Trip 2: Work Day for Liam

19 September 2011

Liam went to work. I rode along with him. We drove through a large portion of the northern side of the island. We arrived at a school where a group of Seabees were helping to build a rain collection system. Gutters are being installed on the side of the school and the rain will be stored in water collection tanks. The headmaster will then be responsible for dispensing the water to the community for use for consumption, irrigation, cleaning, laundry, etc. You know, we get a lot of flack around the world about what our military does, but they don't always talk about these projects that make such a HUGE impact on local communities. So, I'm bragging for them - GOOD WORK! JOB WELL DONE!

Came back to the hotel, cleaned up and decided to walk over to the Forodhani Gardens for dinner. Basically, Mickey Mouse (I'm not joking - that's what he told us his name was) walked us over to his stall to explain all of the fairs laid out on the table. We walked around the market and came back to Mickey Mouse's table. I ordered a roasted corn (because I had been thinking about it since we passed some in Kenya weeks ago), a sweet banana, blue marlin skewer, and crab body & claw. Liam selected a lobster skewer, tuna skewer, and a king fish skewer. We were then taken to a table while Mickey Mouse (really, I couldn't make this stuff up) had his team of fisherman warm our meal. He also promised us we wouldn't get sick from the food on his table - because it was "fresh, caught today." We didn't take any pictures, but I did find this video on YouTube to give you perspective (except the sun was long gone by the time we got over there). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z3MRxw_J7M.

I learned a VERY valuable lesson that evening. Never eat any meat you can't physically see from a food stall. The crab was slightly cooked. Mostly gooey, smelled and tasted a little off. But, the local herd of wild cats found it quite tasty. The corn was so overdone it was dry. I couldn't eat it. But, the fish skewers & banana - TO DIE FOR. I will eat there again. Sketchy as it seems at first, totally worth it. Dive in and learn to say "Hapana asante" quickly. You don't really need the CD with Jambo Jambo on it.

Also, had my first experience with sugar cane juice. I have officially died and gone to the big white puffy clouds. I was skeptical because I can't do super sweet. But, they press the sugar cane with ginger and lime and it creates this milky goodness. Even Liam liked it. I had to stop myself at two glasses because where am I going to find this in Dar. And more importantly, there is no sugar cane in Alaska. CANNOT GET ADDICTED. Very important to intervene early for things like this.

Trip 2: Stone Town

18 September 2011

Spent the day walking around Stone Town with my tropical full body sweat. Because, someone (AKA me), is slightly special needs and decided that wearing a lightweight wool sweater would be a good idea. Yep, not the brightest crayon in the box.

We began our day with breakfast on the rooftop of the hotel. Enjoying the views of a nice tropical day. Water was the perfect turquoise color you always see in pictures. Dhow boats sailing along the shore. Big puffy white clouds. Cool, ocean breeze. And we were glued to our computers trying to check email and reintegrate with "normal" life (school, Fantasy football, email, etc).

After breakfast, went back to our room to take showers since the hot water heater wasn't working earlier. Then, headed out on the town. Walked all over Stone Town and managed to avoid buying a cd of local music to include Jambo Jambo, which is apparently a song we have been hearing ALL over the place. These guys DO NOT understand "No. Thank you" even when you say it in their language. "Hapana. Asante."

We did however find a few Tingatinga paintings at the Old Fort Market. Tingatinga is a style of paintings that originated in Dar es Salaam. It has become so popular, there is even a cartoon in the States in Tingatinga style. Pretty cool.

I heart this sign. LONG time.

The famous carved doors in Stone Town are beautiful. And EVERYWHERE. And in every condition. Some look brand new, some look like they will fall down if you lightly touch them. We were able to get a few pictures of the doors.

Sample of door carvings. Pretty amazing.

We went to Beit al-Ajaib (House of Wonders). It is actually a museum of the area with a fantastic 3rd floor balcony overlooking the water. The breeze felt wonderful after soaking in my own sweat for the past couple of hours. I was starting to smell a little eau du Africa.

Liam wanted to ride the canons.

Info on Beit-el-Ajaib

Our hotel is the one in the middle between the church and the mosque.

While enjoying the breeze, we decided to head to Mercury's for lunch. For those un-Queen fans, Freddy was born on Zanzibar and spent his childhood years here. Well, until his parents shipped him off to boarding school in India. So, the very flamboyant lead singer of Queen, grew up in a Muslim culture. That one still baffles me a tiny bit. The restaurant is located in one of his childhood homes. The food was a little pricey (we have become SO CHEAP), but rather delicious. The drink menu had me in stitches to the point where I had to take a picture or two. My favorite - read the description for a Monica Lewinsky.

Mercury's Zanzibar

A lil' bit of info.

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to take a nap. After our afternoon siesta, we headed to the Stone Town market where I SCORED three GIGANTIC bags of saffron for almost nothing. Spice island = my friend. Liam is still questioning what you use saffron for. Anyone have any great saffron recipes? I haven't cooked with it in a while since it's so expensive back home.

Walked over to the Serena Hotel to see if we wanted to eat dinner there, but decided to just have a couple of drinks and walk over to another hotel for dinner. 

After wandering a little bit around Stone Town, we found the Al Johari hotel. Fusion, the restaurant on the top of Al Johari hotel, was a fantastic place for dinner. Beautiful sunset. Delicious food. We licked our plates.

Trip 2: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

17 September 2011

After the ferry sank last week, we decided that two ferries couldn't possibly sink en route to one of the Zanzibar islands in that short of a time frame. Therefore, at 10:30 on Saturday we found ourselves being picked up at the house by our cabbie, Smoker (Another great find from the Nicholsons!), to head to the ferry terminal.

Drive to the ferry terminal was uneventful. Everyone said flying was easier, and I have no doubt that they are correct. A 20 minute flight versus a 2-6 hour ferry ride depending on the boat. But, you have to try the ferry once. We bought first class tickets for a whopping $28.75. My husband loves me and wants "to treat me REAL nice" (please insert appropriate redneck Southern accent - i.e. Randy Quaid in Christmas Vacation). Yes, that's a quote. I knew what I was getting into when I married this one.

(Ferry link: http://azammarine.com/catamarans.html - MV Kili was our boat).

The ferry was pretty nice. Just please turn up the air a bit. It was a little chilly (and that's coming from me. I have a few warm blooded friends who would have FROZEN to death)! The ride was so uneventful, I took an hour nap. Sleeping keeps me from getting sea sick. Two hours after we left Dar, the boat pulled up to the port in Zanzibar. We jumped off the boat and waited for our luggage to be dropped down from the bow. Luggage in hand, we found our taxi driver and headed to the hotel.

We are staying at the Chavda Hotel in Stone Town (http://www.chavdahotel.co.tz/). Everywhere else we were looking was booked, but we are in a great suite for half the cost of the other hotels. Came upstairs to have lunch. The hotel has a great rooftop restaurant with views of Stone Town. Stone Town reminds me a little bit of the French Quarter in New Orleans. A little dirty, a lot of charm. Somewhere that feels really comfortable.

I think this is mid "Only this guy!" statement in reference to all the great places he has taken me.

Looking back over Stone Town and Zanzibar Town.

Mosque, Indian Ocean, Stone Town buildings.

After a late lunch, we went back downstairs and fell asleep for a couple of hours. Woke up, watched part of a movie and went right back to sleep. Apparently, we are tired. But, its so easy to sleep and relax when you actually can.

Well our stuff...

made it here. A lot faster than we were expecting. It arrived last Wednesday. Household goods & consumables actually arrived before our unaccompanied baggage by about 2 hours. But, I'm not complaining. Cause we have good toilet paper and Cheese Nips.

So, we didn't take pictures because we were too worried about the camera being stolen (we've heard horror stories). But, I do have a few funny stories to share.

The moving truck with our household goods and consumables shows up with five crates. Four on the base of the truck and one on top of those. I'm looking at it wondering how they plan on getting my stuff down from 15 feet in the air without dropping or breaking anything. Well, low and behold, the truck comes with a crane. They strapped two tow straps around the crate and lifted it up another 5 feet in the air and dangled it 20 feet above the ground as they manipulated the crate around a cable that was in the way. After watching them hook it up using a half-attempted slip knot instead of the prefabricated loops and wobble it in mid-air, I decided that maybe I would prefer them to break the crate and hand our boxes down to us. Less chance for error in my brain.

Well the crate made it safely to the ground and the chaos of moving stuff into the house began. The guys showed up with someone from the Embassy and two movers. Two. Yes, two. For 5 crates of stuff. So, guess who got to put on their moving hats ONCE again. I thought I had retired from the moving rodeo. Not so much.

Liam enjoyed watching the two wobbly-kneed movers approaching muscle failure as they carried our 250 lbs safe upstairs. I wish I could have seen them. Liam and I would have probably done better carrying it and we come with two bad shoulders. I did however get to clean their little grubby finger and shoe prints off of the white walls. How they walked on the walls, we still haven't figured it out. Nor, do we know how they managed to touch as much of the walls as they did. I have a little more sympathy for my mom and fingerprints on the wall now, though. 

I do think the guards, movers, and embassy guy are a little scared of me after I helped move one of the wooden crates because the guard couldn't pick it up himself. And don't worry, Jane & Margie, Liam wasn't watching me move the crate - he was helping carry stuff upstairs. Now, the reason we were moving the wooden crates (think 5'*8'*4') off of the perfectly good truck that would haul them away was due to the guards SALIVATING about selling the wood to the locals. Apparently, this makes them a little extra money. And since they make almost nothing (~$80 a month), I wanted to help them out. Especially, since I'm hoping they will take extra care of our house! You know, "you take care of me, I'll take care of you" kind of thing.

So, here we are, a really nice house (promise to take pictures soon) in the fancy area of Dar with 4 (couldn't fit all 5 in the driveway) half-broken wooden crates. That's almost as bad as our clean laundry hanging off of our over-the-water bungalow in Bora Bora. We are so high class. It kills me. I guess you can take the girl out of Mississippi, but you are NEVER going to get the Mississippi out of the girl.  And Liam's birth certificate says Jersey Shore...so there isn't any hope for him either.

So, that night, my guard asked for a hammer. Now, I had just bought an African hammer (read crappy quality) for 12,500 TZ shillings which is approximately $8. He said he only wanted to take out a couple of nails. Well when they started beating at the crates at 6am (after the guard slept most of the night - cause we were up unpacking and we caught him a couple of times). Well, here comes momma, boys! Seriously, they need to learn not to wake me up. I was pissed all day. I had no sleep and you start beating a wooden box at 6am in my driveway. You are asking for the ass chewing you are about to receive. Well, they stopped for a few minutes.

In fact, the noise didn't stop completely until one of the guards walked up to the kitchen window (the doorbell is broken) and motioned me to the front door. He proceeded to look me in the eye and say "I'm sorry madam" as he handed me the two pieces of my now broken hammer.  Well, now momma is really pissed. Cause in my culture, if you break something of someone's, you replace it. Well, he has no money and I know this. So, I know it is ABSOLUTELY pointless to demand he replace it. Another lesson learned, do not let the guards borrow anything. Cause you are not going to get it back in the same condition you lent it to them in.  Is there a hard knock class we can go to and learn all of our Africa lessons all at once? I'm sick of this slow learning curve I'm on.

My first African hammer. (Keep in mind it was probably made in China for Africa - which means it is 100% crap).

But, all in all. Our stuff is in our house, mostly unpacked and in great condition. Too bad we aren't there to finish unpacking. But, the spice islands were calling our name...

Trip 2: Tanzania, a splash of this and a splash of that...

Well folks, its time for another adventure. We are heading to Zanzibar and around Tanzania. Our original trip has to be moved to another quarter because of elections and other stuff that came across to me as blah blah blah blah. More on that trip when it happens. But, right now...

Dhow boat off the coast of Zanzibar

Sometimes, it isn't so bad living on the Indian Ocean. I'll deal with the heat and humidity if this is what I call home. Not to shabby. This beach baby is enjoying life and her room with a view.

And just in case Zanzibar sounds familiar but you don't really know anything about it - check out these links:

http://zanzibar.net/zanzibar/zanzibar_history
http://www.zanzibarhistory.org/

I have the best husband in the entire world...

You might have remembered me talking about a ridiculous newspaper published in Uganda called the Red Pepper. Well, my wonderful husband found it online. WOO HOO!

Here's a great example of why it worth your time to peek...at least for your morning eye roll...
http://redpepper.co.ug/welcome/?p=18068

I did not know goat races were such fancy events. Gotta get to one soon.

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.