Lake Manyara Drive

Rebecca and I thought our previous hotel was fancy for the safari life, but as we walked into the next one we were in awe! The road to the hotel was ten times as bad as our last one with holes large enough to fit a small car. We made our way, pole pole (slowly) and waved to all the eager children who stood hoping for recognition. This time we were greeted with cool wash clothes, a drink and the best tiny spring roll I’ve ever tasted. The patio looked out over the valley to the lake and had a river pool and comfy seats. They took our dinner and lunch orders and informed us that at night we had to call for a Maasai guide to walk us to the main building in case of wandering animals. The man leading us opened our door and we tried to play it cool like we belonged in such luxury. The room was enormous with our own private chilly pool. We had an outdoor shower and a view that was unbelievable. We also had little lizard friends who lived behind the paintings and liked to pop their heads out now and again to say hi. 

The dinner was absolutely delicious and the staff enjoyed having some fun with the guests. Each new course was covered with a silver top that we could only take off once we counted in Swahili and said wow. “Moja, mbili, tatu, wow!” The food truly was wow so we enjoyed their little ritual. 

Our next safari was in Lake Manyara, home of the tree climbing lions. I do believe that is false advertising as we never saw more than a sleepy lion butt, let alone a tree climbing one. This park was beautiful to see but Lou informed us it has changed a lot due to an increase in rain. Many paths were blocked which made it difficult to travel further in. We did have fantastic encounters with elephants and plenty of adorable monkeys and a few pumbas. 

We were becoming pros at standing in our car and zooming around with Lou. He would randomly start flying down the road as if something amazing was awaiting just ahead. We’d hold on and laugh while singing, “Lou’s on a mission!” All the guides have a radio in their trucks and keep everyone informed about special sightings. We had no idea what they were talking about or how in the world the guides knew where to go, but it was fun to hear them all communicate. We’d know something fun was close when we’d see multiple safari trucks pulled over and cameras aimed and ready. Sometimes it was obvious as an elephant would approach, and other times we’d crane our necks to try to spot the creature. This really became the most high stakes where’s Waldo ever! 

That night the clouds rolled in and we made a run for it to get to dinner. Apparently they do not get a lot of hard rain as everyone thought our outdoor seating would be fine and then we all scrambled as the rain came rushing in. Everyone was grabbing tables and plates and trying to squeeze them in the indoor area. We all laughed and enjoyed our new cozy seats away from the storm. When our Maasai walked us to our cabin that night he told us an elephant had come by the night before and was walking near our room. We totally missed it! It could be for the best as we really wanted to know how they keep you safe with just a stick for protection. 

Sadly, we only got to enjoy two nights with this life of luxury. Luckily the best was yet to come as we packed up and took the drive to the Serengeti! 

Our First Two Game Drives

There’s nothing quite as exciting as arriving in a new country stepping off the plane and seeing your name on a sign ready for another adventure! Our next part of the trip was through a company called Tanzania Specialist. This company has everything planned and ready to go! It was fantastic to be in good hands with people who know all the ins and outs. 

We had a bit of a drive from Kilimanjaro Airport to our hotel in Arusha, which gave us a chance to learn from two of the specialists. One thing that stood out was the lack of rules on the road! According to our driver, after 6:00 pm there are none. We watched as endless cars and motorcycles went straight through red lights, people drove down the road the wrong way and created lanes where none used to be! Thank goodness we weren’t driving. 

I was a bit nervous as we turned in toward our hotel, The Puzuri. The road became bumpy and dark and ominous. As we parked we saw twinkle lights and began to relax. Then when multiple people ran out to grab our luggage and hand us warm wash cloths and drinks we felt important! The room was beautiful and clean with a balcony overlooking gorgeous fragrant flowers and plants.

We were the only ones there for most of the next day since everyone else was out on a safari or tour. That meant we were pampered by the staff who couldn’t be nicer. Our favorite, Emmy, took us for a walk around their garden and fruit trees. She giggled politely when we tried to use their words and laughed when we didn’t know what the plants were. The chef had a great time chatting at our table and we celebrated his birthday with him and sang and ate cake. 

That day we met one worker from Tanzania Specialists who walked us through our week and provided a map and details. Shortly after our guide/driver came to introduce himself. After the lack of communication from our previous tour, we were thrilled to be so well informed and involved. We even had our very own “happiness coordinator” who we could text at any time with questions or requests!  

In the morning it was time for our first game drive! Loudallah aka Lou, met us early and we packed up the Land Rover and went toward Arusha National Park. The top of the car lifts so you are able to stand and see the animals and take photos. We saw zebras and pumbas (warthogs) right away. That first sighting of these beautiful animals where they belong was magical! 

Deeper in the park we had a guided walk with two rangers, one of which carries a gun to scare off anyone who might not like us out and about. We found a large group of buffalo who just stared at us and pumbas who ran from us. Then we looked up to see giraffes! The guide got us as close as he could and we watched in awe as they ate and wandered around staring at us with curiosity. 

We went back to meet up with Lou and have lunch. Now Lou wasn’t exactly what we were expecting. Everyone we’d met from the company was younger and joked and laughed instantly with us. Lou was a bit tougher to crack. He was older and quiet and didn’t ask any questions or share stories as we thought a guide might. He sat with us but didn’t say much unless asked. He hesitated with his English, though he was great at it in our opinion. We learned quickly that we had to wait and give him time with his responses because if we asked him anything he’d reply yes or no then go silent to formulate his response which wouldn’t come for another 30 seconds. He was incredibly knowledgeable and had 37 years of experience. I felt that we were in good hands. 

As we drove on we loved seeing different monkeys playing and grooming. The baboons were playful and couldn’t care less that cars were driving the roads. They’d sit in the middle and just watch us approach. Lou would stop each time we got excited and stood to see something. We fell in love with the blue monkeys who have such a sweet old man face. They’d stare at us with their sweet brown eyes and then escape expertly through the trees. The park was beautiful and was a great start to our trip. 

The next day we packed up everything and said goodbye to the kind workers at Puzuri and headed toward a further park. Tarangire was gorgeous! At this point I felt braver and asked Lou if we were allowed to stay standing while we drove. He said yes, but no shoes on his seats! We bumped down the dirt roads looking for our new animal friends. I looked up and saw elephants! The feeling was incredible as we watched the family meander freely and go down to the river to drink. Their ears flapped happily as they grazed trying to keep up their enormous body weight. 

At this park I found a new appreciation for zebras. They were beyond adorable and sounded like their donkey friends. The zebra were great at standing for photos and showing off. They played in the water and ran away at any sign of danger. We learned that humans tried to domesticate zebras at one point, but their backs are weak and they didn’t care to work. Go zebras! I also loved that the Swahili words for zebra, punda milia, literally translates to striped donkey. 

We had a lovely packed lunch at a picnic area surrounded by black faced monkeys, vervets. They were not shy as they stole people’s water bottles and food. Lou kept them at bay by scaring them off with rocks and noises. They were everywhere at the picnic area and I was nervous to take out my apple! One stared us down as he sat high in a tree just waiting for us to be distracted so he could claim his prize. 

The first two drives were clearly a success except for seeing any big cats. Those would have to wait for another day! 

Dian Fossey Hike

A small group of us woke up early and climbed into a van, which only had doors at the rear, and set off. We had a quick stop at a beautiful park filled with giant wicker animals. After that we met our guide and group for the hike. One of which was a teacher from Littleton! Small world. We had to drive to the starting point which turned out to be straight up basically a dry riverbed. My Fitbit gave me at least 3000 steps just for the crazy bouncing we did along the way. 

Earlier that week, we tried to do research on this hike and were unsuccessful so had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Thank goodness Rebecca and I love a good hike! It was steep and much longer than anticipated. Sadly, one in our group could not complete the hike and went back down to relax. But we trudged on and had remarkable views and sounds from the jungle. For many of the guided hikes porters can be paid to carry your things and help “push and pull you,” when necessary. We didn’t get one, but a few extras came along and adopted us. They would help on steep areas, but more importantly when we got to a large section of mud and logs he kept me from falling off. Mark would point out the plants to keep away from, “no touch,” and show us animal droppings along the way. We saw plenty of gorilla poop! Unfortunately, no gorillas. 

Before this trip I didn’t have much of a background on Dian Fossey. To prepare for Africa in general I watched several movies to help educate myself. I started with Tarzan, cartoon version obviously. (Way to go Phil Collins!) Then; The Lion King, Hotel Rwanda and Gorillas in the Mist. You can see my Disney priority. But from this I learned more about Dian Fossey’s work and it led me to a bit more research. 

During our hike the captain shared more information. He told us she named the camp, Karisoke, because it was a combination of the two nearby mountains, Mt. Karisimbi and Mt. Bisoke. He also explained that whoever killed her took advantage of the fact that most of her team was away for Christmas so she had less protection on the mountain that day. 

Once we finally reached the top, and the more flat part we had been told was coming for hours, we were guided through each area of camp. The structures were all gone, some now in the Ellen DeGeneres Campus. From there we saw where Dian was buried alongside some of her favorite gorillas. The plaques are splintered and faded, but Digit is right there by her side. If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s worth checking out! 

After a brief break and snack we began our decent. And while the porters do come in handy, they basically ran us down the mountain! They would each grab a hand and drag you down to get past ants, stinging nettles and tight rock curves. We reached the bottom much faster than I expected. 

After our incredibly bumpy ride down we visited the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. I liked the flow of the campus and being able to learn more about Dian Fossey and the gorillas. Sigourney Weaver even donated the money for Dian’s cabin to be placed inside with her belongings! It was cool to see her collection of books and pictures alongside her typewriter. Many of the well known gorillas were displayed with their bios. The whole area was interactive and filled with interesting facts. 

You can even take a quiz to see which gorilla you are most like. I got Macibiri, she is playful and likes to explore. After that I took a virtual tour of the Rwandan jungle and a family of gorillas. It was so life like and fun to be up close with the impressive animals. 

Our day following the steps of Dian Fossey was well worth the early morning wake up! 

Rwanda Part 2/ Big Yellow Bus

After our fantastic time in Uganda with the gorillas we were ready to turn around and head back to Rwanda. This would be Rebecca and my first time in the big yellow bus! 

Let me tell you a bit about this bus situation. We were on a tour through Absolute Africa which does tons of tours where you can join and leave in all different areas. Rebecca and I really wanted to see the gorillas, and this was the most cost effective way for it to happen. We later learned that seeing the gorillas in Rwanda was twice as much! To get the best price you have to work for it. That means helping with the cooking, cleaning, loading/unloading and other tasks. Each person is on a team and needs to pitch in. When we joined the tour, nine people were already on the bus for the last two weeks. It was a bit hard to jump in since they already had the routines down and had built a rhythm and bonded. But we tried to help as much as possible and get to know them. They helped us learn the ins and outs of the colossal beast along the way. 

Just the climb on the bus for us short people was fun. The group was great and let us sit up front to enjoy our first ride. Since there were only 14 of us we had space to spread out a bit. We listened to music and got to know more of the people on the tour. Sweet Rebecca sat knitting like an adorable grandma while carrying on great conversations, it was mesmerizing and now I may just have to learn. 

Border patrol was super fun as we had to stand in multiple lines and then empty the truck and load it again. But then we were back in Rwanda! 

Our first campsite was very cute and had a tiny restaurant and sitting area to hang out at. And it was called Red Rocks, so that’s cool! They offered optional activities to keep us entertained. The woman working there seemed to hate us instantly and rolled her eyes and said things like, “as I already told you…” Yet she offered no real answers to our questions. I will chalk it up to having to be like a teacher and constantly repeating yourself. That first day a group of us did bracelet making and ended up spending two hours concentrating on just two bracelets. We had dinner all together that was prepared by one of the teams, which included Rebecca so I knew it would be good!

At night we talked around the fire pit and heard stories from our group who are from all over.  We had a fun mix of people from; New Zealand, Australia, United States, Mexico, Germany, Greece and Belgium. 

Later, we had our first night in the tent. Luckily they were nice sturdy canvas tents and easy to put up. I slept fairly well on the tiny mat they provided and only really missed my pillow. Our morning came quickly as we had arranged a hike to Dian Fossey’s grave. More on that later. 

The second day we packed up the truck and drove to Kigali. We began our day at the Genocide Memorial Museum and learned more about the history of the Hutus and the Tutsis. The memorial is a large campus where people can learn and come to pay their respects. Several groups were there that day laying flowers at the mass graves. The area was beautiful and provided a quiet space among the bustling city. 

We then drove to our next site. This campsite was lacking in just about every way possible. It was a large field with plenty of dirt. There were no tables or anywhere that you could sit together, no fire pits and the bathrooms were in a strange building behind us. We walked in to find their “sauna,” which was a plastic lounge chair behind a curtain. All part of the experience right! But that night we did have an incredible meal in town which made up for it. 

The next day our time with Absolute was over. Rebecca and I packed up and waved goodbye as the big yellow bus drove away. We spent our day back at our first hotel to enjoy their breakfast and got ready for our flight to Tanzania! 

GO-rill-a

This was one of those early mornings you don’t mind getting up. We had a quick breakfast and loaded into three trucks to head out. My car had a great driver, Moses, who enjoyed some loud music filled with mixes from home. The roads were a bumpy mess he called an African massage. We drove for two hours and enjoyed the beautiful scenery outside once the sun finally came up. 

Moses taught us a lot about schools in Uganda. It was fascinating as a teacher to listen to the differences. Their kids start much younger as parents want them to begin learning English early. Some students will start their trek to school as early as 4:00am for preparatory classes! We watched as many children were out in the dark making their way to school which could be well over a kilometer away on their own. And I’m talking tiny little kids! I am always so impressed with other countries views on languages. Moses could speak over five and was still learning more!

The entry to the gorilla trek was filled with people! This I was not expecting as I didn’t think that many tours could go at once. At least 80 people were sitting around awaiting their tour. Our passports were checked and we were excited to watch a choir sing and dance.

A guide taught us a bit about the gorillas. In their forest they have 50 families. Out of these, half of them have been trained to have people around them. Each family has a silverback leader and then a mix of younger males as well as females and babies. The guide takes a group of eight people max and are escorted by two security members as well. Turns out the security is more for the elephants than the gorillas! The jungle elephants can charge and guards use the guns to scare them away by shooting in the air. 

Our small group was led by a female guide, Goreth. We had an all girls group! Minus one of our security guys and the porters. She shared a picture of the family we would be visiting and we took off on the trek to find them. The paths were well maintained and any area needing help was whacked with her machete. Along the way we found elephant footprints and paths, but no animals. At one point we had to stop because the trackers looking for our family said the elephants were in the area. This turned out to be a great stop for learning more. 

Uganda has a phenomenal program to protect the gorillas and forests. People train in multiple areas before they can become a ranger, including medical and weaponry. Goreth has been a ranger for 13 years and was very excited to teach us more. We learned that while gorillas are not hunted in Uganda any longer, they have not made it out of their endangered status. Some factors for this are low numbers of female gorillas being born, and many gorilla babies do not make it to adulthood, some die of sickness, some from falling out of trees, some from lack of milk from their mothers who have to breastfeed for three and a half years. Some gorillas get caught in traps that are meant for the mountain antelope. Rangers do frequent checks to minimize the traps in the area. They are working to continue increasing the population.

We trudged on through the gorgeous forest until the trackers said they were ready. During the time we had with the gorillas we had to wear face masks to keep them safe from our germs. With our systems being so similar this was a nice added protection.  At this point you leave the trail and make your way into the vines and abundant leaves. I  turned and right in front of me was a female gorilla! She just sat munching on leaves and couldn’t care less that I was there. The trackers would grab each of us and move us to different spots to get a good view. The family moved through the trees ignoring us and eating non stop. The silverback was the largest one out of all of the families in the forest. He had a very impressive stance and grunted his way to tasty treats. He really enjoyed showing us his silverback and his butt. We had to work a bit harder to see his face. 

The cutest was of course the baby! He was having fun rolling around and being ridiculously adorable. We got one hour with the gorillas which flew by quickly. I never felt unsafe and couldn’t believe how close we could get. Periodically the trackers would grunt or pound their chests to show we belonged. We all sat down to watch them for a few remaining minutes and just sat in awe. 

Our hike back was short but incredibly muddy. We all got to our end point a bit dirty but fully fulfilled with our trek. We each earned a certificate with a picture of our silverback proudly displayed. What a day and unbelievable experience in Uganda!!! 

Our First Time in Rwanda

After a quick stop in Doha, our Africa tour was ready to begin! First stop, Rwanda. Although we were almost the last ones through passport control, it all went smoothly and we obtained our visas and were ready to go. Luckily the hotel sent someone to get us and as we drove through Kigali I was reminded of Asia. Motorcycles were everywhere and signs are purely a suggestion. 

We were thankful to be tucked away at our hotel, Yambi Guesthouse, where the room was spacious and our bathroom was way better than expected. The back had a little oasis filled with plants and seats. The in hotel chef was fantastic and had a variety of yummy eats. 

The next day we had another food tour. Unfortunately, this one didn’t measure up to our Doha experience. Our guide was an incredibly interesting guy who was on his way to a competition in London for helping refugees obtain strong higher education. The area that lacked was the food. We started with some rice and beans and moved on to a lemonade/ginger drink. After this I tried anchovies, heads and all! This was mixed with a bread type ball and dipping sauce. I was not a fan of the texture. We had some very good skewers and flatbread and a few tasty fruits. All in all it was fine, but probably not worth the money. 

We met someone at our hotel who would be joining on our tour and spent some time getting to know each other. The next day our Absolute Africa Tour would start! 

In the morning we had a fantastic breakfast from the chef and met two others who were joining. The five of us crammed into a tiny SUV and had to load half the luggage on the roof to even fit. This was the start of our four hour drive to Uganda. I have to admit I was a bit nervous. I was in the middle with no working seatbelt just holding on trying not to slam into the girls next to me. Our driver spent most of his time talking on the phone. And when he wasn’t, he was turning up the volume to his talk radio to drown out our conversations. The roads started out nicely paved and turned into giant potholes toward the end. The entire trip there were people on the side of the road. Either walking to school or working on cleaning the area. 

At the border we met our tour guide and went through customs yet again. Luckily the next drive was quick, and in a larger vehicle. 

Our new hotel was simple and great! We had lunch at the nearby cafe. The power was out, but they made it work with grills and fire pizza ovens. Next we walked to the tiny market and stocked up on supplies. Just the five of us overfilled the two aisle store. Lots of interesting things to look at!

Later, our guide gave us the lowdown on doing a budget overland tour. Everyone pitches in and cooks and cleans and has jobs. The big yellow truck was incredible! 

That night, everyone had dinner together. Total we have 14 people on the bus. Most of which are doing 60 days or more! They will make their way down to Cape Town. Rebecca and I are only in it for 5 days. Then we let people pamper us a bit! 

We crashed early to be prepared for the big day ahead. Time for the gorilla trek!!!! 

Long Flight and New Country

It’s summer time! That means travel. After endless hours of cleaning and packing and repacking and repacking again, I was finally ready. At least as ready as I could be for this new amazing adventure.  

I dropped off my sweet kitties and jumped on a quick flight to Texas. Unfortunately, Rebecca’s flight was no longer coming in the same time as mine. But this meant I could try out the Capital One Lounge. Now that was fun! So many food and drinks to try. 

Luckily, Rebecca joined me right as our flight was boarding. We got ourselves situated for a delightful fourteen and a half hour flight. After catching up we found a bunch of movies to be ready. Thankfully I slept a bit and didn’t need all of the movies! Someday I hope to try out those fancy pods in business and first class. But for now we did the best with what we had. 

We had a short drive to our beautiful hotel in Doha. The city at night was gorgeous. The skyscrapers were incredibly impressive and even featured videos on the sides. Our room was fantastic and the air conditioning was exactly what I needed. 

Apparently in Doha the thing to do is go to the malls. We decided to walk to a close one and couldn’t believe how many people were there! It was packed with all sorts of people, families and kids playing in an incredible inflatable playground. We decided to grab some Nando’s since it was an old time favorite and then head back. That night I slept wonderfully in the chilly room. 

In the morning we enjoyed a fancy buffet at the hotel and then head out to see the city. It was like a post apocalyptic zone! No one was outside. Clearly we were the crazy ones as the temperature was climbing above 100. We wandered through The Pearl, a manmade island with cute buildings and small lakes to play in and an adorable area which looked just like a little Venice. Still no people in sight! After one more quick stop at an amphitheater and golden mosque, we gave up on the heat and went to another mall. It had an amusement park and ice skating rink inside! Tons of American stores filled the space and we felt at home with each Baskin Robbin’s we passed. 

After a quick nap we got ready for our food tour. We had a private tour lined up to try out foods around the city. I will say I was surprised when a Canadian woman came and picked us up. She was a great guide and gave us fun insights to living in Doha. 

The best part of a food tour is going into places we never would have found on our own. The first few stops were in random places and back allies, but had incredible food! We tried a very yummy chai tea and finger foods to start. This was followed by fantastic chutneys and a dosa, an Indian style crepe. Each spot had something tasty. My favorite might have been the shawarma or a taco type creation or the best falafels I’ve ever had. I also really enjoyed watching cats run around the Souq. They were tiny and sweet just hoping for some food. I would have taken them all home, but we are at the start of our trip. 

In most of the restaurants we sat and talked about travel and cats and our lives. Our guide, Colleen, told us about moving around and traveling to areas less known. She taught us about Qatar and we were able to ask any questions we could think of. We learned Doha is made up of a higher percentage of Indians than Qataris and there are lots of other cultures added in as well. 

 It was a great night of food and conversations and education. If ever in doubt about what to do in a new city, do a food tour! 

That night I slept terribly. I don’t know if it was the time difference, the nap I took, or the caffeine, but it was a long night. And now I’m on a cramped airplane with 6 hours ahead of me to reach our next destination of Kigali, Rwanda. And let me just tell you, flights aren’t quite as organized as they are at home. Rebecca’s seat number was the same as someone else’s. Then I got trapped at the back of the plane trying to get a spot for my luggage. It was a bit chaotic with flight attendants just moving people around. Luckily the woman next to me was moved and Rebecca and I got to sit together. In the end it worked out and all will be well! Time for another country!