Camino Update

We are on day 10 of the Camino de Santiago, and what an incredible
journey it has been so far.  Our feet are surviving, although Brent
has had some arch pain and a few blisters.  Today we found a roaming
foot specialist in our albuerge, who analysed his foot and taped it
up, working on donations.  Other than that, we are both healthy and
fine.


We have been walking since day one with Celina, a lovely woman Gabby´s
age from Buenos Aires.  She is funny, cute, and has a love of life
despite some very hard things that have happened to her recently.  She
speaks no English, so Gabby is getting a crash course in Spanish,
improving quite significantly each day.  We have also joined up with
another group- a mother and daughter from Kelowna, BC, a girl from
County Cork Ireland, and a guy from Seattle.  They are fun and
hilarious and we really enjoy cooking, laughing and walking with them.


From the outside, life in these little Spanish towns seems beautiful.
Not a trace of a corporation in sight; you buy your bread from the
baker down the street, then your meat from the butcher, then your
veggies from the grocer.  You go to mass each day and take a siesta in
the afternoon while the whole town shuts down.  However, we know that
the European economic crisis has hit Spain hard, and we can see
glimpses of poverty every once in awhile too.

The walking has been amazing.  The scenery is a feast for the eyes
most of the time... fields of alfalfa swaying in the wind like waves
in the ocean, hilly countrysides with row upon row of vines growing in
the bodegas in La Rioja, stunning views of the chiseled white
mountains in the distance, and tiny little towns centred around a main
cathedral, with cobblestone streets.  Before we left Tanzania, a
friend of ours said: "There´s something so tempting about the idea of
putting the world´s problems aside for a little while and just
walking."  That´s really what it feels like.  Life gets simplified to
its most basic elements on the Camino:  walking, eating, sleeping, and
finding connection and friendship with people along the way.  It´s
hard to describe how this long hard walk seems to change us on the
inside, but I can see it happening in us and in the people we walk
with.  There is time to think while walking, time to pray, time to
talk and get to know others´ life stories, but there´s also just time
to be quiet and do nothing at all but put one foot in front of the
other and marvel at the beauty around you.  This is something we North
Americans are sadly lacking in our lives, for the most part.  We are
grateful for the chance to take time out of our lives for this.

Kwa Heri, Africa

As I write this post, it is 1:30 am.  Brent is sleeping beside me and I am up doing some last-minute reservations and clearing off my work laptop.  Before I hand it in tomorrow and we head for two months of nomadic adventure, it felt appropriate to write one last blog post.

It's been an emotional week of goodbyes.  Tonight we put our hands on the "helping hands" wall, listened to some speeches and songs from our volunteer friends, and then went for a final feast at the auto-parts-shop-BBQ-joint we so love. We felt blessed and loved by those around us. It has been harder to say goodbye to our Tanzanian friends, knowing that our friends from England, Australia and the US might be able to come visit us some day but the Tanzanians probably won't be able to.  As one teacher told me, "I feel like a small fish in the big pond of your life plans." Brent and I have the luxury of traveling around the globe, meeting people, and leaving when things aren't great.  Most Tanzanians don't have anything near that luxury.

We are excited for the next phase of our adventure.  But we are also so, so grateful for our experience here- for the people we've met, the gorgeous scenery we have encountered, the bugs and reptiles we (Brent) have followed around, the babies we have cuddled

and the lessons we have learned.  I think we are both walking away from this year with more questions than answers about this world, but this is a good thing. Kwa heri (goodbye), Tanzania.  We hope to see you again one day.

I was going for an African sunset... unfortunately some green spilled in the yellow.

Brent will paint a little maple leaf in the middle tomorrow morning after the rain stops.  What a patriot.

The fabulous "vollies" we have come to love- (from left): Monique, Nigel, Jane, Helen, Pat, Brent and Rachel.

Lillian's Easter Lunch

Lillian is the cleaner who cleans my office.  Since the day I arrived, she has come in with a bright smile and made it her goal to help me practice my Swahili.  A great teacher she is, each day she would present me with a different topic of discussion, to help me practice different types of vocabulary.  "What are you cooking tonight?" "What kinds of vegetables did you buy in the market?" "How many children do you want to have?".  I think she has become one of my closest friends here... we have shared many laughs and heartaches as we have gotten to know each other.  On Easter Sunday she invited us over to her house for lunch with her husband Andrew and baby girl Rufi.  Her house is a small concrete block with two tiny rooms.  She had cooked for us over the fire a pot of plantain and beef stew, as well as pilau- both foods that are reserved for a very special occasion.  She and her husband had saved up all month for this meal, which they shared with us and any neighbour who walked by, and then put in containers for us to take home!  I was humbled.  If a family whose combined monthly income is less than I make in a day could lavish such generosity on me, why are we rich folk holding on to our money and possessions for dear life?  Lilian's Easter lunch seems like some parable Jesus would tell about the kingdom of God.  I have been humbled to be the recipient of it, and to have been given such a friend.

Lillian washing all of our hands before the meal- a Tanzanian tradition.

Brent enjoying the feast.

Me, Lillian, Rufi, and Andrew.

The door on the left is their house....

Science Day

An annual tradition here at St Jude is Science Day.  It's quite similar to a science fair you would see in Canada, the exception being that most students didn't start working on their project until the day before at about 3 pm.  However, there were a few projects that showed me just how innovative and amazing these kids can be when they are given the forum for it.

Here were some of my favourites...

These guys made a real airplane out of a water bottle and cut-up pieces of a whiteboard marker box.  The flimsy motor we had was not enough to make it fly, but I loved their gumption!

Christine is a lovely, hard-working girl I have chatted with a few times here.  She mulched up paper to make "charcoal" bricks that could be used by villagers to cook their food.  People around here cut down a lot of rare and precious trees for fire wood, and there is no formal paper recycling here so this could actually help our environment a lot.  I love it!

We had a visit from Bernard, who is a real inventor working for an organization called Global Cycle Solutions.  He invents machines that can be powered by a bicycle.  So far he has invented a maize sheller, cell-phone charger and many others.  Here a student is demonstrating the use of a blender he designed that connects to the back tire of a bike.

This boy is known around the school for his crazy creations.  He made an amazing drum kit out for students to use in the assembly, with the cymbals and high-hat made out of paint can lids.  This is his juice-maker, called "Refresher" (note spelling above) which allows you to chop the fruit into smaller chunks at the top, then scoop them into a blender which he has fashioned himself out of cut pieces of scrap metal.

These girls did a real scientific experiment- comparing the merits of thatch roofs to metal ones.  They build models of the two types of Tanzanian homes in art class, then sat them out in the sun with a glass of water in each one, and measured the temperature. 

These students did research on traditional remedies and then tried making some of their own.

Liston Innocent, our resident scientist.  Every year, he starts the next year's science day project the day after science day.  He taps the teachers and lab technicians on the shoulder all year, asking for some copper wire or an alligator clip and works the night away on his creations.   Last year he created his own cell phone out of parts from a dvd player.  This year he built his own generator that can be fuelled with corn oil.  What a cool kid.

Here's everyone gathered as the head of Science, Mr. Mcharo (blue shirt) prepares to open Science Day.

Getting My African On

 One thing I am painfully aware of in Tanzania, and particularly at the school where I work, is how bland and boring my Canadian clothes look over here.  Tanzanian women walk by me wearing colourful, vibrant, perfectly tailored outfits that hug their sumptuous curves.  I, on the other hand, am wearing a faded baggy t-shirt and a skirt I bought at Value Village.  About a month ago, I decided- this is enough!  It's time to get my African on.

The process starts with choosing the fabric.  I met my friend Linda in the market early one Saturday morning, and we went through a few shops... they were about as big as my bathroom back home, but stacked to the roof with colourful wax-print patterns.  What a fun exercise, taking a big piece of fabric and picturing what it might look like on me in different shapes and fashions.  I finally chose one, and handed over about $6 Canadian for enough fabric to make a whole outfit.

Then to the tailor.  She just sits out in the market with her pedal-pump sewing machine, watching the buses and people go by, making clothes for people. She has an iron with hot coals in it.... like the ones I have seen at Heritage Park.

She takes my measurements and then I show her pictures I've drawn of what I want.  Linda translates for me, as I don't want to risk getting it wrong with my mangled Swahili.  Then she cuts a little corner of my fabric off, tapes it in her notebook next to my measurements and a little sketch of what I want.

Getting measured

My friend Linda the librarian (left) and handy translator!

4 days later, I head back to the market and there it is!  My new outfit.  She leads me through the labyrinth, into a dark corridor where I change and she holds up a mirror to show me.  It is perfectly sewn to match every curve of my body.  So cool!  We complete the transaction with me paying her about $10 Canadian for her work.  You can't even get value like that at Value Village.

I am a happy customer.... so a week later I head back into the market to have two more made.  African ladies, look out... here I come!  I now am able to walk into work with dignity (3 days a week), hearing whistles and "umependeza!" (I like it!) from my coworkers. 

Here are the finished products.....

Climbing the Big Mama

I have never lived beside a mountain, and for the past 6 months it has been a joy for me to look up at Mount Meru every day.  I have started to understand how Canada's aboriginal people looked up at mountains and thought of them as gods.  There's something about this towering presence beside me that takes on a personality after awhile.  I love to greet her on my morning walk, lit up shades of pink and purple by the sunrise on her peak.

 

She seems to reflect my mood a lot of days... some days she is huge and clear against a bright blue sky, every contour and fold defined.  Some days she is dark and mysterious, enshrouded by clouds and mist with her summit hidden from view.  Looking up and knowing she is there does something inexplicable to me.  Needless to say, I've developed a somewhat spiritual connection to this mountain.  So I had been anxiously awaiting February's half-term vacation, when we would finally reach her top and look down.  I didn't realize what a mental and physical challenge she would present to Brent and I.

Day One

We were picked up by our guide, Bruno, and after a short drive to the Arusha National Park gate, we drove through the park to the second (Momella) gate, where we would start our hike.



At the gate, they assign you a park ranger who walks with you each day (other than the summit night) who carries a big rifle in case you run into any buffalo.  So we walked a 4 hour hike,  across a hot plain area, then heading up 1000m into lush forest to our first hut at 2500m asl.  A highlight was stopping for lunch at the Fig Tree Arch- two parasitic trees that intertwined themselves around other trees (eventually killing the original trees) and then grew together at the top, creating an arch big enough to drive a car through.



Another was walking through the crater of Mount Meru and looking up at the huge ash cone jutting up through the centre.  Despite being a volcanic crater, it was lush and beautiful.


When we got to Miriakamba hut, we were able to sit out on the balcony and stretch our legs with a gorgeous view of Mount Kilimanjaro in the sunset.
 

 Also a spectacular view of the ash cone and the ridge which we would soon  climb to get to the summit.

 

 Our room was a cute little cabin which felt like summer camp in all its bunk bed glory.  We collapsed into bed after supper and slept very well.

Day Two

We set off around 7:30 am, after a hearty breakfast of coffee/tea, porridge, eggs, pancakes, sausages, fresh mangoes and toast (might I add the food was amazing on this trip- especially considering it all had to be carried up by two guys with giant bags resting on their necks as they RAN up the mountain).  We headed up through more beautiful, lush forest.  The trees looked almost other-worldly as they were draped with hanging moss over all of their branches.  Colobus monkeys howled and chatted in the trees above us.


As we climbed, the view behind us of the Momella Lakes, plains of Arusha National Park and Kilimanjaro just got better and better.  Not only was the view breathtaking, but so were the hundreds of stairs we were climbing as the air started to get thinner.

Kili in the distance.

 In the last half of the trip up to the next hut, the landscape really started to change- from lush forest to a more dry, alpine-desert kind of feel.  The shrubs around us were shorter, heartier and more spiky.  Finally we reached the Saddle Hut at 3500m asl around 1 pm.  We could feel its height... the chill in the air, the heaviness in our chests, our quickened heartbeat and breathing rate.  After lunch, Brent rested while Hussain, the young assistant guide, took me up to the peak of Little Meru.  The view was great as we hiked up, him chattering away merrily about his life and family, and fears that he will not get married.  By the time we reached the top, however, the peak had been totally socked in by clouds.  We had a few shivering snacks, took photos in the mist, and headed down for dinner.

Looking down on our hut from Little Meru.

 
Day 3

Here's where the most physically challenging day of our lives starts... you might find yourself questioning why someone would pay a lot of money to put himself through  this.  I know we did.  After dinner, we tucked ourselves into bed around 7:30 pm for 5 hours of almost non-existent sleep.  Between the cold, the difficulty breathing, and the knowledge that we had to wake up at midnight to climb a mountain, we both were able to sleep intermittently for about 45 minutes at a time.  Brent had taken a diamox (medicine to prevent altitude sickness, which is also a diuretic), which had him running to the outhouse every hour or so.  Finally, at 12:30 we dressed ourselves, layering with almost every piece of warm clothing we had, and headed into the dark dining hall to have a bowl of porridge before our trek.

Brent bears a striking resemblance to his nephew here, n'est pas?

As we set out at about 1:45, the night was quite beautiful.  There was a full moon lighting up the ground in front of us and all of our surroundings, allowing us to walk without headlamps and look around at the beautiful black-and-white photograph around us.  We got to some spots where we had to scramble along, holding on to the rock with our hands to prevent slipping down a slick rock face.  I was quite enjoying the trek until we got to the long, windy ridge.  Picture a metre-wide path of scree in front of you with pretty steep drops on either side of it, and an icy wind pushing you from the side. Every once in awhile I peered tentatively down over the side to see a spectacular cliff down into the crater, with the ash cone lit up in the moonlight.  It was amazing and terrifying at the same time.  However, the cold wind made it unpleasant- although Bruno swears it was not windy at all, compared to other times he has climbed Meru.

After the windy ridge came many, many, many false summits.  It got rather disheartening after awhile, thinking that you can see the summit, then coming around the corner and seeing another one even taller.  The sun began to rise over the clouds below us and light up the rock faces pink, which at least provided some beauty to our exhausting trek.  At around 8 am, we started climbing the real summit.  We could see the flag at the top and the last 30 minutes up to it seemed like hours.  And, finally, we were there.  We opened up some celebratory chocolate bars our friend had given us, and had a little chocolate party with the guides.  Interestingly, the wind had totally died down and we were able to bask in the sunlight at 4565m asl, enjoying the beautiful view from the top.

Boy do we look happy... we have cleverly masked the screaming pain felt in our legs.

There's not too much more to say about the trek, other than the fact that Day 3 was hardly over... there was still an excruciating 3- hours back down to our hut, and after a quick rest, another 3 hours down to the first hut.  Words can't really describe the exhaustion we were feeling, not to mention the pain in our leg muscles, knees, and tips of our toes.



Here are some of the amazing views into the crater we were able to see on the way back down...
 

 




 
 
Day 4

Our team, departing on the final morning. From top left: Emmanuel the porter, Gena the porter/waiter, Ali the cook, Hussein the assistant guide, Bruno the guide, Brent, Gabby

After another fantastic breakfast, we headed for a painful walk down to the park gate- but one of the most lovely walks, with alpine meadows, a huge waterfall, and a field full of  cape buffalo and warthogs.  Sitting and drinking a soda with our team at the bottom, looking up at the mountain, we were filled with a lot of awe and pride at having done it- particularly Brent, as this is the first mountain of this nature he has ever climbed.  Although Meru is 1000m lower than Kilimanjaro, many (including me) consider it to be quite a bit more difficult of a climb.  I don't think he would do it again in any near future, but Brent is very proud of his accomplishments.

Our trek was over, but we were left with lots of fond memories, and in case we forgot it too soon, we would be reminded of our adventure by the fact that we could not walk properly for four days.

We'd like to put in a little plug for our guide here.  He's a wonderful human being and a very skilled mountaineering guide.  If you are coming to Tanz and would like to do any trekking or safaris, consider him.  www.brunosadventures.com

Dreams Come True - A Safari Christmas

...This post has been too, too long in coming, but...

  Well, it has finally happened. Its been a long road from watching 'Mutual of Omaha's; Wild Kingdom' with Marlin Perkins as a very young boy, to finally realizing my dream of being on a proper African Safari. Add to that going on it with your best friend ever, a dream come true.

  Over Christmas, Gabby and I along with Dena a friend from the other St Jude campus, went on a 5 day tenting safari going first to Lake Manyara, then a couple of nights in the Serengeti, finishing up in the stunningly beautiful Ngorongoro Crater.

Now although we didn't get to witness a hunt by a big cat(s), we did see our share of them. Lions we saw several times with a couple of  'moments of interest' by the felines on a potential meal (warthog, cape buffalo). Upon arrival to the Serengeti on our way through to the middle, we came across a male and female pair of cheetah sitting majestically on some low rocks, giving them a vantage point on some far off wildebeest. So beautiful! Once in the Serengeti, we did four half day game drives and saw three separate, solitary leopards relaxing in their own tree.

Our friend Dena who came with, is a hard core birder. We saw dozens of species that were new even to her eyes and some of them were a treat for us too. Beautiful. The four or five better quality photos you will see below are from Dena. If you too are a birder, here is a link to her site. http://www.dparis.com/

Here are photos from...

Lake Manyara:

The rare African Two-Headed Giraffe...

We could have watched the baby elephants all day.  So cute!

Zebra bums- the beauty of symmetry in nature

The Serengeti:

As we were driving in to the Serengeti, one of the first sets of animals we saw was this pair of cheetah.  They were stunning as they posed on their rock.  Photo credits: Dena

We saw quite a few lions in Serengeti, but unfortunately Brent could not fulfill his dream of seeing a hunt.  Photo credits: Dena

These hyenas were quite eager to check out our safari vehicles.

Two young jackals playfully nudging each other.

Waking up on Christmas morning to a Serengeti sunrise!

Gabby had never heard of a topi before.  What an educational trip.

You might think we were just hanging out with this leopard in the tree.  Now pan out to the 40 safari vehicles all crammed into a small space, trying to get a better view.  Photo credit: Dena

We found these boys by the side of the road... this is the Maasai traditional paint to indicate that a boy has been circumcised.  With no anesthetic, might we add. They are then off to roam the world as a man, fend for themselves and find a wife.

What a treat to catch a glimpse of the great migration.  This pic does not do justice to the "herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically across the plains."

Dena is an avid birder, and took many stunning bird photos, such as this lilac-breasted roller.

Baboons are everywhere in Tanz... they're considered a pest, a bit like squirrels in Calgary.  However, I think they're way more interesting to watch than squirrels.

As we were leaving the Serengeti we got a flat tire.  Amazing Richard the guide and the cook had that thing fixed so fast, we almost thought we were in the grand prix.

As we waited for our super-speedy tire change, the Maasai kids in the area started coming over to "talk to us" (translation: ask for money).  They are very friendly and fun, though.

A stunning view as we were driving out of the Serengeti.

The drive from Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater provided us with surreal views of the sun lighting up the valleys.

The Ngorongoro Crater photos seem to not be loading at this moment but we will post them later!

To be continued...