Tanzania Day 2

Today we left Arusha and drove to Tarangire National Park, which is a 2 1/2 hour drive that took us nearly 4 hours between traffic, slow roads and some fascinating stops along the way to interact with Massai Tribe villagers.  We brought two clay water filters to the villagers so we stopped to give them to them and to explain how they work.  We walked right into the midst of the village and children and women surrounded us pretty quickly.   The villages are made up of small, round mud huts. The Massai herd goats and cows and they are nomadic tribes so they move around a lot.  After we left the village we drove on and stopped at the local Massai weekly market, where they come from all around to sell food products, and other wares.  That was quite an experience as we stood out in the crowd to say the least!  After we left there we drove almost another two hours, passing many Massai villages along the way.  The Massai wear very distinctive clothing, the men in particular in red robes and carrying long sticks.  We passed countless herds of goats and cows, which are their primary occupation.

We then arrived at Tarangire National Park and had our picnic lunch up on a platform that is built around a huge Baobab tree, where the baboons apparently like to spend the night!  Then we did a long game drive through the park and saw many animals.  We saw lots of smaller animals like impala (look like deer), warthogs, wildebeest, a variety of birds including vultures and hawks.  Then we saw zebra, giraffes and elephants and towards the end of our drive a whole family of baboons, with a number of very young babies cavorting around.  The roads in the park are very rutted and bumpy and in places, we were driving through mud holes! I was in awe of our driver's skill at managing to keep the truck upright and not capsize with us all in it!  It was quite hot today, in the low 90s, although intermittently overcast so we were not burning up too much.  In the late afternoon we stopped for a rest and looked to the east and saw huge rain clouds.  As we were heading out the rains came, although not nearly as torrential as yesterday.  We then drove to our digs on the shore of Burunge Lake where we are staying in a tented camp.  The tents are quite nice, complete with solar powered lights and private bathrooms in each tent.  The  paths to the tents are pitch dark after sunset so we have to have very strong flashlights to find our way back to our tent.  Tomorrow is a very long day.  We have to eat breakfast at 6:15 and then leave at 7:15 for a long day of game viewing.  Check Facebook for pics of Massai people and various animals and our tent!

Tanzania. - Arusha

Tanzania Day 1 - Arusha

We arrived at our lodge late last night, nearly 11 PM.  The main road from the airport was a paved two lane road so the drive was a bit slow getting to Arusha. Then the van turned off the main road and proceeded down the road to the lodge which is a dirt road, pockmarked and bumpy!  The locals refer to riding that road as having an African massage!  We were greeted at the lodge and shown to our hut, which is very nice.  We have a huge mosquito net in the room covering both beds completely.  Malaria is a problem here so everywhere you go there are nets in the rooms.  We had a lovely, very late dinner at the lodge, and at midnight they served champagne and everyone celebrated the New Year.  We heard fireworks going not too far away.  We were so tired by then that after the ritual toast we went to bed!  

We had an interesting day today seeing Arusha, one of the largest cities in Tanzania.  We started out visiting a local entrepreneurial family who make clay water filters.  We got a tour of the facility and learned how they make the filters out of clay and our group donated money to purchase three filters for one of the villages we are going to visit later this week. Water purification is a big issue here.  The water is very contaminated and both typhus and cholera are quite common especially in rural villages where access to bottled water is very limited.  These filters can save the rural poor a lot of money and provide much safer drinking water than they otherwise have access to.  After we left there we visited a non-profit organization called Shanga, which employs disabled people in making crafts out of recycled bottles, glass, aluminum and paper.  The products they make are gorgeous and very creative and imaginative.  We learned some Swahili words and learned how to sign them with the deaf workers.  We also had a very traditional African lunch which was delicious.    Then we went to the home of our guide, Boniface, where there was a neighborhood New Year's Day party going on.  All his neighbors gathered at his house with lots of food and many, many children, so we enjoyed meeting them and spending some time ringing in the New Year with them.  Unfortunately, although technically we should be beyond the rainy season here, the weather hasn't figured out the calendar yet, and we had torrential rain all afternoon.  The party at Boniface's home was supposed to be outside, but because of the heavy rain we all had to squeeze inside the house, which made for a very crowded scene!  We left there about 3:30 and headed back to the lodge.  We've got the rest of the day free.  The combination of the rain and the holiday/Sunday means there isn't much our guide can come up with for us to do.  Most of us are fine with a little downtime, especially those of us who just arrived and are still dealing with jet lag.  Tomorrow we will be leaving here quite early, so having this evening just to relax is fine with us.  Notwithstanding the rain, it is nice and warm here, the flowers are beautiful and I'm enjoying being in summer clothes!  The poverty of this country is similar to what we saw in India.  Many many people live in huts, and even the more modern homes are very rudimentary by first world standards.   And the city of Arusha is very much a developing world city, nothing like cities in more industrial societies.  The contrast between the standard of living to which we are accustomed in the US and what we see here is striking.

That's it for today.   Off to the lodge bar for cocktail hour pretty soon.   I'm looking forward to my G&T!  The app on my iPad for this blog is not working well at all and will not allow me to upload photos.  Check Facebook for pics!

Tanazania Safari 2017

I'll be traveling in Tanzania on a safari to see the wild game from December 30 to January 12.  Whenever I have the internet, I'll post pics and stories of our adventures!  Looking forward to a unique experience seeing the large animals in their natural habitat!