Anne & Tom's Blog

December 10th: Leaving Wintery WI Today!

2020-12-30T11:23:00.000-06:00

Here we go! We're leaving snowy WI at 25 degrees and hope to arrive in Uganda with temperatures in the 80s. We're to picked up Wednesday by our tour company Explore-Uganda for our 5-day Gorilla/Chimp safari. I hope the silverback mountain gorillas are friendly! We arrive back to Kampala on the 16th, the same day Tom's mom arrives. Tom's sister and family arrive on the 17th.

My hope is to post some pictures and summary of our safari when we arrive back in Kampala.

It seems as though we've lucked out with the weather and timing of our departure as WI is expecting more snow tomorrow! We've been very lucky with weather this year (wedding). Take care everyone.

December 12th: Gorillas

2020-12-29T05:00:00.000-06:00

We are here and having a marvelous time! It feels as though we've been here for a week, but today is only our 4th day! We've seen so much and have had a blast. Our travels here were uneventful, except for some drunk Ukranians on our flight to Uganda. They passed out though once we started to fly. We arrived at 9 p.m.. Our driver, Steve, picked us up the next morning and we drove to Kampala to pick up our guide, Carol, and paid for the rest of our trek. Kampala is a city of 4 million and is crazy-congested with traffic. Drivers are scary! Anyway, we drove 10 or so hours to Bwindi National Forest where we stayed for 2 nights in a tent camp. The forest was beautiful with low mountains and lots of foliage. On our second day we set off to view the gorillas. There are 3 groups, and luckily our guide signed us up for the closest one, which has about a 30-45 min. walk. It took a little longer than expected as one of the 6 others in our group was very out of shape. Anyway, we treked up farm land and only at the very end entered into the impenetrable forest. We walked about 50 yards and found the silverback grazing away on morning glory vines. We stood about 10 feet away from him,but he could've cared less that we were there! We spent about an hour watching the 18 members of the group, including some adorable baby gorillas and 2 adolescents, which seemed to playing King of the Tree. The other noticeable characteristic was how rank they smelled!

December 12th: Community Walk

2020-12-28T10:11:00.000-06:00

When we returned to camp we had the pleasure of going on a community walk through the valley. We visited a progressive women's basket shop, where money goes to the local school and health care for the village. Then we visited the traditional healer, who was dressed in goat skins and showed us his herbs. He was very entertaining and showed us an herb that the villagers use that is like Viagra and a similar herb for women that is so powerful that if a woman's husband is out of town when she takes the herb she is sure to sleep with another man! Next we went to the banana distillery, where they make banana juice, wine, and gin. It's a fairly involved process with ripening the fruit, stomping on it, and allowing it ferment. Finally, we visited the pygmies, who only in the past 20 years or so left the forest and caves where they used to live to live with the neighboring community. They are extremely private people who don't like others to see where they live. So they were waiting for us along a path where they sang some songs for us and danced. I actually did a little dance with them, but Tom, always feeling like big bird on the dance floor bowed out, but managed to record the event on video. We then shopped a little with them. We felt like royalty as it was just our guide, tour leader and Tom and I.

As a result of the community walk and spending time with Carol and Steve we've learned a lot about the culture here. For example, the valleys in southwest Uganda are covered with banana trees and tea bushes. We passed some tea fields on our walk and came across a woman picking the tea. It is very tedious work, all hand picked and only young leaves with a blossom in the middle are suitable for picking. A day's work for tea pickers is 50 shillings or $.03! Hard work in the hot Ugandan sun. Later we learned from out tour guide that over half of the population here live under the poverty rate, which is $2 a month. It's very humbling to learn this and realize what privilege we have...

December 14th: Chimps

2020-12-27T10:29:00.000-06:00

After leaving Bwindi Impenetrable Forest we made our way north to Queen Elizabeth National Park. About 6-7 hours of the trip (the entire way) were what we would consider 4x4 roads. Nevertheless it was still relaxing as we watched for animals. We saw an animal of antelope-variety, a lone male elephant, a baboon, and a hornbill, which is a bird Tom was pretty excited about. But mostly I spent my time peeled on the branches of the fig trees, trying to find a tree lion. Apparently at around 11:00 am they climb into the trees to seek shade and relief from the Savanna sun.

We arrived at the Jacana Lodge which sits on the edge of lake in a forest. In the distance sits a volcano. The lodge and banda (cottage) where we slept was beautiful and probably the nicest place I've ever stayed. We were treated on our second night there to the sounds of chimps across the lake and a visiting hippo at the edge of the lake right underneath our window. I scared it away with all my excitement, though.

We visited the chimps in the national park, nestled in the trees of a gorge (I've forgotten my notes and don't have the name). The gorge was created by a river and had lots of vegetation within it, but savanna grasslands up top. Our guide described the permanent and visiting residents of the gorge; one of the latter being the hippos who walk into the gorge during the day to wade in the river and escape the heat. As we hiked down into the gorge we criss-crossed the hippo trail, which was very cool. Anyway, it took only about 20 minutes to locate the chimps. Our guide explained how to track them, the obvious being by sound and the not so obvious being by fresh pod shells and droppings on the ground, as well as knuckle prints on the ground, created as they move from area to area. The chimps were amazing to watch because we were underneath them and could observe them well. We spent awhile watching Brutis, the 2nd male in charge who put on a good show for us with cries and stomping on the tree. We observed some adolescents playing a mother with her baby, and strangely an adolescent male chimp having sex with his mother. Our guide explained that incest with a group this small and isolated was common, but it was still strange to see! I believe this group was of about 17 chimps. He explained that in areas with several groups, it is typical for a corridor to develop where chimp groups come together to meet, or they just ambush another group and take some of the others. The most exhilarating part of viewing the monkeys was when the head monkey started to charge Tom! He came toward us screaming and shaking the bushes around him, but our guide quickly de-escalated the situation.

December 16-17th: Ihla Arrives

2020-12-26T10:50:00.000-06:00

Ihla arrived safely last night, and we spent a relaxing day in Entebbe visiting the botanical gardens.

December 18-19th: Wicklands Arrive & Jinja

2020-12-25T23:37:00.000-06:00

Greetings! The Wicklands arrived late last night. Ihla and I were fast asleep, but Tom was nice enough to meet them at the airport and take them back to our hotel. We woke up on the morning of Dec. 18th and had breakfast at the hotel. Unfortunately Tammy and Tyler's luggage didn't make it with them, as a result of missing and having to reschedule their flight. We left at about 11 a.m. with our driver Amis. Originally Tom and Dave were going to drive and we were going to do without a driver, but it only took them 45 minutes or so of being a passenger to realize how lucky we were to have a driver! We were driving from Entebbe to Jinja and needed to drive through Kampala. In the 20 years since Ihla has lived here the population of Uganda has tripled, but they haven't expanded their roads! We needed to drive through the Capital city of 4 million - right through the city center where most of the roads were two-lane! We stopped on Kampala Boulevard to try and exchange US dollars or traveler's checks. All banks have long, long lines and tellers don't use computers to calculate exchanges or do any transactions. They use tablets with about 2 carbon copy papers in order to provide receipts. Travelers checks aren't as readily accepted here as we assumed, so I needed to go to 3 banks in order to get some Ugandan shillings. Dave and Ihla were just trying to get money off their debit cards. In all, we stopped for over an hour to try and get $$, and the Wicklands were unsuccessful at getting any (we later realized that going to the ATMs were the fastest way to get shillings). The air in Kampala is thick with diesel fumes and all of us were feeling a little queasy by the time we departed (this of course didn't stop Tammy from buying a new pair of shoes to make up for her lost luggage!).

We arrived in Jinja about 3-4 hours after we started and it's probably 60-70 miles from where we started. Ihla treated us to two nights at the KingFisher Lodge, owned by Hans Fisher and his Ugandan wife Angelina. Of course Ihla knows them as they lived in Arua for some time when she and John lived here. We met them briefly on our last night there. The Lodge over looks the Victoria Nile and we could walk down to the river and watch the fisherman. Tilapia and Nile perch are predominantly the fish caught in the river. We watched two teenage boys bring up a tilapia they had just caught and sell it to the lodge. That was to be our dinner that night!

The next day we went to Bujagali Falls (forgive the political nature of the website - great pixs though). Tamara paid two boys 5,000 shillings (About $3) each to go down the falls with Jerry cans. They are about class 5 rapids! Later that afternoon we played cards, swam and relaxed.

December 20th-23rd: Goli & Arua

2020-12-24T10:35:00.000-06:00

On the morning of Dec. 20th we woke up at 4:30 a.m. (that is 7:30 p.m. CST the day before!) to prepare for our 5:00 a.m. departure. We were committed to getting through Kampala prior to morning traffic. We succeeded and are finally traveling in rural Uganda by 7:00 a.m. We encountered some really bad roads, so bad that dirt lanes lined both side of the road where the vehicles prefer to drive, in order to avoid the mega-pot holes. In spots where the pot holes weren't so bad, but the road still looks like swiss cheese, we drove around the pot holes. Anyway about 1/2 way through our 10 hour journey to Goli we hit roads which were re-tarmacked about 2 years ago and it was smooth sailing! We passed some refuge huts in several areas where people have been displaced from the Lord's Resistance Army. These people have been displaced from Gulu, a Ugandan town near the Sudan border. The LRA would kidnap young girls and sell them into the sex trade. Boys would be kidnapped into the army. Food is trucked in by the U.N. because it is rather arid in this region, unlike the more lush southern part of Uganda.

We arrive in Goli at about 5:00 p.m. We are visiting Ihla's friends, Peter and Gertrude, and their four children, David John, Joy, Hogla, and Dathan. Ihla used to work with Gertrude, teaching young children. Peter works for the Church of Uganda and is the Director of Programming and Development for the Diocese. This area of the country is beautiful and the river that sits on the bottom of the nearby valley borders Uganda and Congo. We stay in the Diocese guest house, which are lovely accommodations and join Peter and Gertrude and family for tea, dinner and breakfast with some traditional African foods like enya and porridge. We were also treated to some real coffee here, as Ugandans typically drink Nescafe. Gertrude knows how much Ihla likes her coffee!

We leave Goli on Dec. 21st after meeting Peter's mom, sisters, and other relatives. We also get a chance to check out a cooking hut. The straw ceiling was covered with black soot. The stove was made out of clay and stood about a foot above the ground. On one side they used wood and the other, charcoal for their cooking. Meat and other food items hung from the ceiling to dry and smoke.

Our drive to Arua took a little over an hour and again, great roads! We stayed at a guest house at the diocese are were treated to a gracious welcome. Ihla is truly loved by many in Arua. About 10 people greeted us and we were formally greeted by the Bishop in his office. We then headed over to the guest house where about 5 women, from the women's group, all wearing the same dress, greeted us. A few hours later after a generous lunch and a quick trip to town to run errands, Reverend Manoa (again an old friend of Ihla's) and about 6 women and a couple of other people had a prayer ceremony at John's (Tom's dad's) grave. It was very heartfelt, as many people had gone down to the grave earlier in the day to decorate it. The grass around the grave was hand cut, and the grave stone was lined with plumeria flowers strung together. Flowers were also scattered in the middle of the grave, along with eucalyptus leaves. It was very pretty. All the Ugandans spoke on behalf of all the good John, Ihla, and their friend GAD Beletti did for the community (Gad died the year prior to John). They told stories and sang songs. Ihla spoke about her gratitude for the community when she and John lived there and how much they helped here.

We visited a Christian college the morning of Dec. 22 and the facility is nothing like you’d find in the US. Students sit in wood benches or those old school desks from when we were young students. There is a blackboard and that is it. I think a lot of the primary and secondary schools don’t even have chairs and desks for students. If you saw these buildings you’d think they were old warehouses or farm buildings. But the people here are proud of them because that is all they’ve got. Later we visited the hospital, which was started by missionaries. I asked Ihla if she thought it was comparable to a hospital in the US from the 1930’s – she thought no, from before, except for the fact that they now have IVs, needles, penicillin, which we didn’t have back then. The wards have beds grouped, so its an open room, open windows to the outside. Families are expected to care for the patients in all ways except for the actual remedy. So, they are expected to feed them, bathe them, make sure their clothes and bedding are clean. The nurses, however, are responsible for open wounds, etc. It’s heartbreaking to consider.

The morning of the 24th we went to church at the new cathedral. The service was supposed to start at 8:30 a.m., but I believe it started at 9:30 a.m. (African time...). Ihla was asked to address the group of about 400 people; she did a great job. Shortly after that we did a little shopping, had lunch, and then went back to the market for more shopping. Our goal was to have a skirt and shirt made for us (Tammy, Jessica, and Dave had things made as well.). The market was amazing. The corridors were about 4 -5 feet wide. Litter laid on the dirt floor; ventilation was poor. On our walk to the textile row, I briefly thought about the chaos that would ensue if a fire were to start. It's like walking in a maze with limited entrances and exits. The textile row was very interesting. Each cubicle had many bolts of fabric from mostly Congo and Nigeria, but also from Uganda. We picked out fabric at 5,00o-10,000 shillings ($3-6) and spent 6000 shillings ($4) for labor to make the garment. I ended up getting two skirts made and am sporting one right now.

Our stay in Arua was chalked full of visiting with Ihla's friends. We had guests or went over to others' houses for tea all the time; from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Ihla truly is appreciated. There is more to tell, but my time and money are running out!

December 24-26th: Murchison Falls

2020-12-23T11:30:00.000-06:00

We arrived at Paraa Lodge in Murchinson National Park today. It's gorgeous with views looking out over the lower Nile river before it runs into Lake Albert. On our way to the lodge we saw elephants, giraffes, and ground hornbills. We arrived in time for a sumptuous lunch, a performance by the Nebi children's choir, and then read and relaxed. Late afternoon the Wicklands went for a game drive, Ihla journaled, and Tom and I went on a nature walk in celebration of my birthday. We saw a school of hippos and a few birds, but mostly it was nice just to get out and walk. That night after dinner we were treated to a troupe of African dancers.

On the 25th, we celebrated Christmas with a 3 hour boat ride up the Nile toward Murchison Falls. We saw about 100 hippos, a bench full of crocodiles, cape buffalo, wart hogs, jackson heartabeast, monitor lizards, elephants, baboons, and 20 species of birds. Probably the most exciting were the monitor lizards who were excavating for crocodile eggs. Two of them started duking it out and we watched a minute of frenzied lizard fighting! The afternoon included more relaxing, followed by dinner, and two dance troupes. They were really amazing to watch. Do they know how to jirate and shake their bootie. It was also interesting to see the similarities between then and a Native American pow-wow.

On the 26th, we left the lodge and drove to the top of Murchison Falls. From there we could also see the Ohuru Falls. It was beautiful and we got soaked.

I really, really wish I had more time to talk, but I don't have time!!! Much Love!

December 27th: Tanzania Here We Come!

2020-12-22T22:12:00.000-06:00

We left the Golf View Inn in Entebbe at 10:00 a.m. and headed over to the airport for our flight to Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania. Our travel was uneventful, except for the agitation I felt while watching 5 Muslim women in our flight in full berkas. These are the black outfits where every part of the body is covered except for the eyes. Some women were even wearing gloves with temperatures in the 80s. These five women were escorted by one man, and I hope they weren't his wives. Perhaps they were sisters, a mother, an aunt. Apparently Muslim women need a male escort where ever they go. The ones without gloves had beautiful henna designs on their hands.

When we arrived in Tanzania we were surprised to learn that the entry visa was $100 per person. This created a bit of a flurry, especially with the Wicklands as they have 5 people in their family. The immigration folks told us that they recently increased the price to reflect what the U.S. charges Tanzanians to enter our country. I was a little dubious, but low and behold, my recent research did show that they pay $130! This is a month's salary for some Tanzanians. Anyway, we sucked it up and moved along.

The Kia Lodge, where we stayed for the night, was very close to the airport (10 minute drive) and very nice! The bandas (huts) were lovely and the grounds resembled those you'd find at a spa. There were many bushes with purple, red, orange, yellow, and white flowers, and were a smattering of cacti and succulent. We lounged by the pool that afternoon with our newest travel companion, Gail, who lives with Ihla up in Estes Park. My first observation looking around the pool were that there were a lot of Americans there. In Uganda, I can only remember meeting one other American. The second thing I noticed after ordering a beer was Tanzania was substantially more expensive then Uganda! More for the economy...

December 28th: Ngorongoro Crater

2020-12-21T22:49:00.000-06:00

We made our way to Ngorongoro Crater on wonderfully paved roads. I've never been so obsessed with roads! We stopped for a look out over Lake Manyara shortly after driving under hundreds of yellow billed storks The lake was gorgeous. On our drive up to the crater we began seeing many Maasai people and ended up learning quite a bit about them as one of our drivers, Steve, was Maasai. We passed a boma (compound of sorts) where a man lived with his 15 wives and more than 100 children. Apparently its all connected to the cows (and we thought cows were special in Wisconsin!). The more cows you have, the more wives you need to mile the cows. Cows are their life and a main source of nutrients for the. No, its not the mean, but a mixture of cow's milk and cow's blood! And remember, people, refrigeration isn't a part of that scrumptious recipe! Marriages are arranged when children are three, or at least for a man's first wife. It was interesting to hear Steve say that you have to buy a wife (with a dowry of 10 cows and goats and who know what else), like you buy merchandise. He asked Tom how much he paid for me and in typical Tom-fashion he said that I paid for him!

Anyway, we got to the rim of the crater and it was absolutely beautiful. The crater is very large with a lake and we could barely see the animals. They looked more like specks. At first I though we weren't going to see any animals because we couldn't see them from the rim, but as we headed down into the crater we ran across a heard of elephants pulling leaves off acacia trees. They were quite interesting to watch. Once we got to the floor of the crater there were thousands and thousands of animals, including buffalo, antelopes, zebras, ostriches, wart hogs, hyenas, lions, etc. I saw my first flamingo (there were thousands) as well as many, many species of birds. It was incredible. We drove around for several hours looking for the elusive cheetah and leopard, but to no avail. We headed up a steep one way dirt road, as the sun was lowering, to the crater rim and to the Wildlife Lodge, where we stayed. Every room in the lodge overlooked the crater and the bar, restaurant and patio offered spectacular views. That night Tom and I were awakened to the loud munching of a water buffalo directly on the other side glass window. What a great day!

December 29th: The Serengeti

2020-12-20T11:27:00.000-06:00

We drove further north and west into the Serengeti today. We drove and drove and drove looking for animals and saw many. The drive coming off the crater rim down the flank of the volcano was breath-taking, as we drove along grassy hills and mountains, watching Maasai bomas, zebras, and lots of giraffes. Imagine driving down a road and having to stop, not to let dear cross, but 25 giraffes! They are so large, but very graceful. We also saw them run, which appears to be in slow motion.

As we worked our way to the savanna we began to see more wildebeest, gazelles, and lions. We saw hundreds of thousands of antelope and wildebeest on the plain. It made me think that the U.S. plains probably looked similar 300-400 years ago with buffalo and antelope. Pity. We saw about a dozen lions. There pretty hard to see when they are laying down flat on their sides. The grass is about as high as their bodies. But we saw males, females, and the hint of a cub. We saw elephants, more birds, a mozambique spitting cobra, but sill the leopard and cheetah evaded us. We stayed at Lobo Lodge in the far northern part of the park, about 30 minutes from Kenya. This lodge was situated in between rock outcroppings. It was very Frank Lloyd Wright-ish with the rocks and trees incorporated into the lodge. Some rocks actually served as walls to the common areas.

December 30th: Serengeti - Day 2

2020-12-18T11:54:00.000-06:00

We woke up early this morning for a game drive around Lobo Lodge. We headed out before the sunrise, but the light of dawn was in the ski. This was one of our favorite drives because we were alone on the Serengeti and it was very peaceful. Our goal to find a cheetah and leopard. Our attempts were thwarted, however, we did see some lions lounging around on some rocks. What a great way to start the day. We returned to the lodge for a buffet breakfast and headed out to Seronera Lodge. We actually saw a cheetah! Our driver spotted it lying down. When it heard us stop, it sat up and ran away from us, but to the side of the road. We had a great view of it. I scrambled to get my camera and stood up to get a shot of it out of the sun roof and it bolted across the road quickly and gracefully. I think I got a picture of its hindquarters because our camera is so slow to turn on. It ran about 50ft to a bush and laid there, watching us to make sure we weren't going to follow him. Our other car (our group of 9 is big enough by now that we take up 2 cars) joined us and we watched him through the binoculars hoping that we could see more action, but he was enjoying relaxing in the shade.

We drove around looking for a leopard, but no results in this area. Lobo Lodge provided a boxed lunch for us, so he headed over to the park headquarters, which had a nice sitting area with a trailed walk around the place, including signs and information. While eating we were frequently visited by beautiful birds, hyraxes, and mongoose. And on our walk around the headquarters we say a beautiful, bright green, slender snake called a Green Mamba.

By the time we arrived to Seronera (3:00 p.m.) I was not feeling well. I was on my second day of intestinal "discomfort" and needed a rest. However, upon our arrival we heard news of a leopard sighting in the area, so Tammy and her kids went for a look and saw it! Shortly after they returned everyone (sans myself) went out again at 5:00 p.m. and saw it as well, but not as clearly as it was high in an acacia tree with its kill! I enjoyed staying back at the room, taking a nap and reading. I decided to stop skirting the issue and took some medication to help the situation. Dinner was lovely as usual, but I left a bit early due to my intestinal issues, which apparently after I left were the most interesting topic of conversation they could think of for the evening!

December 31st: Mawe ninga Tented Lodge

2020-12-17T12:47:00.000-06:00

We left Seronera for the Mawe ninga Tented Lodge outside of Tarangire Park. On our way out we came across a rock outcropping with 9 cubs lounging around. Our driver informed us that their mothers were nearby and would never leave the cubs unattended. We watched them for about 20 minutes and headed out. It was a long day of driving and car problems. Ihla, Tom and I were in the small Land Rover and the front, right shock broke. We three piled into the other Land Rover which was a tight fit, but we were all one big happy family. We were about 15 minutes away from Ngorongoro rim and made our way to Gibb's Coffee Farm, which was a wonderful place. The grounds reminded me of Kia Lodge with very well maintained gardens; lots of variety too. They also had many rows of vegetable gardens. After a delicious lunch made from things they grow, Tammy and I walked through their vegetable garden and tried identifying herbs and vegetables. It was fun! Tom, of course, befriended a gentlemen that was carving on some wood on a patio off the main building. His name was Charles. He was carving a Makonde sculpture, which Tom really likes. So after lunch all of us, including Charles, piled into that one Land Rover and went to his wood carving shop. Tyler was a good sport sitting on the floor of the vehicle and Tamera, Dave, Tom and Katrina squeezed into a 3-seat bench in the back of the car. We were pleased with the carved items and prices at Charles's shop. Tom bought his Makonde and I purchased a shadow box and an oblong serving bowl for ourselves. We also purchased some gifts. Tammy and Dave and Ihla also purchased things. I think we made Charles's week or month!

The remainder of the ride went quick and I was very happy to see the tent camp. It was along Lake Manyara. The tent bandas were beautiful. Seeing as it was New Year's Even, the tent camp treated us to Maasai dancers and champagne. It was their traditional courtship dance, where the men and women sing, but the men prove themselves as a worthy mate by how high they can jump. They were dressed in full regalia...

January 1st: Tarangire Park

2019-01-26T13:12:00.000-06:00

We're home in one week! I can't believe 3 weeks have gone by... I also found out that 130 people died in Nairobi yesterday due to rioting related to the presidential elections. I don't think we are too worried, even though Tammy and the girls fly to Nairobi tomorrow and Dave, Tyler, Tom and I will take a bus there on Jan. 5th in order to fly home.

We left at 8:00 a.m. for Tarangire Park. There was a nice Pavilion at the entrance paid for by the U.S. There weren't a ton of animals to see in the park as they had migrated outside the park. But that's OK because the terrain was beautiful and different than the Serengeti. It was a little hillier and had higher grass (hard to see the cats) and more bushes and trees. Perhaps it was hillier because we mostly stayed by the Tarangire River. We did see quite a few small dik-diks, some elephants, giraffes, and birds.

We returned to relax a the tent camp. Our decks off the tent bandas looked out over Lake Manyara, which was about 1 kilometer away. In between the tents and the lake was grass, which brought around zebras and wildebeest. It was lovely listening to the palm trees in the wind. They made a sound sort of like rain hitting a roof.

That afternoon we went on a nature walk to the lake. It was lovely. The grass was about 8 inches high and grew sparser as we got closer to the lake. About 50 yards from the shore the grass disappeared completely. The water rises regularly so the "shore" consisted of crumbly, dried mud of sorts. It smelled fishy and salty. The lake is about 3-4 meters deep. We saw plovers, pelicans, and flamingos. There were hoards of birds. I could have stayed at the tent camp for another week. Very relaxing.

January 2nd: Mt. Meru, Day 1

2019-01-25T13:25:00.000-06:00

We left for Arusha/Mt. Meru this morning at 7:00 a.m. The drive went quickly. Arusha is a very clean, nice city. I think I could live there! We went back to the Serengeti Select (headquarters) office, paid, changed our bags and clothes out, and said our good-byes to Ihla, Gail, Tammy, Jessica, and Katrina. It took about an hour for Dave, Tyler, Tom and I to get to the first gate of the park. We said our good-byes to Pascal (our other driver). We were picked up by Christian Missionary Tour Company, and they drove us 17k to the second gate. We ate our boxed lunch, registered and headed out. Our group consisted of the 4 of us, a park ranger (with a gun), our guide, Sini, asst. guide/cook, Christopher, and 7 porters, who carried our bags, food, and cooking essentials.

As usual, I jumped out of the starting gate a little too quick and got my butt kicked by the altitude and the high sun. We went through a short meadow which had cape buffalo, water buck, and wild pigs. It was very pretty. We then hiked up a short head wall where I got my first schooling. The ranger then helped me set a pace which was real slow. It was torture initially, but then I realized that it worked with my overheating. Tom also took the small backpack and I got the fanny pack, plus he gave me a wet handkerchief, which worked wonders. Anyway, the hike was scenic, but hot and steep. I really appreciated any breaks we had, as well as shade.

We arrived to the huts after 3 hours and a 3,000 ft. elevation gain. The accommodations were really nice with 8 small rooms in each hut and 2 bunk beds in each room. We were called for tea and had popcorn (YUMMY!) and cookies at 5:00 p.m. I chilled and took a brief nap and then we had a very big dinner, which included vegetable soup, potatoes, cabbage, chicken with a veggie sauce, and mangoes for dessert. WOW. This is unlike any backpacking experience I've ever had.

The stars were beautiful tonight. Also, the bathroom facilities are great! Tomorrow is supposed to be the steepest day, but only about 4 hours of hiking.

January 3rd: Mt. Meru, Day 2

2019-01-24T13:50:00.000-06:00

We left for the saddle hut at 8:00 a.m. and were given lunch to eat at 1/2 way. Well, we arrived at halfway at 10:00 a.m.. I really enjoyed the hiking this day because it was cool. We were pretty much under the canopy of trees and the early morning temperatures were very pleasant. There were a lot of stairs (wood slats) that made the steep uphills easier. We started in an old growth forest with tall trees which were spaced for easy viewing into the forest. The halfway point offered great views of the crater, lava cone, and peak. As we neared the saddle hut the tall trees were replaced by 6-7 foot shrubs. We saw some cool birds, including the turaco.

The saddle hut wasn't as nice as the first hut, as there was garbage and left over building materials in between the huts. I did some more chilling that afternoon while Tom, Dave, and Tyler hiked up to Little Meru. When they returned we had tea in the dining area which was attached to the huts, unlike the dining hall located with the first huts. We shared this small room, which was a tight squeeze with a great German couple, Torsten and Kathleen. Torsten is a economic consultant to the African Union and Kathleen is currently spending 3 months teaching at a Tanzanian primary school. We also met Hugo from Holland and the 7 of us played 3 hands of a charged game of 7 up/7 down... We tried to go to bed early as tomorrow is summit day and our wake up is at 4:00 a.m.

January 4th: Mt. Meru, Day 3 & Summit Day!

2019-01-23T14:06:00.000-06:00

Summit Day! Our alarm was supposed to go off at 4:00 a.m., but Dave was the first to wake at 4:20 a.m. That's OK, because we pretty much had everything ready to go, and I think I wore my hiking clothes to bed that night (it was cold!). Our breakfast of biscuits (a.k.a. cookies) was at 4:30 a.m. and we departed at 5:00 a.m. The start of our trek was relatively flat and since it was pitch black we used our flashlights. Dawn was appearing on the horizon, so shortly thereafter we turned off our flashlights and used the dawn light and moon to guide us up the switchbacks. Bernard, our ranger, set a slow pace, and Dave, Tyler, and Christopher quickly passed us. Once above treeline and about 30-40 minutes of switchbacks we came to Rhino Point. After that we followed the ridge all the way up. It wasn't too steep, and we hiked on different materials, from what seemed to be a fine volcanic sand to larger stone/rubble rocks to rock outcroppings.

The view was spectacular on both sides. I loved the ash cone and am fascinated by it as it was something new to learn. It's a small cone located in the crater that is built up with eruptions. While looking to the left we could see the valley where we started, Kilimanjaro in the distance, and the Socialist Peak, which we were to summit. To the right we saw the city of Arusha, the long and steep slop of the volcano and distant mountains and volcanoes, including Ngorogoro.

We reached the summit about 40 minutes after Dave and Tyler. Tom was a doll and hiked with me the whole time. We hung out at the summit for about 1/2 an hour and headed down. Tom, I think, could have stayed for another hour or so, but it was 9:30 and since breakfast I only had a power bar and a box of juice and we didn't have any more food with us. The hike down was relatively uneventful except that my knee started to ache and I started to feel a little bit of a headache. I'm not sure if it was the altitude or absence of food in my stomach! We didn't arrive back to camp until about 1:00 p.m. and I was hungry! 3,000 ft up and then down!

About an 1 1/2 hours later we had soup and french toast and then we continued another 3,000 ft down to the first hut. My knee really started hurting on the last leg of the hike. We played cards with the Germans when we arrived. After dinner I promptly went to bed. Very, very tired.

January 5th: Mt. Meru, Day 4 & Nairobi

2019-01-22T14:27:00.000-06:00

We woke at 5:30 a.m., followed by breakfast at 6:00 a.m. Since we were taking the longer, forested road back, we needed to leave at 6:30 a.m. in order to make it down by 10:00 a.m. We said our good-byes to the porters and tipped them.

We started off and my legs and knee were screaming in pain with every step. Shortly, though, my muscles warmed up and I figured out how to change my stride to ensure that my hips absorbed the shock of going downhill instead of my knee. The views of the peak were spectacular as was the forest. We saw some wild pigs, buffalo, and a beautiful waterfall. At about 9:00 a.m. the rescue truck came by with the Germans (Torsten had bad knees as well) and our ranger and guide suggested we take it back, as they thought we still had 1.5 hours to go and would be late. I was all for it since my legs still hurt so much. The men with me would have been happy walking the rest of the way, but by some of the limping and winces of pain I saw later that day and the next, I'm thinking they too, or at least their muscles, enjoyed the ride back (hee, hee). The drive to the gate was relatively quick and Tom, Dave, and Tyler concluded that we could have finished the hike in 45 minutes, but I was grateful for the ride!

When we returned to the second gate Steve our safari driver from Serengeti Select was there to meet us. When we returned to the office we found out that things had not improved in Kenya, and in fact had worsened. 300 people had died and 100,000 people were displaced from their homes due to rioting and tribal conflict. We hemmed and hawed about whether to go and decided to go ahead and do so because we might be in Africa for another week trying to get new plane reservations. Looking back I wish we would have stayed in Arusha for another day, primarily just because of the ease in which we could have shopped and moved around.

We boarded our shuttle at 2:00 p.m. for Nairobi. Crossing the Tanzania/Kenya boarder was relatively easy. The landscape along the way was beautiful. Dry, red earth, occasional mountains, uncrowded roads. We arrived to our hotels around 8:00-8:30 p.m. Long day!

January 6-7th: Nairobi

2019-01-21T14:50:00.000-06:00

I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to move my legs when I got out of bed this morning. They were sooooooooo stiff. Tom and I had a nice breakfast at our hotel and sauntered over to the Fairview were Dave and Tyler were staying. We decided to try and go to the market after some deliberations regarding the safety of venturing out. This day turned out to be a fiasco for me, as I wore my Merrill's for the 2nd time ever and got 5 blisters due to our longer than expected walk. Our plan was to go through Uhuru Park, but it was closed due to the earlier riots. The perimeter of the park was lined with military personnel. As we got closer to the city market, we stopped to ask directions and a man enthusiastically walked us in the direction. The market was closed, however, so he took us to his shop instead. The shop was small and packed with crafts and goods for sale. There were several people in there showing items to me, even after I said I just wanted to look on my own. There was too much pressure, so I started to cry! We left and took a taxi back to the hotel. The good thing about the day is that my legs did feel better by the end of it.

We woke up on January 7th prepared to leave for Amsterdam. The plan was we were to take a 9:15 a.m. flight out of Nairobi, arrive in Amsterdam at about 4:00 p.m., stay overnight there, and then fly to the U.S. the morning of the 8th. We had a quick breakfast and headed out. At the airport Tom realized he didn't have his passport and thought it may have fallen out of his pocket when he paid for the taxi. So we called the hotel, since our taxi was contracted with them, and waited. Time was ticking with no new information, so I boarded the flight with all our luggage, and Tom stayed behind. He never heard from the hotel and took a taxi to the police station. When he explained the situation to the taxi driver on the way over the driver said that he knew some of the taxi drivers connected to the Fairview and that he'd be happy to call around. Well, while Tom filled out and submitted his police report for a lost passport the taxi driver got a hold of the driver from earlier in the morning and low and behold, he looked, and found the passport! So he dropped it off at the hotel, where Tom returned to hang out with Dave and Tyler. All three left for the airport later that day and Tom managed to get on the 11:15 p.m. flight that night with the Wicklands. The flight arrived into Amsterdam on the 8th, early enough that he was able to meet me for the 2nd leg of our journey back to the U.S.

While this was going on, I arrived in Amsterdam without problems and made my way to the historic American Hotel in downtown. I left all our big luggage in an airport locker and took an overnight bag of my essentials with me. When I arrived at the hotel a fax was waiting for me from Tom, informing me of his found passport and attempt to take the later flight out. Hopefully I would see him in the morning. I enjoyed a tasty steak dinner that night with my own company. It was a wonderful time to look out over the streets of Amsterdam and reminisce about a wonderful trip to Africa.

11 Days To Go!

2007-11-29T18:30:00.000-06:00

Our trip to Africa is only 11 days away, and I thought to myself, we should develop a blog! What a great opportunity to become a bit more techy and share our experience and photos with friends and family. Now we just need to make sure someone brings a laptop on this trip so we can load pictures and post writings. I'm sure there is some other tool out there other than a laptop that would be a lot lighter and more convenient. But alas, my non-tech-i-ness is showing.

Tom and I (or at least I am)are starting to think about what to bring. How few jeans can I get by with for a month? Yes, jeans is plural. I think Tom said he's only bringing one pair of pants. This is also a great excuse to go shopping for other things I "need."

OK. Blogging is weird. It feels a bit narcissistic. Talking about myself and making it sound interesting does not come easily to me.

I think I'll wait until I can talk about the animals and other family members... Love, Anne