Moshi & Kigoma (the adventure!)

I spent the next couple days hanging around Arusha. Checking out the markets, the new part of town and looking into buses to different locations. I really like looking at the local markets, I find it very interesting. Not just the souvenirs, but the clothes, shoes, food, house supplies, etc. People here are really resourceful. For example, the Masai make sandal type shoes out of old tires.
My friend Ryann and I decided to go to Moshi for a couple days so we headed there one late morning on the dalla dalla. Gotta love being on those minibuses. They don't leave until every seat is filled and then, on the way to the destination, more people are picked up. Yup, overcrowded and loaded with bags full of coal, produce, rice or flour and passengers with chicken in cages or boxes with heads sticking out. Clucking all the way. We checked into Kilimanjaro Backpackers, which is a sister hostel to Arusha Backpackers. Same price, but much quieter. Yay.

We walked around town looking at fabrics for dresses. We both were thinking about getting a dress made from the tailor. They can make it within 1-2 days. Really fast! And they have such nice African designs. Most of the woman wear one pattern as either a dress or top with skirt. However, there are some with 2 different patterns. But, they like it busy.

We then caught the dalla dalla to Marangu, a village at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro. I met a nice local girl on the way that I was sitting beside named Anette. We started talking, she liked to laugh a lot. Anette told me she liked me and that we where now friends and wanted to join us for our walk to the waterfall. She said she'd show us the way, after she swings by her school. So, we popped into her college, had a little tour, then hiked our way to the Kinukamori waterfall. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and the water was refreshing. Unfortunately, it was too shallow to swim in, but nice to cool the feet off.

There was  a lovely staircase, cocooned by vegetation to the top of the falls where a cave from the local Chaga tribe was. It's now a tourist attraction, but you are allowed to go inside and see how they lived in it. There's a tunnel, with a decent sized cavern at the end where they made their home. A fire pit was in there, the ceiling was stained black from the smoke. Another small dugout was just a meter inside the tunnel's entrance so that the man could guard his family from enemies.

After we explored the surrounding area, following the river and seeing lots of farmland (more bananas) we headed back to Moshi.

We said goodbye to our friend and booked tickets for our next destination. Ryann was going to head to Mombasa on the coast of Kenya and I was going to make my way to Gombe Stream National Park to see one of Jane Goodall's chimpanzee reserves.

We then went to an eatery by the hostel. It was inexpensive, local food that was absolutely delicious! I had a Zanzibar pizza that looked irresistible on the grill outside the shop. It was a pastry shell stuffed with egg, beef, cheese, mayo, onions, tomatoes and few other things (not sure what else), then fried on a hot skillet. Hmmm, heaven! I also had the kuku mishkaki, which is marinated chicken kebabs. There wasn't many seats, so we shared a table with 2 local boys. We all started chatting and by the end of the evening, we were exchanging emails and phone numbers. We made plans to meet up again for dinner the next night. Which after a lazy day around Moshi, enjoying the early morning view of Kilimanjaro (before the clouds role in) we did. Same place, same time.

The next morning, I said goodbye to Ryann and went to catch my 6 am bus to Tabora with Best Line. The bus left on time, stored my big backpack in the compartment below and had decent seating. It was a very long ride. Whenever the locals say it'll take 7 hours... expect longer! And they don't make regular bathroom stops. Luckily, I did get one on this ride... 6.5 hours into it. I learned quickly to not drink and eat little while on the buses. Otherwise, you'll be sorry!

We stopped in many towns and villages along the way, picking up more and more people. Wasn't long before the bus was overcrowded. People squished together, standing in the isle. Having to shove each other to get off at their stop. Luckily we had a tarmac road. Not as bumpy.
All along the way, either along the highway or at bus stands, locals would be selling their goods. On the highway, it was mostly coal, weaved baskets and jugs of sunflower oil. At the bus stands, it was everything. Woman had a bowl of fruit, like bananas or mangoes, on their head. Some had snacks like peanuts, cashews or roasted corn on the cob. The men would have nuts, cookies, chips, water, crackers, gum and sweets in a box or bowl either in their hand or on their head. Some even balanced a whole display of things like sunglasses, plastic jewelry and watches on their shoulders. No matter what they had, they'd run over to the arriving bus, hissing, pssting, yelling and banging on windows. Passengers would open their window, food shoved into their hand and then money would be exchanged. It was quite a show. My favourite snack was their peanuts. Nice and fresh. They'd boil them in salted water, drain and put in a plastic bag. It was really cheap, 30 cents for 1 kg, and when opening the shells, they peanuts were nice and warm. Not crunchy, I had to get used to the different texture, but delicious. I think I'll try that one day when I get home...

We had numerous police check points to go through, and most of the time they let us pass through without a hitch. But, other times, they wouldn't allow so many passengers so everyone not in a seat had to get off the bus. Then the bus conductors and driver would "negotiate" (cough! *bribe*) and everyone would get right back on and we'd carry on after the 5 to 30 mins delay.
After 10 hours, I was wondering when I'd be at my stop in Tabora. Next thing I knew, we were at a bus stand and I was told to get off here for Tabora. I looked around and thought, hmmm this doesn't seem right. I bought a ticket for Tabora, the bus is supposed to take me there (according to the ticket office) but the conductor was saying that I had to change buses. He said to take my ticket to the ticket office across from us (he pointed to it so I could see which one) and that they'd take me the rest of the way. Now, the road from this town to Tabora was a rough road, so I thought "ok, maybe this bus will only drive on tarmac and they have a partnership with this other company." So, I got off the bus, which of course I was then swarmed by people selling their goods and taxi men yelling Taxi! Taxi! I told the conductor I needed my kubwa baggie from under the bus. When he opened the door, a man picked it up, swung it on his shoulder and stood near me. Ok, great a porter. But, as I was trying to communicate to the conductor about why I needed to change buses, the porter slowly started walking away with my bag. I asked him to come back and to give me my bag, but he just looked at me confused. Now the conductor wanted to see my ticket, so I gave it to him and he said he'd give it to the new ticket office and starting walking there. I knew I should follow him, but the porter started wandering away again with my bag and I just thought "what the heck is going on, he's not really going anywhere, but he's not giving me my backpack either." So I walked up to him, politely said, "thanks but I need my bag now," strapped it on and went to the ticket both. My conductor was nowhere in sight and the bus took off. Great. Where's my ticket. I asked the man behind the counter if he had my ticket, but he just shook his head, "no english." Sigh, the bad part about being in a rural area and not speaking the native language.

I checked around to see if anyone spoke english and found one person who could understand a little. I asked him if he could translate for me that my ticket for Tabora was supposed to given to him so that his bus could take me there. But, the ticket man smiled and said he didn't have my ticket and "different company, need new ticket." Sigh, wonderful. So, my ticket was stolen by the other bus conductor, so I wouldn't have proof of purchase and I'd have to pay again. I asked when the next bus to Tabora would come, and he said "he come soon" with a smile.

Tanzanian time is not like home. 10 minutes for them is an hour for me. Needless to say, It took an hour before a bus came to the stand.

When it arrived, there was so much commotion. Funny how everyone is so calm while there's no buses, snoozing, drinking, peeling sugar cane, eating, cooking, just normal time spent away. Then boom! A bus arrives and everyone's frantic, grabbing their bowls, baskets and displays. Amusing scene to to watch.
I ended up losing the man that spoke a little english. I wasn't sure exactly where this bus was heading. I asked a few people, but they didn't know what I was saying. Finally, I heard a female voice behind me ask "are you ok? Do you need any help?" Ah, thank the gods! Someone who could tell me what's going on. So, after telling her all that happened, she shook her head and tsked, then said "this bus is going to Tabora. I go to school there so you sit with me. I take care of you." And she did. I sat with her on the bus. We made friends quickly. Triza was her name. She asked if I knew where I was staying and whether my room was booked yet. I told her I knew where I wanted to stay, but it wasn't booked yet. It's such a  rural area, I figured I wouldn't have much trouble finding a room. Plus I had 2 other back up hotels. She said, "since it's dark and the bus offices will be closed, I'll take you to your hotel, help you bring your luggage into your room and then tomorrow morning, help you buy your bus ticket to your next destination to make sure it's a good company." So kind of her.
Luckily, I had no problem with my room, at the Golden Eagle hotel. We planned to meet up at 8 am the next morning before her classes started for the day. What a long day. Didn't arrive in Tabora until 10 pm. It was an anxious 3 hour drive as the rough road from the town to Tabora has a lot of robberies at night. Men stop the bus on the road with guns and get on board and take all your belongings. So, every time the bus slowed down, I could see men stand up to see why we where slowing and some woman holding their children tighter. Others, feel asleep, without a care. I admit, I was a bit tense, since I was expecting to arrive here by 4 pm not 10 pm, but we arrived with no problems what so ever. Triza would even say to me "Take care and be free. It'll be ok." But, I knew she meant, 'don't worry, there's nothing you can do if a robbery happens, just suck it up and deal with it.' Lol, strong woman. She was right of course, no point in worrying over something out of your control.

Triza came by in the morning with her room mate Sia. Their classes where starting earlier than she thought so we decided to go at lunch time instead. I ended up meeting the manager, Al, in the morning. He wanted to know all the details of my adventure. So I filled him in.

Next thing I knew he got one of his employees to bring a ticket salesmen into his office. We double checked the bus would take me all the way to my next destination, Kigoma, without needing to change buses. He said this was a really good bus company so I would have no problems. I bought the ticket for the next morning and Al said his night watchman would walk me to my bus at 5:30 am. He gave me his email and number and told me to call him if I ever had any problems. Then, he called his friend Grace, who worked in Gombe Stream, but lived in Kigoma to meet me at the bus stand. He said she'd take me to my hotel and the water taxi for the following day. Really nice guy. And Grace too, since she didn't even know me. Lovely people. Made me feel so much better knowing someone would be waiting for me when I got off the bus this time.

I hung around the hotel and met some nice Americans. Two woman were working on a project called micro loans. They brought money to different towns where some local woman would be responsible for it.
 Then locals would go to these woman for a loan and pay very little interest when they paid it back. They could take as long as they needed to pay it back and if they didn't, they wouldn't be able to get another loan. The interest made would then go to someone else as a loan and it would continue to grow. It helps people because they don't have to pay as high of an interest rate as the banks. They mentioned that the hard part is having people you can trust to take care of the money. But, they're sure they found honest woman. It was a nice idea and I hope it works out for them.

At lunch, Triza and Sia came by, and since I already had my ticket I thought I could buy them lunch. They didn't want to eat, so instead we sat and had some sodas and they invited me over for dinner at their place for the evening.

I walked around the town for the afternoon, meeting store owners along they, practising my Swahili. Funny how even the smallest towns are full of life. Everyone out and about.
Triza came by my hotel around 7 pm and we walked hand in hand to her student housing. Sia was there and they started boiling water in their iron pots on top of a stove heated by coals. They lived in a cozy small room together with other students in similar rooms in a square. The middle was open to the sky so we could see all the stars while we cooked out there. Mind you, lightening was off in the distance, so we knew a storm was coming. But the flash of lightening was really nice, it would light up all the neighbourhood, since there were little places with electricity.
I met many of her friends and we had 4 other people join us for dinner. We had the traditional food of ugali (corn flour added to water and cooked until a paste) with sour milk and egg with tomato mixture. The ugali had no taste, but the egg was nice. To eat it, one takes some ugali in their hand, dip it into the egg mixture and place in your mouth, then chase it with the sour milk so it's not so dry. It was... interesting. The sour milk I don't think I could ever get used to. But, what a pleasant evening of leaning how they cook, seeing their normal day to day life and laughing at stories. It was hard to say goodbye to my new friends when they all walked me back to my hotel.
When I got to the bus stand the next morning, my bus wasn't there. It never arrived to Tabora. If I wanted to go to Kigoma I would have to go with another company. And there was only one. A smaller bus that looked like it had seen better days. Had some broken windows and worn seats, and a few to many conductors. I knew what that would mean. More overloading. That was just a little frustrating. See, once the seats are filled on the bus, all the extra people standing is money in the conductor and drivers pockets. That's why they have such motivation to crowd the bus.
I called Al, and he was able to translate and let me know that this other bus was indeed going all the way to Kigoma, but would be slower. It would be a 10 hour drive for the full 400 km.
So, I had to trade my old ticket for a new one, but at least no money was needed. I had a seat with one window that slide from my seat to the seat behind me. Leaving only one of us sheltered from the dust, wind or rain. Great, that would be fun. But at least the 2 other people sitting beside me were young university students who spoke english and were going to Kigoma like me. I felt secure. They were supposed to be on the other bus too, so they were going through the same thing.
The bus left Tabora 1 hour behind schedule. Don't know why, just waiting for more people I suppose. Then it went to get gas and fill the tires with air (why that wasn't done before or while we were sitting around waiting... I don't know). Finally we started our long drive. We got about 1.5 hours from Tabora, and we got stuck in the mud. With the rain from the storm the night before, all the dirt on the roads were thick mud. Luckily, this part of the road was under construction and a tractor pulled us out with some chains... twice (we got stuck 5 mins later).
It was an incredibly long ride. We were stopped once by the police for the overcrowding, but mostly, we drove so slow. The rough roads were really bumpy, with lots of puddles and mud. Poor pedestrians kept getting splashed with mud, since there were no sidewalks. Anytime we passed another bus, ours would stop and the driver and conductors would hop off to socialise with the others, eating and drinking. Didn't bother them at all that they had a bus cramped up with people, squeezed together that needed to go places.
The day carried on. We had a third time being stuck in the mud in a Masai village, where a lovely family let me use their toilet (a small fenced in dirt patch), and I was wondering when we'd be arriving in Kigoma. I asked my seating buddies, and the boy asked his brother who sat in front of us. He asked and told us that the bus was going to stop at a village where we took another bus to Kigoma as we'd be arriving to late for them to go the rest of the distance. I groaned and thought 'Oh, no! Not again!' But Leah, the girl beside me, said that there really was a bus that did multiple trips from the village to Kigoma. So, I had some hope... albeit small.
By 8 pm we arrived in a village called Nguruka. This is where the bus stopped and said this was as far as they were going to go. They were staying here for the night and heading back to Tabora in the morning. However, we arrived so late, we missed the last Kigoma bus. I retrieved my backpack from the under compartment and was shocked to see it covered... no, soaked with mud and dirty water. What a mess. Almost everything inside was covered in mud. My clothes, sleeping bag, tent, cookware, book, adaptors, and my Australian documents that I still needed to fill out and send to the tax board. Nice. I was not impressed. The conductor just laughed and said, "sorry, but it's Africa." I said "no, it's poor care of luggage." and just brought my bag to the other 4 people needing to get to Kigoma.
There were 5 of us. The older brother was already arguing with the driver about us not getting to our destination. I suggested, seeing how I've been through this before, that maybe we could talk to the police if there's one in the village. There were no hotels here, so we were stuck otherwise.
Fortunately, there was. The sheriff came, listened to our story, saw the condition of my bag and went to talk to them. 2 hours of negotiations. I was asked 3 times about paying for a taxi that would take us. At first it was 500,000 Tsh (US$312), then 300,000 Tsh (US$187) and finally 100,000 Tsh (US$62) to cover the gas. Apparently, we were only half way to Kigoma. Unbelievable!
Every time, the sheriff would ask me. See, I'm white, so I'm rich and should be able to pay. Tsk tsk, I was very firm and said "no, I paid for my bus ticket, all the way to Kigoma and I will not pay a penny more. It's not my problem that they wasted time today and took 10 hours to drive 200 km. My belongings are damaged, if anything, they should be either giving our money back or paying the taxi for us. They probably made enough with all the overloading they did."
All the while, half the village were watching the drama. The children were all staring at me and many adults were a metre behind them doing the same. I was used to it now, being the only white person and knew that some of these people haven't seen one before, but police said it was best for us to take our luggage and wait in the station while they sort us out. "It wasn't safe," they said. So we did. I called Grace to let her know what was happening and that I'd call her when I knew more. Also called Al to fill him in. He insisted on talking to the police, so I passed the phone over. I guess he gave them an earful and told them to take care of me since I was a foreigner. Wow, I was impressed!
I was given a cloth to try to clean my bag, but it just needed to be emptied and scrubbed up. But, I did what I could with the young brother helping me. My companions were really great. So helpful and supportive. We stuck together.
The sheriff came in and said we had 2 options. We could stay the night, sleeping either on the bus or in the police station, and catch the other bus at 11 am the next day or they could drive us. Well, seeing how my water taxi leaves once a day at noon to Gombe Stream, I needed to be there by 11:30 am so that wasn't going to work. I opted for the ride. The others agreed and off the sheriff went to negotiate again.
Finally, he came back and said he'd drive us. The bus company paid him the money to drive us. Yes! Justice! I liked to think that those guys learned their lesson and will do their job properly, but... might be short of a miracle. We all loaded our luggage in the back of his jeep and while he got petro, we grabbed some dinner, egg on french fries with ketchup. I called Grace and she said that since I'd be getting in so late, to stop by the hotel first to see if they had a room. If not, to just call her and she'd pick me up so I could stay at her house and not to worry about the time.
Everyone insisted I sit in the front seat and they all piled into the back. Leah on the young brothers lap, the older brother on a big man's lap and the policeman, Lugano, on the far right with his rifle. 7 of us in a 5 man jeep, lol. Hey, it was the sheriff's idea. We all got to know one another well. Turned out to be a 6 hour ride since the roads were so bad. We arrived into Kigoma at 4 am. The hotel I wanted to stay at was full, and Lugano called Grace for me. She arrived within 5 minutes and I said goodbye to my new friends after giving them my email to keep in touch.

Grace let me crash in her bed and I slept for 4 hours.

When I woke the next morning, my clothes and sleeping bag had been washed. It was out on the bushes drying outside. She had breakfast waiting for me and hot water for a wash. I gave her a big hug and a heart felt thank you. She was such a kind woman. Taking care of me like a daughter. True genuine person. She didn't want any gifts or money in return.

We headed to the water taxi at 11:45, and couldn't find the boat. We both learned that it currently wasn't running on Sundays. I had to laugh, "of course not. That would be too easy."

Luckily, since she worked at Gombe, she knew that the staff boats go out pretty much daily so she called up a coworker. They were heading out at 3 pm and would be more than happy to have me join.

Yay, I think I'll make it to see the chimpanzees after all!

Arusha

While I was landing at Kilimanjaro airport, I could see multiple dust devils. Pretty normal to see apparently, but I thought it was super cool. I haven't seen any that big before, almost like a tornado.

I took the Precision Air complementary van to the old part of town in Arusha where I checked into Arusha Backpackers. The staff here are amazing. Really friendly and helpful. I had a single room for CAN$8/night too. Great price!

The room was small, but clean. I felt safe here as well. There was always housekeeping staff around, keeping the bathrooms tidy and watching over the rooms. A restaurant/bar was on the roof with an open railing to watch the busy main street below.

After settling in and doing my laundry, I booked my safari. I was to start with a culture tour into a Masai Village on day 1, then spend day 2-6 in the National Parks of the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara and Tarangire.

I spent the remainder of the day hanging out at the hostel and finding the supermarket to buy water and snacks.

My guide met me at the hostel the next morning. I still needed to buy sunscreen, as I couldn't find any at the supermarket, so we ended up spending 45 mins finding some for me. Whew, what a nice guy to help me with that mission. I got to see most of the old part of town. Not easy to find sunscreen, since the local Africans don't use it.

Once that was done, we started our journey to his village. It was almost 6km from town. Villagers were greeting us all along the way and many asking if I was my guide's wife. Funny.

He explained to me the ritual of circumcision with the men. It is a rite of passage for them, to become men. It's performed once they're in puberty. Once completed, they must not cry or show weakness as it's shameful. For the first month they may only see men in their huts, no woman allowed. After, they can go outside, and they wear only black robing for 4-8 months, many with white painted faces. Looks very intimidating. Tanzanian Masai woman don't commonly go through circumcision nowadays.

He tried educating me on the different types of bananas growing, but I could only tell the difference between three. Lots of farming. Green vegetables, coffee beans, bananas, cabbage, sunflowers, and many more.

We walked up a hill to a trickle of water that the people used for a water source. A woman was there who had just finished collecting water into a 2 buckets. I asked if she could show me how to carry the water on my head like her and I'd help her carry it to her house. She was more than happy to show me. Man, it was heavy, even for the small bucket I had. The one she carried would have snapped my neck! I see now why they start these chores at such a young age, need to develop those muscles. The woman here are so strong. I can't believe how much they can carry. Bucket of water on their head, baby wrapped on their back, food bags in each hand... absolutely incredible. I tell you, you don't mess with these babes!

Once we got to her house, she invited me in to see. Her house was made of sticks, mud and manure and grass for the thatch roof. There was an outer wall where her son could sleep to guard the house, then an inner part where she had a 2 cubbies. One for her to sleep, the other for cookware. She had a fire pit used for cooking and warmth. The roof was black from the smoke and her house smelled strongly of smoke, all embedded in the thatch roof. There was 1 cow, 3 goats, a hen and her chicks that were inside as well. Another goat was outside the hut munching on grass with a calf. And what a beautiful view she had up on that hill! Could see all of Arusha.

I see why they spend most of their time outdoors. Such a small home. But, she had her necessities and was very happy. Said she even had a nephew that I could marry as she would love to have me in the family. Lol, sweet woman! After thanking her for inviting me to her home, we headed to my guide's parents house for a home cooked lunch. We had rice with mixed vegetables. It was sooo good! I ate as much as I could. Then he showed me his house, that I saw from the outside and peeked through the doorway. Only enter a man's house if you have the intention of being his wife! That is their culture.

Then, we walked back to my hostel. I packed my belongings for the next 5 days, and had a much needed shower. The roads are all dirt rough roads and with it being so dry, I was covered in dust. Dirt in my eyes, hair, mouth and all over my skin. The wind doesn't help any, makes it go up your nose. Really gross when blowing your nose.

The next morning, I met my safari group. I ended up going with a company called Lasi Tours. There were 4 other people, (1 from France, 2 from Poland, and 1 from USA) plus our cook and driver. We all booked with a subcontractor, who then placed us in a vehicle with people on the same itinerary. Our tour was changed around a bit, as one of the other tourists was a Rabi and couldn't travel on Saturdays. So we had to make sure he was where he needed to be on Thursday. So instead of going to the lake first, we drove all the way to the Serengeti National Park. Along the way we saw many of the Masai herding their cattle, and every time we stopped somewhere,we'd be swarmed by them trying to sell their crafts. Lots of bead, thread, wood, seed or cattle bone jewelry. They'd be knocking on the windows of the jeep, or pop their head in if a door was open, and follow you around if you braved it to walk outside. The were very nice, but persistent. You could also photograph them... for a price.

We stopped at the Ngorongoro Crater Park entrance for lunch. Many baboons hanging around, hoping for some leftovers. Also saw a couple of blue monkeys.

After our lunch, we continued a bumpy drive to the Serengeti. Many animals from there on. We saw giraffes feeding from the acacia trees and ostrich. Zebra, gazelle (both the thompson and grant gazelle), elephants, warthogs, wildebeests drinking at a waterhole, storks, topi antelope and buffalo. So wonderful. And at this time of year, everyone has babies! Our driver stopped frequently to allow us to watch them and take pictures. It was great!

We arrived at our campsite in the early evening, set up our tents, showered (again, very dusty. Dirt all over everything) and then had dinner. It was delicious! The make many kinds of vegetable stir fry that you put on rice. Yummm.

It was a perfectly clear night with almost a full moon. So beautiful. I could see many stars despite the brightness of the moon. The moon was so bright, I could see my shadow.

I woke up once during the night to the sound of hyenas yipping. They too had young, and they were quite chatty. Cute.

We had an early breakfast and hopped into the jeep for our game drive. I liked having the top open, I could stand up and see the wildlife better. The sunrise was colourful. And elephants, giraffe and jackals were active. We saw them all within 5 minutes of each other. Good start to the day. We saw all the same animals as the day before on the way in, but also some interesting birds. The lilac-breasted roller was my favorite bird, absolutely beautiful. But there were lovebirds, many species of herons and storks, swallows, starlings, cranes, pheasants, eagles, vultures, ibises and falcons. Many others I don't know the name of, as well.

We also saw a pride of lions, lying in the tall grass near a watering hole. 1 male, 4 cubs and 4 females. The cubs and 2 females were drinking the water when we arrived, then they walked to the other females and lied down. The cubs were really cute, one head butted the other, rubbed against his neck and collapsed half on top of him, to then slide down his side to the ground. Really sweet. A happy family.

I can't believe the amount of zebra we saw. So many, and they like to follow one another in a straight line.

The buffalo will stop what they're doing to stare at us. They were very intimidating. So muscular and powerful, and I wasn't sure if they were indecisive of whether to charge us or carry on with their business. Glad I wasn't on foot.

We passed a pond and saw numerous hippos. I loved them! They make funny grunting noises and when their back gets dry or too warm, they'd do a somersault in the water. 4 little feet up in the air, lol.

Also saw a mongoose scampering along the road, a lonely crocodile beached by a waterhole and 2 leopards lazing around up in the trees. Lovely spots on their coats.

The landscape was just as I always thought it would be. The tall yellow grass as far as the eye could see, occasional clusters of volcanic rocks with trees and bushes beside it for shade, sporadic waterholes and beautiful umbrella acacia trees. I was in heaven.

When we finished, we had a late lunch back at the camp, packed up and drove to Ngorongoro crater' rim, where we set up camp for the night. And who did I bump into? Pete from the airport. Our tour groups sat beside each other, so it gave the opportunity for us to catch up. We had a late dinner, eating after the sunset, and then I sat around a campfire for a little bit before heading to bed. I heard a commotion and went to see what was happening near the vehicles, and 2 elephants came up to the water tank, suck their trunks in and had a a few drinks. 3 zebra were behind them. Pretty cool. But I'm glad they turned around and went down the road rather than trample our tents :)

After breakfast, we drove down into the crater. It was huge! Amazing to think all this land with trees, waterholes, grass and a salt lake was created by rifts and volcanoes. The animals are free to come and go as they please, but many stay as there's plenty of food and water.

The animals here are quite used to people and vehicles, so they continued with their natural behaviour. It was nice to watch them. In the Serengeti, they were more skittish and would run off (with exception to the birds, lions and hippos). But here, they kept grazing, hunting, sleeping, giving birth and socializing. I loved to see their natural behaviour. Many spotted hyenas were lounging around in the dust, trying to keep cool and we also saw 2 black rhinos! They can be rare to see, so we were lucky to have seen them. More lions, eagles, zebra, wildebeests, buffalo, crowned cranes, warthogs and gazelles. We even spotted a golden jackal resting in the shade of a small boulder. He was cute.

Flamingos could be seen in the distance along the lake's shore, but we couldn't get close enough to them to see anything other than a pink lining along the water's edge. Made breathtaking scenery of the landscape though.

After cruising and observing for 5 hours, we drove out of the crater to the camp for lunch. Then we started our drive to Mosquito River where we stayed the night.

Despite the village's name, there weren't many mosquitoes, thank goodness! We all went for a walk along town to get some exercise but we didn't even get 10 meters before being hassled to buy something. Along both sides of the street are vendors and markets selling art and they're relentless. The worst are the people carrying merchandise on them. Jewelry, postcards and batiks mostly. Those sales people follow you, and will walk for hours trying to get you to buy something, and "no" is not in their vocabulary. They really play up the sympathy card as well, "Papa (or sista, brotha), support me, I have children who go hungry, why not you support me and give me money. I give you good price..." and so on. You can't help but want to help them, but it's the same line, all the time. See, they know what works, and what gets results. They even teach their children at an extremely young age, if you see a white person, ask them for money. They're rich! So, kids who are 5 years, know how to say "give me my money" in English. Some, might know "Hello" or "Bye" as well. I felt like a walking ATM machine!

So after a 45 minute walk that was only 10 minutes outside our campsite, my group went back inside to our refuge to shower and rest. The general public are wonderful and very hospitable... it's just the sales people and those who work in transportation. Argh!

That evening, after dinner, we had a cultural performance. Some locals sang, played local music and danced. It was so fun to see how fast they can shake their booties! On the last dance, they grabbed some of us in the audience to dance with. I had so much fun! Trying to imitate the lady with me. I couldn't move as fast as her, but I gave it my best shot and with lots of laughter, we all enjoyed ourselves.

The next morning we headed to Lake Manyara. Many monkeys here. Plenty of Baboons, Blue and Velvet monkeys. We kept making jokes about the velvet monkeys, we thought they should be named blue monkeys instead... on account of their bright blue scrotum! Ah, yes, the immaturity! But, it was funny.

Again babies everywhere, playing, pulling each others tail and then play fighting. Funny to see the kids wrestle around, somersaulting and flying through the trees, branch to branch, and when they get close to the alpha male, he'd give them a smack. Like telling them to knock it off or play someplace else. The adults would be grooming each other and yelling at the children when they got too close. Comical to watch. They're so much like humans...

The trees here were lovely. Saw some neat ones called finger trees that had an extremely unique appearance. Branches coming out from the ground and twisting in all sorts of directions, like a hand. Pretty cool.

We saw a couple elephants, impalas, a hyena, giraffes, hornbills, flamingos along the lake and my favorite... hippos! There was a hippo pool that had about 8 of them. I could hear them grunt and blow water up into the air like a whale. And across from the pool was another waterhole where 2 parents were sleeping with their 3 babies. Adorable! I could sit and watch them all day.

The rest of the clan left after the lake tour, so it was just the driver, Andrew, and myself. We went our for a couple beers in the evening with a cook from the camp. The 3 of us had a nice time, telling stories.

The next morning, we drove off to Tarangire National Park. I have never seen so many elephants in my life! There was hundreds! Well, ok, maybe not hundreds... but you know what I mean. Lots!! I loved watching them play in the dust or mud. Spraying themselves, splashing with their feet and rolling around in it.

We also saw water bucks, another lioness and her 3 cubs (I saw 22 lions all together), a leopard (my 3rd, very lucky), more zebra, impalas and gazelles, ostrich, a giraffe, a monitor lizard, mongoose and green pigeons up in the Baobab trees. Such huge trees.

The one thing I could have done without were the tik tik flies (aka Tsetse fly). Man they give a wicked bite! Like horseflies... but worse. They carry the disease human sleeping sickness, but luckily, it's not common to become infected with a couple hours of sightseeing. There were blue flags around the park as well, sprayed with insecticide to help control their numbers. There's so many here, in this park, due to all the elephant dung. Nice, right?

After the park, we drove the way back to Arusha town, where I checked back into my hostel and did laundry and showered. It felt so good to be clean again. Even though it's short lived.

This morning, while having my breakfast, I bumped into Ryann, my American friend I met before my safari, and we spent the afternoon together. A nice Israeli girl accompanied us as we took a dalla dalla (mini van taxi) to Moshi. We roamed around the town and had lunch before heading back to Arusha. Quiet night tonight. Just watching all the hustle and bustle on the street from the hostel roof.

Zanzibar

I finally get the comic joke of the man at the airport gate, saying "A bus! But I thought I paid for an airplane ticket!"

In Johannesburg, you wait in the airport terminal at your gate. When the boarding announcement is made, you show your boarding pass and passport then walk out the gate and onto a bus. Yup, that's right, a bus. This bus then drives you to the plane, which is parked out on the tarmac somewhere. Better that than a whole bunch of people wandering around all over, trying to find the plane. It was neat.

I had a flight connection in Dar Es Salaam, where I had a 2 hour wait. While waiting for my Tanzania passport to be processed, I met Pete, a nice Auzzie on holiday. He kept me company and bought me a water in the cafe while waiting for my flight. He had his Tanzania holiday the opposite to mine. He was heading to Arusha the next day to start his safari, where I did after a couple days in Zanzibar. We exchanged emails with hopes to bump into each other again. Sure was nice to chat with someone during the wait. Airports are so boring.

I checked into Haven Guesthouse in Stone Town. It was a simple budget hotel, but comfortable. The owner was very nice and could arrange any tour or activity for a great price. I planned for a city tour for the morning and then relaxed before heading off to bed.

In the morning, my guide picked me up and we started our walk through the labyrinth of the old Swahili town. There were many shops, mosques, markets and homes. Clothes hanging out the building windows, children chasing eachother laughing, men pulling carts of goods, motorcycles speeding around every turn while honking their horn, and the electronic amplifiers blasting the mosques islamic call to prayer multiple times a day. Lots of activity.

For the life of me, I couldn't orientate myself. My guide would say, "do you know where you are now?" and I didn't. He'd just laugh. It's actually a small town, but with the buildings looking the same on the outside and no street signs, I couldn't find landmarks to get my bearings. I would've been lost without him.

We stopped by the Anglican Church where the former slave market site was. It's a hotel now, but they still had the slave rooms in the basement for people to see. What an awful place. Small, dark, cold stone with posts and chains that imprisoned the people. The chains in here were copies of the origanals to demonstrate how the slaves had a chain around their neck, feet and hands. Then, they'd be brought out in the yard for trading or selling. So sad. You can see the origanal chain on the sculpture beside the church.

There's also a school there now. The children loved to have their picture taken, hold my hand, play with me and laugh at my funny accent when I tried to speak Swahili. Adorable kids.

After that, we strolled through the bustling market of spices (many, many spices. It is why the land has the name Spice Island. Lots of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, saffron, etc.), produce, meat/fish, t-shirts, mobile phones, baskets, scarves, kangas, shoes and other clothes. Along our way, we stopped at a little booth where my guide paid for more electricity by receiving a receipt number and continued to the House of Wonder museum. It had the history of the town, including the sultans, how they made their homes, got their food and how they cope with tourism today. I thought the way they make their homes were neat. They would use mangrove wood for support beams and coral they pick up along the shores. After burning the coral down to a powder, they could mix it with water to make a plaster or cement for building.

After, he took me to a camera store so I could buy a new underwater camera to replace my old one. Yay, glad it was cheaper here. By about CAD$100.

After he dropped me back at my hotel, I went for a walk along the beach. Such nice clear, warm, tropical water. But it only takes a few minutes before you're approached by someone trying to sell you something. Someone always has a boat, or is a tour guide, or has merchandise that they'll sell you at a "good price." Occasionally, you have someone who just wants to make friends with you and practice their english. That I don't mind, I like learning about their family and lives. They're such happy people that have so much love to share. Family is very important to them, and their neighbors are considered family as well. They really take care of one another. I see people giving money to their friends or neighbors if they asked. Their response would be, "they need it more than I do today, and I know they'd do it for me when I need it." I really liked that. Good community. I wish at home we were closer to our neighbors. It's fun to see all the laughing, sharing, the hugs, playfighting and hand holding. Men hold each others hands, as well as the woman. Homosexuality is forbidden here, so as a result, physical contact amongst the sexes are common. Like siblings, as there's no fear of misinterpretation.

While I was drying my wet sandy feet, a man named Steve from Kelowna, Canada introduced himself. We hit it off, went for a couple beers, had dinner and arranged to go snorkling together the next day.

A boat took Steve and I to Prison Island where we snorkled for about an hour. Saw many little tropical fish (including a huge pufferfish) and jellyfish. Nice to have jellies that aren't deadly. Just a tiny sting that lasts only a second or two.

The draw to the island are the tortoises. A little sanctuary with some pretty big turtles! We happened to be there at feeding time so they were quite active. Well... as active as a tortoise could be I imagine ;)

Their lifespan averages from 65 to 90 years, but they can live longer. This is why they're believed to be the longest lived of the animals. The males are bigger than the females and can weigh up to 250 kgs. Females up to 160 kgs. No wonder they move slow!

Once back from the island, we shared a taxi up the west side of the island to a beach in Kendwa. We had dinner on the beach, then swam in the warm sea. Spent about 3 hours there before taking our taxi back to Stone town. We didn't want to leave. It was so peaceful.

We checked out the Forodhani Gardens in the evening. This park becomes a night market. So many food venders with the catch of the day on skewers, lovely bbq meat, deep fried potatoes and freshly sqeezed fruit juice. Very busy place in the evening. Seems like half the town hangs out here for the night.

After that, Steve and I said our goodbyes, and now I'm off to bed to be refreshed for my flight to Kilimanjaro airport tomorrow morning.