wedding in Zanzibar (long and with sleeves), and stuff for my awaited Christmas tree, donated by one of my piano student's parents, like Christmas lights for $4 and they're even awesome with different settings, little ornament balls, and tinsel. SO excited!
Came home and Collin (my "nephew") was running around naked. Oh to be a kid again! I cooked a great meal of Indian spiced fried pancakes and vermicelli vegetable turkey broth soup. It's so great to have time to cook. I've missed it! Oh and we found little plums today and went to a really good RAW place for ciabatta sandwiches and smoothies (Mom and Dad, I'm def taking you here!) So it ended up being a really good day!
Tomorrow bright and early, we take off for Lake Eyasi to see one of the last hunter-gatherer tribes and to camp at a beautiful lake. Super excited! Then it's Christmas caroling and then the CLIMB OF MT. Meru!!!!! Will update afterwards :)
Break is wonderful! And I was worried about not going to Lake Eyasi today. Then some people cancelled on Meru but we got a new crew together :) Then Zanzibar accommodation was really scaring me since it's peak season and everything is full. BUT we found a woman couchsurfer who's 25 and owns a beach resort and shares a house with the chef and is .5m from a quiet, coconut tree, white sand, no creepy beach boys (her words) and only 40 mins from town instead of 2 hrs like we were looking at! And of course is free.
I'm still working a bit and Umoja has A LOT of stuff going on right now, but the new website should be up by the end of break hopefully. Check out the Facebook page I created. Search Umoja Arts Project!
Oh and The Book Thief is an excellent book, highly recommend it! Gonna go finish it :)
Sunday, December 12, 2010
One day and 18.5 hours
Until Christmas break! Though tomorrow is a very lax day and I just have one lesson on Tues. As of tonight, I am solo for the next two and a half weeks. My housemate is going back home to Sweden (will miss you!). Luckily the plans are coming together and I finally have options for Christmas. I'm going to keep things open-ended for now. Hence how I finally have time to journal.
Thanksgiving was a huge success!!! We had a Thanksgiving potluck style on the day of with all the traditional foods like a turkey, yams, cranberry sauce, pumpkin and pecan pie, and stuffing. I was thrilled considering you usually can't find yams, pecans, or cranberries here :) But being a potluck, we also had nontraditional foods like gazelle meat, tomatoes with cheese and basil, green salad, and more I've forgotten already. It was great to celebrate with ex-pats who understand Thanksgiving and cool to see my Swedish housemate love an American holiday (how could you not!).
But then, I decided as an early Christmas present, I would make Thanksgiving dinner for my house staff. I've never paid so much for any type of food in my life, but it was so worth it! I attempted to pray in Swahili, granted it was short, and went around in a circle and said what we were thankful for. I was so happy. I could taste my dad's cooking, but it was me who made it! :) A 7.22 kilo turkey, cranberry sauce made from sweetened craisins and cranberry juice, garlic mashed potatoes and gravy (dad's recipe), and stuffing with homemade bread crumbs, it was such a success and I have a new appreciation of people like my dad that cook the whole meal by themselves! I was in the kitchen from 9 AM to 3:30 PM, but they all enjoyed it so much and it was so cool to share such a cultural thing.
Socially, it is still quite difficult to make friends. I have lots of acquaintances, but few people I could just call up to hang out, especially females. But I've decided over break I'm just going to go to things cuz that's how I'll make friends and I do have a travel buddy so that's really exciting! WE're going to see the Hatzabe tribe, one of the last hunter-gatherers and you go hunting with them using arrows and running and all, and it's on a beautiful lake so it will be a nice getaway. This will be followed by a strenuous climb up Mt. Meru 4,000 some meters and I've heard the climb is harder than Kili as they call Mt. Kilimanjaro here, but a much more beautiful hike since it's less touristy. I'm doing both so we'll see. I'm going to volunteer at an orphanage a few days and I hope to take some day trips to the nearby parks. I'm still not entirely sure what I'm doing for Christmas, but I've been invited to a few things, some in Arusha with expats and one with my one Tanzanian female friend in their place in Moshi. My only thing is they're going for 3 days and I may feel a bit...not bored but isolated maybe is a good word? Lots of restaurants are having stuff here so I think my first choice would be to stay in town and hang out with people but we'll see. And then it's off to Longai, the only active volcano! And then Nina comes back and that'll be another post, but I'll try to be better at updating now that work has slowed down considerably.
The end-of-term concert went SO well! I was so proud of all of them and have received nothing but positive feedback. And our goal of filling the church (~200 people) was attained!!! To see the progress of the Umoja Ensemble kids made my heart literally go pitter-patter.
I went to a contemporary dance piece last night. I won't lie, I surely had my doubts due to my experiences with contemp dance in the past...but, this was AMAZING! Shirtless, VERY built, Tanzanian and Madagascar men doing headstands, jumping 3 ft in the air, balancing on each other, flips, the whole nine yards, and to think it was on cement!!
Oh and I had the BEST haircut complete w/ steak sandwiches, sweet corn which I didn't even know you could get here, and a shot of Zambuka, all for less than 15 bucks!
Well I'm off to a benefit concert. Check out the Sowers group, contemporary African music, really good!
Thanksgiving was a huge success!!! We had a Thanksgiving potluck style on the day of with all the traditional foods like a turkey, yams, cranberry sauce, pumpkin and pecan pie, and stuffing. I was thrilled considering you usually can't find yams, pecans, or cranberries here :) But being a potluck, we also had nontraditional foods like gazelle meat, tomatoes with cheese and basil, green salad, and more I've forgotten already. It was great to celebrate with ex-pats who understand Thanksgiving and cool to see my Swedish housemate love an American holiday (how could you not!).
But then, I decided as an early Christmas present, I would make Thanksgiving dinner for my house staff. I've never paid so much for any type of food in my life, but it was so worth it! I attempted to pray in Swahili, granted it was short, and went around in a circle and said what we were thankful for. I was so happy. I could taste my dad's cooking, but it was me who made it! :) A 7.22 kilo turkey, cranberry sauce made from sweetened craisins and cranberry juice, garlic mashed potatoes and gravy (dad's recipe), and stuffing with homemade bread crumbs, it was such a success and I have a new appreciation of people like my dad that cook the whole meal by themselves! I was in the kitchen from 9 AM to 3:30 PM, but they all enjoyed it so much and it was so cool to share such a cultural thing.
Socially, it is still quite difficult to make friends. I have lots of acquaintances, but few people I could just call up to hang out, especially females. But I've decided over break I'm just going to go to things cuz that's how I'll make friends and I do have a travel buddy so that's really exciting! WE're going to see the Hatzabe tribe, one of the last hunter-gatherers and you go hunting with them using arrows and running and all, and it's on a beautiful lake so it will be a nice getaway. This will be followed by a strenuous climb up Mt. Meru 4,000 some meters and I've heard the climb is harder than Kili as they call Mt. Kilimanjaro here, but a much more beautiful hike since it's less touristy. I'm doing both so we'll see. I'm going to volunteer at an orphanage a few days and I hope to take some day trips to the nearby parks. I'm still not entirely sure what I'm doing for Christmas, but I've been invited to a few things, some in Arusha with expats and one with my one Tanzanian female friend in their place in Moshi. My only thing is they're going for 3 days and I may feel a bit...not bored but isolated maybe is a good word? Lots of restaurants are having stuff here so I think my first choice would be to stay in town and hang out with people but we'll see. And then it's off to Longai, the only active volcano! And then Nina comes back and that'll be another post, but I'll try to be better at updating now that work has slowed down considerably.
The end-of-term concert went SO well! I was so proud of all of them and have received nothing but positive feedback. And our goal of filling the church (~200 people) was attained!!! To see the progress of the Umoja Ensemble kids made my heart literally go pitter-patter.
I went to a contemporary dance piece last night. I won't lie, I surely had my doubts due to my experiences with contemp dance in the past...but, this was AMAZING! Shirtless, VERY built, Tanzanian and Madagascar men doing headstands, jumping 3 ft in the air, balancing on each other, flips, the whole nine yards, and to think it was on cement!!
Oh and I had the BEST haircut complete w/ steak sandwiches, sweet corn which I didn't even know you could get here, and a shot of Zambuka, all for less than 15 bucks!
Well I'm off to a benefit concert. Check out the Sowers group, contemporary African music, really good!
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