Last weekend three girls and I went on safari to the famous Serengeti, and we were not disappointed. Day one we started at Lake Manyara, situated in the Great Rift Valley. It's a beautiful spot where we saw a ton of baboons, blue ball monkeys, wildebeest, hippos, giraffes, etc. There was a family of elephants that walked right in front of our truck so close we could've touched them (although it was highly recommended by our guide that we do not...). We had a nice night around a campfire and an early start the next morning driving into the Serengeti.
Along the way, we stopped at a Maasai village that is situated in the Ngorongoro highlands. The Maasai people are generally nomadic and very traditional. When we arrived we were greeted by a traditional dance and song. The women were singing as the men danced and jumped, Maasai people are known to be very high jumpers and it's true. We were given a tour of their village and shown their houses made of cow dung and mud, such a lovely aroma. We were told about the importance of cows; they're used as a sign of wealth and power and paid to a bride's family. Oh and also, a delicious treat they drink is cows' blood and milk (vomit). Maasai tribes are also polygamous so there is usually one male who is head of the tribe with multiple wives who all live in the village together. Of course then we were shown all their beading: necklaces, earrings, bracelets, etc and of course none of us walked away empty handed.
As we finally made our way to the Serengeti, after a long and bumpy "African massage" ride, I was struck by the sheer size of it. The first thing you see is just flat grassy plains that stretch for as far as the eye can see littered with tiny specks. Upon further inspection all the specks are wildebeest and zebras, probably hundreds of thousands of them all just grazing, sleeping, hanging out. The Serengeti is a totally different landscape compared to the parks in South Africa I went to and more of what I had expected. It is also where the Lion King is based so Pride Rock, the Elephant Graveyard, it's all there. We were so lucky because we saw tons of animals: lions galore, although most of them were just lazing around; a couple leopards, we actually saw one climb a tree; cheetahs on the prowl that walked less than a foot behind our car; rhinos; buffalo; elephants, etc etc. And of course, tons of Timones and Pumbas!
On our last night we stayed at the top of the Ngorongoro Crater. The crater was made when a volcano erupted and collapsed about two to three million years ago. It now serves as a home to tons of animals, although due to its size, many animals choose not to leave, which results in the problem of inbreading. Atop the Crater, it was freeezing and super windy and rainy. By freezing I mean that you could see your breath in the shower, so actually fairly cold. We were pretty unprepared and ended up eating dinner in the tent. During the night we awoke to someone crying help! help! it's in my tent! Apparently someone had gone to the bathroom, left their tent door open and a baby hyena had wandered in. The cooks came running, saw it was a baby, laughed and said not to worry and walked away. At the time, we had no idea what it was and didn't hear the "it's only a baby" and so I was freaking out as it circled our tents growling menacingly. After it wandered away and my heart rate settled down I slept quite well. Another thing that's different in Tanzania from South African safaris: no fences around campsites! In the morning our guides told us that a herd of buffalo has also wandered through out campsite. "Safety in numbers," they said. "That's why we put out tents in the middle." How reassuring...not.
All in all a very successful safari. I'm glad to be keeping busy on the weekend as life in Moshi is getting a bit repetitive. This weekend I am headed to Zanzibar with two girls for a lovely four days of beaches, snorkelling and exploring of Stone Town. Hope everyone is having a great reading week and if you don't already have plans, you're welcome to visit haha!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Pole Sana!
Ah so sorry for not keeping up to date with my blog. Partially it was because the power has been pretty sketchy here lately and the internet has been even sketchier, but I've also just been lazy. Now I promise to be back on track though. Halfway through I was writing this, the power died...twice. Karma for procrastinating so never again!
I think I left off right before I went to Arusha to see the International Criminal Tribunal for war crimes committed in Rwanda. On Wednesday, we were very priviledged to see the trial of the former president, Mathieu Ngirumpatse, of the ruling party (MRND) of Rwanda during the genocide. Mathieu Ngirumpatse is accused of genocide, complicity in genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to genocide, rape and exterminations (crimes against humanity), murder and causing violence to health http://www.haguejusticeportal.net/eCache/DEF/8/948.html The defence was examining him, so there weren't any too exciting or controversial questions. The defence seemed unorganized and asked, what I thought, were seemingly pointless questions and in return got long-winded and rambling answers. Nonetheless, it was very interesting to see how the trials work and I think I will go back with the new group in a couple of weeks to see how the trial has progressed. Arusha itself was a very hectic city and I am glad to be back home in "peaceful" Moshi. I headed back to Arusha on the weekend to look for a microsim but received blank stares from everyone. So for now, I have to stick with the dodgy internet at the home base.
On Thursday we took a trip to Neema Orphan Centre. There we played with babies, who were all super cute. The sisters there are doing a great job looking after the children who are abandoned by their parents at hospitals, in bushes, etc because of disabilities, financial reasons, etc and some are dropped off by parents. Some children are adopted, others stay at the orphanage while they're young and then return to their families. I was expecting it to be really sad but the children were all so happy and excited that I left feeling content.
We made another, larger batch of jam at the women's group last week. Paul and I travelled around to restaurants in town asking them to put aside some empty jam jars for us and then we found a women who sells empty jars, which made our lives a lot easier.We got about 20 jars for under 20 cents each, not too shabby. We also spent ages making labels so the jars look nice and professional. My favourite part, all Paul, is under ingredients it says: mangos, sugar, love. Soo cheesy but I love it. We spent all afternoon making jam and by the end we were tired but felt accomplished. Most of the women got bored halfway through and just left, which was frustrating because we're trying to teach them how to make jam as a sustainable source of income for the group. The next day one of the women who had left came in to have a look at the jam, picked up a labelled jar, opened it and stuck her finger it to taste it! And did not understand why Paul and I freaked out. Something that we really have to stress is proper hygiene and measures you have to take to ensure that the jam isn't contaminated. Things I would never even think about in Canada are so foreign here, which is sometimes frustrating. The final product is very impressive looking and this week we're trying to figure out where to sell it. The nuns from a local church are interested so hopefully that pans out.
On Friday I have a meeting with the human rights lawyer who spoke to our group a couple weeks ago to talk to her more about girls and education. We were supposed to meet last week but she got delayed (never late, always delayed) and we had to go. This weekend I leave for safari. I'm heading to the Serengeti where we will actually see pride rock in the Lion King and the migrations! Promise to add photos soon...
I think I left off right before I went to Arusha to see the International Criminal Tribunal for war crimes committed in Rwanda. On Wednesday, we were very priviledged to see the trial of the former president, Mathieu Ngirumpatse, of the ruling party (MRND) of Rwanda during the genocide. Mathieu Ngirumpatse is accused of genocide, complicity in genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to genocide, rape and exterminations (crimes against humanity), murder and causing violence to health http://www.haguejusticeportal.net/eCache/DEF/8/948.html The defence was examining him, so there weren't any too exciting or controversial questions. The defence seemed unorganized and asked, what I thought, were seemingly pointless questions and in return got long-winded and rambling answers. Nonetheless, it was very interesting to see how the trials work and I think I will go back with the new group in a couple of weeks to see how the trial has progressed. Arusha itself was a very hectic city and I am glad to be back home in "peaceful" Moshi. I headed back to Arusha on the weekend to look for a microsim but received blank stares from everyone. So for now, I have to stick with the dodgy internet at the home base.
On Thursday we took a trip to Neema Orphan Centre. There we played with babies, who were all super cute. The sisters there are doing a great job looking after the children who are abandoned by their parents at hospitals, in bushes, etc because of disabilities, financial reasons, etc and some are dropped off by parents. Some children are adopted, others stay at the orphanage while they're young and then return to their families. I was expecting it to be really sad but the children were all so happy and excited that I left feeling content.
We made another, larger batch of jam at the women's group last week. Paul and I travelled around to restaurants in town asking them to put aside some empty jam jars for us and then we found a women who sells empty jars, which made our lives a lot easier.We got about 20 jars for under 20 cents each, not too shabby. We also spent ages making labels so the jars look nice and professional. My favourite part, all Paul, is under ingredients it says: mangos, sugar, love. Soo cheesy but I love it. We spent all afternoon making jam and by the end we were tired but felt accomplished. Most of the women got bored halfway through and just left, which was frustrating because we're trying to teach them how to make jam as a sustainable source of income for the group. The next day one of the women who had left came in to have a look at the jam, picked up a labelled jar, opened it and stuck her finger it to taste it! And did not understand why Paul and I freaked out. Something that we really have to stress is proper hygiene and measures you have to take to ensure that the jam isn't contaminated. Things I would never even think about in Canada are so foreign here, which is sometimes frustrating. The final product is very impressive looking and this week we're trying to figure out where to sell it. The nuns from a local church are interested so hopefully that pans out.
On Friday I have a meeting with the human rights lawyer who spoke to our group a couple weeks ago to talk to her more about girls and education. We were supposed to meet last week but she got delayed (never late, always delayed) and we had to go. This weekend I leave for safari. I'm heading to the Serengeti where we will actually see pride rock in the Lion King and the migrations! Promise to add photos soon...
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