Tuesday, August 25, 2009
I made it!
I have returned safe & sore from Mt. Kilimanjaro. Both I & the girl I climbed with made it to the top: a.k.a the roof of Africa. The trip was amazing, with wonderful scenery that was ever changing. I will be home on Saturday & I am looking forward to seeing everyone & explaining everything in person. See you all soon.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Hi All,
I am coming down to the last few days at my placement. I finish working at the hospital on Wednesday & then begin climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro on Thursday. It will take me 6 days to climb (4 days up & 2 days down) so I will be out of touch with everyone until I return.
I can't believe I have less than two weeks left, time has flown by. I think leaving will be bittersweet, happy to be home but sad to leave.
I have now been to 2 of the nurses house for a meal. They are very hospitable; you go to their house, they make you food, & then they give you a gift: kind of the opposite from home. Their houses were quite nice, but very different from one another. Though they both tell me they are very poor & they don't have much they are willing to give me the world. The people are what I will miss the most.
Just wanted to touch base before I leave for the mountain. I love & miss you all & thank you for keeping up with our blog.
xo Leah
I am coming down to the last few days at my placement. I finish working at the hospital on Wednesday & then begin climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro on Thursday. It will take me 6 days to climb (4 days up & 2 days down) so I will be out of touch with everyone until I return.
I can't believe I have less than two weeks left, time has flown by. I think leaving will be bittersweet, happy to be home but sad to leave.
I have now been to 2 of the nurses house for a meal. They are very hospitable; you go to their house, they make you food, & then they give you a gift: kind of the opposite from home. Their houses were quite nice, but very different from one another. Though they both tell me they are very poor & they don't have much they are willing to give me the world. The people are what I will miss the most.
Just wanted to touch base before I leave for the mountain. I love & miss you all & thank you for keeping up with our blog.
xo Leah
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Lion King
We both returned intact from Safari and had the most amazing experience. We woke up Thursday morning and quickly finished packing our bags before breakfast. Our guides arrived at 8:00 packed up the Land Cruisers and we were off. Our first stop was Tarangire National Park, which has more elephants per square kilometer then anywhere else in the world. Tarangire is also know for the boabab trees, they are very unique and look like the roots are coming out the top of the tree, the legend is told that a long time ago the boabab angered God so he planted the trees upside down for eternity. This park was a great first stop; we saw lots of elephants, zebras, antelope, warthogs and wildebeest (Leah’s favorite). One elephant came so close to the second car everyone had to duck their heads in so it would not get angry and charge. We spent the first night at a campground just outside of the park, ate an amazing dinner cooked by our chef Albert (also known as kibu kuli which means small cup).
We got up bright and early on day 2 and started our long drive to the Serengeti. It was about 2 hours to the gates of Ngorogoro Crater and another 3 hours on a very very bumpy dirt road to the Serengeti campsite. We stopped for lunch in the Great Rift Valley (on the other side of the crater) at Olduvai, which is ‘the birth place of mankind’; it is the site where they have discovered the oldest bones and fossils of our ancestors. It was very cool to be in a place with so much history, we checked out the museum that described a lot of the findings and different digs that took place. After lunch we proceeded on to the Serengeti. Serengeti is the Masai word for endless plains, which is very suiting. It is such a beautiful park that goes on forever. As we were driving to the campsite we stopped to see a large group of hippos and a leopard sleeping in a tree, from that moment on we knew it was going to be an awesome place to safari. We were one of the first groups to arrive at the campsite and quickly set up our tents in a row claiming our spots. We had spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner, with one of Albert’s fantastic soups – and, of course, a heaping plate of mango and papaya for dessert. We finished the evening with ghost stories in our tent before settling to sleep.
Leah and I slept soundly the whole night - other people we less fortunate (the wild animals kept them awake). Turns out baboons and giraffes visited the site at night (some even swear they heard a lion). We woke up and had tea and cookies at 6 30 and headed out for a morning drive. The day started off better then we could have hoped, we saw another leopard right away, then four cheetahs walking in the distance. We wanted to stop to visit the hippos again, but our guide Kisali told us he had a lead on lions. We saw a mom and her young son sitting in the grass, the eventually both stood up and walked straight in front of the trucks to the river to drink, we were able to follow them and watch them drink, it was unbelievable. We continued on our way back to the hippos, saw some zebra’s, more elephants and more wildebeest. Just before heading back for lunch we saw three more lions finishing a meal in the grass, their mouths were smeared with blood and they were licking their lips. We watched them for a while before heading back to eat. After lunch it was time to pack up and drive to Ngorogoro for the night. Our drive out of Serengeti was just as eventful as the morning. We spotted a young male lion perched perfectly on ‘Pride Rock’, another female on the side of the road, and finally a full-grown male lion with the most incredible mane. We were blown away by our luck. We thought the day could not get better, but on the other side of the gates we came across a family of giraffes right on the side of the road, so close to the truck, we had been waiting to see them all day. The rest of the drive was uneventful and incredibly bumpy and dusty, we were filthy and coughing up dirt when we got to Ngorogoro campsite. It was very very cold there, we set up our tents, put on our warmest clothes, wrapped ourselves in blankets and went to the mess hall for hot cocoa and pop-corn. As we sat down to eat one of the other cooks popped in and yelled at us to look outside, a huge male elephant had wandered into the campsite… I mean HUGE!! Apparently he stops by often to drink from the water tank that is conveniently his height, it was unreal, the perfect end to a fantastic day.
Our final day had arrived, we woke up and ate a breakfast of crepes, toast, mango, and eggs and started off into the crater. We were bundled up in our blankets, as it was still very cold in the morning. The crater was absolutely stunning; we stopped at the top and at various places on the way down to take pictures. We spent the morning driving around, enjoying the views and the animals. We were on a hunt for a rhino and a closer cheetah. We had a lead on a rhino and went to check it out but had no success. We were lucky with the cheetah though, and saw him just as he was heading away from the road. We also saw many birds, more zebra’s/wildebeest, hyenas, jackals, as well as water buffalo and pink flamingos. All in all it was another good day. We got back to camp after a picnic in the park and packed the truck to drive home. It was an amazing 4 days that we will both remember forever. We have amazing pictures that I cannot wait to share with you.
Love you all and look forward to telling you about more adventures!!!
xoxo - Sarah
We got up bright and early on day 2 and started our long drive to the Serengeti. It was about 2 hours to the gates of Ngorogoro Crater and another 3 hours on a very very bumpy dirt road to the Serengeti campsite. We stopped for lunch in the Great Rift Valley (on the other side of the crater) at Olduvai, which is ‘the birth place of mankind’; it is the site where they have discovered the oldest bones and fossils of our ancestors. It was very cool to be in a place with so much history, we checked out the museum that described a lot of the findings and different digs that took place. After lunch we proceeded on to the Serengeti. Serengeti is the Masai word for endless plains, which is very suiting. It is such a beautiful park that goes on forever. As we were driving to the campsite we stopped to see a large group of hippos and a leopard sleeping in a tree, from that moment on we knew it was going to be an awesome place to safari. We were one of the first groups to arrive at the campsite and quickly set up our tents in a row claiming our spots. We had spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner, with one of Albert’s fantastic soups – and, of course, a heaping plate of mango and papaya for dessert. We finished the evening with ghost stories in our tent before settling to sleep.
Leah and I slept soundly the whole night - other people we less fortunate (the wild animals kept them awake). Turns out baboons and giraffes visited the site at night (some even swear they heard a lion). We woke up and had tea and cookies at 6 30 and headed out for a morning drive. The day started off better then we could have hoped, we saw another leopard right away, then four cheetahs walking in the distance. We wanted to stop to visit the hippos again, but our guide Kisali told us he had a lead on lions. We saw a mom and her young son sitting in the grass, the eventually both stood up and walked straight in front of the trucks to the river to drink, we were able to follow them and watch them drink, it was unbelievable. We continued on our way back to the hippos, saw some zebra’s, more elephants and more wildebeest. Just before heading back for lunch we saw three more lions finishing a meal in the grass, their mouths were smeared with blood and they were licking their lips. We watched them for a while before heading back to eat. After lunch it was time to pack up and drive to Ngorogoro for the night. Our drive out of Serengeti was just as eventful as the morning. We spotted a young male lion perched perfectly on ‘Pride Rock’, another female on the side of the road, and finally a full-grown male lion with the most incredible mane. We were blown away by our luck. We thought the day could not get better, but on the other side of the gates we came across a family of giraffes right on the side of the road, so close to the truck, we had been waiting to see them all day. The rest of the drive was uneventful and incredibly bumpy and dusty, we were filthy and coughing up dirt when we got to Ngorogoro campsite. It was very very cold there, we set up our tents, put on our warmest clothes, wrapped ourselves in blankets and went to the mess hall for hot cocoa and pop-corn. As we sat down to eat one of the other cooks popped in and yelled at us to look outside, a huge male elephant had wandered into the campsite… I mean HUGE!! Apparently he stops by often to drink from the water tank that is conveniently his height, it was unreal, the perfect end to a fantastic day.
Our final day had arrived, we woke up and ate a breakfast of crepes, toast, mango, and eggs and started off into the crater. We were bundled up in our blankets, as it was still very cold in the morning. The crater was absolutely stunning; we stopped at the top and at various places on the way down to take pictures. We spent the morning driving around, enjoying the views and the animals. We were on a hunt for a rhino and a closer cheetah. We had a lead on a rhino and went to check it out but had no success. We were lucky with the cheetah though, and saw him just as he was heading away from the road. We also saw many birds, more zebra’s/wildebeest, hyenas, jackals, as well as water buffalo and pink flamingos. All in all it was another good day. We got back to camp after a picnic in the park and packed the truck to drive home. It was an amazing 4 days that we will both remember forever. We have amazing pictures that I cannot wait to share with you.
Love you all and look forward to telling you about more adventures!!!
xoxo - Sarah
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Zanzibar Vacation - Amazingly beautiful!
Sorry we have been out of touch for a while. We just returned from a 6 day, 5 night vacation just off the coast of Tanzania to the island of Zanzibar. It is technically a part of Tanzania, though it is kind of like Quebec, except more extreme. They have their own government and all the documentation is completely different.
Sarah, Steph (another girl from the house) & I flew out on Friday morning & arrived in Stonetown. There is a lot of history within the walls of Stonetown. Friday we wandered the streets, which are a bunch of confusing small alleys with shops, hotels, & restaurants on every corner. We went for lunch to Freddy Mercury’s which was right on the beach & located beside the port where we waited for the other 4 people to show up. 4 of them decided to take the bus from Arusha to Dar es Salem & then the ferry across to Zanzibar in order to save money. We decided it was a vacation & we didn’t want to waste a full day on the bus (it takes 10 hours on the bus plus a 2 hour ferry ride).
Friday night we went to the “night market.” It is in an open field next to the Indian Ocean & there are a ton of vendors selling seafood, sugarcane juice, & Zanzibar pizza (a tin crepe like outside that they put beef, onions, & veggies inside then they crack an egg in it, fold up the corners & then fry it. It was quite delicious. I also had my fill of seafood for a while, & I tried shark & barracuda!
Saturday we woke up quite early & went on a Spice Tour just outside Stonetown. We saw a lot of different spices at the plantation & tasted a lot of different fruits. We also had a lot of boys following us making us rings, necklaces, bracelets & baskets to hold our spices out of leaves. Of course we tipped them at the end of the tour. We were then given an opportunity to buy a lot of spices, which of course I did! They all look so good, hopefully they will stay semi-fresh until I get home. We were then served a delicious lunch from the spices we had just seen. We were then taken to a beach for about an hour just to hang out & we also got to see one of the slave caves. It was quite emotional seeing the conditions they were forced to stay in & the lengths many of them went to in order to escape. Few made it out & many died trying. The beach was gorgeous, I love the Indian Ocean, the water is so blue & the sand is powdery white.
That night we ate at a delicious Indian restaurant with the best Garlic Naan. Stonetown has a large Arab background so the Indian food is very good. That night we went to The Africa House hotel & smoked Shisha as a group, it was very relaxing sitting on the balcony over looking the night market & ocean. There is also a woman who lives there & has a monkey who we played with for a long time. She is the cutest little thing & had so much energy.
Sunday we headed out to Jozani Forest in central Zanzibar to see the Colubus monkeys, which are only found in Zanzibar. They were not shy at all & walked right by us. There were also a lot of cool trees & we went to a Mangrove and could walk on the roots of the trees with swamp underneath. From there we went to the south east coast, called Jambiani where we spent Sunday afternoon to Tuesday morning.
Jambiani was a lazy vacation spent lying on the beach with my book & music. We had a “family house” so all of us stayed together & it walked out to sand & 20 steps to the actual beach. The Pakachi Beach Hotel (where we stayed) is owned by a really laid back rasta guy so it was a really relaxing time. I got henna tattooed on my foot & even got a massage on the beach – amazing! Monday we also rented a Dhow (traditional wooden boat) & went snorkeling & fishing. There were a lot of cool small fish & nice coral & Sam & Steph both caught fish (not big enough to eat though).
Unfortunately on Tuesday we had to leave to go back to Stonetown. I wanted to stay on the beach forever. It was even nicer than the beach in Stonetown, with the clearest turquoise water & it was gorgeously hot (well all of Zanzibar is hot, especially compared to Arusha). I can’t wait to show you guys pictures. When we got back to Stonetown we walked around through all the alleys, got lunch, & real coffee which is a hot commodity here, where everything is instant. I also shopped & again ate at the night market.
All in the entire trip was amazing. We flew back this afternoon & are now packing for safari, which starts tomorrow until Sunday. We go to Tarangire, Serengeti & Ngorongoro national parks. I am looking forward to it & can’t wait to let you know all about it.
Sarah, Steph (another girl from the house) & I flew out on Friday morning & arrived in Stonetown. There is a lot of history within the walls of Stonetown. Friday we wandered the streets, which are a bunch of confusing small alleys with shops, hotels, & restaurants on every corner. We went for lunch to Freddy Mercury’s which was right on the beach & located beside the port where we waited for the other 4 people to show up. 4 of them decided to take the bus from Arusha to Dar es Salem & then the ferry across to Zanzibar in order to save money. We decided it was a vacation & we didn’t want to waste a full day on the bus (it takes 10 hours on the bus plus a 2 hour ferry ride).
Friday night we went to the “night market.” It is in an open field next to the Indian Ocean & there are a ton of vendors selling seafood, sugarcane juice, & Zanzibar pizza (a tin crepe like outside that they put beef, onions, & veggies inside then they crack an egg in it, fold up the corners & then fry it. It was quite delicious. I also had my fill of seafood for a while, & I tried shark & barracuda!
Saturday we woke up quite early & went on a Spice Tour just outside Stonetown. We saw a lot of different spices at the plantation & tasted a lot of different fruits. We also had a lot of boys following us making us rings, necklaces, bracelets & baskets to hold our spices out of leaves. Of course we tipped them at the end of the tour. We were then given an opportunity to buy a lot of spices, which of course I did! They all look so good, hopefully they will stay semi-fresh until I get home. We were then served a delicious lunch from the spices we had just seen. We were then taken to a beach for about an hour just to hang out & we also got to see one of the slave caves. It was quite emotional seeing the conditions they were forced to stay in & the lengths many of them went to in order to escape. Few made it out & many died trying. The beach was gorgeous, I love the Indian Ocean, the water is so blue & the sand is powdery white.
That night we ate at a delicious Indian restaurant with the best Garlic Naan. Stonetown has a large Arab background so the Indian food is very good. That night we went to The Africa House hotel & smoked Shisha as a group, it was very relaxing sitting on the balcony over looking the night market & ocean. There is also a woman who lives there & has a monkey who we played with for a long time. She is the cutest little thing & had so much energy.
Sunday we headed out to Jozani Forest in central Zanzibar to see the Colubus monkeys, which are only found in Zanzibar. They were not shy at all & walked right by us. There were also a lot of cool trees & we went to a Mangrove and could walk on the roots of the trees with swamp underneath. From there we went to the south east coast, called Jambiani where we spent Sunday afternoon to Tuesday morning.
Jambiani was a lazy vacation spent lying on the beach with my book & music. We had a “family house” so all of us stayed together & it walked out to sand & 20 steps to the actual beach. The Pakachi Beach Hotel (where we stayed) is owned by a really laid back rasta guy so it was a really relaxing time. I got henna tattooed on my foot & even got a massage on the beach – amazing! Monday we also rented a Dhow (traditional wooden boat) & went snorkeling & fishing. There were a lot of cool small fish & nice coral & Sam & Steph both caught fish (not big enough to eat though).
Unfortunately on Tuesday we had to leave to go back to Stonetown. I wanted to stay on the beach forever. It was even nicer than the beach in Stonetown, with the clearest turquoise water & it was gorgeously hot (well all of Zanzibar is hot, especially compared to Arusha). I can’t wait to show you guys pictures. When we got back to Stonetown we walked around through all the alleys, got lunch, & real coffee which is a hot commodity here, where everything is instant. I also shopped & again ate at the night market.
All in the entire trip was amazing. We flew back this afternoon & are now packing for safari, which starts tomorrow until Sunday. We go to Tarangire, Serengeti & Ngorongoro national parks. I am looking forward to it & can’t wait to let you know all about it.
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