Trip 1 Pictures

The pictures are posted in FaceBook. But, for those of you living in the dark ages without FaceBook accounts, I'm posting the links to the albums below!

Northern Tanzania, Kenya, & Uganda
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.744824289019.2231932.2808561&l=758272b185&type=1

Rwanda
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.744849044409.2231949.2808561&l=860a700ccb&type=1

Western Tanzania & Ruaha National Park
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.745189502129.2232082.2808561&l=2b57e44bc8&type=1

Enjoy!

Trip 1: What we learned

September 7, 2011

I think I’m still recovering.  But, here’s what we learned from our trip.

1 – We need to place a pretty extensive order for car parts. That way we have what we need.

2 – We will always buy maps and books. They make a difference.

3 – Need to pack more snacks that are filling. There isn’t a lot of variety out on the road.

4 – It would be nice to have an ice chest for drinks.

5 – East Africa is relatively safe. Just don’t be stupid.

6 – Always have small currency of the country you are in…so when you pass the yummy carrots and fresh coffee in Kenya you can buy it.

7 – Take all school materials with me – the book is gigantic but it’s worth the trouble to have it on my person.

8 – I’m now willing to sleep pretty much anywhere. As long as there are no signs of bed bugs. That’s my only fear.

9 – I’m okay with the fact that I’m probably going to have a few cases of amoebas, GI issues, and malaria while we live in Africa.

10 – I have to get a new mosquito net made for our bed. After sampling all of the flavors, I’ve picked my favorite. And it’s worth the investment to get the one we want. Amazing how priorities can change so quickly.

11 – Make plans, knowing they will change.

12 – Be flexbile. Be adapatable. Remember TIA! Enjoy it!

Ruaha River Lodge to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

September 1, 2011

After almost three weeks on the road, it’s time to head home. We are both ready. After the lack of sleep from Mr. & Mrs. Lions, we were awake as the first rays of sunlight popped over the horizon. The lions were still out and about so we thought we would peek out of our banda and see if we could find them and take a few pictures of the sunrise.  No lions in sight. But, sat outside and enjoyed the tranquility of the lodge.

Got dressed and headed to the dining room for breakfast. Since the park didn’t open the gates until 7am – might as well eat before we got on the road. Left the camp at 0830 and were on our way. Made it to Iringa by 1100. Very uneventful drive. Stopped and bought gas and away we went. I fell asleep – FINALLY. After three nights of not great slumber, I was exhausted. All I could muster was “Stupid lions. Stupid mosque.” Liam laughed at me because that’s what I was complaining about – that I had the opportunity to sleep in a world-class resort with lions walking around and I didn’t like their volume. He’s right, it is funny. But, still. Stupid lions.

At one point during my brief nap, my eyes popped up to see a massive tour bus heading in my general direction.  They immediately snapped back shut. Because in my world, if I close my eyes, there is no bus. And, therefore, it can’t squish me like a little bug.

Since it was the 2^nd night of Eid, we were EXTREMELY lucky and managed to make it through Dar with almost zero traffic. This is virtually an impossible task. Went and grabbed dinner with friends and came home to sleep.

Iringa, Tanzania to Ruaha River Lodge…attempt #2.

August 30-31, 2011

Quit fighting the screaming megaphones and got up and got dressed. Went downstairs and ate breakfast. Something to know about East Africa – when you travel – you pay per person and you can choose between full board and half board at most locations. Half board includes breakfast and full board usually provides dinner and sometimes lunch. This took me a little while to catch onto.

Decide to get another spare tire to make sure we are okay driving to the park and back home again. I convince Liam to buy at least some back shocks and put them on the car before we head to the park. That way we won’t have to rent a car from the lodge and drive around by ourselves. Yep, we are the ghetto African tourists. No fancy tour agent for us. Just making it up as we go.

So, imagine. Two mzungus at 0800 on the hunt for a tire and shocks in a small town in Western Tanzania. We have no idea what the name for shocks is in Swahili. We have no idea where the tire stores are, but we can do this. First stop, tire store across the street. They didn’t have the size we needed, so, they pointed us on to store number 2. We couldn’t find store #2. Stopped at a gas station. Liam disappeared for about 10 minutes to go find a tire with one of the mechanics. Came back and on to store number 3. Store number 3 had the tire. Check. Tire. They also had a big jack. Now, after watching Liam almost get crushed by the Surf the day before, a new jack was added to our shopping list. Then, came the hunt for the shocks. Out comes a salesmen to the car and Liam is pointing at the part. Man it is a GOOD thing I wasn’t doing this trip by myself. I know almost nothing about cars. And if I had had to point to the car part, it would have been disastrous. Basically, the way it would have gone would be for me to stand there and bounce up and down and ask them to fix it. Wonder which psych unit they would have taken me to?

Third store didn’t have the shocks but we took our tire and headed to the Gapco down the street and had the tire guy fixed the tire. Liam was off wandering with someone in the store to find the shockums (Kiswahili for shocks). Came back with no luck. Tire was all fixed by this point. And he had even repaired the “brand new tire” we had put on yesterday – it had a leaky valve. No surprise there.

Then, another guy came and jumped in the front seat and went with Liam and I to another car part store to find the shocks. 4^th store had two rear shocks and then we went back to the Gapco.

Watching them change the shocks was an interesting process. While they did this, they took off a tire that Liam thought was a little low. Turns out bad valve. So of the 5 tires we currently had, three of them needed help. I love this Gapco.

I wish we would have taken a picture of the three guys trying to undo the old shockum so they could put in the new one. But, didn’t want to be a target of opportunity. However, in hind site it would have probably been okay. It was really interesting and I learned something new about the car. Starting with, I know what a shockum is now.

Three fixed tires and two new shocks, we were ready to head to Ruaha National Park. Asked how to get to the good road (I’m not taking ANY more rough or bad roads if I have a choice) and were told “Straight.” Now, I don’t know about you guys, but I didn’t know straight included a right turn. Interesting. You learn something new everyday. Thankfully, there was a sign pointing us in the right direction.

The road to Ruaha was decent. Took about 2.5 hours to go 100ish kms. Mostly because of other people and a few places that weren’t great. Yellow baboons are EVERYWHERE. Liam managed to get a few great shots of them running across the road. Just outside the park entrance, we came upon our first giraffe “up close.” Giraffe are very curious. They watch you as much as you watch them.

Yellow Baboon

Baby Giraffe

Pulled up to the park entrance paid our fees and were on our way to the lodge. Passed a herd of elephants, some impala, and a few other things I’m pretty sure that saw us but we didn’t see them.

Pulled up to the lodge, checked in without giving them any payment information, and headed to the main lodge to get lunch. By this point it was about 3pm and we were both STARVING. Thankfully, they were still serving lunch and it was yummy. Took a few pictures from the balcony and then headed to our lodge.

We decided to take a stroll and take some pictures of the baboons and hippos. While we were spending quality time eyeing the hippos and making sure they weren’t going to add us to the hippo death toll, a herd of elephants strolled up to the river to get some water and cool off. I’m not joking when I say the lighting was PERFECT. I don’t run and I was hauling ass to get to a better spot to get my shot.

Hungry Hungry hippos.

Totally out of breath and I’m literally across the river from the elephants. I’m watching them. They’re watching me. And the camera is clicking away. I’m still in shock with how the photos turned out. They are unbelievable and completely untouched. Literally a point and click shot. It was a good day for pictures.

Elephants.

Went back to the Banda after we were sick of taking elephant pictures and cleaned up before dinner. Headed over to the smaller dinner lodge and acquired a Masai guide for the next day. Dinner was very tasty. They serve a family style dinner. Had a few after dinner drinks and then went back to the lodge to sleep.

And sleep we did. Until, Mr. & Mrs. Lion decided to wander around our Banda all night talking to each other. At one point, I woke Liam up and said, “Is that a lion?” He responded, “Nope. It’s a hippo. Now, go back to sleep.” Somebody was tired.

Next morning at breakfast, the lead guide confirmed my suspisicons that lions had been wandering all over camp all night making low growling noises. Very cool in preparation for our first safari.

Went back up to the Reception area and picked up Mereso. Last year he couldn’t speak English. Now, he’s guiding us around Ruaha speaking perfect English, teaching us about all of the animals, and teaching us Kiswahili. When I meet people like him here, it really makes me angry to think about all of the losers in America who have nothing but opportunities and don’t take them. This is someone I wish I could stick on a plane and watch him thrive. He’s really bright.

By the end of hour one I was sick of elephants, giraffes, impalas, and zebras. They were EVERYWHERE. But, Liam wanted to see lions. So, lion hunting we went. And we found one. Waiting so patiently to pounce on her prey she was watching. So, here we are taking a gazillion pictures of her and are getting ready to drive away – when – OMG – WE ARE STUCK IN THE SAND FIVE FEET AWAY FROM A HUNGRY LIONESS. OH SHIT. Oh and 4WD wouldn’t kick in. So, here we are asking another car to push us from behind. Didn’t work. Finally, Mrs. Lion walks away and the people in the other two cars around us jump out and start digging at the tires. Liam gets out to help push and I jump in the driver seat. Somehow I get the 4WD to engage and drove right out. But, in that moment - It was a little freaky. As we drive away, we spot Mrs. Lion hiding in the bushes watching us. I guess she wasn’t THAT hungry.

Please don't eat me.

Drove around a small portion of the park – because it’s huge. We were on a full day safari and saw pretty much everything in the park. Missing a cheetah and a leopard but we have a whole year and lots of safaris to do. Can’t get it all accomplished in one trip.

Back to the lodge and rested a little bit. Went down to dinner and relaxed until bedtime. Fell fast asleep. Until. Mr. and all of his Mrs. Lions decided to have a calling session. He was on the opposite side of the river calling to the seven lionesses who were walking back and forth through camp all night. All right lions. One night cool. Two nights (third night of no sleep – stupid mosque) and you could at least turn the stinking volume down. Of course, I couldn’t sleep because Liam told me before we went to bed if I heard lions I should get up and take a picture. Well, they were never close enough to the “safe” areas I would take a picture from. They were actually walking back and forth right behind our Banda. We found the paw prints the next morning.

Sadly, we must leave this place. Headed to reception, paid the bill, and grabbed our lunch. But, there’s no question, I’m heading back to the Ruaha River Lodge as soon as possible.

Singida, Tanzania to Ruaha River Lodge

August 29, 2011

Checked out of the hotel, got some gas and headed out of town. We wanted to leave as early as possible to arrive at the Foxes Safari camp (Ruaha River lodge) to enjoy the five star accommodations and get cleaned up after our experience last night.

On the way out of town, we passed another first. A guy had obviously been hit by a truck (probably without their lights on - gotta save that electricity) as he was trying to cross the street. He was not alive and very mangled. Not something I want to see until after I’ve had my coffee.

Made it to Dodoma. Dodoma is the official capital of Tanzania, but everything is in Dar, so I’m a little confused why they pretend Dodoma is the capital. Dodoma is a crappy town. But, we did find a Toyota dealership that sold tires. We bought one (even though I suggested we buy two) and had it mounted at a tire shop across the street. After watching them put it on the rim, I’m really hoping we don’t need the tire because I’m not sure it will support the car.

Ask around to find out how to find the road from Dodoma to Iringa. There are two paths. One is about 650km heading east then back southwest and the other is about 230 km due south. We wanted to take the straight shot 230 km due south. Everyone said it was a rough road and since it wasn’t rainy season we should be okay. Well, we had been told roads were rough before and they turned out to be nice new tarmac. So, we took a chance and went for the rough road, hoping to save some time. Well, the locals weren’t kidding. It was a VERY rough road. About 10 kms in we realized our back shocks were 100% blown and we were going to have a long bumpy ride. While the drive was beautiful, about 150kms from the end, we were done and there was nothing we could do but keep bouncing down the road.

We were about 70-100kms away from Iringa when another tire blew (think ripped to shreds) after crossing a metal bridge. (The picture is not of the metal bridge that ripped the tire). Kids came running out of everywhere to look at the two mzungus changing their tire. We were in a village in the middle of nowhere. I joked about growing up in BFE Mississippi. I was wrong. I have now literally been to BFE and there really isn’t a thing there. By this point, we had a system down to change the tire. The only problem, the jack wouldn’t lift the car high enough to change the tire. So, we put a couple of bricks under the rim and Liam laid under the car to release the jack. Yep, I pretty much thought he was going to be squished by the Surf. But, he didn’t. And I took a DEEP breath. Found another brick to put under the jack and put the brand new tire on the car and away we went.

I made Liam check the tire every few kms because I didn’t trust the way it was installed. I spent the next 2 hours holding my breath that the tire wouldn’t pop because we didn’t have an alternative for another flat. I pulled a smartass wife moment at some point between bouncing up and down. See, I told Liam we should buy two tires when we were in Dodoma. But, he insisted one would be enough. One day, he is going to learn to listen to me. I’m smarter than I look. But, luckily we made it to Iringa without needing another tire.

After 6 hours of bumping along, we stopped to fill up the car and call the lodge to tell them we were on our way but would be a little late arriving. That’s when we found out the park closed the gate at 7pm and wouldn’t let anyone in. Panic set in. I hadn’t showered and was not feeling so comfortable about sleeping in another shady Tanzanian motel. Tried to convince Liam to just drive to the park and throw a $20 their way – but again he wasn’t willing to listen to my good ideas. Well, we lucked out. We ended up sleeping at the Kalenga West Park & Tours Motel Ltd. Kind of swanky. In an Africa swank kind of way.

Ate dinner in the restaurant and the chef made this salad that had watermelon, banana, green peppers, red onions, corn, and a couple of other things I can’t remember. Sounds a little gross – but man – it was DELICIOUS. Then, we gobbled down some pretty tasty spaghetti and went upstairs to shower and sleep.

Hahahaha. Sleep. Yeah right. The mosque across the street had other ideas for the evening. At approximately 2000 call of prayer began. No big deal. People gotta get their prayers in. However, after two hours of call to prayer, I was over it. I mean come on. Then, at 0430 when they began again, I was seriously considering what I could throw at the mosque megaphones to shut them up. How special do you think you are to be the only religion with loud speakers and the privilege to yell at me in Swahili and Arabic about Allah? Seriously I was OVER it. Probably due to exhaustion. But, now that I’m rested, I do think it is rude that they get speakers and a kick-butt sound system and the rest of the world gets a little bell. Seems unfair doesn’t it. Liam managed to sleep through most of it – well except for when I woke him up – because if I couldn’t sleep – I wasn’t about to let him. But after three deployments to Iraq and A-stan, he just said he was used to the background noise. WTF?!?!?! Background noise? No. That’s the most annoying sound when you are dead tired and don’t speak either language. Promise. (The picture is taken from the head of the bed in the hotel room - the tower thing holds the evil noise makers).

Kigali, Rwanda to Singida, Tanzania

August 28, 2011

Began our journey back home. We left Kigali and began driving to the border. Had to stop at the airport and ask for directions because the map we had wasn’t detailed enough. (Note: when traveling in Africa, do not rely on a Rwanda map as part of the Tanzania map. Buy the Rwanda map too. Don’t be cheap like we tried to be. It will save you some time and frustration). We were running a little late because of a missed turn, but not too bad. Oh, and I was on the phone trying to buy a dryer for our house in Alaska. Can our lives get any more complicated?

Arrived at the Rwandan border and meandered around the trucks. Somehow we ended up with our first flat tire. We managed to roll over something sharp that sliced a hole in the side of the tire. Well, a herd of Rwandans appeared to change our tire for us. Once they realized that we weren’t going to pay them to do something we were perfectly capable of doing, they began to help us. We ended up needing a second jack. Tire changed and we were on our way.

Crossed the Rwandan border and went to the Tanzania immigration office. Found out we didn’t need a security detail, per the Tanzanian police. That should be an interesting conversation with the RSO guys at the embassy. But, we headed off alone after being assured that the road we were traveling on was safe and we shouldn’t have any problems.

The policeman was correct. It was a very safe journey. Minus the baboons running into the road. There was at least 20 in this group. Thanks to our telephoto lens, I even got a shot of a baby baboon. Good times.

Decided to make it to the bigger town on our list of places to crash since there were more options available. Arrived in Singida just after dark. Drove around and couldn’t find the hotels we were looking for. Then, the power went out (this happens a lot in Tanzania). Now, we are the only two mzungus in the middle of a small town in Tanzania and the security briefing we had upon arrival was flashing through my head. Suddenly, I was not comfortable. I kept tyring to convince Liam to stop by the grocery store, grab some food, and let’s drive out of town and sleep in the car. He wouldn’t listen to me. (Probably for good reason).

Finally, he pulled into the parking area of the Stanley Motel and rented us a deluxe room for 25,000 Tz Shllings. This is what you get in Tanzania for $15 a night for two people in a SMALL town. There was no running water, but we had water to at least brush our teeth. I checked for bed bugs and was surprised by how clean the room actually was. Check. Slept in a true African hotel. And survived to tell about it. After freaking out and worrying about things, we were actually in a pretty clean, safe room. We didn’t get to shower, but we probably still smell better than most people around us.

Fell asleep to the quiet sounds of music blaring, people talking, and doors slamming. Irionically, I woke up after all the noise stopped. I think it was too quiet. Liam said about 4am he woke up to a foul stinch and he thought I had farted. Turned out to be the sewage backing up. Pretty common in Africa. But, my crazy husband was blaming me. Stinker.

Virunga Lodge to Kigali, Rwanda

August 27, 2011

Enjoyed a nice relaxing morning snuggled up to my very own gorilla. I’m lucky like that. Ate breakfast at the lodge and then headed back to our rooms to shower and pack up.

Back on the road and headed to Kigali. This time we were on the right road and knew what time it was. The drive was pretty uneventful. A little road construction changed the pace of the drive. We checked back into Hotel des Mille Collines and ate lunch.

After lunch we ventured to the Genocide memorial. Something we wanted to do because neither of us really knew what happened. I think we both left more confused then when we went. While the memorial was well done and served the purpose to honor all of the slain victims buried in mass graves on sight, I felt like there was information missing. The biggest thing I got out of it was that we needed to buy a book on the genocide and read more about it. There was an exhibit on slain children that struck a cord with me. It was really hard to walk through the exhibit and see pictures of all the babies brutally murdered after losing Nora. Really pissed me off. What kind of crazy person murders a baby?

Left the memorial on a hunt to find a Rwandan mask for our mask wall. Everywhere we go, we buy a mask. One day, we will have a giant wall of masks from around the world. We found one with a white face and legs that Liam found amusing.

Back to the hotel, we ate dinner and started hunting for a dryer for our house in Alaska. The one that is there kept going out. Figured out that it was going to take two weeks for it to get there if we bought it online. Something to deal with via phone tomorrow. Time for bed because we have to be at the border at 0800 to meet our security detail to avoid interactions with bandits as we cross back into Tanzania.

Virunga Lodge & Da gorillas

August 26, 2011

Someone knocked on our door to wake us up at the appointed time. Or so we thought, we looked down and our watch and phones all said six o’clock. We were supposed to leave the lodge at 6am and by at the park by 7am. This meant we were late. We ran about getting ready to head to the gorillas. I ran up to the lodge to obtain our packed lunches for the hike. The staff looked like I was completely nuts as I grabbed our lunches and headed out the door. I met Liam on the trail. We sped off to the park.

We arrived at the park just in the knick of time. It was 7am. East African time. Well, we learned that Rwanda is actually not on East African time, it runs on GMT +2. So, here we are in the parking lot of the park, with only two other people. Both of which work at the park. Then, we started laughing. We had been driving around Rwanda for two days without realizing we were constantly an hour ahead. It never occurred to us that the time zone had changed. The worst part, we dashed out of the lodge without eating the breakfast they had prepared for us. We both felt pretty bad about that one. Thankfully, we had bananas, juice, and peanut butter and crackers in the car. That way we were able to eat something before we began the trek to see our distant cousins, the mountain gorilla.

Finally, around 7am Rwanda time everyone else arrived at the park for coffee and tea before we were divided into our trekking groups. There are 56-60 permits that are given out each day divided into 7-8 groups of gorillas that are accessible in Rwanda. We were in a group bound for the Hirwa group. In this group, there is a silverback male, about 6 gorilla babies (including a set of twins) and about 4 females. Liam and I both were getting excited. We were bound for a pretty good group!

We had a short distance to drive, so one of the guides and a backpacker from Israel named Dahlia, jumped in our car and away we went. We drove for about 15 minutes, mostly due to road conditions. Jumped out of the car and the guides introduced us to the porters. While it is not required that you hire a porter, it is suggested. We hired only one because Liam refused to let someone else carry his stuff (big, tough infantry officer). I handed over my bag without difficulty because I knew this hike up was about to kick my ass. I haven’t really done anything that strenuous since before getting pregnant. I was ready and willing to take all the help I could get.

We started walking through farm fields. There were two guides, a tracker with a gun to scare away animals, about 6-7 porters, and the 7-8 people trekking. A decent sized group of people walking up. We walked through fields and trees for about 30 minutes. We stopped at the edge of the boundary. The boundary is a volcanic rock fence that was constructed to maintain the jungle for the gorillas and other animals that live there. At this point, the guides explained all of the rules of the park and the rules of interacting with the gorillas. The rules exist not only for our safety, but for the safety of the gorillas. Since we are genetically so close, we can transfer diseases back and forth to each other. Better to be safe then sorry.

Crossed over the volcanic wall and started going straight up. At this point, one of the porters decided he was going to stand by my side. It wasn’t the guy carrying my stuff. I think he was worried about me. My face was hot pink and I couldn’t breathe. I’ve been super congested and boogery. Just the way I live. I looked much worse than I felt though. I was on my way to the gorillas and I could do anything with that kind of reward. So, we hiked through bamboo shoots and the tracker macheted his way through the maze. I did learn that post baby hips are a tight fit in a jungle and when they machete bamboo, you better be careful. Because if you fall, you could easily be impaled by a bamboo stump. There were a couple of muddy areas, but all in all not bad. Our guide stayed in constant contact with the trackers who hang around the gorillas all day and monitor the gorillas for illness and for poachers.

We stopped about 50 m from the gorillas to dump our packs. Basically, all we could take with us was a camera. We grabbed a little point and shoot and the big camera and extra lens. Up we went. OMG GORILLAS. There were a couple sitting up on a ledge relaxing and eating. There was a baby rolling down the hill, climbing back up, and rolling back down. It was pretty amusing to watch. The silverback was asleep down hill and we could see him through a hole in the bushes. The twins were no where to be seen. And our hour with the gorillas began.

Between the two of us we took about 600 pictures in an hour. I’m not sure if we got enough, especially since there were some really bad ones. But, with every bad one, we got some GREAT ones. About 30 minutes into our hour, the silverback moved up to the ledge with the other gorillas and sat for a minute. He didn’t seem very happy. Then, he moved more uphill. The other gorillas followed.

After they all moved, our group moved uphill to watch them for the rest of our hour. As we were walking up, I paused because my feet kept sliding and I wanted to give the camera to Liam before it broke. Right after I handed him the camera, I turned around and took a step up and heard Liam say “Francis.” He never calls me Francis. It’s always Wifey. So, I turned around to watch a momma gorilla carrying two baby gorillas (the twins) brush past Liam and head my way. I don’t think I’ve ever moved out of the way so quickly. I was not about to get in the way of a momma of twins. I’m not that crazy.

We hiked up a little more and I was able to sit right below the momma with the twins and take pictures of them playing all over her. I’m not going to lie. I was a little sad. There are babies everywhere and our little one didn’t make it. But, I still enjoyed sitting there watching momma interact with her healthy babies from about 3 feet away. I managed to get a few amazing shots of one of the twins. They are so freaking cute. The guide was telling us that when twins are born to a mom, the other moms help out and take care of them as well. That way the mom never has to worry about setting one of her babies down because she knows they are always protected. That made me smile. Big, fat, healthy, safe babies.

Our hour was up and we had to leave the gorillas and head back down the mountain. Going down is always so much easier than climbing up. The hike ended up being rather exhilarating and exactly what I need to realize how out of shape I’ve gotten. When we get back to Dar, it’s time to seriously take advantage of this fantastic climate and drop some weight.

At the end of the hike, we paid our porters and Dahlia and both guides jumped in our car and we gave them a lift back to town. Ate a snack with Dahlia and then headed back to the lodge to eat our lunch, apologize to them for skipping out on breakfast, shower, and relax. When we arrived, one of the staff took our hiking shoes and cleaned them. I thought that was an awesome touch. They really went above and beyond to take care of their clients.

We went up to the main lodge and I sat in the rope hammock for a while and swung back and forth looking out over the lake, thinking about our morning with the gorillas. Liam sat in a chair nearby and read his book. Pretty relaxing. A fire was lit and we watched the sunset behind the clouds. Ate another delicious dinner and headed off to bed. I was exhausted after the trek.

Kigali, Rwanda to Ruhengri, Rwanda

August 25, 2011

Woke up to a hazy day in Rwanda. Even under the haze of early morning light, Kigali is an impressive city. Neither Liam nor I could get over how clean the city was. It was a nice change from the other East African countries we had been in. I was a little saddened by the haze because I wanted to take a few pictures around the lodge we were going to of the volcanoes and surrounding lakes.

We checked out of the hotel, obtained our gorilla permits, and headed out of town to the lodge. We wanted to get there early and take advantage of everything it has to offer. As we were driving, we hit about 118 km outside of Kigali. At this point we should have been in Ruhengri. However, we were on the other side of the country and rapidly approaching Burundi. Not such a good thing. Apparently, Burundi isn’t so safe. As soon as I realized we missed a turn, we back-tracked and ended up driving through 2/3 of Rwanda. Which I’m not going to complain about. The roads were brand new, some didn’t even have the lines painted on them yet. There was a complex drainage system in place. Something tells me China has been working on tea deals by trading road construction. Either way, we benefited from nice smooth roads and beautiful scenery.

After turning off the paved road and driving around and uphill on a dirt road, we arrived at the lodge around 1600. Settled into our room and had a drink at the main lodge. It’s such a quaint place. Very quiet. Limited electricity. Overlooking Lake Bulera and Volcanoes National Park. It was still a hazy day, but you could see the outlines of the hills against the horizon. We were able to get a few great shots, but there was a stubborn side of me that already told Liam we were coming back just for photographs. And to relax in this fantastic little lodge. Here’s their website http://www.volcanoessafaris.com/safari-lodges/virunga-safari-lodge/

The chef came by to take our order for dinner. Then, we went up a hill to an open area of the lodge and watched a local tribal dance for the king. The basic jest of the dance was to thank the king for giving them the land to grow their crops. It was fun to watch! The dancers were local school children. The lodge places a heavy emphasize on using local products for construction materials, local foods for meals, and local people for staff. That’s part of the appeal. It’s a small company with four lodges in Uganda and Rwanda. I really felt like they were trying to improve the community.

After the dance, we came back to the main lodge and had a few drinks around the fireplace while we were waiting for dinner. We interacted a lot with an Indian couple who live in New York. Then, off to dinner the four of us went. Food was delicious. I ate every bite.

Walked back to our banda in the dark (we forgot the flashlight, oops) and Liam sat around playing his drum. He was so happy playing out of tune and sipping a glass of wine. I couldn’t help but giggle at his childlike enthusiasm. He just makes me laugh. I picked my mate well.

Kampala, Uganda to Kigali, Rwanda

August 24, 2011

Well, we are off again. I guess it is time to get back on the road. Plus, we are going on a special

adventure in two days. A very special adventure. We are going trekking to spend one hour with a family of mountain gorillas. Can get a WOO HOO?!??!!!! Between Brad and I, Liam caved and decided that a few days at the Virunga Lodge near the Parc National des Volcans in northern Rwanda would be a relaxing way to enjoy a cultural experience as part of his job!

We had breakfast with Brad and Angie, returned to their house because we forgot our coffee mugs and then began the journey out of Kampala. What a nightmare. At one point on a two-lane road, I think there were four lanes of cars and ten rows of people. It was so tight we accidently bumped into a bicycle and a boda boda. But, they think jumping in front of a moving car is a good idea. Navigating through cities without street signs is interesting. However, we made it out of town after fighting traffic and people for two hours.

On the road again, we stopped in Mpaimbare, Uganda. This is the location where the Buganda King drums are made. There were several stalls along the way and we acquired two drums to begin our collection. Shopping for drums is an interesting experience. There a ton of different types of leather used and they all sound so different. Imagine, two mzungus hanging out on the side of the road beating drums with absolutely no rhythm. I bet it was a sight to see. If only we weren’t both tone deaf and musically untalented. Maybe drum lessons for Christmas?

A short way down the road we crossed the equator again. This time, there was a fantastic tourist trap with two rings. They also do the water experiment to show you how water drains on either side of and on the equator. Being cheap, we didn’t pay the small fee for the water experiment because we are smarter than we look and already knew how it worked. We did, however, pull our typical slightly touristy-slighty tacky selves into the ring for a few pictures straddling the equator. Hey, it’s not everyday you can stand on the equator in “winter.”

Back on the road, and we started to see Ankole cattle everywhere. They are beautiful and my husband tolerated my requests for more pictures. I cannot believe how large their horns are. But, when a herd of them began walking towards the car, I started thinking their horns may be a little dangerous as I watched them nudge each other. And away we went.

Driving through western Uganda is a lot like driving through South Dakota. Lots of rolling hills and generally not a whole lot of anything in any direction. As we drove, we were starting to wonder if we were going to be able to cross the border because no one seemed to know when the border opened and closed.

Arrived at the border. Crossed without a lot of difficulty and started driving only to realize that in Rwanda you drive on the right side of the road. Welcome to the only Francophone East African country. Rwanda is beautiful. It’s the land of a thousand hills. And I have no doubt there might be a few more than a thousand hills. Tea and coffee were growing all around us in the valleys and up the hillsides. Little children ran along side our car waving and screaming mzungus.

A little after dark, we reached Kigali. The city was immaculate. There was no trash to be seen, houses were clean and well constructed, and everyone was well dressed and clean. Quite a difference from Tanzania.

We stayed at the newly renovated Hotel des Mille Collines AKA Hotel Rwanda. If you haven’t seen the movie, take a peak – it’s pretty intersting. The hotel was beautiful and the rooms were quite comfortable. We ate at the poolside bar and I enjoyed more wet food. Seriously, loving pepper gravy. This time it came with capers. I must say though, it was sobering to walk through the halls of hotel and think about all the people who were waiting to be saved from the massacre happening around them in Kigali. I can only imagine the fear that consumed them.

Headed off to bed so we could get up quasi-early and head to Virunga Lodge and the gorillas.

Kampala, Uganda

August 18-23, 2011

We weren’t planning on staying that long, but we were having so much fun with the Nicholsons! First day in Kampala and I learned how dangerous boda bodas can be. Boda bodas are motorcycles that people use as taxis. Now, they have zero rules to follow and refuse to drive safely. It’s also rare that you see a driver or passenger with a helmet. As we were turning into the parking lot to pick up their munchkins from the bus, a boda boda drove into the side of the car as he was trying to pass us. Now, I’m not sure how he missed a giant blue Prado but this is Africa.

During our trip, Angie introduced us to Banana Boat, a great Ugandan handicraft store. http://www.bananaboat.co.ug/home.php We bought several of the baskets, a mask (for the mask wall), and a few other knick knacks. Also, just in case you ever need it, there is a great bookstore, Aristoc, in Garden Center on the third level. We were able to find travel books and maps to prevent us from getting lost in the future. At least that’s my theory.

Had breakfast on Sunday at 1000 Cups. A great little coffee shop in downtown Kampala filled with knick knacks. I bought a painting of a woman carrying a package and Liam acquired a few spears. Checked off spears on the weaponry souvenirs. I wonder when spear throwing practice will begin? I should have thought about that before I tried to convince him to buy the bigger spear. Liam pointed out a guy wearing a Mississippi State polo. I didn’t get a chance to go ask him where he was from because when we were done eating he was long gone. Man, Mississippians are everywhere.

We went to the Kasubi tombs. (Here’s the link about them http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1022/) The four kings who are buried there are the last four kings of the Buganda tribe. Sadly, someone maliciously burned down the original tomb that had been there for over a hundred years last year. It was a beautiful thatched hut. They are in the process of rebuilding the tomb. In the room where we were told the history of the tribe, the walls were covered in bark cloth paintings. Bark cloth is made from a fig tree. They peel the bark off of the tree and beat it with a hammer until it is smooth. Then, the pieces of cloth are sewn together to make fabric. This fabric is used for traditional clothing

(though not as much now since they have access to brilliant fabrics) and paintings. We bought a painting of an elephant. Here’s more information about bark cloth - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhznFtHhkBo

We also went to the Ugandan museum. When we arrived, there was no one there. Thus, we had our own private tour guide who walked around with Lila, Aiden (Brad and Angie’s munchkins aka Tater and Bean), Liam, and I and explained all of the exhibits. There was a large section of history, information on the Olympics, transportation, development, weapons, toys, etc. They also had a section on Ankole cattle. I’m a little bit excited to see them as we drive across Uganda into Rwanda. I want to get some pictures of those horns. They had the traditional drums and xylophone of the Buganda tribe in the museum

and we played a little bit. I fell in love with the sound of one of the gigantic bass drums and am now on a hunt to buy one for our house. It might become our new alarm when you are a guest at our house!!!!

Aiden and Lila are hysterical. They had Liam and I in stitches with the random things that they said. Gotta love brilliant babies with a sense of humor. Seriously, they kill me.

We ate at quite a few yummy restaurants. Liam spent some time at the embassy learning about what his future jobs will entail. Kampala offers a lot for Liam professionally and I think he would really enjoy working there.

We also discovered that all of our household goods, unaccompanied baggage and consumables are in Dar and should be at our house within a week to ten days of us returning back to Tanzania! WOO HOO! We will have more than four plates and our stoneware to start baking! Cause this girl is ready for a batch of brownies.

Did I mention the Red Pepper? Red Pepper is Kampala’s trashy tabloid paper. It’s not something I would typically read. But, once you start reading, the crazy phrases make you giggle and before you know it – you are laughing hysterical at the absurdity. Here’s a perfect example: “Kimbugwe Nakaweesl, the outspoken woman activist has finally answered the mind-boggling question about the type and size of her panty.” Really that’s news worthy. “As you’ve always read in these pages, celebrity couple, Patriq Kanyomozi and Rahmah Mbabazi will begin the journey to legalize their

bonking sprees on September 18 with an introduction ceremony.” The verbage is priceless. And at just under a dollar – this news rag is literally worth every penny.

The owner of the house the Nicholsons live in was having the road repaved. Angie said let's grab our cameras and take pictures of the guys mixing the ashpalt on the side of the road. I had never seen it mixed over an open flame - but the guys were putting a road together. I got some great shots of the guys hamming it up for the camera! And of a jackfruit that was nearby.

Sadly, our time in Kampala came and went to quickly! I have no doubt we will be back soon to visit the Nicholsons! There is a lot more of Uganda I would like to visit!

Kisumu, Kenya to Kampala, Uganda

August 17, 2011

Ate breakfast and back on the road. We have another border to cross and something tells me it is not going to be as easy as it was yesterday.

After yesterday's issue with unreliable maps, we stopped at a bookstore and picked up the Kenyan travel map complete with coordinates so we can link up with handheld GPSes x 2. Nothing like a few toys to help out. Between Google Earth and handhelds, we are going places. Now we just need satellite Internet so when Google Earth is wrong we can figure out where the hell we are.

Driving through lush farmland in Kenya is relaxing. Liam would probably say otherwise because of the crazy drivers. But, I enjoyed it. Liam likes to drive and I like to scream “STOP. Need picture.” It works for us. At least in my opinion. He would say he is just the superior driver. Well, ask him about the Ugandan police telling him to slow down and not pass four cars down a steep incline and around a corner. Let’s just say, my “slow down quit driving like a crazy person” was 100% justified when the cop looked at me and said “Hello Mama. I’m just going to have a little talk here with my friend about his driving.” I giggled. Liam gave me a dirty look.

Make it to the Kenyan-Uganda border in one piece. We are hopefully never ever going to get to a border after 8am in the future. What an ass pain. There were 10-15 people screaming at us and guiding us through all of the parked trucks. The easy part was getting our passports stamped. Then, we had to deal with customs and paperwork for the car. Apparently, the guys on the border we crossed yesterday forgot to give us a piece of paper so we could get out of Kenya without having to drive all the way back to get the stupid piece of paper. Well, we had a copy of the title that is currently MIA at our embassy. Paperwork in hand, we head to the Ugandan border. With our little guides in tow. Immigration stamps were easy. Liam had to deal with our new rafikis. They gave us a quote for Ugandan insurance for $150 for 4 months. Then, said $40 would be okay. I don’t know about you guys – but I’m thinking payouts on insurance wouldn’t be that great in Uganda. And I thought US insurance was sketchy….

Immediately, after crossing the border two baboons welcomed us. I thought Liam was going to get out of the car and go play with them. He loves monkeys/primates (but not silverback gorillas – more later). Sometimes I question how his brain works. Especially, when he is looking at the giant open wound on one of their noses. I don’t know about you, but I’m not planning on hugging any wildlife in their territory this year. Just doesn’t seem like a good idea.

Uganda has a different feel. While the countryside is very pretty, the people were very serious. I guess that comes with years of turmoil. You become hardened. And it is very visible to outsiders.

Stopped in Jinja to have lunch and get some cash. Pull up and park in an area in town and while I am sitting in the car and Liam is getting something out of the back seat, this little kid runs up to the car, scribbles something down and sticks it under the windshield wiper. Liam asks him what he is doing and he says writing a parking ticket. So, I watched the little brat run across the street and brag about how he wrote a ticket to two diplomatic mzungus. But, you screwed up dude. You pissed off the crazy mzungu woman. Liam comes back from the bank to say we have to drive to another location and the little brat comes running up asking for us to pay 5000 Ugandan shillings for the ticket. Well, we had ZERO Ugandan shillings and are on diplomatic passports. Then, he told us to give him American money. I’m not giving this brat a $20. Nope. We drove away and he has an unpaid ticket that will never be collected on.

Ate lunch at this great café right on Lake Victoria. Vegetable quiche was perfection. And you couldn’t beat the atmosphere. Quiet and delightful – with Internet. Since Liam’s phone still wasn’t working (at least we thought – but it’s all better now), talked with Brad to confirm our arrival in Kampala and left to head to town. The rest of the drive wasn’t bad until I led us to the wrong embassy because I was looking at number 8 on the wrong map. Finally, met up with Brad and drove to their house. (In case you don’t know who Brad is, Liam replaced him for IRT in Tanzania. Between him and his wife, Angie, our life has been much easier prepping for this move. So, a big part of this trip was to come hang out with them and play in Uganda).

While we were sitting around talking about everything in general and what we wanted to do in Uganda, I mentioned the gorillas. Brad said something along the lines of you have to go because its just cool. When Brad and a buddy went, his friend was checked, from behind, by a 550 lb. silverback gorilla. And I have to agree with Brad and friend – I don’t care who you are but being checked by a 550 lb. silverback in his house will make you pee yourself a little. So, I think Liam has finally decided it’s worth the $500 park fee per person to look at gorillas from about 10 feet away (or less I hear). Especially since his half is considered exploring Africa and part of his budget. That’s what I call a two for one special.

Off to bed to dream of gorillas.