August 10
Another relaxing day. We returned to the beach we visited yesterday and hung out for several hours at an outpost of a local hotel where we were treated to towels, lounge chairs, palapas, food and drinks. It was like being in Puerto Vallarta again. Before we arrived there, we took a detour to a large coral cave over 3 km in length. The guide who appeared there, a local entrepreneur, informed us that after slavery was abolished later in the 19th century, slave traders went underground, literally, and secretly kept their human merchandise in the cave. Melinda found out after the tour was over that pythons inhabit it. If she’d known beforehand, she perhaps would have skipped this excursion. Upon our return from the beach, we went back to our favorite curio shop and bought a 2 centuries-old (give or take a few decades) African bronze sculpture. Just what the house needs. We had dinner at a very good Italian restaurant and crashed early.
August 11
Sadly, this is our last full day. In keeping with yesterday’s spring vacation theme, we went a little north of the city to a hotel where we could use the pool, spa, and restaurants. After lounging poolside and swimming, we ate a delicious lunch, then headed for the spa. Mel and Spencer had hot oil hair treatments, Mel had a henna pattern applied to her hand, Lily had a full body massage, and Peter underwent a leg/foot massage. As we exited, we felt relaxed and refreshed. After watching a mindless but amusing DVD back at our room, we went to dinner at a new Italian restaurant that required them sending a man to guide us through the alleys, most of which are only wide enough for foot, cycle, and push-cart traffic, twisting and turning to take us there and bring us home. Otherwise, we would never have found it.
August 12
I write this in the morning as the rest of the family sleeps. At 3 a.m. we were awakened by a major disturbance in the streets below our windows. An obviously very angry mob was moving back and forth shouting and arguing and we heard what could have been slaps and punches. The ruckus lasted for at least 45 minutes and was quite unsettling. Then, just a couple of hours later, the mullahs calling the faithful to prayer at the beginning of Ramadan, started to blare from loudspeakers all over Stone Town. The cacophony lasted another 45 minutes. Now, at 7:30, all is peaceful except for the pouring rain, the first of the entire trip. I hope it is not the beginning a typhoon of which I have been unaware. We depart at 6 p.m. for what will be a very long trip back to Bainbridge with 3 separate flights and one long layover. We plan to get in a little last-minute shopping for souvenirs and gifts.
Undoubtedly, this has been the most unusual and active vacation we’ve ever taken. It has left us with many vivid images and memories and we have had experiences unlike any previously. We will miss Africa and hope to return some day. Perhaps on the next trip we can spend more time providing service as there are great needs here. Despite the incredible hardship and poverty most Africans endure, they are mostly friendly, good-natured, optimistic, industrious, and easy going. We can’t recall any unpleasant encounters and some have gone far to help us.
Here are a few observations about East Africa:
There are almost no fat Africans.
Very few Africans smoke.
The pecking order on the roads is cars first, then motorbikes, then bicycles, and lastly pedestrians.
Many Africans refer to the US as “Obamaland” which is proclaimed with a big smile.
Tanzanians actually say “Hakuna matata” (the title of the song from The Lion King) which means, “No worries”, and they mean it.
Swahili sounds beautiful.
Some Africans like to use nicknames taken from the pages of Marvel Comics, like Spiderman.
They are not self-conscious.
The sides of the roads, including the actual pavement (or more likely, the dirt), are where much of life is lived.
School uniforms are ubiquitous and each school or town has its own color scheme.
It is not unusual for children to walk 3 hours each way to and from school.
Flush toilets are rare except where the tourists are to be found. The usual fixture is a hole in the ground.
There are almost no processed or fast foods. Vegetables are all organic and meat is hormone-free and free range, by necessity.
The median age in this part of Africa is 15. That fact is very obvious. There are very few old people.
Africans are communally oriented rather than individualistic.
As I end this blog, It is 8:40. The owner of the hotel informed me that the commotion in the streets last night was a mob confronting, and perhaps meting out justice to, 2 men who broke into a copy shop. Apparently, the police usually don’t show up for this sort of thing.
Our lives have been greatly enriched by this experience. For those of you who have read this blog, thank you. We hope you have enjoyed it.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Zanzibar
August 7
We packed up early in the morning and drove 2 hours to the Arusha airport. Before leaving Tarangire Park, we stopped to view our last elephants and took some group photos. At the airport, we said goodbye to our wonderful guides, Moses and Pascal, and our drivers, Prosper and M’Taki, to whom we had become very attached. They provided us with excellent service and much information about Africa and its animals, and helped us overcome a few problems. We flew to Zanzibar in a plane that contained not one African and the flight crew sounded French over the PA system. We were picked up at the airport and brought to the Zanzibar Palace Hotel, a stately old building with Arab influences, owned and managed by a Dutch couple. It is located in Stone Town, a place that dates to the early 19th century and was controlled by Arab sultans for many years. It was also a hub for the slave and spice trades. After our arrival, we dined at a Middle Eastern restaurant where we sat on the floor, barefoot, while we listened to a 4-piece band that played the local taraab music and covers of Bolero and Pachabel’s Canon. This was a great dining experience that featured spicy foods, unlike the previous tasty, though blander, Ugandan and Tanzanian ones.
August 8
This was a relatively quiet day spent going to the Zanzibar historical Museum, shopping, and exploring the labyrinthine streets (literally) of Stone Town, managing to get lost in the process several times. At the times we were most disoriented, a local would appear and guide us to our destination, for a tip of course. The town itself possesses a certain run-down charm, a combination of historical buildings in disrepair, mosques, shops that sell the most unusual merchandise, piles of garbage, and an assortment of people rivaling the bar scene in Star Wars, bordered by a white beach with azure water. John discovered a store unlike any I have seen before; it consisted of several rooms packed to the ceiling with mostly antique items from the past 3 centuries, many of them African. I have never seen a more cluttered space. Some of the objects being sold were ceremonial jade-handled daggers from Persia, hundreds of African masks and other carvings, antique padlocks that require 4 keys to open, and early 20th century tins, posters, and postcards from the US and Europe. Just when I thought I couldn’t see any more, the owner, a very knowledgeable south-Asian who could provide detailed and colorful histories of every object, took us across the street to a 3-story warehouse with even more stuff. We just barely scratched the surface. I plan to return to purchase at least one treasure to lug back home. That night we ate at a restaurant with the best Indian food we had ever had.
August 9
We set out mid-morning for a spice tour which consisted of a drive north, a guided tour of a demonstration spice plantation where we saw cinnamon, clove, and lychee nut trees, peppercorn and vanilla vines, and turmeric and cardamom plants, among many. Our guide had an assistant who quickly crafted baskets, hats, necklaces, and neckties out of palm fronds and gave them to us as we moved along. Unfortunately we will not be able to bring them home. After we learned all about spices, we were served an assortment of fruits such as Seville oranges, jackfruit, lychee, bananas, and grapefruit, then a lunch of vegetable stew, rice pilaou, and a salty fish as we sat on blankets on the ground. Our guide explained that the plantation is a community project of his village, the income from which pays for social services and to help out the more destitute villagers. Those in need of financial help present their cases to the whole village citizenry who then decide whether to provide the funds. After lunch, our driver took us to a pleasant beach where we swam in the Indian Ocean. We plan to return tomorrow for a longer stay. Once we returned to Stone Town, our friends departed for a different locale while we stayed on at the Zanzibar Palace. Mel and I ate a decadent dinner there after taking Spencer and Lily, a restaurant called Mercury’s, in honor of Freddie Mercury of the 70’s and ‘80’s band Queen, who was born here. The contrast between our more sedate and comfortable stay here and our more challenging travels that preceded it is quite apparent. We will be less apt to take comfort and convenience for granted, at least for a while.
We packed up early in the morning and drove 2 hours to the Arusha airport. Before leaving Tarangire Park, we stopped to view our last elephants and took some group photos. At the airport, we said goodbye to our wonderful guides, Moses and Pascal, and our drivers, Prosper and M’Taki, to whom we had become very attached. They provided us with excellent service and much information about Africa and its animals, and helped us overcome a few problems. We flew to Zanzibar in a plane that contained not one African and the flight crew sounded French over the PA system. We were picked up at the airport and brought to the Zanzibar Palace Hotel, a stately old building with Arab influences, owned and managed by a Dutch couple. It is located in Stone Town, a place that dates to the early 19th century and was controlled by Arab sultans for many years. It was also a hub for the slave and spice trades. After our arrival, we dined at a Middle Eastern restaurant where we sat on the floor, barefoot, while we listened to a 4-piece band that played the local taraab music and covers of Bolero and Pachabel’s Canon. This was a great dining experience that featured spicy foods, unlike the previous tasty, though blander, Ugandan and Tanzanian ones.
August 8
This was a relatively quiet day spent going to the Zanzibar historical Museum, shopping, and exploring the labyrinthine streets (literally) of Stone Town, managing to get lost in the process several times. At the times we were most disoriented, a local would appear and guide us to our destination, for a tip of course. The town itself possesses a certain run-down charm, a combination of historical buildings in disrepair, mosques, shops that sell the most unusual merchandise, piles of garbage, and an assortment of people rivaling the bar scene in Star Wars, bordered by a white beach with azure water. John discovered a store unlike any I have seen before; it consisted of several rooms packed to the ceiling with mostly antique items from the past 3 centuries, many of them African. I have never seen a more cluttered space. Some of the objects being sold were ceremonial jade-handled daggers from Persia, hundreds of African masks and other carvings, antique padlocks that require 4 keys to open, and early 20th century tins, posters, and postcards from the US and Europe. Just when I thought I couldn’t see any more, the owner, a very knowledgeable south-Asian who could provide detailed and colorful histories of every object, took us across the street to a 3-story warehouse with even more stuff. We just barely scratched the surface. I plan to return to purchase at least one treasure to lug back home. That night we ate at a restaurant with the best Indian food we had ever had.
August 9
We set out mid-morning for a spice tour which consisted of a drive north, a guided tour of a demonstration spice plantation where we saw cinnamon, clove, and lychee nut trees, peppercorn and vanilla vines, and turmeric and cardamom plants, among many. Our guide had an assistant who quickly crafted baskets, hats, necklaces, and neckties out of palm fronds and gave them to us as we moved along. Unfortunately we will not be able to bring them home. After we learned all about spices, we were served an assortment of fruits such as Seville oranges, jackfruit, lychee, bananas, and grapefruit, then a lunch of vegetable stew, rice pilaou, and a salty fish as we sat on blankets on the ground. Our guide explained that the plantation is a community project of his village, the income from which pays for social services and to help out the more destitute villagers. Those in need of financial help present their cases to the whole village citizenry who then decide whether to provide the funds. After lunch, our driver took us to a pleasant beach where we swam in the Indian Ocean. We plan to return tomorrow for a longer stay. Once we returned to Stone Town, our friends departed for a different locale while we stayed on at the Zanzibar Palace. Mel and I ate a decadent dinner there after taking Spencer and Lily, a restaurant called Mercury’s, in honor of Freddie Mercury of the 70’s and ‘80’s band Queen, who was born here. The contrast between our more sedate and comfortable stay here and our more challenging travels that preceded it is quite apparent. We will be less apt to take comfort and convenience for granted, at least for a while.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
More safari
We still don't have a good enough connection to the Internet so pictures won't be available until after we return. But here is the latest update.
August 3 & 4
These were 2 very pleasant days at the Country Lodge, a collection of duplex buildings. Our accommodations were quite comfortable and the service was unparalleled, perhaps because we were the only guests for part of the time. On the grounds was an organic garden that provided us with fresh produce at our meals. We became acquainted with the staff, especially Reggie, the owner/manager/chef. His culinary creations were the best we’ve had on the trip. He informed us that he had been to the US only once, 6 weeks in Washington State. On the first day, the Lucases met up with the rest of our party who were camping at Lake Manyara. That park contained lots of baboons and blue monkeys, hippos, storks, and pink flamingos. Unfortunately the flamingos were far from the road because the lake had receded, so we didn’t get a good view of them. On the 4th, we departed for the Tarangire Safari Lodge in the park of the same name, further to the east in Tanzania. It is perched on an escarpment overlooking a river and wide plains. The accommodations are tents with indoor plumbing and electricity, the latter for just part of the day. From our tent we can look down and see a herd of elephants that comes and goes, giraffes, and zebras. Velvet monkeys abound and cruise the lodge grounds. We will be here for 3 nights.
August 5
On this day we went on a safari in the morning and saw elephants going for a drink of water, many beautiful birds, giraffes, 4 lions, including a large male with full mane, and the usual assortment of wildebeest, impala and zebras. The lions were near a herd of wildebeest and one lioness, in particular, was crouched, seemingly to make a dash to take down a wildebeest. We waited for about half an hour for the chase to begin but eventually the lioness lay down to take a nap. As we drove a little further down the road, the reason for her reluctance to strike became apparent. There was a freshly-killed zebra, partly eaten, with vultures nearby awaiting their chance to feed on carrion. But they would have to wait until the lions returned to get the rest of their portions. By the time we returned to the lodge, I, Peter, had come down with a GI condition that sent me to bed for the rest of the day. That’s a pretty common occurrence for tourists in Africa.
August 6
John and Monte returned from an early morning safari and reported that they had seen 4 cheetahs take down a young wildebeest. Most of the rest of us quickly rallied and went to the site. We were pleased that the cheetahs were still on the scene, though they were taking post-prandial naps when we arrived. The corpse of the wildebeest was nearby and being picked apart by 2 jackals as the vultures crowded around waiting for their chance. Several times, the jackals chased them away. There were at least 10 safari vehicles parked near the cheetahs who eventually shook off their torpor and started walking around looking for a way to get past the humans. Then, suddenly, the 3 males took off in a full run and went between a couple of the vehicles that were parked close together. It happened so fast that we were unable to get it on video, a big disappointment. One lone female cheetah was left behind and sauntered off in a different direction. She eventually lay down and began mewing, just like Fluffy the housecat, to call her companions. After several minutes, they responded, and she got up to join them. In the afternoon the kids all went swimming in a very chilly pool but enjoyed themselves despite the shivers and blue lips. Velvet monkeys circled the pool as they splashed. As dusk approached, we did not need to climb into a Land Cruiser to see the animals; they came to us. As Melinda and I sipped cocktails (by that time I had mostly recovered from my brief illness), warthogs chomped on grass and walked across the patio, 2 elephants on the plain caterwauled, then briefly mated, and a very small owl landed at our feet. The lions started roaring in the early morning hours, awakening the whole lodge. At about 6 a.m., Ona looked out of her tent and saw a lioness just a few feet away but rather than being frightened, was delighted. Big cats certainly were the highlights of our 8 days of safari.
August 3 & 4
These were 2 very pleasant days at the Country Lodge, a collection of duplex buildings. Our accommodations were quite comfortable and the service was unparalleled, perhaps because we were the only guests for part of the time. On the grounds was an organic garden that provided us with fresh produce at our meals. We became acquainted with the staff, especially Reggie, the owner/manager/chef. His culinary creations were the best we’ve had on the trip. He informed us that he had been to the US only once, 6 weeks in Washington State. On the first day, the Lucases met up with the rest of our party who were camping at Lake Manyara. That park contained lots of baboons and blue monkeys, hippos, storks, and pink flamingos. Unfortunately the flamingos were far from the road because the lake had receded, so we didn’t get a good view of them. On the 4th, we departed for the Tarangire Safari Lodge in the park of the same name, further to the east in Tanzania. It is perched on an escarpment overlooking a river and wide plains. The accommodations are tents with indoor plumbing and electricity, the latter for just part of the day. From our tent we can look down and see a herd of elephants that comes and goes, giraffes, and zebras. Velvet monkeys abound and cruise the lodge grounds. We will be here for 3 nights.
August 5
On this day we went on a safari in the morning and saw elephants going for a drink of water, many beautiful birds, giraffes, 4 lions, including a large male with full mane, and the usual assortment of wildebeest, impala and zebras. The lions were near a herd of wildebeest and one lioness, in particular, was crouched, seemingly to make a dash to take down a wildebeest. We waited for about half an hour for the chase to begin but eventually the lioness lay down to take a nap. As we drove a little further down the road, the reason for her reluctance to strike became apparent. There was a freshly-killed zebra, partly eaten, with vultures nearby awaiting their chance to feed on carrion. But they would have to wait until the lions returned to get the rest of their portions. By the time we returned to the lodge, I, Peter, had come down with a GI condition that sent me to bed for the rest of the day. That’s a pretty common occurrence for tourists in Africa.
August 6
John and Monte returned from an early morning safari and reported that they had seen 4 cheetahs take down a young wildebeest. Most of the rest of us quickly rallied and went to the site. We were pleased that the cheetahs were still on the scene, though they were taking post-prandial naps when we arrived. The corpse of the wildebeest was nearby and being picked apart by 2 jackals as the vultures crowded around waiting for their chance. Several times, the jackals chased them away. There were at least 10 safari vehicles parked near the cheetahs who eventually shook off their torpor and started walking around looking for a way to get past the humans. Then, suddenly, the 3 males took off in a full run and went between a couple of the vehicles that were parked close together. It happened so fast that we were unable to get it on video, a big disappointment. One lone female cheetah was left behind and sauntered off in a different direction. She eventually lay down and began mewing, just like Fluffy the housecat, to call her companions. After several minutes, they responded, and she got up to join them. In the afternoon the kids all went swimming in a very chilly pool but enjoyed themselves despite the shivers and blue lips. Velvet monkeys circled the pool as they splashed. As dusk approached, we did not need to climb into a Land Cruiser to see the animals; they came to us. As Melinda and I sipped cocktails (by that time I had mostly recovered from my brief illness), warthogs chomped on grass and walked across the patio, 2 elephants on the plain caterwauled, then briefly mated, and a very small owl landed at our feet. The lions started roaring in the early morning hours, awakening the whole lodge. At about 6 a.m., Ona looked out of her tent and saw a lioness just a few feet away but rather than being frightened, was delighted. Big cats certainly were the highlights of our 8 days of safari.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Serengeti
July 29
This morning, John, Andrea and Spencer went on a chimpanzee trek and apparently got quite close to the chimps. The trek was 3 hours in duration and not particularly challenging. We all piled into Big Red at about 1:00 and set off for Kampala, another long adventure in bad roads, and arrived at 8:30 at the Kabira Country Club, an oasis with running water, electricity, and Internet. It was a welcome respite from the more primitive conditions elsewhere.
July 30
We flew from Entebbe across Lake Victoria to Mwanza, Tanzania, a 45-minute flight. In Mwanza, we rendezvoused with Monte, Ona, and Lukas, more friends from Bainbridge, who had just arrived from Amsterdam and were quite jetlagged. We piled into two Land Cruisers with our 4 drivers/guides led by Moses for another long drive to the Serengeti, stopping at a roadside outdoor market that in no way resembled a market in the developed world. It was chaotic and crowded but full of what we wanted to eat: large avocados and other fruits, peanuts, and fish, specifically Nile perch and talapia. When we arrived at the park gate to register, we were met by a troupe of baboons and many smaller monkeys. One of the latter touched Lily’s foot and another sneaked into one of cruisers and stole a banana. The kids were delighted by the simian encounters. On the drive from the western entrance to the central Serengeti we were amazed to view a wide assortment of animals (unfortunately at 50 mph) such as elephants, giraffes, various types of antelope, a hyena, Cape buffalo, zebras and an ostrich. After a few hours and after nightfall we finally arrived at our destination, a campground in the central Serengeti that we shared with about 30 other campers. An advance crew had set up a delightful camp with a large tent for eating that held a long table that was already set for dinner, and four smaller tents for sleeping. That night we were serenaded by a number of animals though we couldn’t identify most of them. We slept well.
July 31
Since we were awakened at an early hour by the noises created by the other campers, we decided to move to a private campground nearby. Before breaking camp, we went on our first safari and did a second after the tents and our belongings had been packed up and driven off. The safaris consisted of driving slowly with the roofs of the Land Cruisers popped off so we could have unobstructed views across the vast plains. The Serengeti is mostly grassland studded with over 100 species of acacia trees. There are many dirt roads crisscrossing the park and lots of tour groups. The cruisers cluster where interesting animals are discovered and the drivers radio their finds to the others. The sheer abundance of animals is staggering and they barely notice us. Therefore, there are many animals in close proximity to the roads. Some of the highlights of today’s excursions include 4 lounging lions, 15-20 feet away. One was lying on her back. The similarity of this pose to that of their dog, Sammy, led to strong desires by the Lucases to go over to stroke her belly. Fortunately, these urges were resisted. Other finds included a leopard stretched out on a log, a cheetah, at least 8 more lions, herds of elephants and zebras, hundreds of Thompson’s gazelles, impalas, topis, Hartebeests, wildebeests, giraffes, hippos, and crocodiles. John and Andrea, who have been on several previous trips to this region, informed us that it was their most fruitful experience with big cats ever. We settled in for cocktails at dusk and once it got dark we were treated to the wide African sky filled with stars. A perfect ending to the day.
August 1
Today’s safari was quite fruitful though relatively lacking in big cats. The highlights were being surrounded by a journey (a herd) of giraffes, including juveniles, and going to a stagnant body of the filthiest water imaginable, made that way by over a hundred hippos who live in and excrete into it. We were treated to the sight of a male and female kissing and necking for a long time but their attempts to consummate the relationship were half-hearted. A few large crocodiles lay motionless nearby on the shore. We all took the afternoon off and hung out at the campsite. Happy hour started early and we enjoyed another delicious dinner.
August 2
We broke camp at about 6:30 a.m. in order to travel to N’Goro N’Goro crater with stops in-between. Just after dawn broke, we came upon a large pride of lions consisting of females and 8 cubs near the road. Some even crossed the road nonchalantly right in front of us. Our guide, Pascal, suggested that they were using the parked vehicles to hide from some nearby gazelles that they planned to eventually make a meal of. We lingered for almost half an hour before moving on. Melinda, Peter, and Lily proceeded for 5 hours over more dusty and bumpy roads, stopping at the crater rim at 7000 feet to look out over the vast expanse of the crater itself, purportedly containing one of the most diverse and dense populations of mega-fauna in Africa. But the Lucases found a wonderful hotel nearby with which Melinda, longing for running water and electricity, was extremely pleased. The staff couldn’t be nicer and the food is excellent. We just hung out for the afternoon and evening enjoying the fruits of civilization. The rest of our party, including Spencer, plan to camp for 2 more days.
This morning, John, Andrea and Spencer went on a chimpanzee trek and apparently got quite close to the chimps. The trek was 3 hours in duration and not particularly challenging. We all piled into Big Red at about 1:00 and set off for Kampala, another long adventure in bad roads, and arrived at 8:30 at the Kabira Country Club, an oasis with running water, electricity, and Internet. It was a welcome respite from the more primitive conditions elsewhere.
July 30
We flew from Entebbe across Lake Victoria to Mwanza, Tanzania, a 45-minute flight. In Mwanza, we rendezvoused with Monte, Ona, and Lukas, more friends from Bainbridge, who had just arrived from Amsterdam and were quite jetlagged. We piled into two Land Cruisers with our 4 drivers/guides led by Moses for another long drive to the Serengeti, stopping at a roadside outdoor market that in no way resembled a market in the developed world. It was chaotic and crowded but full of what we wanted to eat: large avocados and other fruits, peanuts, and fish, specifically Nile perch and talapia. When we arrived at the park gate to register, we were met by a troupe of baboons and many smaller monkeys. One of the latter touched Lily’s foot and another sneaked into one of cruisers and stole a banana. The kids were delighted by the simian encounters. On the drive from the western entrance to the central Serengeti we were amazed to view a wide assortment of animals (unfortunately at 50 mph) such as elephants, giraffes, various types of antelope, a hyena, Cape buffalo, zebras and an ostrich. After a few hours and after nightfall we finally arrived at our destination, a campground in the central Serengeti that we shared with about 30 other campers. An advance crew had set up a delightful camp with a large tent for eating that held a long table that was already set for dinner, and four smaller tents for sleeping. That night we were serenaded by a number of animals though we couldn’t identify most of them. We slept well.
July 31
Since we were awakened at an early hour by the noises created by the other campers, we decided to move to a private campground nearby. Before breaking camp, we went on our first safari and did a second after the tents and our belongings had been packed up and driven off. The safaris consisted of driving slowly with the roofs of the Land Cruisers popped off so we could have unobstructed views across the vast plains. The Serengeti is mostly grassland studded with over 100 species of acacia trees. There are many dirt roads crisscrossing the park and lots of tour groups. The cruisers cluster where interesting animals are discovered and the drivers radio their finds to the others. The sheer abundance of animals is staggering and they barely notice us. Therefore, there are many animals in close proximity to the roads. Some of the highlights of today’s excursions include 4 lounging lions, 15-20 feet away. One was lying on her back. The similarity of this pose to that of their dog, Sammy, led to strong desires by the Lucases to go over to stroke her belly. Fortunately, these urges were resisted. Other finds included a leopard stretched out on a log, a cheetah, at least 8 more lions, herds of elephants and zebras, hundreds of Thompson’s gazelles, impalas, topis, Hartebeests, wildebeests, giraffes, hippos, and crocodiles. John and Andrea, who have been on several previous trips to this region, informed us that it was their most fruitful experience with big cats ever. We settled in for cocktails at dusk and once it got dark we were treated to the wide African sky filled with stars. A perfect ending to the day.
August 1
Today’s safari was quite fruitful though relatively lacking in big cats. The highlights were being surrounded by a journey (a herd) of giraffes, including juveniles, and going to a stagnant body of the filthiest water imaginable, made that way by over a hundred hippos who live in and excrete into it. We were treated to the sight of a male and female kissing and necking for a long time but their attempts to consummate the relationship were half-hearted. A few large crocodiles lay motionless nearby on the shore. We all took the afternoon off and hung out at the campsite. Happy hour started early and we enjoyed another delicious dinner.
August 2
We broke camp at about 6:30 a.m. in order to travel to N’Goro N’Goro crater with stops in-between. Just after dawn broke, we came upon a large pride of lions consisting of females and 8 cubs near the road. Some even crossed the road nonchalantly right in front of us. Our guide, Pascal, suggested that they were using the parked vehicles to hide from some nearby gazelles that they planned to eventually make a meal of. We lingered for almost half an hour before moving on. Melinda, Peter, and Lily proceeded for 5 hours over more dusty and bumpy roads, stopping at the crater rim at 7000 feet to look out over the vast expanse of the crater itself, purportedly containing one of the most diverse and dense populations of mega-fauna in Africa. But the Lucases found a wonderful hotel nearby with which Melinda, longing for running water and electricity, was extremely pleased. The staff couldn’t be nicer and the food is excellent. We just hung out for the afternoon and evening enjoying the fruits of civilization. The rest of our party, including Spencer, plan to camp for 2 more days.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
My apologies to the reader(s) of this blog but we have been without Internet access for the past week. So here’s the batch. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to add pictures unless I can’t sleep again tonight. We will again be incommunicado for a long time in the Serengeti which starts tomorrow.
Friday, July 23
My task to purchase school supplies with Charity was successful but even the bookstore searched us when we entered. Afterwards, Spencer and I met up with the rest of the party at the wildlife organization where John had a morning meeting. There we loaded up the safari vehicle that Natalie dubbed “Big Red”, a stretch Land Cruiser. This required bailing several suitcases to the roof after wrapping them in plastic bags to keep off the dust that was to come. After a delicious Ugandan meal, we set off at around 2 p.m. on a drive to our hotel. We expected to reach it about sunset but, alas, that was not to be the case.
Although we were tired from residual jetlag, Mel and I couldn’t sleep on the drive because there was just too much to see including bikes piled high with bananas and firewood, trucks with flatbeds loaded with more people than anyone could imagine possible, many goats, tall bags of charcoal, sheets covered with millet drying, and women sitting on the ground with a few oranges or tomatoes in small piles for sale. The road is the center of activity in this part of Africa and is crowded with people seemingly oblivious to the racing cars and trucks passing them by with only inches to spare. The road was under construction for long stretches of dust and potholes. Our driver, Jacob, was very skilled and calm as he maneuvered Big Red over and through all kinds of very challenging terrain. His ultimate test came at about 7 p.m., hours from our destination. Along a stretch of torn up road, in the dark, we came to a standstill behind a long line of unmoving vehicles. After a while, along with some others, we set out into the brush alongside the road to circumvent the obstacle, a truck lying on its side. Eventually we got stuck and it appeared to many of us that we were going to spend the night in the bush. The whole situation was very chaotic and several in our party could have used some Xanax. Jacob was eventually able put the car into 4-wheel drive and find a way back onto the road that had cleared out while we were stuck offroad. The next 10 miles were harrowing due to the dark, lack of pavement, clouds of dust that reduced visibility to only a few feet, and traffic barreling at us from the other direction. We came upon a town, still 2 hours short of the hotel we had reserved, and stopped for gas and a bathroom break. Luckily there was a hotel there and we decided that it was much too dangerous to proceed to our destination, After the womenfolk checked out the hotel’s plumbing, we decided that it would do in a pinch. It took us a while to wind down over dinner and Nile beer. John told us there is an expression for the road experience, TIA, “this is Africa”, and refers to the regularity that the native folk have to deal with frequent, unexpected and difficult situations for which there will be no official help. They are resourceful people indeed.
July 24
More travel today in Big Red through green valleys and up winding mountain roads where the steep hillsides are terraced for farming. The staple crop is bananas which is the major starch for the locals. We spotted a variety of birds, some quite large, from the car. We expected to reach our destination, the Gorilla Mountain Lodge, at about 6 p.m. but were pleasantly surprised at 2:30 to see a sign indicating that it was only 20 km away, That was one hell of a bumpy 20 km, especially the last kilometer which again taxed Jacob’s driving skills. But it was worth it. It’s a beautiful cluster of buildings on a hillside directly across from the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, our destination tomorrow to see the mountain gorillas. One of the staff took all of us, except Melinda who wanted to chill, on a local hike for almost 2 hours. The purpose was to meet the locals. We were swarmed by kids who were especially intrigued by Lily, perhaps the first white child they had ever seen in person. This region is incredibly impoverished. The clothes are literally rags and caked with dirt, as is their skin. We bought some handicrafts from the village ladies. We hiked down to a cave, being careful not to twist our ankles in the elephant tracks, where we were met by a pigmy family. I don’t think they live there now but their recent ancestors certainly did. Back at the pigmy “house”, 8 X 10 feet with a dirt floor, we watched a family bang drums and dance, then joined in ourselves. We were told that 30 people live there but that only the children sleep inside. The reason? So the elephants don’t carry them off in the night.
July 25
Today was the gorilla trek for John, Andrea, Natalie, Spencer, and me in the aptly-named Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Mel and Lily stayed behind because the age limit for the trek is 15, though Natalie, 13, received a waver because of John’s connections. The walk started out relatively easily on trails, though there were some steep climbs. We were accompanied by a guide and some porters. The trackers had set off to find the gorillas about 2 hours earlier. After about 1 1/2 hours, we stopped and our guide John informed us that the gorillas, a troupe of about 23, were headed our way and we stayed put for awhile. They didn’t arrive. Soon we were off trail bushwacking straight uphill through incredibly dense foliage in the heat. Then it was down an equally steep incline into a valley. Finally, after about 4-5 hours of some of the most demanding hiking any of us had ever done, we rendezvoused with the trackers and spotted a small gorilla climbing a tree. We saw a couple more on the ground after that but they quickly moved on. The chase was on. We followed the troupe further into the valley for about an hour of arduous hiking and finally settled in a spot near a large silverback and I started snapping pictures while Spencer videoed. Within 15 minutes we were surrounded by the troupe. They munched on leaves, climbed trees, and did a little grooming over the next hour. They were mostly oblivious to our presence but a couple of them made brief lunges towards us. It was a sublime experience. The hike out was even more difficult and featured fire ants stinging us and rain. 10 hours after we set out, we came to a road and thankfully an SUV to take us the last 2 km to the lodge.
We ended the day with single malt scotch and a tasty dinner.
July 26
We woke up sore from yesterday’s trek and piled into Big Red for what proved to be the longest drive so far. The scenery consisted of rolling hills covered in tea plantations and banana farms and the usual slice of humanity. The roads were even worse than we’d been on before so the constant bouncing provided what is called here an “African massage”. Mid-afternoon we arrived at the orphanage where we were warmly greeted by the staff and given a tour. We then entered a large room with 230 children and staff who entertained us with drumming and dancing for almost half an hour. This was followed by us presenting them with the books purchased in Kampala, the clothes and school supplies we brought, and mosquito nets for all the boarders that we bought from the local hospital when we arrived at the orphanage. Although the nets had been stored at the hospital for months, they were unavailable to the kids until we bought them for $2 apiece. Such a shame. A representative from the hospital delivered them in person to make sure that they would not be resold at a profit since the cost is subsidized and they can fetch a higher price. Everyone was so grateful and excited. Clearly, it was a really big deal to them that we came and we felt like celebrities. Via a poem written especially for the occasion, 3 children praised John for his donations and assistance over the years. The great white father. I wish we could have stayed longer but we had to continue on to the Katara lodge. That took 4 hours of driving across the savanna, much of it in the dark. We saw impala, a water buck, and quite a few cape buffalo along the road. Some of us were convinced that we were lost but Jacob again came through for us and found the lodge at about 9:30. We were very relieved to arrive. The lodge is perched atop a ridge overlooking Queen Elizabeth Park which stretches out for many miles. Tomorrow, safari.
July 27
We awoke to an unparalleled view of the park from our room. After breakfast, we drove into the park to meet our friends, the Colliers: Martin and Theresa, their son, Stephan, and Theresa’s mother, Thelma, age 74, from Bainbridge. They had already been in Africa for 2 weeks and their adventures in the Congo and Rwanda made ours seem safe and mundane by comparison. Martin heads a foundation that is very involved in providing health care in these two countries and thus this was a working vacation for him. Thelma endured being in a war zone and going on a gorilla trek. That afternoon we took a 2 hour cruise on Lake Edwards and were treated with up close and personal encounters with elephants, hippos, cape buffalo, crocodiles, monkeys, and myriad species of birds. Even the Adams, who have been on several previous Africa wildlife trips, remarked that they had never seen so many animals in such a short time. On the drive home in dark, we were delayed by a hippo parked in the middle of the road.
July 28
Some of our party awoke early and went on a car safari in the park. We hired a seasoned guide who knew just where to take us and sure enough we came upon a group of female lions and a few cubs. We were the first vehicle to arrive but soon several others, seeing a stopped land cruiser, hurried over to see the animals. After spending about half an hour there, we moved on and eventually found 2 juvenile male lions. The lion sightings were interspersed with sightings of various antelope, cape buffalo, and warthogs. We departed the lovely Katara Lodge midday and had a 5-hour drive, much of it on a well-maintained (as opposed to the usual kidney-thumper) dirt road through some of the most beautiful countryside of the trip and again just barely avoiding the many pedestrians, some of them very small children, and bicyclists. Our destination was the Chimps’ Nest Lodge in a forest that contains the densest and largest population of chimpanzees in Africa. While the concept of this place is interesting, a cabin on a stream down a long jungle path (with an armed escort to fend off the elephants that sometimes show up here) with monkeys and baboons checking us out, the cabin itself was quite scuzzy. Mel was, to say the least, out of her comfort zone. The management was made aware of her aversion to nature at its rawest and posted another armed guard outside our door during the night. We did survive, though sleep was lacking.
Friday, July 23
My task to purchase school supplies with Charity was successful but even the bookstore searched us when we entered. Afterwards, Spencer and I met up with the rest of the party at the wildlife organization where John had a morning meeting. There we loaded up the safari vehicle that Natalie dubbed “Big Red”, a stretch Land Cruiser. This required bailing several suitcases to the roof after wrapping them in plastic bags to keep off the dust that was to come. After a delicious Ugandan meal, we set off at around 2 p.m. on a drive to our hotel. We expected to reach it about sunset but, alas, that was not to be the case.
Although we were tired from residual jetlag, Mel and I couldn’t sleep on the drive because there was just too much to see including bikes piled high with bananas and firewood, trucks with flatbeds loaded with more people than anyone could imagine possible, many goats, tall bags of charcoal, sheets covered with millet drying, and women sitting on the ground with a few oranges or tomatoes in small piles for sale. The road is the center of activity in this part of Africa and is crowded with people seemingly oblivious to the racing cars and trucks passing them by with only inches to spare. The road was under construction for long stretches of dust and potholes. Our driver, Jacob, was very skilled and calm as he maneuvered Big Red over and through all kinds of very challenging terrain. His ultimate test came at about 7 p.m., hours from our destination. Along a stretch of torn up road, in the dark, we came to a standstill behind a long line of unmoving vehicles. After a while, along with some others, we set out into the brush alongside the road to circumvent the obstacle, a truck lying on its side. Eventually we got stuck and it appeared to many of us that we were going to spend the night in the bush. The whole situation was very chaotic and several in our party could have used some Xanax. Jacob was eventually able put the car into 4-wheel drive and find a way back onto the road that had cleared out while we were stuck offroad. The next 10 miles were harrowing due to the dark, lack of pavement, clouds of dust that reduced visibility to only a few feet, and traffic barreling at us from the other direction. We came upon a town, still 2 hours short of the hotel we had reserved, and stopped for gas and a bathroom break. Luckily there was a hotel there and we decided that it was much too dangerous to proceed to our destination, After the womenfolk checked out the hotel’s plumbing, we decided that it would do in a pinch. It took us a while to wind down over dinner and Nile beer. John told us there is an expression for the road experience, TIA, “this is Africa”, and refers to the regularity that the native folk have to deal with frequent, unexpected and difficult situations for which there will be no official help. They are resourceful people indeed.
July 24
More travel today in Big Red through green valleys and up winding mountain roads where the steep hillsides are terraced for farming. The staple crop is bananas which is the major starch for the locals. We spotted a variety of birds, some quite large, from the car. We expected to reach our destination, the Gorilla Mountain Lodge, at about 6 p.m. but were pleasantly surprised at 2:30 to see a sign indicating that it was only 20 km away, That was one hell of a bumpy 20 km, especially the last kilometer which again taxed Jacob’s driving skills. But it was worth it. It’s a beautiful cluster of buildings on a hillside directly across from the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, our destination tomorrow to see the mountain gorillas. One of the staff took all of us, except Melinda who wanted to chill, on a local hike for almost 2 hours. The purpose was to meet the locals. We were swarmed by kids who were especially intrigued by Lily, perhaps the first white child they had ever seen in person. This region is incredibly impoverished. The clothes are literally rags and caked with dirt, as is their skin. We bought some handicrafts from the village ladies. We hiked down to a cave, being careful not to twist our ankles in the elephant tracks, where we were met by a pigmy family. I don’t think they live there now but their recent ancestors certainly did. Back at the pigmy “house”, 8 X 10 feet with a dirt floor, we watched a family bang drums and dance, then joined in ourselves. We were told that 30 people live there but that only the children sleep inside. The reason? So the elephants don’t carry them off in the night.
July 25
Today was the gorilla trek for John, Andrea, Natalie, Spencer, and me in the aptly-named Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Mel and Lily stayed behind because the age limit for the trek is 15, though Natalie, 13, received a waver because of John’s connections. The walk started out relatively easily on trails, though there were some steep climbs. We were accompanied by a guide and some porters. The trackers had set off to find the gorillas about 2 hours earlier. After about 1 1/2 hours, we stopped and our guide John informed us that the gorillas, a troupe of about 23, were headed our way and we stayed put for awhile. They didn’t arrive. Soon we were off trail bushwacking straight uphill through incredibly dense foliage in the heat. Then it was down an equally steep incline into a valley. Finally, after about 4-5 hours of some of the most demanding hiking any of us had ever done, we rendezvoused with the trackers and spotted a small gorilla climbing a tree. We saw a couple more on the ground after that but they quickly moved on. The chase was on. We followed the troupe further into the valley for about an hour of arduous hiking and finally settled in a spot near a large silverback and I started snapping pictures while Spencer videoed. Within 15 minutes we were surrounded by the troupe. They munched on leaves, climbed trees, and did a little grooming over the next hour. They were mostly oblivious to our presence but a couple of them made brief lunges towards us. It was a sublime experience. The hike out was even more difficult and featured fire ants stinging us and rain. 10 hours after we set out, we came to a road and thankfully an SUV to take us the last 2 km to the lodge.
We ended the day with single malt scotch and a tasty dinner.
July 26
We woke up sore from yesterday’s trek and piled into Big Red for what proved to be the longest drive so far. The scenery consisted of rolling hills covered in tea plantations and banana farms and the usual slice of humanity. The roads were even worse than we’d been on before so the constant bouncing provided what is called here an “African massage”. Mid-afternoon we arrived at the orphanage where we were warmly greeted by the staff and given a tour. We then entered a large room with 230 children and staff who entertained us with drumming and dancing for almost half an hour. This was followed by us presenting them with the books purchased in Kampala, the clothes and school supplies we brought, and mosquito nets for all the boarders that we bought from the local hospital when we arrived at the orphanage. Although the nets had been stored at the hospital for months, they were unavailable to the kids until we bought them for $2 apiece. Such a shame. A representative from the hospital delivered them in person to make sure that they would not be resold at a profit since the cost is subsidized and they can fetch a higher price. Everyone was so grateful and excited. Clearly, it was a really big deal to them that we came and we felt like celebrities. Via a poem written especially for the occasion, 3 children praised John for his donations and assistance over the years. The great white father. I wish we could have stayed longer but we had to continue on to the Katara lodge. That took 4 hours of driving across the savanna, much of it in the dark. We saw impala, a water buck, and quite a few cape buffalo along the road. Some of us were convinced that we were lost but Jacob again came through for us and found the lodge at about 9:30. We were very relieved to arrive. The lodge is perched atop a ridge overlooking Queen Elizabeth Park which stretches out for many miles. Tomorrow, safari.
July 27
We awoke to an unparalleled view of the park from our room. After breakfast, we drove into the park to meet our friends, the Colliers: Martin and Theresa, their son, Stephan, and Theresa’s mother, Thelma, age 74, from Bainbridge. They had already been in Africa for 2 weeks and their adventures in the Congo and Rwanda made ours seem safe and mundane by comparison. Martin heads a foundation that is very involved in providing health care in these two countries and thus this was a working vacation for him. Thelma endured being in a war zone and going on a gorilla trek. That afternoon we took a 2 hour cruise on Lake Edwards and were treated with up close and personal encounters with elephants, hippos, cape buffalo, crocodiles, monkeys, and myriad species of birds. Even the Adams, who have been on several previous Africa wildlife trips, remarked that they had never seen so many animals in such a short time. On the drive home in dark, we were delayed by a hippo parked in the middle of the road.
July 28
Some of our party awoke early and went on a car safari in the park. We hired a seasoned guide who knew just where to take us and sure enough we came upon a group of female lions and a few cubs. We were the first vehicle to arrive but soon several others, seeing a stopped land cruiser, hurried over to see the animals. After spending about half an hour there, we moved on and eventually found 2 juvenile male lions. The lion sightings were interspersed with sightings of various antelope, cape buffalo, and warthogs. We departed the lovely Katara Lodge midday and had a 5-hour drive, much of it on a well-maintained (as opposed to the usual kidney-thumper) dirt road through some of the most beautiful countryside of the trip and again just barely avoiding the many pedestrians, some of them very small children, and bicyclists. Our destination was the Chimps’ Nest Lodge in a forest that contains the densest and largest population of chimpanzees in Africa. While the concept of this place is interesting, a cabin on a stream down a long jungle path (with an armed escort to fend off the elephants that sometimes show up here) with monkeys and baboons checking us out, the cabin itself was quite scuzzy. Mel was, to say the least, out of her comfort zone. The management was made aware of her aversion to nature at its rawest and posted another armed guard outside our door during the night. We did survive, though sleep was lacking.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Amsterdam to Kampala
We arrived in Amsterdam at about 8 a.m. (11 p.m. PST, no sleep), went to our hotel (very charming), dropped off our luggage, and kept going. After breakfast we took a tour of the city via boat through the canals, of which there are many and which cross Amsterdam in a semi-grid manner. Lily fell asleep on the boat so missed quite a bit. We returned to the hotel for a 2-hour nap (in name only) and shower, then we were on our way to a wonderful Indonesian dinner. Mel and Andrea stepped into, for observational purposes only, a "Coffee Shop", not to be confused with a Koffee Shop where coffee is served. At the former, the fare is smokable rather than drinkable. There are many of these scattered throughout the city. The ladies did not inhale as the kids were waiting outside. After dinner, we toured the house where Anne Frank hid out for a few years before she was taken to the camp. It is a museum now with artifacts from the Frank family's time there and commentary. Quite moving. The evening ended with a fruitless search for an ice cream parlor. Surprisingly, there were none to be found in close proximity to the Coffee Shops.
Yesterday was spent in travel to Kampala. After a pleasant 8-hour flight to Entebbe, we were taken in a van 1 1/2 hours to Kampala, a large and relatively prosperous for Africa, city which is now hosting a meeting of the African Union. That, and the recent terrorist bombing here that killed over 70 people, has caused there to be very tight security. To get into our hotel, we had all our luggage inspected by several people, item by item, and went through metal detectors at the front gate. Then we went through the process all over again at the front door. This took quite a while and delayed our eventual cocktail hour (11 p.m.), where gin and tonics (the latter to ward off malaria) were imbibed, and dinner. It is now 5:30 a.m. and, thanks to jet lag, I am fully awake and writing this.
This morning, Spencer and I will go with Charity, a woman who runs an orphanage near the gorilla park where we are going, to purchase textbooks and writing supplies for her orphans. As things stand now, there is one textbook for the whole school of 100+ kids and they write in the dirt with sticks. John, one of our traveling companions and trip-organizer, who has already been here for a week on business, bought (or brought, I'm not sure) mosquito nets for the entire orphanage. Charity will take all this stuff back to the orphanage today. We will stop by later this week to tour it and drop off a duffle-bag full of clothes we brought from Bainbridge.
I am going to attempt to sleep again so will sign off. I hope the muslim call to prayer I am now hearing doesn't prevent my doing so. I don't know when we will next have Internet access so it could be awhile before I post again.
Yesterday was spent in travel to Kampala. After a pleasant 8-hour flight to Entebbe, we were taken in a van 1 1/2 hours to Kampala, a large and relatively prosperous for Africa, city which is now hosting a meeting of the African Union. That, and the recent terrorist bombing here that killed over 70 people, has caused there to be very tight security. To get into our hotel, we had all our luggage inspected by several people, item by item, and went through metal detectors at the front gate. Then we went through the process all over again at the front door. This took quite a while and delayed our eventual cocktail hour (11 p.m.), where gin and tonics (the latter to ward off malaria) were imbibed, and dinner. It is now 5:30 a.m. and, thanks to jet lag, I am fully awake and writing this.
This morning, Spencer and I will go with Charity, a woman who runs an orphanage near the gorilla park where we are going, to purchase textbooks and writing supplies for her orphans. As things stand now, there is one textbook for the whole school of 100+ kids and they write in the dirt with sticks. John, one of our traveling companions and trip-organizer, who has already been here for a week on business, bought (or brought, I'm not sure) mosquito nets for the entire orphanage. Charity will take all this stuff back to the orphanage today. We will stop by later this week to tour it and drop off a duffle-bag full of clothes we brought from Bainbridge.
I am going to attempt to sleep again so will sign off. I hope the muslim call to prayer I am now hearing doesn't prevent my doing so. I don't know when we will next have Internet access so it could be awhile before I post again.
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