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

Our All-Day Field Trip to Arusha and the ICTR

The CCS staff here at Moshi arranges for each new group of volunteers to visit the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha. Today was our day to do so. What an excellent field trip!

We left our home base in two vans at 7:30 am after having breakfast. The two hour ride had only one incident: a female police officer stopped our van in a small village about half way between Moshi and Arusha. She was standing in the roadway and hit the side of the van or its back tire with a police club. Our driver pulled over immediately to see what he had done wrong. If we understand the explanation correctly, the police officer thought that our van was part of the local transportation system. As such, he should have made a stop at the near-by intersection. When our driver explained that he was driving a private van, showed her his license, and showed all of the various permits that are plastered to the side of the van, the policewoman became argumentative and belligerent. She was determined to charge him with something and began looking very hard to find the “something.” Eventually, she found a cracked cover on the turning signal. By this time, she was in our driver’s face and thumping his chest with her finger. And then she threatened to take our driver to the local police station!

The Tanzanian CCS female staff member (Mama Fatuma), who was with us in the van, got out and tried to talk calmly to the policewoman. Finally, Mama Fatuma offered the policewoman 5,000 Shillings, but was rebuffed. The next offer was 10,000 Shillings (approximately $7.00). The police officer stuck it in her pocket, walked away… and we were again on our way. These kinds of shake-downs are very common in Tanzania. This was the third such incident that we experienced in our brief time here.

We arrived at the Tribunal in Arusha and were met by two young Interns from Kenya. They took us to the visitor’s section of Chamber 3. There we put on headphones and listened to the trial of Mathieu Ngirumpatse who once was Director General of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Rwanda. He was captured in 1998 in Mali and has been on trial since 2005. It is estimated that a million members of the minority Tutsi tribe were brutally killed by the ruling Hutu tribe/government during a 100 day period in 1994. Some of the readers of this blog remember seeing the movie “The Hotel Rwanda” several years ago. It was a very sad and horrible chapter in human history.

Mr. Ngirumpatse and the prosecuting attorney had some harsh exchanges. One that all of us enjoyed was Mr. Ngirumpatse’s answer to a question in which he clearly said, “No.” The prosecuting attorney restated the question and Mr. Ngirumpatse said, “As I just told you, Yes.” Those of us in the Visitor’s Gallery almost burst out laughing!

After watching the proceedings for an hour and a half, the court took a break, so we were led to a conference room and were greeted by a Tanzanian who is the ICTR’s communications officer. He was proud of the fact that the Tribunal is setting historic precedents as it holds world leaders accountable when they torture and kill their own citizens. He cited Kenya’s recent election as an example of a peaceful political process which could have been drastically different if the Tribunal was not leading the way to hold politicians accountable for their actions.

We each were given a packet of information which told about the 62 Rwandans who have already been tried and the 20 more who will be tried by this tribunal before it concludes its work in 2013. We then returned to the Visitor’s Gallery to watch more of Mr. Ngirumpatse’s trial. The prosecuting attorney spoke in English, while Mr. Ngirumpatse spoke in French. We greatly appreciated the translation that we heard through the headphones. Even though we were in the Visitors’ Gallery behind a glass partition, we were only ten feet from the defendant and 20 feet from the prosecutor. It was a very strange feeling to be so close to the action.

After another hour of watching the proceedings, which we enjoyed tremendously, Kirk and I left the Tribunal with a great appreciation for the work that this court is doing. A short walk took us to the Yia Yia Restaurant on the grounds of the Arusha Museum Gardens. It was a lovely and lush setting. We shared a tuna and vegetable Salad, a serving of Tanzanian onion rings, and a very weak banana milk shake. We enjoyed good food and good company.

After lunch, the entire group of volunteers stopped by the Maasai Market. We had visited this same market last weekend and had a much better experience. Today the shopkeepers were very aggressive and invited us into their stall “just to look.” I accepted the invitation once and found that my way out was blocked. I finally pushed my way past the shopkeeper and didn’t enter another shop. Others in our group bought some machetes, beaded jewelry and wooden salad tongs.

Our next stop was the Tanzanite Experience Museum, a visitor center which explains the origins of Tanzanite, provides information about the Tanzanite gem, and sells cut stones. Since we have already purchased a Tanzanite stone, it was interesting to learn more about this gemstone and to ask questions about it. Tanzanite is said to have been formed over 585 million years ago and is found only in a small area between Moshi and Arusha. The source is expected to be depleted in 15 to 20 years. A few of our fellow volunteers enjoyed making a purchase.

While at the Museum we learned in regards to coal and gold mining that Tanzania is a rising star in East Africa. In fact, Tanzania is Africa’s 4th largest gold producer with huge reserves of iron, uranium, nickel, coal, iron, vanadium and titanium minerals. China has entered the mining picture here in a very large way and with huge investments in Tanzania’s mining infrastructure. Unfortunately, to date only 3% or so of the value of minerals mined and exported from Tanzania is reaching government coffers. The rest ends up in the pockets of government officials who award mining rights and as profits for companies, mostly foreign, that have purchased the rights. There is an estimated 1200 million tons of mineral reserves in Tanzania so let’s hope that the government and its social service and educational programs begin to benefit much more than they are currently.

The last stop was at a grocery store called Shop-Rite. Volunteers stocked up with snack foods and treats. Kirk purchased three puzzles and an assortment of candies to distribute to his class of children since tomorrow (Friday) is our last day at our volunteer locations. We then began the two-hour drive home through heavy traffic. We reached Moshi around 7:30, tired and hungry as bears!


When we arrived at our Home-Base we were greeted by an army of huge flying bugs. They were about the size of dragonflies and seemed to fill our eating pavilion. We learned that they were termites. Since the rain has come, they have grown wings and come out of the ground. After the queen mates with the male termites, all of them will lose their wings and the queen will begin a new colony. Some of the termite mounds that we pass when we walk into town are huge!

The second event of the evening was hearing about the deadly explosions in Dar es Salaam this evening. We’ve been told that the explosions were caused by outdated bombs that were being stored in a military warehouse. For some reason one of them exploded, beginning a chain reaction that resulted in the deaths of 20 people, injured 160 more, and closed the airport in Dar es Salaam. No one whom we talk with thinks that it was a terrorist attack. But no one is able to explain how a bomb could go off by itself.

We can assure you that we’re safe and hundreds of miles from the explosion. In fact, Dar es Salaam is an eight hour bus ride or a one hour flight from Moshi.

Tomorrow is our last day of work and on Saturday we’ll meet Margie and Hank Clark to begin our safari.

Love to all of you,
Mama Jean and Babu

It’s Muddy in Moshi!

Dear Family and Friends,

It rained again and a lot overnight, so mud and standing water have replaced Moshi’s dust and dirty air. What a dramatic change in our environment. When we awakened this morning the air was cool and refreshing. We stayed in bed a few extra minutes to take it all in.

Today is a national holiday in Tanzania in honor of Mohammed’s birthday so schools, businesses, and government offices were closed. Orphanages were open for business, however, so Jean went with me to TunaHAKI and helped teach and play with the children. We try to make the play as spirited and educational as possible. The children love putting puzzles together so we use puzzles as an opportunity to reinforce the English words and numbers that they are learning. They catch on very quickly, and are great at mimicking.


The big hit today was helping the children decorate the sides of the 25 small white pastry sacks that Jean brought from our neighborhood BreadWorks store in Louisville. Each child used a series of crayons that we also brought along to carefully draw and then color a variety of flowers and animals on the sides of their very own sack. Which they then guarded as if the small sack was their most prized possession.

They worked very hard and were very focused on this activity for quite a while, so each child was rewarded with five stickers most of which also ended up as decorations on their sack. Everyone had lots of fun, and there was great excitement in the room. At the end of the morning Jean led us all in a hokey-pokey kind of dance that the kids greatly enjoyed.
(As stated earlier, the acrobatic training and workout activity that I was hoping to observe takes place in the evenings and weekends, and since I’m only at the orphanage in the mornings I haven’t been involved with any of this side of the orphanage’s activity. That has been one of very few disappointments.)

Jean’s afternoon activities focused on walking the fifteen minutes to the center of Moshi pick-up the caftan that she had ordered earlier in the week. While downtown, she also visited the internet café to post several blog entries and buy 5 kilograms of kidney beans for the bean bag that she will use to prop her camera on the safari jeep. The dress is exactly what she hoped it would be. The cloth’s colors and design are East African and there was enough fabric left over to create a head wrap. One of the Tanzanian CCS staff members showed Jean how to make the wrap, so she is very pleased.

If all goes as planned, we will post additional blog entries on Friday afternoon. Early on Saturday, we leave Moshi to meet Hank and Margie Clark in Arusha… and then we begin a week-long safari. We do not know when we will have internet access after leaving Moshi on Saturday, but will do our best to post updates as often as possible next week while on safari.

We love you all very much, and think of you often…

Babu and Mama Jean