Reflections on East Africa

So, it’s been about 2 weeks since I left E. Africa but it seems ages ago already so I better get writing.

Scariest Moments

• Elephant/cape buffalo campground visit at 3 am.

Our last night of the Tanzania safari, we slept at a campground at the rim of the Ngorongoro crater. My safari-mates didn’t have a flashlight, when they heard me return from peeing in the night, they asked to borrow my light to do the same. As I’m lying in my tent, I become aware of a rhythmic, crunching sound just 5 feet from my tent. When Peter returns, I ask him what he can see outside my tent. “Something big, I don’t know, elephant or buffalo? I’m getting back in my tent, here” handing me my flashlight. WHAT??!!

So…I sat there for a few minutes thinking….these are huge, wild animals. They don’t know it but they’re surrounded by about 50 tents. If someone notices them and screams in fright, the creature will spook and …it’s going to run. My friend Ana had previously cited the monthly articles in the newspaper recalling the tragic trampling of some unfortunate tourist. I couldn’t sleep. I rolled up my sleeping bag and thermorest and crept to the more protected dining area to get some sleep. Alison heard me pack up and joined. In the morning, there were elephant tracks not 10 feet away from our tents.

• Loose stools

I think you all know what I'm talking about. Around these parts we call it Montezuma's Revenge but maybe there, Mugabe's Regime or something or other. ha ha. You might laugh at the situation but I can assure you that the abrupt onset of this condition coupled with the realization that there were still 3 hours of road travel remaining between me and a private toilet with unlimited TP, was very very scary. Fortunately, my emergency stash of immodium and roll of toilet paper were wise packing choices and I encourage you all to pack in the same manner for future, potentially analogous circumstances.

Most shocking

• Slum Tours
  

Apparently tourists can sign up to take a trip to the local slums outside Nairobi. What fun! Look! Raw sewage in the streets! Children will swollen bellies from malnutrition or worms, ew! Maybe some real bullets flying overhead, neat! Really? really. come on. I can only hope that a portion of their fee is donated to the community. See more shocking below under “concerning”.

Best Memorable Animal Encounters (besides the campground beasts)

• Lion cuddling

Per our guide on the Kenya Safari, male and female lions only hang out together when they’re mating. They start out their week together mating at a rate of 1x every 15 minutes with the interval increasing as the week progresses. Lucky us, we caught 2 lions post/pre canoodling.

They were both resting motionless in the typical resting reclined, cat position. She shifted up a bit (I’m sure it had nothing to do with the 6 minivans surrounding them) and I guess the male interpreted that as a sign that she was ready for another go and so he too rose up and started nuzzling and playbiting her. Well, she was clearly not in the mood as demonstrated by her not so playful, teeth barred, semi-lunge back at him. Once realizing that it wasn’t going to happen, they both, almost in synchrony, flopped back down, rather dramatically into the grass in which they were almost completely camouflaged from 15 feet.

• Elephant excitement.

You may notice in a photo from a previous entry below, a lone OBVIOUSLY MALE elephant, take a closer look! You’ll know it when you see it. hee hee.

Most Memorable Beach Experience

• High and low tide in Paje, Zanzibar, Tanzania

For a number of days we just chilled at a beachside resort in Paje on the East coast of Zanzibar. When I say beachside, I mean, it was really on the beach. I can’t afford such luxuries here in Belize so it was quite a treat!

Each morning we enjoyed breakfast (well, not the Nescafe) in the thatch roofed dining area, gazing out at the water at high tide, just 30 feet from us. The water was a darker shade of blue and the water was close to waist deep. What was particularly memorable about this scene was the dramatic recession of the tide as the day progressed. Twice daily the waters would recede for up to a kilometer. By that I mean, at low tide, you could walk ankle deep in water, perpendicular to the shore, out to sea, for a kilometer. At this time, the fine-grained white sand below brightened the water to vibrant shades of lighter and darker turquoise alternating with an interesting series of sand ripples that I suppose are influenced by current direction.

Best quick decision

To splurge on the Tanzania Safari to Tarangire, Lake Manyara, and Ngorongoro.

Worst quick decision

To change money at the border between Kenya and Tanzania, very bad idea. Stupid tourist, stupid.

Best travel companion and hostess

• Ana, of course!

A dear friend of mine. I really can’t thank her enough. It was wonderful to spend time with her and share these amazing experiences together. Good times all around. She speaks Kiswahili and has a wealth of accumulated knowledge about the regions that only an insider would know, obviously enriching the experience. From late nights in her Nairobi apartment to beach relaxation, safari adventure, and market madness, she was up for it. What more could you ask for?

Most surprising

• Flourishing entrepreneurial Masai communities

I didn’t realize that the Masai are really still a large segment of the population at least in S. Kenya and N. Tanzania. They also market their culture in a way that I hadn’t seen before. You can take a photo but you gotta pay. Want to see a cultural dance? No problem, $5. Want to see them jump up and down in their ceremonial best? Sure…stop by around 4:00 pm, that’ll be $10.

Luckiest Moment

• Clear view of Mt. Kilimanjaro

On our return North to Kenya from Dar, Ana and I spent 2.5 days together in Moshi at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was completely concealed by clouds the entire time. We parted ways in Moshi, Ana headed back to Nairobi and I went on a 3 day safari. On the return from the safari, between Arusha and Moshi, I spotted Mt. Kilimanjaro’s snowy top reflecting the sun in the distance! What luck! As we got closer, it was truly a fantastic site!

I should remind you that it was the winter season and that the overall declining snow cover in recent years (usually attributed to increased temperatures) is cause for concern. I’m no expert on the area but from what I understand, if this recession continues, it may have serious implications for the local communities as this area serves as a major agricultural production center due to the reliable, year-round supply of water associated with the snow melt. What can I say? These are the thoughts that keep me up at night.

Most Concerning/Disturbing

• Mini-van numbers in the National Parks and Preserves
• Gang activity

The number of tourist mini-vans off-roading to encircle lions, chase cheetahs, and follow elephants (oh yes, of course I was in one of them, I’m guilty) was disturbing from my perspective. The animals didn’t seem terribly bothered by all the attention but one must ask in such a situation, are we not affecting behaviour? Feeding habits? Mating? What if the wildebeest start to associate mini-vans with the presence of a lion? Is that such a stretch?

Also disturbing but altogether different, were the frequent and horrifying newspaper reports of Mungiki (a rising gang around Nairobi) activity. Now, one might say that poverty breeds criminal behaviour and to some extent, I agree with that. If people are poor, their children are hungry, they can’t find work, grandma needs medicine, people will do what they have to do to survive. Fine, rob people. I’m not saying it’s ok, but in a certain sense, I can understand it. Welll…..Mungiki doesn’t just rob people but beheads them afterwards. The violence was shocking.

Favourite Souvenirs

I derive great pleasure from giving friends gifts that I’ve acquired abroad! Of course, I always buy my own share of goodies, I love them all but, the Masai shoes made from old tires are a favourite. Dresses and skirts sewn from beautiful fabrics I bought from Somali women at the market. Masai spears and blankets, scarves, etc.

Best inter-cultural experience

• Interview with a Muslim Sheik

I accompanied Ana on a day in the field. She interviewed a sheik in hopes of learning more about healing and sources of strength in the Somali refuge community. He explained to us the 12 pillars of Islam. Quite interesting really. In effort to be cultural sensitive, I covered my hair with a head scarf.

Least Enjoyable

• Bus ride from Nairobi, Kenya to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

15 hours long and 3 hours late. We arrived at midnight and got completely ripped off by the taxi driver after we’d already been completely ripped off by the money changers at the border earlier in the day, errr.

Oddity

• Currency

In Tanzania, they request that tourists pay in US $ rather than the national currency of Tanzanian shillings. If you do not happen to travel with hundreds of US $ on you, then you’ll be forced to “buy” dollars at whatever rate they choose to quote you which, is typically higher than the going rate at the bank, what a surprise. A widespread scam that you cannot escape unless you want to bargain for everything you purchase or carry loads of US currency on you.

Best Values

• Zanzibar day trips

In Zanzibar, we took a day trip Spice Tour which included transport, the tour itself, tropical fruit tasting, and a nice lunch for $10 US each. Also from Zanzibar, we took a trip out to Tortoise Island, just off the coast. We had our own private guide and boat, and snorkeling gear for just $20 US each.

I could go on….it was a trip to top all trips, people. It was a vacation, yes, but I’d call it an experience abroad. For travel in the developing world, it was relatively glitch free all in all. Expensive yes, but worth every half-penny (BZ$ are half of US$). Ana was an absolutely fantastic hostess and travel buddy. It is so fulfilling to share travels with a good friend, can’t beat it really. If you’ve been thinking about visiting that area of the world someday….Kenya and Tanzania have it all; from amazing landscapes, striking seascapes, tolerant and large wild animals, to an array of interesting cultures.

At the risk of sounding excessively carefree, unrealistic or what not, say what you will …there’s no time like the present. Let’s face it, you’ll never have enough money or time so, just do it, wherever it is you’ve dreamed about traveling someday, go. I’d do it again in a hot second.