Last day of East African Vacation

What a Christmas already and it is only 1:45 p.m. This morning Megan and I got up, had breakfast together, and I checked out of the hotel at 10:00 with no incident. In fact, we were talking at breakfast about how everything from has run so smoothly from point A to Z…stupid us! The shuttle left on time and I arrived at the airport with plenty of extra lounging time. I went through security without incident and waited for my flight to be displayed on the check-in screens. About an hour before check-in, I noticed that my check-in counter was deserted, but I knew everything was on time because I had received an email that everything was fine and my flight displayed on the monitor as “on time.” So I talked up to the counter and asked about my flight. They said it was not ready yet, but they asked me to hold on a minute while they checked on something. The supervisor came out, which is never a good sign when you are traveling, and told me the flight was canceled. He displayed a paper with my name on it.

I asked, “Where are the other passengers?”

He said, “They have all been notified, but we knew you were coming to the airport, so my supervisor gave me this paper this morning.”

So, I inquired, “What should I do?”

He said, “Come with me to my office.”

When I accompanied him to his office, we began the fun process of calling Air Uganda to rebook my flight.

I asked, “Why was the flight canceled?”

He said,  “Sometimes the company cancels flights when they are not fully booked. Since it is Christmas, I think people did not show up to work.”

I said, “Are you freaking kidding me?”

He laughed and said, “yes, it’s East Africa.”

“So, how am I getting to Entebbe? I have a flight tomorrow to Dubai and I have paid for accommodations tonight. Plus, I have a bag to pick up that I left at the airport.” I asked.

“Well, the only person that can approve you for a new flight is Air Uganda. They have two flights a day and the next one is tomorrow at 12:15.” He replied.

“But that would not get me back to Uganda in time to catch my Dubai flight or pick up my bag. I also will have to pay double accommodations and I don’t want to do that.” I whined.

“We have a flight going to Nairobi and then Entebbe, but it is with Kenya Airlines and you would need to book and pay for it yourself,” he stated.

“Could we continue trying to call Air Uganda and your supervisors until we reach someone?” I pleaded.

“Sure. But I can tell you no it is difficult because it is Christmas and most people are not working today,” he stated.

We began the process of calling multiple numbers  on multiple phones to no avail. We called the offices in Dar Es Salaam, Kampala, and Entebbe. We also visit the office at the airport and they were completely closed. So, I came back to the office and decided to go up to Kenya Airlines to book a flight. I went up and talked with the agent and he said a new flight would be $335, cash only. Of course I didn’t have $335 cash on me. I had a bit of cash, a few Tanzanian and Uganda shillings. That did me no good. He told me that it was too close to book online.

Then he had an idea, “Why don’t you book it for three or four days later and then I will change the flight today free of charge?”

“Okay, sounds good.”

So I began the process of rebooking my flight, but the Internet kept crashing. We switched computers and tried again. Finally, it worked. I was able to book a flight and the agent switched the date for me.

I went back downstairs to retrieve my luggage from the office and headed to the check-in counter. I checked, went through immigration and boarded the flight. They were actually boarding when I went through security. So, now I am sitting on the flight enjoying all of the extra room and fabulous music. Kenya Airlines is really quite nice. I was very surprised at the cleanliness of the plane, TV screens and services. Too bad this is just an hour flight to Nairobi and then one hour to Entebbe. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly.

East African Vacation Days #8-10 (12/20-12/22)

Day 8 – Friday, December 20

Today we left our hotel at 7 a.m. to catch a bus to Moshi. As soon as we arrived at the bus station area, we were surrounded with many people who wanted to take us on their bus. I bartered for 3000 each, which is what we were told to pay (about $2). The bus was the standard type we have in Uganda where you have four seats across the row. They stopped several times along the way until we reached Moshi about two hours later. I was so happy to see my luggage still on top of the bus. We quickly retrieved our luggage and got a taxi. The taxi driver again wanted to charge us more, but we knew the ride should be about $5, which is 8,000 shillings. He wanted 20,000, but I offered 10,000 and he settled (about $6). We arrived at Honey Badger Lodge and were greeted with an orange juice drink. Our room was not be ready until 2 p.m., so we hung out by the pool and used the free wifi. The lodge is so nice with a fully stocked bar, free wifi, and a resort-like pool. The room was worth the wait, with three large beds in a huge room. There is also a separate shower and toilet with a sink in the middle. Everything is eco-friendly with solar power and utilizing recycling. There is hot water, well, when everyone does not use it and a very friendly staff. We had planned this day just to be relaxing and catching up on our sleep before we set off for a quick climb on Kilimanjaro.

Day 9 - Saturday, December 21

Today we headed out early to get bus tickets and then meet some other people at a hostel to go to a waterfall on Mt. Kilimanjaro and a coffee plantation. Things are so much cheaper when you can go with more people. We decided to take the Dar Express.

The ticket was 20,000 TSH ($18.75) and then we headed up the mountain. The first stop was at a coffee plantation. I love that we went with a local instead of a company. Then, the money we pay goes directly to the family. I could not get over the process of making coffee. 

1. You grow it. I can't remember how long it takes to grow or how often you harvest, but I know they had just harvested it. You harvest it when the berries are red. 

2. You soak it in water for a few days and then pass it through a machine to separate the berry from the bean.

3. You dry it for 2 weeks or so, depending on the sun.

 4. You beat it to separate the bean from the shell.

 5. You separate it from the shell and roast the beans.

6. You pound it to grind it. Then, boil water and poor the coffee into the boiling water. Finally you pour it through the strainer and enjoy!

After drinking our coffee, we hiked to a beautiful waterfall. It was a long hike, but so worth it.

Day 10 - Sunday, December 22

Today was our long journey to Dar es Salaam. We had heard anywhere from 7-11 hours for the journey. Ours took 9. I thought there would be frequent stops along the way, but they only stopped once for about 15-20 minutes. The rest area along the way was very much like a rest area from home. I was so surprised that they only stopped once. The buses are very much like airplanes with a "flight attendant" and movies. The movies were in Swahili, but some parts had subtitles in English. The journey was long and hot, but we arrived into Dar about 4:30. It was easy to get a taxi and we headed to The Holiday Inn. We were greeted with juice and fabulous air conditioning. I love that tradition! After getting settled in, we had dinner together and then slept like the dead! 

East African Vacation - Day #7 (12/19)

Today we had lunch reservations for Shanga Gardens so the taxi picked us up at 11:30 a.m. for our 12 p.m. reservation. One of the girls found this place on trip adviser. We knew it was beautiful, but we had no idea how beautiful and beneficial the place actually was for the community. Shanga Gardens is a place for people with disabilities to work and earn a living and feel productive in society. People who have disabilities are often shunned here in East Africa and there are few services for them. Many of the people who work at this facility are deaf. They communicate through sign language and gestures. All of the people at the shop are incredibly talented…from artists to glass blowing to weaving to making jewelry, they are really amazing. 

There was one guy that was laying on his side named Moshi who was painting name plates. I bought one for my niece. He was absolutely incredible. He personalized these unique pieces of art for anyone who passed by the shop. Everyone who worked in the shop seemed to enjoy his or her job. I bought many things including jewelry, art, homemade wine, and a small glass vase. After touring the workshop, we headed out to the garden for our welcoming drink. They offered passion juice or champagne. I won’t tell you which one I chose! Then, we headed into the restaurant for our meal. The first course was a carrot ginger soup with a bread roll. It was so velvety and smooth that it slid right down my throat. Then, we had a vegetable samosa with mango chutney. We have samosas in Uganda, but this was the most delicious samosa I had ever tasted. Then, we had a buffet for lunch. The buffet included potato salad, carrot salad, pasta salad, tomato/mozzarella, and lettuce, lentils, chicken, beef, and tilapia. It was just divine. It reminded me of some of the really nice places I have had lunch like Josephine’s in Godfrey. After dinner, our waiter served coffee and a dessert tray. The coffee was from the plantation next door and the deserts included chocolate covered coffee beans, fruit, fried coconut doughnuts, and some toffee dessert. They were in little portions, but we were still stuffed by the end of the meal. After the meal, we sat in the garden a little longer and also completed our purchases at the shop.

After leaving the gardens, we headed to the Maasai market. This market is known for its incredibly cheap prices and great products. There are many, many artists there and they all want you in their shop. I didn’t really intend to buy anything, but I ended up buying a painting, a decorative gourd, and two pillowcases. I can’t believe how comfortable I have become at bartering. In fact, the girls took me because they wanted me to barter for them. Sometimes I crack myself up. I was happy with our purchases and I know people were please that we bought many things.

After the market, we headed to the ATM, Shoprite, and then a Mexican place, which had wifi. I love to buy food in other countries, so I learned to buy goodies in grocery stores where you can pay the same price that locals pay. I bought passion fruit jam, mint tea, vanilla tea, coffee from Kenya and Tanzania, chia tea, and of course a bottle of water. After groceries, we headed to the Mexican place to eat good food and enjoy connecting with our families. I hadn’t talked with my parents since Saturday and I knew they were worried because my mom actually called my cell phone. I had a friend email them last night to let them know I was okay, but I knew I needed to touch base with them. I know I put my parents through a lot with all of my travels, so I knew communicating with them was priority today. Plus, I needed to add to my discussion post for my class, so I could kill two birds with one stone.

After connecting with the outside world, I enjoyed some food and headed back to the hotel. We are planning to leave early in the morning to catch a bus to Moshi.  

East African Vacation - Day #6 (12/18)

Today we woke up before 6, had breakfast, packed up the car, and set off for our safari. Today our goal was to see lots of animals in the crater rim of Ngorongoro. We descended down to the bottom of the rim in the safari vehicle. We saw so many emails including:

·      Wildebeest

·      Lion

·      Zebra

·      Hippos

·      Water buffalo

·      Heartabeast

·      Jackels

·      Hyenas

·      Warthog

·      Thompsons gazelle

·      Flamingoes

·      Ostriches

·      Bird of Uganda

·      Baboons

·      Elephants

·      Mongoose

·      Waterbuck

·      Hyenas (babies)

One of the first things we saw was a dead zebra that was just killed by a humongous lion. The lion was sleeping after his fresh kill. Then, we saw a family of lions sleeping next the road. There was a male and two females, which was the minimum number of females in a pride. Our guide told us that there were usually more females per male. Males do not live in the same pride, unless they friends or brothers. We were impressed with the scenery and I think it looked very much like New Zealand. We saw an elephant bone yard, which we think several elephants died there. There were just bones which has been stripped clean. We saw hippos in the lakes and some were sunning themselves. We also saw baby hippos on the shore with their mom. Hippos feed in the morning and then relax during the day before feeding again at night. We had to leave the park by 2:30 because our permit was only good for 24 hours. On our way back up the mountain, we encountered a stranded safari vehicle and picked up a passenger who was from Canada. We dropped her off at her hostel in town.

When we stopped for lunch, some locals told about a emergency plane landing at Arusha airport, which we knew only accepted smaller aircraft. It would be similar to the Spirit of St. Louis airport. We passed the airport on our way back to the hotel and saw the plane. It ran out of runway with just the front wheels in the mud. There were so many people and vehicles parked along the road, which told us it was a major spectacle. Most of the people around had probably not seen a plane that large. We arrived at the safari office, sent some emails, and headed to our lodge. We stayed at the Arusha lodge before going on our safari and booked an additional night there to stay through Friday.

East African Vacation - Day #5 (12/17)

Today we got up very early to start our safari. Apparently the animals are out and about in the morning. I am not sure what time we left, but I know it was around 6. We headed out and immediately saw lions, hippos, and many vultures. The vultures follow the wildebeest herd as the migrate south. Then, we came across a family of leopards with a momma and two cubs. We actually saw the momma kill a gazelle and feed it to her young, which was so cool. After the family of leopards, we came across hyenas and vultures eating a wildebeest. We watched them for a while and then headed for the toilets. As we started our trek to the toilets on a very muddy road, and we actually got stuck at one point and realized we were being surrounded by hyenas. Eventually another safari vehicle pushed us through the mud and we headed to the rest area. After taking a cup of coffee, we headed around the Serengeti to look for more animals. We saw more lions, cheetahs, monkeys, zebras, topi, dik dik, saber cat, golden jackel, ostrich, giraffe, and donkeys. We headed back to the camp for lunch where Silvano made salad, crepes, eggs, toast, rice with meat, etc. Then we packed up and started out journey back across to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We arrived and immediately noticed the view and cold temperatures. We set up the tents and Silvano headed to the kitchen to make dinner. We had zucchini soup and spaghetti with meat sauce. It was delicious and warm. We had two tents last night, but tonight we decided to share a tent, since it is so cold. Tomorrow is our last day on safari and we are hoping to see rhinos before we head to the hotel.

East African Vacation - Day #4 (12/16)

All pics will be available via FB. 

This morning we started our day at 7:30 with breakfast including a Spanish omelet, toast, pineapple, watermelon, coffee, crepes, watermelon juice, sausages, and condiments. We refueled and headed to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We visited the Ngorongoro crater and took a panoramic picture. Then, we headed to a Maasai village and was greeted by the chief and the village who sang us a song. It was such a surreal experience. There were about 120-130 people living in that village. We saw the houses and school. The village school was one room with a teacher, chalkboard, and desks similar to those we have in Uganda. The children attend this school until about 10 and then go to a primary school across the mountain. The houses were made of dung and bamboo. The houses were very tiny, like the size of a bathroom. They have two “rooms” in their house, one for male and one for women and children. They also have fire pit inside the house for cooking. They also have a part of the house that is for the animals when they are young. In order to get married, they have to give 20-30 cows to the bride’s family. When the Maasai asked me how many cows I cost, I told him 100 cows. They can have 3-4 wives.

We saw the following animals:

·      Wildebeest

o   Migrate in a single file line

o   Travel with zebras because the zebras always know the way

·      Zebra

o   Brown stripes until the male turns 6 and the female turns 4; then their stripes are black

·      Giraffe

o   Live up to 28 years

o   Gestation period is 14-15 months

·      Ostrich

o   Males are black and white; females are grey

o   Lay 6-8 eggs, incubation period is 42-60 days

o   Males sit on the next at night because he is black and blends into the scenery to protect the eggs

o   Run 80 kph

o   Eat seeds, grass, insects

·      Elephant

·      Camels

·      Baboons

·      Thompson gazelle

·      Lions

o   They mate for 7-8; the mate every 15-20 minutes (we got to see this); They mate every 15-20 min. because the females need friction for stimulation of their ovaries

o   We watched them mate twice!

o   Then, he moves to the next one

o   Live in prides (can be up to 17)

o   Gestation is 3 months

o   Have a new lion every 18-23 months

·      Hippo (dead one)

·      Water buffalos (including a dead one)

After the safari, we headed to camp. Our camp is called Nyani, which means baboon in Swahili. The camp was quite impressive with a huge kitchen area for all of the cooks and a large common area for eating, relaxing, playing cards, etc. There were also showers and toilets with real toilet bowls! We set up our tents and waited for dinner. When we entered the common area, we found our table set up with coffee, tea, and popcorn. Our cook, Silvano, made us leek soup with bread and butter for the first course.The main course was fish, salad, and rice. It was absolutely delicious. After dinner, we chatted with some of the other campers. We met some European guys and shared our safari adventures. I actually slept comfortably for my first night of camping!

East African Vacation - Day #3 (12/15)

All pics will be on fb. 

Today we woke up at 7, ate breakfast, and then we were picked up by our safari driver, Timothy. We went to the safari office to meet Natasha (the owner of Shadows of Africa) and paid for our trip. While at the office, I uploaded my final paper for class and checked mail. I was supposed to submit my paper before I left, but I just didn’t get it done in time. We picked up our cook, Silvanus, who is going to be very important for us once we head into the Serengeti. Then, we made a few stops at the bank, grocery store, etc. and drove for two hours to Lake Manyara National Park. We had box lunches of chicken, sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, cookies, crackers, juice box, boiled egg, and chocolate cakes. We had a feast...with snacks to spare! We saw so many animals today!

·      
     Elephants

• You can determine the age of an elephant by the number of sets of teeth they have throughout their lifetime.

• Males don’t live with the females and babies. When they are ready to mate, they find a female.
• They eat about 170 kg of food per day and poop every 1.25 hours.
• They pee, a lot! We are talking buckets!
• They have smaller harems and larger groups.
• Males can reproduce after age 23.
• They only digest 40% of what they eat.
• They lick the calcium from the dirt around the area to help digest food because they eat over a 100 species of vegetation and some of them are toxic. The salt helps their digestion.

o   Zebras

§  The black stripes absorb the heat and the white stripes reflect it.

§  They have an enzyme in their digestive system that allows them to digest even tough vegetation so even in the dry season, they are nourished.

o   Velvet monkeys

§  The males have blue balls – literally – which is how you can tell they are male.

o   Blue monkeys

o   Savannah baboons

§  The red bums mean they are in heat.

§  The Godfathers protects the group of baboons (the oldest member).

§  The females carry babies on their stomachs and backs.

o   Grey headed king fisher

o   Helmeted guinea foul

o   Impala

o   Bushbuck

o   Warthog

§  They kneel on their front legs to eat grass because their bottom lip in lower than the top lip or something with their legs…I can’t remember.

o   Eagle

o   Flamingoes

o   Superb sterling

o   Toucan

I also learned a lot about the Maasai, even enough we don’t see them until tomorrow.

• There is a market once or twice a week where people get supplies.
• The Maasai wear bright clothes to ward off predators.
• A man must kill a lion before taking a wife, but not this has stopped and men give cows for wives.
• There are no or few schools for the Maasai. Most of the children tend to the herd of animals. They drive them from place to place to eat and drink.
• Most of the Maasai do not know how to read or write in any language. They do speak in English, but that is because of the tourists around who have taught them.
• The Maasai are polygamists and take many wives. A man’s worth is judged by the number of wives he has, so the leader of the area had about 12.
• Women are in charge of getting the food and maintaining the house. Men go from village to village to trade and talk. Our guide said the men were lazy.
• Most of the Maasai have no religion, although some have become Muslim as of late.

After the park, we arrived at Crater Rim Lodge at 7:30. We were greeted with watermelon juice and hot towels. The room was very nice with three beds and a modern bathroom. There was even a TV, but we didn’t watch it. We ate dinner of vegetable soup, rice, chicken, beef, vegetables, spaghetti, and watermelon. The food was delicious. We tried to access wifi, but to no avail. I actually spent quite a bit of my data to try to post a picture, but they network was not working, so we headed to bed. Our safari driver comes at 8:30 tomorrow morning.

East African Vacation - Day #2 (12/14)

ALL PICS ON FACEBOOK

This morning I woke at 7 a.m., showered, and headed up to the lodge for breakfast. Before I go on, I need to comment about the shower. Now, I am thankful for hot, piped water at UCU because I really thought I was going to have to shower in a bucket when I planned to come to Africa. But the water pressure in my apartment is less than desired. So, this shower was amazing. It was the best shower I have had in four months! I had coffee and a pancake for breakfast and talked with everyone about the day’s events. There were people from London, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Canadian, and America. It was so great! I actually met someone at the camp from St. Louis! We checked out about 12 and headed to gift shop to catch our taxi to the bus station. However, the taxi was nearly an hour late and we were freaked out about missing the bus. We were able to catch the bus in time at Silver Spring Hotel and headed from Nairobi to Arusha. We left Nairobi at 2:30 and arrived in Arusha. The drive was paved, but there were a lot of potholes. The bus was like a shuttle bus, so it was smaller than a coach. We stopped at one of the rest areas right before the Tanzanian border and we also received a bottle of water from the bus company. The border area was under construction, so it was muddy, rough drive for about 30 minutes of the ride. We had to go through the border in Kenya and Tanzania. As soon we got out of the bus at the border, we were confronted with Maasai women who were trying to sell things. They would put a bracelet on your arm and say it was a gift. Then, when you come out, they would ask for money for the “gift”. At one point, I remember telling a woman, “don’t touch me” and she backed away. You just have to be as aggressive as they are and they will leave you alone. Kenya was a breeze because we already had a transit visa. We had to walk across the border to Tanzania, but we had a few minutes to take a picture.

When we arrived at the Tanzanian border I asked for a transit visa since I was just passing through on my way to Dubai. The immigration official was not having it. He refused to give me a transit visa at $30 and said I had to pay for a full visa at $100. I argued and argued and argued. At one point the official actually threw my passport back to me and I banged on the glass…whatever! I even said I would just stay in Kenya. He began to ignore me and I said, “Hey! You look at me. When I talk to you, you look at me. If you were in my country, I would give you the respect to look at you in the face when you are speaking to me.” Then, he actually came out from behind the glass and I was able to involve other people in the debate (yeah for community support). I even attempted to shame him by telling everyone I was a poor teacher on a fixed income. He still refused. I even offered to cook dinner for him in America when he comes to visit. He still refused. So, I paid the stupid money and have a visa for Tanzania for 1 year. I am guessing many more trip to Tanzania before next December. Unbeknownst to me, the driver was ready to drive away, but a fellow passenger named Godbless (I know) told him I was still in the office. So, he waited for me, but I delayed our trip at least an hour. We arrived at the pickup point in Arusa SEVEN hours after we left Nairobi. Immediately our driver, Milton, met us and loaded our luggage. He had been waiting at the checkpoint since 7:00. Once Milton picked us up, we stopped at Barclays so that the girls could get cash. Then, we headed to Arusha Travel Lodge, which was adequate. We were shown the room and told about the water heater, towels, dinner, etc. Then, we headed to the restaurant for dinner. We waited a long time for them to actually cook dinner and ate around 11 p.m. The food was delicious and then we drifted off to sleep.

East African Vacation - Day #1 (12/13)

ALL PICS ON FACEBOOK 

The girls left on Wednesday morning, after missing the bus to Nairobi, which is a long story in itself. Apparently we had the wrong check point. Just imagine four people chasing a large, coach bus on motorcycles with luggage in tow. It was insane. I had to wait until final exams were over to meet them, so I flew out on Friday. Moses, our department driver, picked me up at 9:30 and my friend Daniel accompanied us. I had to stop at Orange to add minutes to my cell phone. I arrived at 10:45 in the middle of a drill. I had time to get a pizza, withdraw money, and talk with Lisa, my public affairs officer. Then, I ran out of the embassy before it went on lockdown for 30 minutes. Apparently they do these drills once a month or so.

I arrived at the airport easy and checked in my luggage. This was the first time I had been on this side of the Entebbe airport, so it was a bit of a learning curve. They don’t let you into the gate until about 45 minutes before the flight, so I sat in the holding area and had a Miranda apple soda while surfing the Internet. The flight to Nairobi was smooth and short. They even served a sandwich and fruit on a 45-minute flight! Immigration was easy and Kenya gave me a transit visa for $20. Then, I proceeded through to get my luggage and hired a taxi. The taxis were really nice and I drove through Nairobi in the rain to the Wildebeest Ecocamp where the girls were staying. I was amazed at the development in Kenya, especially the roads. Everything was paved!

I arrived at the camp and it was extremely cold and damp. The guide led me to our tent and I was totally amazed. It looked like a hotel room in a tent. The bathroom was gorgeous. I headed up to the main lodge and found the girls. They were hanging out with a bunch of people from other countries. The first thing I noticed was how amazingly cool this place was with a pool table, flat screen tv, and fast wifi! I was totally stoked. The girls had planned to go to dinner with another guest, Malcolm from Australia, so we hired a driver and headed out to dinner. The place we went was really nice and I had a pretzel with tomato sauce. At dinner, I realized that I was the only American among my new friends. After dinner, we went home and crashed. I slept like the dead.