Wednesday March 22, 2006

Today we woke up around 8:00 or so, that is after awakening at around 4:00 because the power went out. That’s what happened at 8:00 again, and it was getting pretty smoking hot in Jeremy’s place. The skeeters were biting me when the fan wasn’t on, so I was actually covering myself in a sheet on top of it being 95 degrees inside. But, when the fan wasn’t directly blowing on me the skeeters could get at me. So, James and I got showers, read Bibles, packed for later and walked down the street to the Bonjour Gas Station where we had breakfast, snickers and water…yummy.

Then we caught a taxi to the carvers market, the driver tried to charge us 6,000 TSH for a 2 block ride, so James yelled at him and he gladly took 2k instead. Then (it was only like 8:45) we wandered through the market and haggled over a few items. James got some jewelry boxes and I got some Rungus, which are clubs the Masai use to fend off the animals and kill snakes, etc. Those are for my groomsmen, they are ebony and quite nice, they were 5k a piece.

Then James and I got into a debate regarding what day I left, Friday versus Saturday. I thought I arrived home Saturday afternoon, but it ends up I don’t get home till Sunday, so I was wrong! More time here which is good, more time away from Jessie, which is bad. But, in order to get that info, we had to find internet access so I could look at my itinerary. We tried a few small shops, but they had no power, so no internet, then I thought I could call mom, but it would have been like 2 a.m., then James bought a new Sim card and phoned a friend in Nairobi to look it up, but we never heard back from them.

But, after returning to Jeremy’s place and sweating while sitting on the couch the girls came and got us for lunch and they took us to a place on the campus here (one of the top 20 African Universities) of Tanzania University and I got the info of the web finally, although the connection was frustratingly slow. I also got to text message Jessie and my Mom and let them know I’m alive and having fun. The internet was 300 TSH for an hour, cheap! After that we went for lunch on campus, home fries, fried egg on top, and a few pieces of beef and a Coke. While at lunch we met up with Jeremy and Brad (a married International Service Corps guy).

Then Keri took us to the airport so we could catch our flight to Zanzibar (20 minutes long), tickets cost about $50 each. We caught the flight no problem and made it into Zanzibar at about 4:00. We had a taxi take us to our Hostel (St. Monica’s) which is adjacent to the Anglican Church which is a huge Christian church from the late 1860’s. The hostel we are staying is has A/C and a private bath in our room. Downstairs there are old slave holding areas, there is a lot of history here. After checking into the hotel we checked out the church next door. There is a neat monument dedicated to the slaves.

Inside the Anglican Cathedral, there is a cross that is carved from the tree under which Dr. David Livingstone’s heart is buried, which is also the tree under which he died. Then we wandered through Stone Town which is very European/Italian influenced architecturally. We worked our way down to the beach and checked that out. Then we wandered to the large fort which we will probably look at tomorrow, today we just saw the outside. Then we did some more souvenir shopping and I bought a 2’ by 5’ painting of some Masai warriors by Baobab trees, some dancing, some standing, with mount Kilimanjaro in the background. I got it for 28k TSH or about $25.

Then we went to Far Odhani Gardens for dinner, all the fishermen set up temporary spots there and prepare fresh fish. We had octopus, sword fish, shrimp, Indian bread, lobster and much to James’ shaggrin, the meal cost an outstanding 19,000 TSH…what a rip off! The guy who sold it to us totally ripped us off. At the next stand we could have got the same thing for like half the price, so James went back and ripped the guy a new poop shoot. Then we got some desert…banana bread and chocolate.

We were sitting at a table, while eating, and we got asked by another store owner why we were sitting at his table, quite rudely and he told us to get lost, so I gave him a piece of my mind and told him to get lost. Overall, I don’t recommend the place. Then we wandered back to a taxi stand after having an unfortunately unpleasant experience at the seafood market, which was highly recommended by lots of James’ friends. The taxi brought us back to St. Monica’s hostel for 2k TSH and we proceeded to our nice cool room.

Then, about 15 minutes later, the lights went out, and 45 minutes after that the hotel guy told us there was something wrong with the actual light fixture, so no lights, and I now write this by flashlight. James said AWA (Africa Wins Again)! Now we are going to chat for a while and enjoy the A/C!

Tuesday March 21, 2006

Today has been a long day, and that may have something to do with the fact that I only got like 3 ½ hours of sleep last night! But, James and I talked about some interesting topics, and it was worth it. So we got our wake up call @ 6:00, had a cup of coffee and went out for our last safari @ 6:30. We saw some hyena, buffalo, a porcupine, jackals, 2 lionesses, one of which was dragging a huge zebra carcass from a successful hunt earlier in the morning that was really cool, we also saw Masai giraffes (they have an irregular pattern). We drove about an hour out looking for a herd of elephants, which we eventually found, it was way cool. The matriarch chased us off after we had been there staring too long. Got a lot of good photos and actually filled my entire memory card, good thing we are going back to James’ place today and I can empty it onto his laptop.

After our successful safari, James and I had a bush breakfast, which is a full buffet breakfast that they have set up in the bush, about 1km outside of camp. It was very romantic, and quite awkward, but overall very nice. We had the same waiter, Oliver, serving us and we even had an armed guard to protect us from who knows what. From the bush breakfast we headed to the base camp and grabbed our bags and were placed in a small safari van and taken back to the airstrip for our return flight to Nairobi. We made a quick stop during the flight (a layover of sorts, but at another camp) to drop off and pick up different passengers and switch planes. While at that stop we saw a herd of 30 – 40 elephants not too far from the airstrip, sweet!

Eventually, these Air Kenya prop planes got us back to Nairobi @ about 12:30. We gathered our bags, picked up the latest copy of Time magazine and headed back to the Baptist Mission. We repacked for our next flight, showered and unloaded my cameras memory card. Then we had a while till our flight to Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania. So we went to a mall and looked at some local stores for the wealthier folks in Nairobi, then we went to a more touristy market. James purchase some Masai clubs for about $5 each (400 Kenyan shillings about 70 KSH=$1USD).

Then we headed to the airport, grabbed a bite to eat at the airport Java house near our gate (cheese dog and iced coffee) then we boarded our plane after James had a little scare from loosing his boarding pass (he left it at one of the security check points we passed through but, was able to retrieve it without incident). Our flight to Dar was about 2 hours, I dozed off through some of it. We landed at about 9:00 p.m., had to purchase our visas for $50 each and were greeted by Jeremy, a Journeyman friend of James’. We also bought our plane tickets to Zanzibar for $50 each while we were there for a 4:30 flight tomorrow. I also pulled some Tanzanian shillings from an ATM, I got 300k of them (1,200 TSH = $1USD), so like $180 for the rest of the trip.

We then went with Jeremy to return the car that he borrowed from two of James’ girl Journeymen friends, Kerri and Laura Lee. We stayed there and chatted for a bit, then Kerri brought us back to Jeremy’s place where I’ll be sleeping on the couch. Not sure what we’ll do tomorrow but I’m sure it will be fun!

Monday March 20, 2006

Today has been a pretty sweet and long day. We woke up at 5:30, washed up a bit, read our Bibles, and reported to the lobby for our 6:30 safari. But, it started raining and we were delayed about 30 minutes or so. But, we got started eventually. We saw 3 lionesses with 6 cubs, a herd of hippos, baboons, warthogs, some heart antelope and some other deer type animals. Then we returned at 8:30 for a full breakfast which was pretty good, fresh fruit, home fries, and crepes with honey.

Then we went at 10:00 to a Masai village, but they were charging 1000 Kenyan shillings to enter and photograph them ($15) per person. But, James and I were scheduled for a walking safari. So my name brother Nicholas led us on. We wandered through the bush for about 5 km to the base camp we saw all kinds of poop which he identified: impala, giraffe, baby tummies & elephant. We also saw accompanying tracks for these as well. Nicholas also showed us the trees that the Masai use to treat Malaria (the roots of the tree he showed us anyway). The branches they break off and “skin” and brush their teeth with, and chewing on the leaves tastes like pepper.

He also showed us a sandpaper tree: they boil the roots and drink the water and it makes them fearless and reckless for hunting. He said he has killed a lion and the skin is at his home, “it is too large to wear” he says! Today he wore a decorative leg thingy that was made from the tail of a Colobus monkey. He carried his spear with him while we hiked in case we encountered any lions. He is 21 years old, and the monkey tail is a symbol of respect and courage, because others do not have one. We saw warthogs, baboons and impalas while on foot, and found a pair of horns from a cow…it was all that was left, because hyenas eat everything including the bones.

He also told us why the Masai always wear red. He says the Masai used to believe that they were the only people God intended to care for cattle, so if other people or tribes had cattle, they would raid the camps and steal the cattle and kill the owners. But one time there were two separate Masai tribes who happened to be planning to raid the same camp on the same night. But, one tribe got there first, killed everyone and stole the cattle. As they were leaving they encountered the other raiding party and were killed themselves. When it was over, the other raiding party realized what had just happened and returned to their village and told the bad news. The chiefs decided that they must identify themselves, so Nicolas showed us a plant that when rubbed against your skin would turn it red, so that is how it started. Then, when missionaries came to the region, they offered white clothing, but the Masai requested red, otherwise the white would show the blood of their enemies and slaughters.

Nicholas also told us more of their rights of passage, beyond the teeth removal I mentioned yesterday. When they turn 18, the men are circumcised, but in a special way, so that the foreskin is cut back, but a piece of it is left hanging, and I kid you not, when I say that Nicholas referred to it as a necktie the way it hung down, he was even nice enough to draw a sketch in the sand of it. He also said that at age 21 the females have their clitoris mutilated, but he said it doesn’t affect child bearing. But, he did say, even though these procedures are painful, you cannot cry and have to be a man and a half. Overall the walking safari was a neat experience and not something everyone does, it was only James and I with him, which was a cool experience.

We then returned for lunch: soup, bread, potatoes and fried fish. After lunch, James and I went swimming and lounged by the pool for a bit and talked. We then came back to the tent and slept for about an hour and a half. We woke up at 3:30 to go to the lobby for our 4 o’clock safari. We saw more lions, warthogs, buffalo, lion cubs, zebra, some weird birds, cheetahs, vultures and hippos. Got some good pictures.

Had dinner at about 7:30 after getting a nice warm shower. French onion soup, steak, Mexican style chicken and coconut balls for desert. After dinner we went to the bar, not for drinks, but for a traditional Masai tribal dance, which they generally use for celebrating the kill of a lion. There were about 10 young men, dressed in their traditional garb, and they hum and mumble and sing and spontaneously jump really high in the air, it’s pretty neat. After that we retired to the tent, chatted for a bit, and went to bed.

Sunday March 19, 2006

Today has been awesome and fun filled! It started a little early though. I woke up around 4:30 and laid in bed till about 6:00. When I turned the lights on, there was a roach the size of a small horse running around my room, I almost saddled it and rode it around the Baptist Mission, but instead…I whacked it with my sandal. I took a quick shower, read my Bible and wandered around a bit waiting for James to wake up. He eventually did and we went to Java Hut and I had a Masai Macchiato (I think), and home fries with salsa which was pretty tasty. James returned some videos he had rented, and this place had Disney characters painted all over their walls, unlicensed usage!

Then we headed to the airport and checked in. We were on a prop plane that was carrying around 20 people (including the pilots). It was a quick 40 minutes hop from this alternate Nairobi airport to the Masai Mara, where there was no airport, just a landing strip, it was pretty sweet. The Masai are a people group that have lived here forever, but the government took their land and made it a national reserve/game park. A few years back the government returned the land along with giving the Masai the exclusive right to run safaris here. When we were coming down for a landing, the plane scared 5 lionesses off the air strip…sweet start! The air strip was a long line of dirt. We were greeted by a gentlemen in a huge truck and we waited a few more minutes for the next flight to arrive, cause we were getting 5 more passengers. This truck was a military issue vehicle that carries up to 14 people with an open roof so you can stand up and check stuff out with solid railing holding you in place.

On the way to the Fig Tree Camp from the airstrip we saw some Thompson’s Gazelle (Tommies), Impala and African buffalo and zebra. It’s been a beautiful day with lots of animals. We checked in around 11:30, lunch was at 12:30 and our first safari was at 4:00. We were shown to our “tent,” which is a large canvas tent approximately 15’ by 10’ with 10’ ceilings…it’s stationary and has 2 beds and electricity and a private western style bath, it’s a pretty sweet set up, not to mention the little porch with 2 chairs that is right on a river that a hippo was in last night according to our American neighbors. This is an all inclusive type place, so James and I had a tea after dropping off our bags, and chatted while waiting for lunch. We went in around 1:00 and had rice, peas and carrots, beef stir fry, fried fish, roast lamb, apple crumb cake, mango mouse, chocolate mouse and passion fruit with bread, water and cream of pumpkin soup.

After lunch we wandered around the lodge a bit, but ended up in front our tent on our porch watching these crazy birds. I took a nap for maybe an hour and then we went on our first safari, which is a two hour excursion in the aforementioned ridiculous military vehicle after which we return to the base camp for more food and sleeping, as opposed to what most of you are probably thinking of which would be a week long endeavor into the untamed bush of Africa.

Our Masai tribal representative was named Nicholas and our driver was Peter, we got put in a truck with several other Americans which was cool. I took lots of pictures, but we saw tommies, lions and lion cubs, an elephant, giraffe and African buffalo and the weather was beautiful. Nicholas told us how the Masai male hunters prepare the food so that the women don’t know what it is, I don’t know why they do that, but they rub two different kinds of tree limbs together, one soft wood, one hard wood, until it generates ashes, which they drop on elephant dung, which apparently is quite flammable; and then they cook and they do all this away from their wives and they just give the cooked food to them and never tell them what they are eating (don’t ask, I have no idea).

After the safari, we grabbed quick warm showers and went to dinner. It was just okay, pork medallions, beef lasagna and chocolate balls…yeah that’s right…balls.

Things we still need to see…cheetah, hippo, hyena, rhino, leopard. Safari at 6:30 tomorrow morning.

While sitting on the porch this afternoon, we are quite near a bridge that crosses the river I mentioned our tent faces. While relaxing we saw (more like heard) 2 dozen of the safari guides come running across the bridge and eventually one of them ran over near our tent and took a fire extinguisher that had been there, theoretically for our use in case of a fire. But, apparently there was a small fire they had to get under control, hope we don’t need the extinguisher!

Also found out today that the Masai knock their four front bottom teeth out as a rite of passage, and they do it with a spoon! This is the only rite they are allowed to cry during, and they are 10 – 12 years old at the time. The Dinka of Sudan that James works with do the same thing, but they use a fishing spear of some sort, and they also get tribal marks (Garrnhom) on their foreheads. Their father takes a knife and cuts them across their foreheads. If they cry they are cast out of the tribal society and the old law says their fathers could choose to kill them.

Saturday March 18, 2006

I’m currently sitting on the 747 that will be taking me to Africa for the 3rd time. I’ve already been in transit for about 17 hours, and am preparing for takeoff from Heathrow. The flight is quite empty, so I have my row to myself, and I even have those little screens in the seat back in front of me. Dare I say this will be the most luxurious flight I have ever taken to the Dark Continent?

I managed to get about 4 hours of sleep on the flight from Miami to London, and I had some familiar company. Geoff and Kathi Gathercole were on my flight to London to celebrate Geoff’s mom’s 90th birthday. With that said, the sleeping pill (extra strength) didn’t seem to work too well, I took it before take off and it was 3 hours before I first dozed off. I also had a chance to see Mom during my short layover in Miami from Orlando. We got to see each other for about 30 minutes. Hopefully we will get to visit for a little longer on my return flight; I have a longer layover then.

Now, having been to Africa before, I thought I knew what type of clothing would best suit the climate there. However, nobody told me it would be 0 Celsius in London. This was not too pleasant since at Heathrow, they move you between terminals and from the gate to the plane on buses…which are outside…in the cold. Lesson learned, hopefully.

My lay over in London was about 3 hours, I treated myself to a Chai Tea at the Starbucks there…I was curious to see how that transaction shows on my MasterCard statement with the exchange rate factor and all.

I imagine I’ll watch a few movies on the flight, which is close to 8 hours long. There is an 8 hour time difference between Nairobi and home; I told everybody it was only 6, oops!

Can’t really put into words how much I’m looking forward to some time off of work, although this is my first international trip where I will have to be without Jessie since we’ve been together. Good thing I’ll only be gone for a week! The wedding is only about 4 months off, and she is just wrapping up her spring break.

My flight to Nairobi landed a few minutes early, and I have to say, it’s great to be back in Africa! We all disembarked and headed to the Visa counter. James had found on the Kenyan Airport Authority website that there was a special stamp I could get with my visa, “Visitor Pass,” that would allow me to pass freely from Kenya to Tanzania to Zanzibar and back. Unfortunately, nobody knew what on earth I was talking about. But, I asked a few people, and some supervisors said that the Visa itself was good for that type of local East African free transit travel. My bags made it on time too, good thing, cause it’s gonna be a hectic week, and I gotta hit the ground running it seems.

James was waiting outside of the baggage claim area for me. It was pretty cools to see a familiar face in the crowd, especially this far from home, and it was just great to see him. We drove back to the mission and talked about the folks who work here, the other missionaries, etc. It seems that Ryan left yesterday for a cluster meeting in Uganda, and I won’t even see him! James and I stayed up, going through the stuff I brought him and getting ready for tomorrow. We are headed to the Masai Mara national preserve tomorrow morning, flying out at 9:30 or so…hit the ground running right! The weather here is beautiful so far, but James said it will be warmer when we get to the Mara and then on to Zanzibar. But, it’s about 68 degrees F tonight.

I took my Malaria medicine, James made sure I drank lots of water with it, because apparently if you don’t, the pill will burn your esophagus. Eventually I got to bed at around 12:30. Gotta be up at 7:00 tomorrow, if I can sleep through the night…I’m pretty excited. James also introduced me to some of the missionaries that were here tonight, the Mays family, who apparently will be hitting me up for Disney tickets sometime in the not so distant future.