The Famous Rock-Carved Churches of Lalibela, Ethopia

Tuesday, March 1, was Kirk’s 68th birthday. We celebrated by getting up at 4:45 am to catch a plane to Lalibela. Lalibela is 200 miles north of Addis, located high in the mountains and in a semi-arid region. We are staying at the Tukul Village Hotel. We quickly discovered that traveling in Ethiopia is like falling into a time warp. It is rural, under-developed, and “Biblical” in appearance. It is a very unique place. In fact, Ethiopia has its own calendar, similar to ours but seven years and eight months behind. For example, the new millennium, which we celebrated on January 1, 2000, began here on September 12, 2007.

Lalibela has a population of 20,000 and is a regional center. It is known for its eleven churches that are, in essence, monolithic statues carved from a soft, red volcanic tuff. The churches were built in 24 years during the reign of King Lalibela in the late 12th-early 13th centuries. It is said that at night, while the masons and workers slept, angels did the digging. How else can this marvelous act of construction be explained? After all, a few of the churches are more than 30 meters long, 23 meters wide, and 11 meters high. It is notable that Lalibela’s rock-cut churches haven’t suffered the abandonment of temples in ancient Rome or Greece. Nor have they surrendered their religious space to tourists. Visitors are encouraged, but the churches serve first of all as places of worship, as they have since they were constructed nearly eight centuries ago. Priests far outnumber tourists.

Early in his reign King Lalibela is said to have been in a coma as a result of being poisoned by his envious brother. During the coma, he was instructed by God to create a “New Jerusalem.” When he returned to consciousness, he set about creating these eleven Orthodox churches. While they are called churches, in many ways they resemble a cathedral. As we walked along the road in the direction of the churches, we couldn’t see any sign of them. This is because their roofs are at ground level at the top of the mountain in which they were carved, and the walls go down into the mountain. Each church has three areas: the outer area is where the hymns are sung and is sometimes located just outside the church’s walls; the second area is where communion is served; and the third area is where the replica of the Ark of the Covenant is located. Visitors can go into the first two areas, but never into the place where the Ark is located. Like many places of worship throughout the world, we removed our shoes when we entered each church.

The last church to be built was one dedicated to St. George. He is the patron saint of Ethiopia and is similar to St. Patrick’s role in Irish lore. In Ethiopia, it is said that children had to be given as sacrifices to a terrible dragon who ate them. Finally, George came along and killed the dragon that terrorized the country. Since he slew the dragon, he was made a saint and is the patron saint of Ethiopia. Each of these rock hewn cathedrals has pictures or frescos that depict St. George slaying the dragon. Depictions of St. George are every place! We took many pictures of them.

Since the churches are built into mountains, the walkway to and from each of them is hilly and strewn with rocks. Of course, we are also about 2500 meters above sea level. Visiting these very famous and distinctive landmarks was a most fascinating and enjoyable experience. The exertion of the day nearly wiped Jean out. So we returned to our hotel room with plans to go to dinner to celebrate Kirk’s birthday, and then to get to bed early.

For dinner we caught a cab to the Seven Olives Hotel which is set on a hillside on the other side of town, overlooking the valley in which Lalibela rests. It has a lovely garden which attracts many native birds. We sat on the patio, enjoyed the birds’ callings and songs, and watched a gorgeous sunset. Each of us ordered a pasta dinner. Jean’s was spaghetti with meat sauce and Kirk’s was spaghetti with an interesting sauce made up of spices, olives, and greens. Both were simple but hit the spot. To cap off the birthday celebration, we returned to our hotel room and enjoyed a double rationing of the daily M&M’s treat! 

Today is Wednesday, March 2. This is our last day in Ethiopia and, more importantly, St. George’s Day. Schools and offices are closed in honor of the holiday. As readers know from yesterday’s writing, St. George is the greatly loved patron saint of Ethiopia. Today’s holiday is a big deal. The rock-carved church here in Lalibela that is widely regarded as the most beautiful, the most visually perfect, and the most often photographed is the St. George’s Church.

Jean wasn’t feeling well, so Kirk got up early to join the throngs of pilgrims that wound their way on the hilly and winding pathway to the rock-carved St. George’s Church. [This is Kirk writing.] What a sight. Thousands of pilgrims, most dressed in white religious attire, were led in worship and prayers by a host of priests who themselves were attired in very colorful robes. A loudspeaker system was set up to enable worshippers who could not get close to the church to participate. Many were squatting for hours upon end while they read from prayer books… although they would stand, kneel, and bow as instructed. The sound of chants, songs, and private murmurs was as memorable as the sights of this wonderful occasion. To be in Lalibela and at the famous St. George’s Church on the day of the year devoted to honor this patron saint was our very good fortune.

While at the Church, I came upon two brothers who wanted to practice their English. One was 14 and the other 10. They were from the country but had come to live with their grandmother in Lalibela so they could attend a better school. I was impressed by how much they knew about the world and how alert and spirited they were. The 14 year old hopes to be a water engineer (because “people here don’t have enough water”) and the other an animal doctor (because “so many animals get sick and die”). It’s great when kids in places like this have lofty goals. Be that as it may, we had fun together.

The boys had let me know that they liked geography in school and knew the name of every country’s capital city. I tried very hard to name a country that they didn’t know the capital of, but never succeeded. Finally, I told them that I’d buy them a book of their choice if they could name the capital of Lithuania! For the first time, they weren’t totally sure. They had one chance. Write down the correct name and we’d go to the bookstore. This became serious business because if the name they wrote down was not the correct spelling of Vildinus, there would be no trip to the bookstore. They worked together and finally produced a “final answer.” It was correct. They hugged and jumped up and down with joy. And the three of us walked to a book store and for $6 I purchased a very large Amharic-English dictionary with special sections for mathematics and geography. The boys were thrilled and so very happy. Which pleased me too. I was even more gratified when they took me to their home. It was a very simple and austere round mud hut hanging on the side of a hill. One can’t help but wonder where these two guys with so much potential will end up and how life will treat them. All in all, this was a very good and memorable day.

This brief visit to Lalibela ends our five weeks in Africa. It’s hard to believe that this most amazing experience has come to an end. We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be in Tanzania and Ethiopia. Tomorrow we fly from Lalibela to Addis Ababa where we transfer to our Ethiopian Airlines flight to Washington DC and a connecting Delta flight to Cincinnati. Bo Manning and Becky Winn have so kindly agreed to meet us and take us home to Louisville.

We thank those who have faithfully read this blog. We tried to post a new entry every day, but there were many times during these five weeks when the electricity was off or we couldn’t find or connect with the internet. As a result, there was often no new posting. We apologize for that. Jean has been our official photographer and, on the plane to the US and as soon as we arrive home, will edit her photos into a select and manageable group of outstanding pictures. I’ve already seen many of her safari photos and they are terrific! She will be happy to share them with you. Just ask.

So, this is it from Africa. We’ll see you soon.

Jean has had trouble uploading pictures while we've been in Ethiopia. Therefore, she will add photos to the last two blogs after we return to the US. We're sorry about the delay, but hope that the pictures have added another dimension to the blog entries.

With our love,
Kirk and Jean

Sunday in Arusha and on to Addis Ababa

Sunday (Feb 27) was a day of catching up with ourselves, repacking suitcases for the remainder of our trip, saying good-by to Tanzania and Hank and Margie Clark (who returned to their home in Louisville), and taking a two hour flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We arrived in Addis Ababa around 7:30 pm as the sun was setting, took a cab into town, and quickly settled into our room at the KZ Hotel on Bole Road.

Our first day in Addis Ababa was full and very rewarding. Our first priority was to meet Dr. Akeza Teame, one of Jean’s favorite students at Hesston College. Akeza is now the Medical Director at Saint Yared General Hospital in Addis and also one of two infectious disease specialists in the entire country. Ever since we began to plan this trip, Jean has hoped that we would be able to see Akeza. We began by trying to reach the hospital by phone. That didn’t work so we hired a cab to take us there. We immediately learned from the hospital receptionist that Akeza was in the US for the entire month of February working on a special project and wouldn’t be back until March 10. We were, of course, very disappointed. Then, in an almost off-handed manner, the receptionist stated that Akeza’s wife Melat, was expecting us and was waiting to meet us on the 6th floor in Akeza’s office. Melat, while also a Hesston College graduate, was at Hesston a few years after we left. So we didn’t know her. That didn’t matter. She welcomed us in a very warm and spirited manner, and told us how sorry Akeza was to be out of the country while we were in Ethiopia.

After welcoming us, Melat led us to the conference table in Akeza’s office and spent nearly an hour telling us about her wonderful experience at Hesston, about how she and Akeza met, about their life after Kansas but before returning from the States to Ethiopia, and about the dreams that they share for their country. It is wonderful to see how Akeza has found a life partner who shares his values, dreams and goals. After that, she took us on a tour of the hospital. We were impressed with its cleanliness and the fact that it didn’t smell like a hospital. Jean had already asked the receptionist if she enjoyed working there. Her eyes had lighted up and she emphatically said, “Yes, it’s wonderful.”

Before we left the hospital, Melat graciously invited us to join her for coffee and to meet their two daughters in the late afternoon at their home. Of course, we immediately accepted her invitation. So about 5:15 pm, we caught a taxi. We called Melat’s cell phone and she gave the driver directions to their home. Their house is located about a fifteen minute drive from the hospital in a new and very upscale subdivision with several young families. Melat graciously welcomed us and introduced us to Sophie, who is about five years old, and Henon, who is about 18 months old. I am terribly sorry that forgot to ask Melat to help me spell Onnan’s name, so it might actually be Henon, or something similar. It is my mistake! Sophie is already in kindergarten and is the cutest little girl, very comfortable speaking in English and very outgoing. She brought us three photograph albums which she enjoyed showing us and which we enjoyed seeing. She is going to be a very poised young woman! Onnan was at first very shy and clung to her mother. However, it wasn’t very long before she was laughing and trying to tell us something.

We enjoyed a light snack of injera, beef stew, shiro, and beets. They were all delicious. Then we enjoyed coffee and popcorn. Henon thought she was in heaven as she tried to get some popcorn to eat while her mother wasn’t looking. After taking several pictures, we bid Melat, Sophie and Henon good-bye and returned to the hotel. While Jean was disappointed that she couldn’t meet Akeza again, she was thrilled to meet his family and to see that he is accomplishing the high goals that he had set long ago when she first met him at Hesston College.

After visiting with Melat at the hospital, we took a taxi to the Hilton Hotel where we enjoyed lunch and hired a guide and car to show us the sites in Addis Ababa. Addis is a very massive, old, sprawling and chaotic city of 4 million… and we only had a half day to tour… so we selected several sites to see and ended up having a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. For Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, Monday was the first of 55 fasting days that lead to Easter. To celebrate the occasion, between noon and 3:00, the city was full of masses being sung over loudspeakers with large crowds present to worship and pray. It was an impressive visual and oral experience for us.

During the afternoon we visited the National Museum. We went immediately to the palaeontology exhibit where the star attraction is Lucy, a 3.2 million year old fossilized hominid discovered in 1974. We also visited the very large and ornate Holy Trinity Cathedral where emperor Haile Selassie and his wife are resting in massive granite tombs. Then it was on to view a few monuments, the first palace, and several notable churches. Our driver also took us to Churchill Avenue and its shops, the Piazza, through a variety of residential areas, and finally to the very active Bole Road where our hotel was located. It was then time to drive to the Teame home where our visit with Melat has already been described by Jean. We then ended the day by stopping at a restaurant that provided entertaining Ethiopian music and dancers.

We've had a great day, but will get a good night's sleep because we have to get up very early in the morning.

Love to all of you,
Kirk and Jean

An Unforgettable Visit to the Ngorongoro Crater

The Ngorongoro Crater is a volcano that imploded around 3.7 million years ago, creating an expansive grasslands area of 150 square miles with a huge lake in the middle. The crater is 13 kilometers in diameter and its rim, 2000 feet above the floor at 7200 feet, is still intact. More than 20,000 mammals, including all of the “big cats,” live year-around on the Crater floor. For the first time, we saw rhinos and elands. And most spectacularly, the lake is home for thousands of pink flamingos. While we were in the Crater a rain storm came through, clearing the air and creating a fabulous backdrop for the flamingos.
Their reflections in the water against a dark background made for a very pretty sight.

Our overnight this evening was at the most famous lodge in Tanzania… the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. You can learn more about the Lodge at www.andbeyondafrica.com. It is located on the rim overlooking the crater 2000 feet below. It is an elegant place. We had decided, since this was the last night of the safari, to designate this evening as the official celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary. What a memorable evening it turned out to be! Our travel agent in New York did us well. Our several room suite was an elegant place… a sizable tree house perched on the side of the crater rim at the very top. We enjoyed a fireplace (it was a cool evening at 7200 feet), a sitting area that overlooked the crater, a luxurious bathroom with shower, tub and two sinks, and a large and very comfortable bed. The room was decorated with beautiful antiques, an assortment of candles, and several dozen roses. And, best of all, George was our full time butler! There was nothing that he wouldn’t do for us. Including setting up a powerful telescope so we could see several rhinos ambling across the crater’s grasslands five miles away. We wish we could have stayed for a week. The Lodge has six tree houses (and 24 other suites) and a magnificent common area in a “main house” a short ways below/in front of our tree house where we could view the Crater in all its glory , relax and read, and enjoy our meals.

Talking about meals… as we were finishing dinner, out of nowhere materialized a ten person group of dancers, instrumentalists, and singers who had come to wish us a happy 40th anniversary! They sang spirited Tanzanian folk songs accompanied by beating drums and stringed instruments, and danced their way around the dining room. Finally they circled our table and began to sing “Happy Anniversary” in English. This is when we caught on! They presented us with a beautiful and tasty cake, offered their enthused congratulations, and gave Babu and Mama Jean great big hugs. We were pleased that Margie and Hank Clark were present to enjoy this very special moment with us. Clearly this was an anniversary celebration that we will never, ever forget.

The next morning (Saturday, February 26), as the sun came up over the Crater, we gradually awakened to a most gorgeous land and skyscape. We slowly and reluctantly began moving as we prepared for our final day of the safari. After a leisurely breakfast and several final views of the stunning Ngorongoro Crater, we said good-by to George and the others, bought a few souvenirs from three Maasai women, loaded the Land Rover, and headed back to Arusha where we will catch a plane tomorrow for Ethiopia (the Clarks will return to Louisville).

On the way to Arusha, our guide/driver Chilli
was kind enough to take us to meet his parents (his Dad is 67, as I am, and has two wives… Chilli’s mother and another wife who lives near Mt. Kilimanjaro) and other family members. A few minutes later we went to Chilli’s home and met his wife Rosie,
and their daughter and son. A third child is at college in Moshi. This is a wonderful family and we were very pleased to meet Chilli’s loved ones and see the very nice house where they live. Chilli then drove us to the Serena Mountain Village Lodge where we and the Clarks will stay overnight until it is time to go to the airport tomorrow afternoon.

At our final evening meal in Tanzania, Jean wore the African dress and head wrap that were made for her in Moshi. Her attire is very striking and set off a huge commotion in the dining room as many Tanzanian staff members came to our table to admire the dress and express their pleasure. They were very pleased to see an American woman in Tanzanian attire.

This concludes a very enriching, enjoyable, and memorable week of the most amazing sights and experiences. We are so sad that it is coming to an end. Tomorrow over breakfast, we and the Clarks will develop a list of the safari’s “Ten Most Memorable Sights and Experiences.” They will be included in a future posting.

So it is off to Ethiopia. Future postings from Addis Ababa and Lalibela will describe our goings-on there. Internet access has been extremely unreliable, and will probably continue to be so. We write daily postings for the blog, but do not have very many opportunities to upload them to the internet. And, perhaps I have not said this before… the electricity is off for many hours on most days. Thank you for being patient with the circumstances and thank you even more for sharing this trip with us by reading our daily descriptions and ramblings.

We love you very much and think of you all the time…
Babu Kirk and Mama Jean

On to the Serengeti

Tuesday, February 22

Today was another remarkable day. We keep pinching ourselves as we ask how we can be so lucky as to experience the kinds of days we are having. The companionship of Hank and Margie Clark is making this safari so much more enjoyable and light hearted than it would be otherwise. We are very glad that they decided to come with us.

We left the Farmhouse at 8:30 and devoted the entire morning to learning more about the Maasai tribe. On the way past the Ngorongoro Crater and through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area we came upon an expansive highlands (8000 feet above sea level) with stunning plateaus and valleys. Mile after mile, scattered among this gorgeous and endless landscape, were numerous Maasai villages and pasture lands where large herds of goats and sheep were being tended by their Maasai shepherds. Chilli took us to a small village where we were met by one of his friends who acted as our host. Little did we know about what might lie ahead during the next two hours!

We ended up paying $50 for the four of us to have unlimited access to the village of 150 residents. We entered their simple and austere circular huts made of sticks, mud, and cow dung, sat on their beds in front of a fire that was preparing the noon meal, and talked about their lives, how they carry on their lives, and village politics. There were enough English speakers among the village’s residents to make these conversations possible. We met young, handsome, and seemingly happy couples with their very young children, older people including domineering mothers and mother-in-laws, village officials who were concerned about the equitable distribution of the proceeds from our visit (our $50 will be used to buy water from trucks for the village, replacing the 17 kilometers walk that women and girls currently undertake to fetch water for the village), and children and youth who are responsible for watching over the village’s huge herds of grazing sheep and goats Jean and Margie joined in a welcoming dance that the village’s women performed, and we all admired the spectacular jewelry and colorful attire that both the men and women were wearing..
We agreed to purchase the ceremonial clubs that were presented us and bought a few pieces of additional jewelry. After visiting a school, we bid our new friends good-by and continued on our way to the Serengeti. Needless to say, this is one more morning that we will never forget.

We then headed for the Serengeti Plains--the most famous game reserve in the world. On the way we stopped to visit the Olduvai Gorge where Mary and George Leakey, archeologists and paleontologists from the British Museum of Natural History, discovered many remarkable remain of ancient hominids. Their work spanned the 1930s to the 1970s and is responsible for documenting that “humans” walked the earth as early as 3.7 million years ago.

By early afternoon we were in the Serengeti. The Serengeti is a 6000 sq. mile park of high plateau (3000-6000 feet above seas level) grasslands and woodlands where 3 million mammals reside. The park contains 28 species of animals with hoofs, 530 bird species, and an abundant collection of various insects whose collective weight is greater than the millions of animals combined. The plains are truly endless and stretch to the horizon in every direction. It is a stunning sight that is truly impossible to describe or photograph. The park contains over 2,000 big cats, tens of thousands of gazelle and antelope, and millions of zebra and wildebeest (also known as gnu). We saw enormous herds of zebra, some standing on the road as we passed, and large lines of wildebeest
as they migrated south from the northern Serengeti is search of water. Rain has come early to the southern Serengeti, so the animals are very interested in moving to where the sources of water are. The sights and sounds and smells were enough to overwhelm our senses. Jean was a happy camper, taking more than 400 photos!

By 5:30 we were at our place of lodging for the next three nights. It is named the Dunia mobile tented camp (www.asiliaafrica.com). It is mobile because nothing here can be a permanent intrusion on the Serengeti’s ecosystems and must be removable within days if requested with no sign of having ever been here. There are eight large and very comfortable tents here at Dunia. Jean and I are in Tent #5 and the Clarks are in #7. In spite of the word “tent,” the setting is luxurious. Each tent has a large bedroom with a queen sized bed, a sitting room in the front, a full bathroom behind the bedroom wall with a flush toilet, a sink with hot water, bottled water for pills and teeth brushing, and a “bush shower” that is filled with hot water in 20 liter buckets from the outside whenever we request it. The tent has electricity and we are zippered in so no monkey, hyena, elephant or warthog can enter. We hear these animals and lots of noisy birds every night, but feel very secure.

In addition to the tents where we reside, Dunia also has a lounge tent or commons area (where I am now writing), a dining tent where all meals are served (and they are outstanding to say the least), and a “television room.” Actually there’s only one channel on the TV--a bonfire that we gather around at 6:30 every evening for happy hour and to visit with staff and other guests before dinner is served at 8:00. So far guests are from France, Canada, Australia, England, and the USA. Last night we enjoyed a group of 8 wine growing couples from San Francisco and tonight we will be joined by a family from Sydney and a gentleman from Toronto.

Wednesday, February 23

We awakened early on Wednesday morning (February 23), so we could travel to an excellent vantage point to see the sun rise at 6:45 over the Serengeti Plains.
It was magnificent, stunning, spectacular, and truly glorious!

The rest of the day was devoted to viewing 20 hippopotamuses, including a few of the cutest ugly babies you could ever imagine seeing, splashing around in a small and very stinky lake (they were within 20 feet of us as we sat on the bank enjoying breakfast), driving through herds of zebras and cape buffalo, and watching from a distance as tens of thousands of wildebeest migrated to the southern plains. The highlight of the morning was our search for “big cats.” We were lucky enough to view 11 lions and one leopard. The leopard was crouched in a tree about 100 feet away, but the lions were very close. One walked so close to the jeep that we could have reached out and petted it. We watched two others mate and then were able to view them from 20 feet or so. Eight more were young males who didn’t seem to care that we were enjoying their presence and photographing them from 10 feet or less. It was a wonderful and exciting experience. Keep in mind that they were lazing about in a grassy plains that was hundreds of miles long in every direction. They could do whatever they wanted wherever they wanted to go. Finally we watched two female lions come down to a river and completely ignore a single wildebeest that could have been killed with very little effort. We concluded that the wildebeest was very lucky that the lions had just eaten and were very satisfied. They made no effort to attack the wildebeest.

Chilli dropped Margie, Hank and us back at Dunia camp to enjoy lunch and a relaxing afternoon. After a welcomed nap, we met him again for an afternoon game drive. We saw 10 more lions: two females and their six cubs. The cubs were nursing. And then two more young males who were sunning themselves. We greatly enjoyed watching these lions do what comes very naturally for them.

The day ended around the camp bonfire and with another lovely meal, and interesting conversation with fellow travelers from several countries. Around 9:30 Camp staff escorted us back to our tent for a night of sound sleep as we are serenaded by the Serengeti’s bird and animal sounds. It’s a great way to fall asleep! We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

We awakened as the sun rose over our tent community. What a glorious sight! After a wonderful breakfast of fruit, eggs, and bacon, we took off for the day’s game drive. Our goal was to find a cheetah, but unfortunately we did not find out. Instead we came upon scores of hippos (including a very cute and small baby) and three crocodiles in a lake, miles of zebras moving in single file to new grasslands, a leopard resting in a tree, and five male lions lazing under a tree. Later in the afternoon we came across two lions that were mating. We watched them romance each other, then the female waved her tail to signal her willingness, then they had intercourse, after which the female rolled over on her back with a smile on her face while the male moved away to light up a cigarette and have a poop! They were much more gentle with each other than we expected. Who knows, they may have been in love!

Throughout the day we noticed that many species co-mingle and co-exist very
peacefully with each other. It is common to see baboons, ostriches, warthogs, giraffes, elephants, impalas, and gazellas all grazing peacefully with each other. The grasslands are endless and the skyscapes and landscapes are gorgeous. The Serengeti is a remarkable place to be. One can see most of these animals in a zoo, but to see them in huge numbers in their natural settings is a very special and inspiring experience. We are thrilled by everything that we are seeing,

We returned to the Dunia Tent Camp to enjoy a bottle of champaign, compliments of the camp in honor of our 40th wedding anniversary. The Clarks joined us for this special celebration. We then toured the camp’s bush kitchen, enjoyed a happy hour in front of the bonfire as the sun set, and joined the eight other guests for a delightful dinner and very pleasant conversation. It is now time for bed, as we fall asleep to the sounds of the Serengeti.

We love you all very, very much…
Babu and Mama Jean

Lake Manyara National Park

This morning Margie, Hank, Kirk and Jean were again awaken by one of Swala’s staff members delivering coffee to our tent. What a wonderful way to be awaken in the morning! The sun had not yet risen, but it was getting light as we dressed and enjoyed our coffee. Before walking over to the dining tent, we packed our bags so they could be brought to the front entrance after we had eaten. Breakfast was again delicious. Each of us had a scrambled egg, some fruit and fruit juice. Jean had cheese and Kirk enjoyed a wonderful serving of bacon. Of course, we both enjoyed several cups of strong and delicious coffee – the best that we’ve had in a month!

Jean took some time to upload two blog entries, but uploading pictures was too slow, so that will have to wait until another time. Chilli was eager to show us some more animals during the 40 mile drive out of the Tarangire National Park. We were so fortunate this morning! The sights were extraordinary. Several large herds of hundreds of elephants were very close to the road, so we got to see and hear and smell them up close. One of the big male elephants was eating grass within 12 feet of our van. Chilli turned off the jeep’s engine, so we enjoyed watching the bull and the many other elephants around him. The highlights of that experience included watching two tiny baby elephants nurse from their mothers. Jean took way too many pictures, but at least a few of them will be outstanding.

We also saw several giraffe groups (called journeys) that ambled over to where we were. One group included three unbelievably cute baby giraffes. We enjoyed seeing more warthogs, dik-diks, and hundreds more impalas. Eventually we left Tarangire National Park and traveled to Lake Manyara National Park. Along the way, we stopped for lunch at the same village where we stopped two days earlier on our way to Tarangire. This time both Margie and Jean bought a woven basket from one of the woman who came over to sell her goods.

Then Chilli drove us on to Lake Manyara National Park. This park is located next to the village in which he grew up. It was clear that he is very proud of the park. We saw several families of baboons, a raft of hippos in the water and a dazzle of zebras nearby.
The hippos were almost totally submerged, but every once in a while, one would raise his head out of the water and yawn. They certainly have big heads! The zebras were near-by and wandering in an open field. They were so close that we could have petted them. There are no fences anywhere.

Chilli drove us on to see some more baboon families and warthogs which seemed to live together. There were hundreds of baboons from the very large and old to several so young that they were nursing as they hung onto their mother’s stomach. As Chilli was driving us down one trail, we realized that several Land Rovers were blocking the road in front of us. We discovered that everyone was looking at a pair of lions lying on a very low tree branch. The lions didn’t move except to flick an ear every once in a while. Their legs and tails were hanging from the limb. At first it was difficult to spot them in the tree. But then, there they were! Manyara is known for its many lions who do just this – hang out in a tree during the hottest part of the day. Jean did her best to take a few pictures of them.

We watched the antics of another huge group of baboons before leaving the park to drive to our destination for the night – the Ngorongoro Farm House. It is located on the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater. We’ve not yet seen the crater, but this is where our safari will end on Saturday. On the way to the Farm House, we stopped at Manyara Airport to pick up Kirk’s duffle bag with his clothes for the week. That’s a long story, but what a relief for him to get his belongings again!

The Farm House is a large resort hosting people from many countries. Meals are served buffet style and are delicious. In fact, they served ice cream and flan for dessert. We’re all very tired, but have enjoyed another tremendously interesting day.

Tomorrow we will start out early and head for the fabled Serengeti plains.

We hope all of you are well and enjoying a beautiful February.

Love,
Babu and Mama Jean

Tarangire National Park Visit

Our safari experience has been launched in magnificent style with two days (Feb 19 and 20) in the Tarangire National Park. This is the first safari Jean and I have ever been on, so we didn’t know what to expect. So far, we are thrilled by the setting and everything we’ve seen. We’ll try hard to keep this description succinct and brief.

We left Cross Cultural Solutions and Moshi at 8:00 on Saturday morning. Chilli is the driver of our Landrover jeep, which will be our means of transportation for the next 8 days. He’s delightful and knowledgeable, speaks excellent English, and is in his mid-30’s. Chilli will also be our guide for the entire safari. Chilli, Jean and I traveled to Arusha where we picked up Margie and Hank Clark at a beautiful lake resort where they were staying since their arrival in Tanzania on Thursday night. The Clarks, the Allimans, and Chilli headed for Tarangire, a two hour drive east of Arusha. We arrived around 1:00 on Saturday afternoon. The remainder of Saturday and all day today have been spent in Tarangire. There are two categories of the two days’ experiences that will be described.

The first is the place we are staying. It is the Swala Luxury Tented Camp. Since not taking Jean camping was in our marriage vows, I had to come up with a magnificent tent if I were to break the promise and take her “camping.” This is it! Swala is rated 5 stars by Conde Nast magazine, which also includes Swala in its list of the “100 Best Places in the World to Stay.” It is truly stunning. The camp is 40 miles from the entrance of the park… over the poorest, one lane, very bumpy, dirt roads we’ve ever been on. The Swala Camp is the ultimate definition of “seclusion” and “isolation.”

We are in a tent, but it has the amenities of a modern first class hotel suite: Indoor and outdoor showers with hot water, a beautiful bathroom area, large “windows,” a sitting room with desk (where I am at now), and a huge and comfortable bed under a gorgeous mosquito net. Immediately beside our tent and hovering over the entire setup is the oldest (300 years), largest, and most beautiful Baobab tree we have ever seen. It is huge. We estimate its circumference to be 100 feet! Jean will attach a photo of our living quarters, but there’s no way it will do the place justice. Wish you could come to our open house this evening!

Our tent is one of 12 and is deep into the park. No fences are in place, so impalas, monkeys,and elephants freely roam next to where we sleep, eat, and relax. Our tent is several hundred feet from the dining area, so when we finish eating after dark at night, we are escorted to our tent by a big, burly Maasai tribesman who makes sure that we aren’t eaten alive on our way “home” by any of the wild animals that live in the area.

There is a resident herd of frisky impalas that entertain us with their antics.
They race around our tent, cross the walkways right in front of us, and generally run circles, jump up and down, and dominate the landscape. Except for one individual, the herd is all females who are small and dainty. The exception is a huge male with enormous antlers, who seems to control the group and apparently has his way with any of the females whenever he wishes. Sexism is alive and well at Swala. The presiding male has earned his role and privileges through competitive combat. Residing a short distance beyond Swala is a community of bachelor impalas who would love to be the Dominating Male. The position is earned on a daily basis. The Dominating Male must constantly demonstrate that he deserves the role’s privileges.

The meals are great, Liz (from Ireland) and Garth (from South Africa) manage the place with wonderful humor, a gregarious and welcoming spirit, and professional expertise. They are making a career out of managing these kind of premium safari-based lodging facilities in Africa. Jean has forthrightly declared that this is the best tent she’s ever slept in… and that I am forgiven for breaking my promise of 40 years ago! Following dinner this evening we were presented with a 40th wedding anniversary cake that included the nicest writing on the frosting. Our anniversary isn’t until July, but we are celebrating a little early during this entire week.

The second part of our experience is the animals we’re seeing. I’ll try to keep this brief. It’s an admirable idea, but very hard to implement. The variety of animals living in this park is amazing. We’ve seen so many different animals, including elephants, giraffes, impalas, cape buffalo, warthogs, ostriches, baboons, zebras, gazelles, dik diks, blue monkeys, and on and on. And not just one or two… but scores and even hundreds of each. All in their natural habitat. It’s truly amazing. We’re trying to limit the number of pictures that we take, but each scene is more interesting than the last. On the first day Jean took 204 pictures. Today she took 254. Who knows how many she will take tomorrow as we leave. Needless to say, she will have to be a harsh and very selective editor.

On our first day of traveling through Tarangire National Park, we began at the northern tip where the park’s headquarters is located. Chilli drove our Landrover over very rough roads with many detours around deep waterholes… and we only had one flat tire. We came upon a group of 30 or so baboons that were enjoying the afternoon together. And then we were thrilled to see hundreds of elephants of all sizes moving in family groups.
One mother roared at us and nearly charged us when our vehicle came between her and her son! That was a fairly frightening moment. However, all is well and we’re able to report on our second day of journeys inside Tarangire National Park.

During the second day (Sunday), Chilli drove us through the southern part of the park. For some of the day we were a little disappointed that we weren’t seeing more animals. We decided that they all were in church. However, we enjoyed the huge variety of birds we’ve never seen. Chilli knew so many of them by just their songs. In fact, the chorus of bird sounds was wonderful. Toward mid-afternoon, as we were returning to camp, we saw “journeys” of giraffes and families of elephants which made the entire day worthwhile. We saw several baby elephants and one very small infant elephant who was less than a week old as well as a very dark (black?) giraffe. They were spectacular! We know that we will see other animals in the various parks that we will visit later in the week, but our days here in Tarangire have been awesome!

We’re exhausted, but happy… and look forward to visiting the nearby Manyara National Park tomorrow.

We love you very much…
Babu and Mama Jean

We Bid Moshi Good-bye

Our final day in Moshi was highlighted by the most magnificent view of Mt. Kilimanjaro that we’ve had during the three weeks we’ve been here. Bright sunlight, a cloudless sky, and a huge snowstorm that whitened much of the mountain presented us with a glorious and memorable sight as we began the day.

Jean celebrated her final day of work by reviewing multiplication, division, and exponents and introducing the concept of prime numbers during the math lesson. (This is Jean writing) During Geography, we talked about the North Pole, South Pole, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, Equator, and the rotation of the Earth and how it causes day and night. Melissa had brought an inflatable Earth balloon that allowed us to manipulate a sphere and explain how day and night occur throughout the world. Finally, the English class was mainly devoted to learning more about each other. Three of us volunteers who have worked with the students off and on during these last three weeks told them something about ourselves and our families. We also asked them to tell us a bit about themselves. We learned that three of the young women are already married and have a child. One of the young men is 13 years old. Several of them have already lost one or both parents. After that, I gave the class the pencils and Christmas decorations that I had brought as gifts. They were especially excited about the Christmas decorations. I was amazed at how these teenagers and twenty year olds grabbed for the one that they wanted! As the van drove up and I left the school, everyone gave me a hug and Edithe said, “I love you very much, Bibi!” What a terrific send off!

(Back to Kirk again) As a farewell gift, I took my kids a bag of candies, balloons, and an assortment of bobbles with which they made yarn necklaces. Fun was had by all. During the morning, I told the kids that Babu was thirsty and tired. They kindly brought me a water bottle. I took a drink and then spit it out, squirting their faces and fronts wiith quite a spray. I wish you could have seen the several seconds of startled reaction… until they decided it was fun. So thirsty Babu kept on taking drinks from the bottle and spraying the children until they were dripping wet. They danced around, as children do when they run through a sprinkler, and I kept on plastering them with spray from my mouth until they and the floor were completely wet. It was a totally spontaneous and unbelievable moment… and an unforgettable way for Babu and the children to remember each other.

The rest of the day was devoted to taking care of last minute errands, filling out exit/evaluation forms, and packing up to leave. Several volunteers who are staying on arranged for us to have the evening meal together at an Indian restaurant in downtown Moshi. These ten were mostly the older volunteers with whom we have formed meaningful friendships. For a couple hours we talked and ate and reminisced about the times we enjoyed together while in Moshi. It was the perfect way to bid each other fond farewells. On one hand we are sorry to leave because this has been an enjoyable and enriching three weeks. On the other hand, we are eager to move on to experiences on safari and in Ethiopia that we know will be equally satisfying. Moshi, Tanzania and the folks we met here will always hold a very special place in our hearts.

Lala Salama, fo fo fo… from Moshi…
Babu and Mama Jean