June 23, 2011
As has become routine on this trip, I am patiently waiting out a long travel period. This waiting is different though because this is my journey home. Yesterday, I took a 10 ½ hour bus ride (bouncing in the very last row) from Arusha to Dar es Salaam. I had a nice evening with the family I met through friends. Then this morning I tip-toed out of their home at 5am to catch my flight to Johannesburg. As I write I sit in an airport café waiting for my flight in seven hours to Accra, Ghana. I must saw waiting in a modern airport is easy compared to waiting at the bus stations or riding the buses and trains I did. Later, if I’m lucky I’ll get my connection to Washington, DC. I’ll stopover there to see friends before joining up with my sister in California for the 4th of July. So excited!
I had entertained the idea of stopping over in South Africa, but gave up that idea before even reaching Africa. But I also decided to skip Ghana this go-round. I heard rave reviews from the travelers I met who went, but I just don’t have it in me. Maybe if I had an enthusiastic travel buddy to motivate me and share the burden of figuring buses, booking hotels and dealing with touts I would have stayed. On my own though, I am exhausted and the thought of continuing to figure these things (on top of my incredibly shrinking wallet) is just too much. I know I couldn’t appreciate the country fully. So another trip…
Though I am ready to go home and am so excited to see my family and friends, I am also nervous about how I’ll readjust. I am expecting certain culture shocks – such as the prices. My meal is more than $3 – Outrageous!!! I’m sure I’ll experience shocks I’m not even imagining. After reconnecting with friends and family am I going to get restless and want to be on the road again? It has been so amazing to have the constant stimulation of seeing new places and meeting new people all the time. How will I feel when I don’t have that? And to leave my spoiled months of no employment to go back to work (given I find a job!). So I find myself waiting once again, waiting to see my reaction to being home.
Home has taken on a new meaning for me at this moment since I have no apartment, house or resident city. Home is instead where my roots have been and where my love lies. Home is America. Home is my family and friends.
Enough of that! Let me tell you about my amazing few days in the Arusha area. After relaxing with my friends in Dar for a couple of days I felt rested enough to catch the bus to Arusha. I found the driving more organized and safer than in Asia. I had heard such horror stories and there are bad companies, but this driver was good and the others on the road weren’t the daredevils of Asia.
I sat next to a very patient boy (maybe 12) for the 11 hour bus ride. As you might remember from earlier blogs, I have been constantly amazed at how quiet and still babies and children have been. No iPods and video games to make them crave constant outside stimulation. The scenery varied during the trip, but was just stunning. Many areas were lush and flat with mountains rising here and there. Something about the landscape and horizon just made Tanzania seem massive. The land just seems more expansive and impressively large than anywhere I’ve been. There is also something very pure and old about the land. Maybe my mind thought of the oldness because Africa is where humans originated. In the cultivated areas you mostly see maize and sunflowers.
Anyway, I arrived in the dark (the sun sets around 6pm) and had several very pushy touts vying for my business. One even grabbed my arm at which I told him sternly not to touch me. I have become much more direct and assertive on this trip rather than being the quiet polite Oklahoman. I knew the walk to my hotel wasn’t too far and I just didn’t want to give any of these men my business so I hit the road. I figured on a busy street with car lights and such I’d be safe. And my book had not warned about this area. I was safe and arrived at Arusha Backpackers Hotel and settled into my dorm.
The next day I wandered the city and hunted for a safari company. The city center is more pleasant to walk in than Dar as it’s cleaner and more spacious. It also seemed more prosperous. I found a couple of western style cafes that were nice for a tea. Touts were obnoxious in the tourist areas. They were mostly trying to get you to sign up for a safari. Signing up for an expensive safari with a guy you meet on the street – I don’t think so!
I ended up getting a company recommended to me by another travel so I went to their office. I only wanted a one day safari to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Since I was heading home I decided to splurge for the last few days to make sure I ended with a bang. But a small bang – a one day safari and a Maasai village tour. Most people do at least a three day safari and one group of three was already in the bush and I could join them that night and see the crater (Ngorongoro) the next day. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the company to come down as much as I’d like. They first quoted $200 and came down to $180. One of the guys working there, Thabit, called in his friend from another company who had a group of four I could join (the more people the cheaper the price). He again started at $200, but I ended up with $160. That included a hotel room, three meals, transport and the safari. Not bad I think! The receptionist at the hotel in Arusha seemed to think I got a good deal and the guy at the first company later told me I did too.
Once I decided to go on the safari it was a rush to the hotel to get a daladala (local transport van) to the camp where I’d join the group. The daladala was a bit cramped, though only two others were in my row. The row in front had four. After two hours I arrived just in time for dinner. Three of the other travelers were siblings from Germany and the fourth is from London. I felt lucky to have been grouped with them because they are all really cool.
The Safari. Amazing. Abundance. Travelers had told me if I was only doing one day to do Ngorongoro because it has all the animals (except the giraffe) and there are tons of them. I was not misled. By the end of our five hours I had seen 12 lions, 2 cheetahs, 3 rhinos, hippos, 4 elephants, 2 jackals and countless wildebeests, zebras, hyenas, Grant gazelles, Thompson gazelles, flamingos, herons, warthogs, cranes and buffalo. Of course there were others, but you get the idea.
This crater was made two million years ago when a meteor crushed the land down 1600 meters. It created a great fishbowl for the animals. It’s about 20 kilometers wide and the edges of it can easily be seen as you don’t find the dense forest of the rim down below. Maasai live in the upper parts. Actually, Thabit said his sister lived there and farmed and was killed by a crocodile!
The lions were all lazy and sleepy so there was no hunting. We even watched three buffalo walk into the path of three sleeping lions with no dramatic result. The lions watched them, but made no move. One of the buffalos stopped and watched them from about 50 feet away – maybe to make sure his/her two friends got away – or to gauge their intentions. That was the closest I came to seeing a hunt! :) I must admit the lions looked a little puny compared to the dominant male Bengal tiger I saw in India. That thing had a massive muscular build. These lions had massive paws, but the body was trimmer. The lions seemed to enjoy the attention of the safari goers because all 12 (in different places) were near the road and didn’t bat an eye at the trucks. The cheetahs on the other hand preferred isolation and were very hard to spot with the naked eye (fortunately, we had binoculars!).
The predators could be found hanging out somewhat close to the prey, but I guess the prey get a sense of if they need to flee. I thought they would stay completely away.
The rhinos also seemed to like more distance and our first sighting of was a pair in tall grasses way in the distance. We were debating if we could really claim we could see rhinos after that. Later the same mother/child pair had come out of the grasses and was much closer. Now I have no qualms about saying I’ve seen a wild rhino.
We saw small birds, but others were massive like the Secretary, Crown Crane, Corey Bustard, stork and black-headed heron. Africa does produce large species!!! The zebras were really fun. Their face patterns looked painted on – ready for war. They were sweet resting their heads on their friends’ backs.
The wildebeest are funny creatures. Their body seems so skinny in proportion to their large head and neck. The delicate gazelles seem out of place in this land of hefty, strong animals. Their legs look so vulnerable that they would break at the smallest misstep. I must be wrong though because here they are in abundance.
After driving the open landscape of the crater we headed to once edge near the salt lake. Here there were trees that sheltered the elephants. They are so much more wrinkled than the Asian elephants. For some reason they cannot be tamed like the Asian ones so no elephant river swims for me.
My guide, Eric, used to be a porter for Kilimanjaro climbs. This seemed to be common among tour guides. He was able to stop that really difficult work, which gave him health problems, because an American woman, a soldier in Iraq, funded his college training for becoming a safari guide. Cool story!
The day after the safari I started doing my souvenir shopping and visited the UN courts for the Rwandan genocide. It took three attempts to get in and I still didn’t see a trial. I had forgotten my passport when I first went so was turned away. Then I came at 1:30, but it was still lunch. I got in, but the two trials in progress were closed sessions. Frequently, for the safety of witnesses the judge won’t allow the press or public in. However, the status can go from closed to open quickly and without notice. A group of us waited at one trial for an hour and I just decided to give up at that point. I saw a few judges rushing around, but that’s the extent of it. The trials are supposed to continue for another year or two. They have brought a lot of wealth to Arusha and created many jobs so I think the city will suffer when the trials end.
To get around Arusha I either walked or took a daladala. The first one I took the guy tried to short me 100 shilling (1500ts = $1) and I had to bang on the van as it pulled away to get it back. He gave me a knowing smile and gave me the coin. The city is frequently without power and finding decent internet was difficult and expensive.
The next day a roommate and I headed with our Maasai guide to his village, Ilkurot (25 km north of Arusha). In this village there is a combination of cattle herding, sand mining and maize cultivation. We took two daladalas to get there. At one point I had a goat under my seat! He was nonplused.
Our cultural tourism tour began with a very long walk into the grazing fields. Some Maasai were heading out into the fields too. We were told to ask if we took pictures of the people (if we were nearby) because some will want money and others think they lose part of themselves. From the top of one hill we could see a forest area in a valley. Jeremia said that the Maasai warriors (their main job being protecting cattle) take the really large herds there. If a family has a smaller herd they graze where we were. The warriors will also take the cattle to other places if necessary for grazing. So now the warriors are nomadic, but the rest of the villagers are sedentary. You can see in the pictures that the grass is very dry now. Jeremia said at this time of year it should be green, but they didn’t get enough rain. So tribe members are scouting out where to move the cattle to.
All Maasai men have obligatory warrior service. In this village, circumcisions happen every seven years beginning in October. The young men who are circumcised replace the now retiring warriors. Usually the young men are about 16 years old. They used to be about 20, but for some reason that changed. They serve as warriors for seven years – longest compulsory service I’ve heard of!
The circumcision ceremony includes singing to protect the young man and in the evening he is taken into the bush. The next morning he is circumcised.
Jeremia told us that the hill we were standing on is being mined for sand. It isn’t really sand, but a light porous rock that is used to make concrete. For 14 years the Maasai, mostly women, here have been mining and selling the materials. We walked into the tunnels and I was shocked to see there was hardly any lighting. We had a couple of flashlights, but for the workers there was only one candle every several meters.
We took a few pictures down below and, like everyone in the village, they were anxious to see the pictures in replay. I also finally got a photo of the tire shoes. I also saw them in Myanmar, but apparently their cheap and frequently used here. I mostly saw Maasai wearing them. I also saw a lot of used clothes for sale in the markets. Maybe some of the clothes I donated when I put all my stuff in storage made it to their markets! There were new clothes too, but it was amusing seeing people walking around with Gap and Old Navy clothes.
We walked to the other side of the highway where the village is. We met with a midwife and craftswomen. We also got to go inside a boma (the round home). The outer ring inside the boma is for cattle and goats at night. It’s made of wood and can be built in one day with the help of 30 men. The man of the family (he might not live there because they can have several wives) asked men for help and provides them with lunch. After the men construct the wooden portion the women spend the next couple of weeks doing the rest, including applying cow dung mud for the walls. You can see they also include glass bottles to make little windows – clever. The center piece is the stove, but now many household have a separate kitchen building.
Lastly, we met the chief. You can see my picture with him seated. The men here no longer wear the traditional clothing and I found it amusing he was wearing an old baseball cap. He was born in1934 (they usually don’t know the exact date, they just remember what eventually gets written on their ID cards) and became chief in 1953. His main role is to settle disputes and that might involve fines in cattle. He eventually married nine women, seven of whom are still living. The chief is chosen by a council. He was utterly appalled that I am 35 and motherless. He told me I was old! :) He said he doesn’t like education because the kids that get it lose respect for their parents. They no longer obey them and won’t help watch the cattle, etc.
We hitchhiked back part of the way and then on the outskirts of Arusha caught a daladala. I had arranged for Thabit to take me to another village in the afternoon, but it was late by the time I was ready to go so instead we walked around town. He took me to the souvenir market and I did more shopping. I told him some of the prices I had negotiated for things on the street and he was surprised at the deals I was getting. He said somehow I’m not getting mzungu (white person) prices. He mentioned the souvenirs, safari and a taxi ride. I guess after nine months I’m finally good at negotiating! Mostly, it’s clear I’ll wake away and not budge after a point. I am very pleased to know I’ve been getting good deals recently. I still don’t like negotiating, but it’s not quite as miserable when you learn how to do it.
The weird thing about Tanzania is that traveling here is expensive (for a developing nation), but the souvenirs are very cheap. At least something is!
That brings me to the 10 ½ hour bus ride back to Dar and the beginning of my blog.
June 24, 2011
It turns out the Accra à D.C. fight Star Alliance put me on doesn’t run on Thursday’s so I have a day in Accra. Everyone I’ve met in Ghana has been very friendly and helpful. I look forward to coming back one day. My buffet breakfast this morning consisted of eggs, French fries, hot dogs (‘sausage”), bean (a tip of the hat to the British), toast and fruit. Tanzanians also seemed to French fries and “sausage.” I have enjoyed all the fries. Wonder what lunch will be…. getting hungry…
June 26, 2011
The “welcome back” from the customs officer was to a ring to my ears, especially after being stuck in Accra, Ghana for two nights and days. I arrived this morning at my friend’s home in DC. Already the new, modern, wealthy and clean buildings, streets and signs are a shock. I wanted to reach out to touch them to make sure they were real. I also had the shock of paying $30 for SuperShuttle – more than my daily budget in SE Asia.
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