Some long-overdue videos

Kids singing "Ka-NA-duh safi, Canada poa." See the baby on the back bouncing up and down? Such adorable kids, I miss them!

The villagers singing and dancing for us.

Chicken in our tent. Crazy kuku!

A 360 view of the top of Kilimanjaro. Visible are the crater and the glaciers, as well as my guides in front of the sign.

Tortoises, dolphins and monkeys!

Prison Island was way cooler than I could ever have imagined. I thought there were a few tortoises and we might get a quick glimpse of them in the distance, but there were tons of them and they were HUGE! AND WE COULD PET THEM AND FEED THEM!!!! I didn't want to leave! They kept going after my green shorts and green flip-flops! I definitely wanted to take one home!

I think I left off saying I was hoping for some sun on the east coast beaches. Well, day 1 in Jambiani didn't deliver - it poured rain and we were confined to our beach-front bungalow reading books all day. But days 2, 3, and 4 more than made up for the rain, and I now have sun-burned thighs to prove it! I've never experienced this kind of heat before; being so close to the equator makes it hot hot hot! Yesterday we decided to take a dalla-dalla, which is usually a mini-van crammed full of locals, but in this case it was a converted truck with benches in the back. The 1 hour trip turned into a 2.5 hour one! Barb left this morning, and on my first day by myself I had decided to go to a place called Kizimkazi to hopefully see dolphins. Once again I was pleasantly surprised - not only did I see some, but I got to swim with them!!! I almost touched one but then it dove beneath me, and I watched two dolphins swim right under me!!! So cool, had I known I would have brought my underwater camera! Then we stopped at a rain forest that is home to an endagered species of monkeys called red colubus, and they only live in Zanzibar. I thought we would be lucky to see some swinging through the trees, but I literally could have pet them they were that close. Check out my current facebook picture; they're cute! Well, that's all for now.

Zanzibar

Well, the R&R part of my vacation has finally arrived, and I'm sure it will fly by and I'll be home in no time! From Arusha Barb and I went to the Usambara Mountains for 2 days and stayed in a small village called Lushoto. One day we went on a guided hike to a nice lookout point and also to a pretty waterfall for some swimming. The water was very cold and I was the only one brave enough to swim over to the fall. We saw quite a few chameleons along the way, and they were fun to play with. The second day we took a tour to a tea factory, passing tea plantations along the way. The whole process of making tea was pretty interesting, and we got to drink tea and take some home with us. I'm hoping I'll have room in my bag!

On Friday morning we caught the 6 o'clock bus to Dar, and would have arrived by noon if we hadn't broken down. It was bound to happen as all of my other bus rides have been fairly smooth. The bus had 8 wheels at the back, 4 on each side, and after an hour of waiting on the side of the road, we continued on with only 6 wheels! We caught the 2:30 ferry over to Zanzibar, and made it in time to have supper in a beach-side restaurant watching the sunset. There isn't actually much to do in Stonetown itself, so we wandered around and hit all the tourist shops on the first day, went to a small museum, then had supper in the Forodhani Gardens. This is the local fish market where they cook up the day's catch. I don't care much for seafood, but I

figured I should at least try some....and it turns out I like quite a bit! I had lobster, shrimp, red snapper, blue marlin, swordfish, shark, tuna, barracuda, octopus, squid, and crab! I think I've sampled everything they sell (see picture). Yesterday we took a spice tour to see how all the different kinds of spices grow. It was very interesting. We also saw some Persian bath ruins, a slave cave where slaves were kept, and then spent an hour at a beach. Today we are off to Prison Island, just a 1/2 hour boat ride from Stonetown, and I'm excited because there are giant tortoises there! Tomorrow we're off to the east coast for some nice quiet beaches, and hopefully some sun!

Kilimanjaro, "The Roof of Africa"

Entrance to Kilimanjaro National Park, and the start of the Machame Trail.


Our first camp site. We went up 1200 m that day.


Day 2: having a break along the trail.


Day 3: Barb and I with the peak in the background.


Sunset as seen from camp.


Day 5: getting closer!


The summit! Truly amazing!


A view inside the crater.


Well, I did it! It still seems a bit surreal, but I have now been to the top of the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, and the tallest point in all of Africa!
It all started on Sunday, August 5th. We (myself and Barb, the Canadian girl I'm travelling with) were supposed to be picked up at our hotel somewhere between 8 and 9 (remember, no hurry in Africa), so when 9:30 rolled around I started worrying. We called the tour office and apparently our guide was at the hotel, he just hadn't bothered to try to find us in the lobby! So we got a late start, but it didn't seem to matter because once we got to Machame gate, there were tons of people milling around, waiting for their guides to get climbing permits. We were the very last people to start up the trail at around 2:30 in the afternoon, and I was a bit worried because our itinerary said we had a 7-8 hour hike in front of us, but it turned out to be only 4 hours to our first camp. It was a nice hike up a fairly wide trail through the rainforest-absolutely gorgeous. We arrived to find our tent set up and were quickly served a hot supper right in the tent! So day 1 we went from 1800m to 3000m, and we passed quite a few people on the way up, which made me feel a bit better about being out of shape!
Day 2 was another 4 hours of hiking, but this time is was quite a bit more challenging, due to both the steepness and rockiness of the trail. We arrived at Shira Plateau camp just after noon, and had the whole afternoon to relax in our tent. This camp was at 3,600m.
Day 3 - About 6 hours hiking total. We rose all the way to 4,600 m before descending to Barranco camp, which was in a mist valley.
Day 4 - began by climbing straight up a cliff, which was made more interesting by the fact that our guide kept taking shortcuts so we were passing people left and right! Today was a short hike; only 2 hours, because we did the 7 day climb to allow more time to adjust to altitude. From this camp, Karanga Camp, we were supposed to go to Barafu Camp on day 5, (2 hours away) and then rest all day and start climbing to the summit at midnight. But, our guide had other ideas. He figured we were strong and could handle the altitude, and we agreed since neither of us really had any problems. So...
Day 5 began early; we set out from Karanga camp at 7:30 and climbed steadily upwards to Barafu camp, where we took a 15 minute break, and then started our ascent to the summit! The upside to this was that it wasn't freezing cold and pitch black; the downside, we ended up climbing straight up for nearly 7 hours! We reached Stella point (5,780m) around 2 pm on day 5, and I thought I might never make it at times because we couldn't see the top while we were climbing. My legs felt like lead and jello at the same time, and for every step we took in the loose scree, I slid half a step back. But making it to Stella Point gave me more energy, and we walked around the ridge through snow to Uhuru Peak! 5,895m! I was exhausted and exhilarated at the same time! It was absolutely stunning to be up there, and we were the only people up there! Not a cloud above us (because they were all below us) and I could have been in a t-shirt it was that warm! We stayed about half an hour just enjoying the views of the crater and enormous glaciers (hard to believe they are supposed to melt by 2020!) before beginning our descent. And while it took us nearly 5 hours to get up, it only took 35 minutes to get down! We basically slid and jumped, using our poles for balance, and I had about a cup of dirt in each shoe by the time we got back to Barafu Camp! We had a short break there, and then descended all the way down to 3,800m where we had supper and went straight to sleep.
Day 6- 3 hours down in the pouring rain, sore feet, but exstatic that I had made it! We had lunch at the bottom and a bottle of sparkling wine! So we paid for 7 days and did it in 6 - not bad! Back to Arusha, where we have been hanging out and buying souvenirs, the coolest one being a Kilimanjaro water bottle (to go with my backpack).
This morning we went to the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Rwandan Genocide. It was very interesting. Tomorrow I'm off to the Usambara Mountains, which are between Kili and the Indian Ocean. About 3 days there with Barb, then Zanzibar! I'm running out of internet time, so until next time...keep fit and have fun!

Safari

An attempt at an artsy pic in b&w. Love, love, love giraffes!!



We got super close to these hippos. They were making out!


A buffalo skull in Ngorongoro Crater.


First lion we saw, she has some sort of tracking collar on.


Love this sign! We camped in the middle of the Serengeti with no fence. Good thing we weren't "attact"!


This elephant was on the edge of one of our campsites!!! I actually got a bit closer than this picture shows. So cool!!!


A buffalo from really close-up. He was right outside my jeep window!


A perfect pose.


I like this one with the baby.


The people I went on safari with: Tom, Barb, Kate and Anne-Marie








Well, I just finished 5 days of safari yesterday, and it was really fun. From Arusha we first went to Lake Manyara, which has pretty much everything: elephants, giraffes, zebra, hippos, etc. It was so cool, especially because it was our first day so we were very camera happy and excited about seeing everything. The next 2 days were spent in the Serengeti, where we saw lions, a cheetah, and a leopard, so we were pretty lucky. Day 4 was spent in the Ngorongoro Crater, where we could have seen rhinos from a distance if any of us had any binoculars! Yesterday we were in Tarangire park, where we saw the largest herd of elephants so far, maybe fifty of them in a dry river bed. That was really cool. Also, there was an elephant on the edge of one of our campsites and I got really close to take a picture! I can't really do justice to everything I have seen without posting pictures, but that seems to be very difficult here so I will try at another internet cafe. Today has just been a lazy day in Arusha, then tomorrow morning at 8 (or 9, no hurry in Africa) I start climbing Kili! I will tell you all about it next week after I have been to the roof of Africa!

Leaving camp

Playing with the kids. They are so cute!


Little kids helping me carry water.


The 'mzungu' (aka white people) trying to carry water on our heads.


Sloshing water all over myself while the ladies laughed and laughed!!!


Saying goodbye to the locals and some fellow volunteers who left early. It was a sad day but we had chocolate cake baked in our brick oven!

After we caught the 'kuku' we tried to tie her up. She kept getting out though!

Villagers dancing and singing for us.

The mzungu dancing!

Villagers that came to dance and see us off.

The lady who held my hand while we dance into the next village.

Well, today was my last day at camp in Mghumbu. I would have happily stayed for 3 more weeks if I didn't want to do so many other things. The past 3 weeks have flown by, and I have enjoyed every minute. I think the last time I wrote I was heading out to view previous HAPA projects. It was a very long day bumping around inside a jeep, but we saw 2 school sites, 2 pumps and a medical dispensary that the ngo I'm working with helped build. It is really amazing that HAPA still exists, because they lost all of their funding in 2000 and had to start again from scratch. And the work that they do is so practical and worthwhile; building pumps in strategic places so women don't have to walk 15km ONE WAY to get water! A few days ago I carried a bucket of water on my head with local women, and it is HARD! They were all laughing at how much water I sloshed on myself and that I had to hold the bucket up there with my hand. I met a lady at the water pump outside our camp and she couldn't figure out how I was going to carry back 2 full buckets of water, as I only have one head (and as big as my head is, it isn't that big!). There has been quite a bit of progress on the school in my short 3 weeks: the tin roof was put on, the outer walls have been plastered, the floors have been levelled in preparation of cementing, and all of the windows and door frames have been built. Actually, this whole past week there wasn't much for us to do except haul sand for mixing plaster, as the majority of the work has been on the woodwork (doors, windows, and desks). It is neat to see how the village is coming together and helping with this project. Rather than us just giving them a school, they are earning it in a sense.

It was sad leaving camp this morning, as I have become quite attached to some of the kids. It's no surprise, as they are waiting at the gate for us as soon as the sun rises, and follow us to school, and just want to hold my hand or carry my water bottle or pet my hair! One girl in particular that I became attached to was Veronica. She is 5 and absolutely gorgeous, but she was so shy when I first arrived she would run and hide! Gradually she began holding my hand and giving me five, and yesterday I taught her how to count to 10 in English! So when I went to the gate to say goodbye today, I was a bit choked up and I just picked her up and hugged her. I would take her home if I could, and several more, they are all so adorable and just enthralled by us.
In the last week our camp has become a zoo! We have always had dogs around, as one of our guards has 2 dogs which attract more stray ones (as does our garbage pit!) But a few days ago somebody found a tiny puppy limping in our camp, and took pity on it, so we basically adopted her and named her Wee One Junior San (long story). Then a day later another puppy showed up and we tried to draw the line, but no matter how many times we took it out of camp, it found its way back. Newly dubbed Orphan Annie is twice the size of Wee One, so we have to make sure the little dog gets its food. On top of the 2 puppies, we have a pet chicken. Some of the girls bought it last week from a local (I think for the equivalent of $4) intending to eat it, but the girls left early and nobody really wanted to kill the chicken. I offered to, but I wanted help cleaning it afterwards and nobody would, so KukuBitch (kuku=chicken in Kiswahili), or Nugget, became a pet. She came into our tent every afternoon and laid an egg behind a bed, and woke us up at absurd times in the morning with her squaking (spelling?). I'm actually very surprised nobody killed her, the number of times it was threatened!

The villagers performed some songs that they wrote to thank us for coming and building a school. It was a lot of fun, as they got us to come dance with them. Then they wanted us to dance for them, so we did the cha-cha slide. It was so much fun! We danced all the way from Mampando to Mghumbu, which took over an hour! I was wearing one ladies kanga (colourful cloth wrap) and she held my hand. Even though we couldn't communicate through words it was a great experience.

Well, tomorrow morning I'm off on the 6 am bus to Arusha, and will set out on a 5 day safari on Monday with 4 other volunteers. Kilimanjaro should be after that, followed by Zanzibar, so I will try to keep you posted!

Camping in the middle of nowhere!

Our tent at camp.


The shower with solar bags. They get really hot, but don't hang high enough for the water to fall on my head so I usually just wash with a bucket of cold water! Refreshing, but hard to wash my hair.


The bathroom. Need I say more??


Our kitchen tent. We cook with small coal burners and have an oven made out of bricks and mud. It gets really hot!


The school as it looked when I arrived.


Two of the cutest kids ever: Selena and Veronica (pronounced Vero-neeka).


At the large outdoor market we went to. School kids gathered around to stare at us! In some places they had never seen a white person!


Kids crowding around us at the school we went to teach at. They just want to look and touch us because we are so different. It's really cute!


Kids watching our every move.


71 kids crammed into a tiny class to learn English from us. They start learning English in elementary school, and knew more English than we knew Swahili!

Village kids in Mghumbu looking at us when our land rover stopped.

Dancing and singing for me.

I would puff up my cheeks and make noise as I poked my fingers into each cheek, so whenever the kids saw me they would puff their cheeks up!

Veronica. Adorable.

Some kids and I in front of the school.

Greetings from Singida! A lot has happened since I last posted, so I will try to summarize it all. Last weekend Saturday, 6 of our original group of 15 (including myself) drove out to our camp, which is 1.5 hours from Singida. It is supposedly in the village of Mghumbu, which is a sub-village of Mampando. In Mampando there are 4 buildings...there's nothing in Mghumbu except our camp and a few random mud huts. It's great! Our camp is surrounded by a 9 foot tall fence made out of grass and branches. There is a little shower stall where we hang our solar shower bags (which get very hot, you actually have to mix cold water in), and a bathroom stall that is a hole in the ground. Once I learned how to not pee on myself, it took me a few days before I could go # 2! Cooking for ourselves has been grand, we've been eating like kings on veggies, rice, potatoes and bread. We have a large tent with 12 beds in it, and we've hung all our belongings in baskets from the tent poles as we have a pet rat. The school is already half finished; the walls are up and the roof is framed, so this past week we have been carrying dirt to level out the floors so they can be cemented. It is very slow-going as we can only fit 2 shovels-full of dirt onto one of the five dishes that we carry it in. We were quite shocked when after 2 hours of working on our first day the foreman told us we were finished for the day! Its too hot to work after lunch, and we were waiting for a lot of materials (namely cement and tin for the roof) so apparently he was trying to stretch out the work for us. We have had quite a few interesting afternoon adventures, including hikes to 2 large rocks that we climbed for amazing views. The sunsets here are amazing, and the stars at night are even better. One afternoon we walked to a big outdoor market, and another afternoon I went to a school where 2 guys from my group taught some English. It was crazy there. When they saw 6 wazungu walk up (white people) somebody hit a gong and the classrooms emptied. Hundreds of kids swarmed around us...it might be something like being famous! It was nuts! Over 70 kids crammed into a tiny classroom to learn some English. I love playing with the kids. There are always a bunch of them at the gate to our camp, so I go over and speak broken Swahili to them. I play with them using their little rag balls, or else the frisbees and soccer balls we brought. They sing a little song about Mampando, so I taught them to say Canada instead! The words are "Mampando safi, Mampando poa" which means Mampando is cool, Mampando is fresh! They are so cute when they say Canada, it sounds like 'ka-NA-duh'. The kids are soooooo cute, I love playing with them. Some really young kids are carrying their baby brother or sister around on their backs. They love petting my hair, especially after I took my cornrows out! I'd better post right away as the internet has been out for the last 20 minutes.