Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Final Days in Arusha


Our last days in Arusha included a walking and driving safari in Arusha National Park, shopping with the lodge owner (Art), and riding along to go pick up Tammy, Mike, and Abby as they came off Kilimanjaro.

Arusha National Park

We were a little hesitant about spending the money to go on a one-day safari given we knew we had 10 days already planned, but we thought it could be fun to do it for the first time with just the two of us.

Once again, Peter helped us with our trip.  Instead of joining us, he hired us a driver for the day.  Our driver was Dawson Minja—an older man who had many years experience guiding in the Serengiti and Ngorongoro Crater.  

Arusha National Park is lush and beautiful!  Supposedly, it’s the only park in the region that has water year round and an intact native forest. This is partly why we wanted to go.  As soon as we entered the park, we instantaneously saw vervet monkeys and baboons. 

When we came upon our first meadow, Minja finally pulled over to allow us our first glimpse of zebra and water buffalo.  As expected, we were quite excited!  The meadow had a few trees with Mt. Meru as a backdrop.  In many ways, it seemed almost too perfect.

Our walking guide was named Clever.  We asked him to spell his name partly because we couldn’t tell if he’d said his name was Cleaver or something else.  The name “Clever” was good fun.  He was nice, but he wasn’t necessarily the best at identifying the birds we were spotting.  He essentially called them all tropical bou bou birds (some of them were – we checked – but, not all!).  He was quite good at spotting mammals and identifying plants, often with an interesting explanation of their medicinal or cultural use. 

We were not in a zoo (what???). Sometimes animals are not terribly visible or findable.  That seemed to be the case for our walking safari.  We did try.  Our efforts involved walking through sludge (translation: muddy wetland) in search of monkeys and up a steep hillside to spy giraffe, we only saw water buffalo and baboons running across the field in the distance during the beginning of our hike.  We also had an encounter with a warthog.  It was scary and far too close.  Our surprise/fear meant that neither of us got our camera’s up.



The walk was not only pretty, but it provided a nice opportunity to finally be outside in the lush forest.  The meadows and forest were amazing and Arusha National Park is one of the few parks with a “natural” forest.  I think we were partly happy just to get some exercise.  Clever did not take the hill entirely “pole pole.”








After finishing our walk it was time for lunch and our driving safari. 

The driving safari resulted in animals being both findable and close-by.  We lamented the fact that we had not gotten a good look at either the baboon or giraffe.  It did not take long to realize that this would not persist as a challenge.  The other fun aspect of the game drive was the ability to stand and have your head out of the top.  We felt a bit like dogs hanging our heads out of the car, but it was great fun.  We’re going to let the photos explain the rest (Adrienne’s “happy snaps” at least, you’ll have to wait for Dina’s).

Shopping with Art 

Art is the Dutch owner of Ilboru Safari Lodge.  He has been in Tanzania for 15 years and is married to a Tanzanian woman.  He offered to let us come along for his standard shopping trip for the lodge.  It was great fun.  We were joined by two Dutch tourists for the trip.  Art provided colorful commentary throughout the trip.  

 It began with a stop at an electrical store for items needed for repairs and then proceeded to a bakery to collect the baguettes that were sliced and served at dinner.  We also hit a “supermarket” that was really a fairly small grocery store for some items including lentils for Dina’s photography bean-bag and shampoo to replace the one that exploded (our hair needed this).    

Our final stop was the market.  Although we had visited the market with Peter, our visit with Art showed us how little of the market we had actually seen.  We began at the women’s area for fruit and vegetables, then to the men’s area for more (yes, they were gender separated), then found fish, and finally went to the butcher.  The butcher was great fun and LOVED having his picture taken. Observations included: 


  • Art expressed lament at the treatment of white men.  He explained that white men are presumed wealthy and viewed as a means to improve the life of children.  He noted that he had to be careful in the women’s area of the market.
  • Art did not purchase any smoked fish.  Evidently, some merchants smoke fish by burning tires, trash, and other assorted items that infuse the fish with a toxic brew of contaminants.
  • Tanzanians, particularly Maasai, prefer fatty meat, not filets.  That means that the cuts preferred by western tourists are often the cheapest (ha!).
 
    We took an evening walk through a neighborhood.

Picking up the Rest of the Crew 

Happily we were able to join Digland and the African Walking Company folks to pick up Mike, Tammy, and Abby.  After a few hours, we parked in a village and Digland hopped out telling us that we could sit and wait.  Dina and I looked at the meager waiting area and immediately asked if we could just walk up the road that our friends would be descending.  Digland gave us a reluctant “yes” and turned to walk with us. It turns out that he was not permitted to allow us to walk unescorted in the village.  We felt badly that we took him from his duties of dealing with the porters as they arrived, but he assured us that it was all right. 

Porters heading up to bring food to groups on the mountain.
We walked up to the park boundary where all Kilimanjaro hikers had to sign out.  The initial activities was a whole lot of half-naked porters.  Porters had come down, shed much of their clothing, and were soaping up at a row of outdoor faucets.  We were able to watch the scene and talk with Digland.  He explained the practices of various guiding companies with respect to porter payment, scheduling, and preparation.  The outcome of this discussion was gratification that we’d scheduled with the African Walking Company as they seemed to have the most generous and ethical handling of porters.

Mike and Tammy descending from Kilimanjaro.
While it was bittersweet to see all the successful climbers come down the mountain, we were thrilled to have the chance to greet our friends as they returned.  Abby was the first to arrive.  Digland spotted her before we did. Mike and Tammy followed soon after.  All were very dirty and happy to be down, but full of stories.   Abby and Mike reached the summit and Tammy gave a valiant try on summit day, but had to turn back.  She had nausea for the final 5 days of the climb and persevered as best she could.  Not eating for multiple days zapped enough of her energy to make the summit unreachable, though she did climb for 3 hours on summit day.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Observations 1

We have decided to include a post that isn’t about a particular experience, but one that is just a series of observations that have emerged over our time in Tanzania.  Here is our first set of observations.
  • Motorcycles – Motorcycles (known as Toyo) are a relatively new phenomenon in Tanzania.  According to a few local sources they have only become prevalent in the last 5 years or so.  They are everywhere!  Most of them serve as taxis, imagine hopping on the back of a motorcycle without a helmet in sight and weaving through traffic. They are basically a swarm on the roads.  It is shocking how quickly they have grown in popularity.
  • Education and unemployment – Education (public and private) is available and expected through high school.  It is taught in three languages: local tribal language, Kiswahili, and English (wow!).  The challenge, we learned, is that unemployment is incredibly high, >60%.  As Art the lodge owner explained, it provides little incentive for education when finishing qualifies you, at best, for a job such as cleaning rooms at a hotel.  He thought this mismatch between education and employment opportunity would ultimately lead to social uprising.
  • Elections and conflict – Just a few weeks ago, an election office a few blocks from our lodge was bombed during a small, local election (sadly, 3 deaths were the result).  Evidently conflict associated with elections is fairly rare, but Art seemed to think that the next national election (in two years) was positioned to be the first in recent history to be marked by violence.
  • “Eh…” - Tanzanians, both male and female, can have whole conversations composed of various intonations of “Eh”.  It became a running joke of sorts to listen to conversations (phone and face-to-face) for the frequency and multiple meanings assigned to “eh”. 
  • Mix cropping – Several days were spent walking in or driving through agricultural areas.  The vast majority of time the crops were mixed, such as maize with sunflowers or pine trees with sweet potatoes.  Even in the national forests being raised for wood production, local populations were encouraged to plant food-crops in amongst the trees when they were immature.  This not only made efficient use of available agricultural land, but also protected against crop failure or pest outbreak.
  • Posture – Tanzanians have near perfect posture.  We watched many, who even when bending over or lifting things did so in a way that does not place undue stress on the back. We have decided that the local, default of carrying things (heavy things) on your head has resulted in good posture.  It would be hard to balance anything on your head if you slouch (grin).
  • Pay scale – Minimum wage in Tanzania was recently raised to 150,000 TZL per month.  That is just over $90 PER MONTH.  We are not rich, by any means, by American standards, but the wages here remind us of how lucky we are.
  • Tipping – Evidently Americans have ruined tipping in Tanzania.  We tip too much and Tanzanians know it.  They have learned that if they express disappointment at a tip amount, Americans will often just add money.  The reality is Americans tip far and above any other western tourist.  We knew this, but given the wages here it was hard not to tip handsomely.  Art and some other Dutch tourists we met expressed shock at the 18-20% Americans tip, but at one lunch 20% amounted to ~$1.  It’s hard to see that as too much!
  • Sewing with pedals – Just a fun image, we frequently observed sewing machines operated by pedals in several towns.  The machines were often located outside the shops along the sidewalk or dirt road.
  • Repurposed shipping containers – There is an atmosphere of “use what you can” in construction here.  In several cases including a national park, holes for windows and doors had been cut into shipping containers.  In context, it appears to be an ingenious repurposing.
  • Education and fewer children – You can read from many places in the world that education can lead to lower birth rates.  This is true in Tanzania as well, at least in one village we visited.  In the past, women would have 12+ children.  As education has become more prevalent, it is now more frequently ~6 (still a lot, but it has dropped by half).
  • Cell phones – Cell phones are everywhere! The smallest, most ramshackle areas will still have small shops for the purchase of cell phone minutes.  In addition, they can transfer money using cell phones via text.  Peter happily explained that it meant there was no need to go to a bank as Tanzanians have limited trust in them.
  • Incomplete construction – Unfinished construction is a fairly common sight in and around Arusha.  We learned that this was because loans to build homes or businesses such as a hotel carry an interest rate of 20% or more.  As a result, folks build as much as they can afford and then let it sit until they save more money to continue.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Back from Safari

Safari was amazing.  We are now back from our 10 days (without Internet). We saw uncountable numbers of animals & the Serengeti is amazingly beautiful.  We'll post much more when we get to more reliable Internet and have a chance to go through a few of the photos.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Maasai Market


After the Mulala Village trip, we decided to not do another village visit because the last one (Mulala) seemed to cater too much to tourists.  We had not planned on spending another day with Peter, but he had mentioned the chance to visit a weekly market outside of Arusha.  We called him up and set up a time to meet. 


The market was a good 20 or 30 km outside of Arusha.  This meant passing several new sites.  One of which was, thanks to George Bush (#2), a mosquito netting factory that was still operating and provided free nets in an effort to limit the spread of malaria. Supposedly, malaria rates are quite low in the Arusha region as a result. 

We also passed a jail.  The jail had crops and livestock tended to by the prisoners (as explained by Peter, they have to eat too).  Life for prisoners is rough.  They sleep on the floor and there are no measures to limit mosquitoes or other diseases that may spread in a jail.  Peter basically indicated that a long jail sentence often ends with death. 

View from the road
We pulled up to the market area, hopped out of the car, and just stood there, looking down on it all.  The market was huge!  It took up an open field and the surrounding buildings.  As we descended into the market, Peter suggested a route that would hit all parts without repeat.  We happily complied-- hoping to just take it all in.   The thing that stood out the most was the color.  Maasai typically dress in reds or bright blues, though many of the women were in other bright, patterned colors. 

Calabash negotiating
The market is a chance for trading between Maasai and other, more agricultural tribes/villages.  In general, Maasai bring in livestock (goats, cows, etc.) to sell and look to purchase grains, bananas, and other items.  There was an area where donkeys were tied waiting to be loaded up for the trip back home.  Evidently, some Maasai come from up to 50km away.



There is less of a sequential story to tell about this visit.  Instead, we’ll just offer up some of our observations or things we learned along the way.







  •  It was incredibly beautiful due to the collection of colors.  The day was one of simply trying to take in the activities around us.  The Maasai women, with their very decorative earrings and necklaces, and the men, who moved with incredible grace, were endlessly fascinating.
  • Maasai are tall.  In fact, Peter explained that in winning a wife, height and vertical leap were critical factors.
 
  • Maasai have many wives.  Wives of the same man often had on matching ankle bracelets and would walk in order from first wife, to second, and so on.  The age range of the wives was often striking with the first wife appearing quite old and the newest wife (e.g. 4th or 5th) appearing shockingly young.  The first and second wives had very ornate earrings and other jewelry. 
  • The calabash are surprisingly light in weight and beautiful.  Adrienne wanted one as decoration for the house.  Dina reminded her that they would not travel well.  It’s true. They’re quite big.  

Beans as far as you can see...


BBQ lane - yes, those goats are about to become dinner










Thursday, July 11, 2013

Mulala Village

Peter, our guide, picked us up with a driver and vehicle for a visit to Mulala Village.  We began by driving out of town and winding our way into the hills at the foot of Mt. Meru.  This was a new low for Tanzanian road quality and that is saying something.  Peter called it “African massage.”

 
 
Grading... same everywhere
Our first stop was a middle school.  While it was really interesting to see, it was also a little awkward.  We walked in to a room full of teachers grading exams and Peter asked if we could take a photo.  They said we could “since you are a teacher too,” but it felt really intrusive to do so (though we did snap the photo). 

A teacher then wandered down to a classroom and we quickly realized that the 7th graders had been called in from recess for us.  The awkward situation continued as they then sang a song that was many versions of saying “we are so happy” and “welcome.”  We snuck a few photos from the hip, but couldn’t bring ourselves to bring a camera up to our eye despite the invitation to do so. 

Not too bad for a hip shot.
After the classroom visit, we stood and spoke with the teacher and learned that the classroom we had just visited had been built through donations from Dutch tourists and a half-built, new building was from American donations.  Basically there is very little school funding and even a public school like the one we visited was reliant on donations, primarily from tourists.  This made the visit seem a little less awkward.  For Adrienne, it felt as though it was a version of the capital campaign going on at Cal Poly-- show off for big donors, hope to get money.

Peter & stingless beehives
The Agape Women’s Group, part of the Mulala Cultural Tourism Program, grew coffee, made cheese, and raised bees for honey.  The profits were split between the unmarried women in the group, orphans who needed basic supplies such as uniforms to attend school, and the school itself. 


The cutest resident of the farm

We had the opportunity to see all the processes going on at the farm, eat from food grown there, and try our hand at things like carrying bananas on our head.  It felt a little contrived with lots of singing and dancing that catered specifically to tourists.  

Dina & Peter on the hike
The best part of the day was the two to three hours we spent walking with Peter around the larger village.  We saw a great deal and Peter kept a running commentary covering everything from internal dynamics of village conflict management, plant identification, bird identification (there were lots of gorgeous birds), and Kiswahili lessons.  He also spoke at length about the various tribes and/or villages in Tanzania and the 122 languages.  Adrienne would ask how to bid children that would approach them goodbye and he’d give us the Kiswahili and then correct himself and say that the young ones wouldn’t understand and give us the Meru language version.  He would often go on to provide Maasai and other options, but we would lose track soon after the Meru word was learned. 
 
Dina, still making friends
Beer bananas
A few fun items from the day…
  • There are 7 types of banana – 3 for cooking, 3 for eating, and 1 for beer. 
  •  The beehives for making honey are hallowed out logs that are then hung from a tree, side of the house, or similar.  There are two types of bees: stingless and killer bees.  Can you guess which hives are hung on houses and which ones are nestled far from the village and high in trees?  He carefully explained the harvesting process for both. 
  • Coffee is everywhere.  We picked some and experimented with how hard or easy it was to get the bean out.  Aside from Adrienne shooting hers, it was fairly easy.
  • Potatoes were blooming.  Many of the fields were separated by pine trees that used for timber and cooking or by peace plants.
  • Women are strong and do much of the work in an agricultural community.  We watched one woman casually walk down a rough dirt road with 3 gallons of water on her head and another 3 gallon bucket in her hand (seriously!).  We also observed both men and women hand-tilling the soils in the field.
  • We both stink at carrying things on our head—especially carrying things on our head while dancing.
About that dancing while balancing things on your head...

Cooking with Rosie & Arnoldi


Rosie's son Arnoldi
Rosie is the head chef at the hotel where we are staying.  On her day off, she occasionally brings guests home with her to do some traditional cooking.  We decided this sounded perfect.

Dina & Rosie
Exiting out the back gate of the hotel, we walked to her house through the neighborhood near the hotel.  She lives in one room house with a curtain separating a small living room from her bed.  She was proud of her home and it did appear in better condition than many of those we walked past to get there.  She and her son, Arnoldi, welcomed us.  Before cooking could commence, they dressed us for action, or at least appropriately for Tanzanian cooking.

We made 6 dishes in 3 hours over open flame in the small concrete area outside her front door.  The “stoves” were 1 charcoal and 2 kerosene. 


Dina & Arnoldi shelling peas
We began our time by shelling peas.  We were not terribly fast and Arnoldi stepped in to help speed us up.  While we worked on the peas, Rosie cut up beef for the stew.  Like everything she chopped that day, the chopping was done while holding the beef in hand and lopping off chunks. 







 
Our next two tasks were dealing with the coconuts and green bananas.  Rosie used a cleaver to break apart the two coconuts and then had Dina and I take turns sitting on a small stool with a serrated blade sticking out.  We were asked to rub the inside of the coconut on this blade until all the white had been removed as shavings fell in the bowl below.  This was fun, but, again, we were not terribly good at it.  Each of us, thinking we were done, would hold up our coconut to have Rosie tell us, “More.”

The skins of the green bananas (known as cooking bananas) seemed to be attached more firmly than bananas at home according to Dina.  She had the task of helping Rosie peel a stack of green bananas. 
 
Rosie creating perfectly consistent slices of onion for the peas.



Our next task was cleaning and de-stemming what looked like collard greens.  This may be the one task that we were able to complete ably.  From here, Rosie gathered the leaves tightly and began to shave off small slices.  It looked easy enough.  Adrienne then got to try.  It was so damn hard.  Even after Rosie corrected the manner in which Adrienne held the knife, she struggled.  The experiment was over as soon as Adrienne sliced her own finger (if you had been watching her technique, this was bound to happen).  Arnoldi gathered a bandaid or “plaster” and after a bit of laughter, the finger was fixed.  Our final cooking task was to help stir the ugali, maize porridge.  Let’s just say that Rosie is very strong and we are very wimpy.  She briskly stirred the stiff mix and we could barely move the large cooking spoon (more laughter ensued).

Dishes


Beef, green bananas, coconut stew
  • Coconut milk – Take the coconut shavings, add a bit of hot water, stir around and then strain out the shavings and squeeze them.  Four coconuts yielded nearly a liter of coconut milk.
  • Fresh peas with carrot, onion, green pepper, coconut milk
  • Beef, green banana, coconut milk stew with onion, tomato, & green pepper
  • Ugali – maize or cornmeal porridge (literally water and maize flour)
  • Rice with carrots, green pepper, and a bit of coconut milk
  • Fish – stir fried over onion, carrot, tomato, green pepper, and then simmered in coconut milk
  • Tanzanian collard greens – greens with a bit of red onion, salt, and then reduced in coconut milk

NOTE: LARGE helpings of salt and oil were added to everything!

All food was placed in insulated containers and carried to the hotel where we sat down to eat our partially self-prepared lunch.


The best part of cooking at Rosie’s was that we got a small glimpse of community life.  Her sister was in the courtyard area doing laundry (all three hours we were there she was bent over washing).  Other women from the village would peak around the corner and laugh at us.  We were definitely part of the afternoon entertainment.  Her one-year old niece, Sabrina, had to be fed (it was 12:30 and little Sabrina still hadn’t eaten that day) and was alternately cared for inside the house for by Rosie, her son, or her sister.  When extra items such as stools were needed, she walked off to gather them from neighbors (or asked Arnoldi to go get them).