The Magical Powers of Lists (Traveler`s Edition)

Different style blog. A little too lazy to write a whole entry today if I'm being honest and as a self proclaimed type A control freak I'm a huge fan of making lists. And it's more fun to read too, am I right? 

Ps. I'm really not an extreme type A, clearly if I'm being lazy about writing...I can chill and binge watch Grey's Anatomy or House or The Big Bang Theory with the rest of 'em. It just might be after a 12 mile run. And almond butter. After a 12 mile run and two tablespoons of almond butter. ;) 

Trip Reads

1. Better - Atul gawande, a must read especially for those in medicine written by a general surgeon. Discussion includes how far we have come in medicine (things like eradicating polio and the introduction of antibiotics), and how little, simple differences (like hand sanitation) can make a HUGE impact, and reminds us that there is always room to do better. 
2. Modern Romance - Aziz Ansari. The comedian researched romance around the world the last few years and how it has changed with the advent of the smart phone. He writes with sarcasm and playful rhetoric (and photos) that makes for a laugh out loud and super interesting read. Talks about both the pros and cons, and emphasizes this new phase in growing up our parents and grandparents didn't likely have, a period of growth and self discovery as a single person and the easier access to "find your soulmate". Read it on Kilimanjaro which was great because it's easy to pick up, not too intellectually demanding, and provided comic relief after a physically demanding day. 
3. Being Mortal - Atul Gawande (current read). This time Gawande writes on how modern American society has basically institutionalized the elderly as they lose capability for activities of daily living instead of keeping them with family or in their own homes. He talks about why this has changed (as medicine prolongs life) and how it has somewhat improved with the notion of assisted living but also how it can continue to improve. 
4. Yes Please - Amy Poehler, light hearted and insightful read by the SNL comedian on life and career with the ultimate message to DO YOU. Great beach read.
5. Running magazine - There are about 4 marathons I want to run including Eugene and Honolulu, 10 recipes I want to try, and more athletes to look out for! Read and schemed on the looong bus ride between Nairobi and Lira. 
6. Top 100 Most prescribed American drugs (as of 2014/2015) - out of an optometric journal my dad sent along. Going to keep as reference. Spoiler alert - diabetes, hypertension and psychiatric drugs take the cake. LETS EAT LESS JUNK AND MOVE MORE PEOPLE!!! Throw in some outdoors activity (preferably some sunshine) and I could guarantee those psych drugs would plummet too.  

Top East Africa Experiences so far (pre Zanzibar)... no specific order, except maybe the first two. 

1. Kilimanjaro Kilimanjaro Kilimanjaro! And the people we met here....Looking at you Aussies! 
2. Ngorongoro Crater - did that even HAPPEN!? GO! 
3. Locking lips with Giraffes in Nairobi and watching baby elephants play in the mud at the Elephant Orphanage. 
4. Boda Boda and Tuk Tuk rides. Local transport is just fun in East Africa. Even just saying it is fun. The tuk tuk driver in Diani let me try driving on the long choppy dirt road to Swahili house in Tiwi...it was a blast! Ok more information: A tuk tuk is a three wheeled open air vehicle that operates like a motorcycle. No cooling system so their shelf life is about 2-3 years and it's about half the size of a small car. We were picked up from the teeny tiny Ukunda strip (one room and baggage claim consisting of chairs under a tent) by Iddi in his green tuk tuk and it was like "Hey, welcome to Diani! This is sure different...I love it! 👍🏼" 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Feeling like family in Mbale- making dinner and chapati, having dresses made by Whinnie's tailor, Sunday church, and babysitting baby Divine Blessing. 
6. Bathing in Sipi Falls with Rodgers and Whinnie and meeting locals on Maple village outings 
7. Runs in Mbale, Lira, Karura forest (Nairobi), Diani beach 
   
8. Playing soccer with Lira kids and watching baseball 
9. Newborn piggies in Lira 🐷  and Gloria's handholding 
10. Stilts backpackers accommodation in Diani. Owned by a very chill yet organized Canadian. He will make you feel taken care of. It has less mainstream tourism vibes and more homey comfort. You can sleep in tree houses for $17 each a night and feed bush babies nightly in the bar/lounge. Five min walk from the beach and across from the infamous Forty Thieves beach restaurant and club with its great tropical cocktails, tables in the sand and surely a view of locals trying to sell camels rides. Try a Sawa at Stilts. Its the most delicious cocktail made of lime, honey, sugar, vodka and sprite. Free coffee, tea and wifi... oh and make sure to lock up snacks because the monkeys will reek havoc! 
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     

11. Jumping into the Africa shaped tide pool (with cave) in Tiwi Beach. Still can't get over how WARM the water is here.... don't count on it to be refreshing it's basically tub temp. Pretty cool. 

12. Swahili House - gorgeous house in Tiwi beach, Kenya where we stayed two nights with seven others (organized by Oyana!). Complete with pool, open air balconies, and friendly staff that will cook your meals if you bring the groceries. Also it's on a super exclusive beach. Definitely a rare occurrence in my travels to be at a white sand, palm lined beach that beautiful without any crowds. Seeing Oyana and Mary from college and meeting other expats was a highlight. Staying there only cost about $80 for two nights.

13. The Cave restaurant, Diani beach. You dine in a natural coral cave... it's sure to blow you away with its dim candle light ambience and open cave starry night ceiling. It feels all cool and echoey. 

14. The Seafood -calamari, crab, local catches, oysters, lobster paired with white wine oh my!  

15. Afternoon diet pepsis or cokes when all you need is something COLD. 

Five MAJOR things I'm thankful for:

1. Good health throughout this trip. Good health in general. 
2. My loving, supportive, sunshine family.. I'm SO lucky. There are so many kids who have a drunk or abusive parent or no parent(s) at all. Or kids who live in families worried about safety, or when or where their next meal will come from. I have lived a charmed, comfortable life with two parents who always listen, take the time, and go out of their way over and over again to help me or just be with me. I know and understand better as I get older to not take this lightly. This is not necessarily the norm around the world. Really looking forward to spending some quality time with them before starting my career. They're really great human beings. My brother is pretty wonderful too. Love you guys, wish I could be there for your visit in Indio with Kendra, Ryan. So happy for you two. 
3. My Physician Assistant degree (MMS). Token of hard work and dedication. My ultimate calling. 
4. The ability and means to travel. Even if does mean going into a little more student debt... what could be more worth it!? 
5. Running 🏃, climbing, jumping, hiking, swimming, beaching every active "verb-ing" that my body can do. 

Ten things I will be happy to come back to the States for...mazungu things that I realize will make me sound like an Orange County basic. 

1. Spinach, almond butter, almond milk, and berries (Yeah, I'm a health food snob I'll admit it) oh and Acai bowls.. I could live on those things. 
2. Really all of Trader Joe's for that matter 
3. ICED/ Blended drinks. Drinkable tap water. 
4. Easy chatting with my best friends at normal hours 
5. Not feeling like I have to shower after showering 
6. Making progress in medicine
7. The gym. Orange Theory fitness. Yoga. All Things I realize are extra fluff that aren't necessities but quiet my mind and make me a much happier human. 
8. Water pressure in showers
9. Street cleanliness and recycling 
10. NOT OUR POLITICS!!!!

Ten thoughts to TAKE HOME: 

1. Realize again that there are people totally happy if not more happy than you with much less. What's really important? Health, family, friends, feelings, experiences, moments, hugs :-)  (maybe the occasional glass of wine with Dad?) 
2. Don't try to make a moment or experience something it's not. Take it as it is and roll with it. 
3. Like who likes you (thanks Amy Poehler). Don't waste time on those who don't! Who cares what they think, and to continue being cliche... those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. 
4. Its ok to forget the facts but remember the feelings.
5. Trust future you to get things done. Focus to the best of your abilities on the NOW. Back to the senses. 
6. Be confident. Look at what you have accomplished, what you have seen and experienced. You are capable. 
7. Do at least one thing a day that brings you closer to long term goals. Eating better, running harder, trying something you've never done, studying a new topic in medicine...
8. Patience... moods are short lasting, instead of complaining or getting frustrated try and keep smiling and focus on others or do something you know will elevate your mood (run, organize, get outside) 
9. On an off day look at that beautiful Masai wrap on your wall or giraffe (twiga) painting you bought in Kenya and let the memories flood your brain! At this very moment a gorgeous Ugandan woman is riding to work side saddle on a boda boda. Another dreamer is accomplishing their Kilimanjaro trek at 19,341 feet in Tanzania and on top of the world (literally and metaphorically). A kid in Lira is jumping out of his primary school window to race across the field to start baseball practice. A young Kenyan man is dusting away the trash next to his shop before laying out his bananas, mangos and cabbages. Chapatis are being fried and flipped in all the oily goodness at hundreds of street stands in Uganda. Wayne is smoking a cigarette and standing behind his bar in Diani greeting a new traveler from Norway, or England, or Sweden. 
   
10. Realize how happy you are writing this right now on a bus from Tanga to Dar es Salaam and that maybe all the hype on self reflection and putting what you are thankful for into words really does work...or maybe it's the travel. But most likely it's all both of them. 🏼☺️

Bustling Kampala

We arrived into Kampala from Lira mid afternoon and took a boda boda to our hotel downtown where we would stay one night. Kampala is quite busy and exciting. Downtown is situated on rolling hills with skyscrapers and larger buildings that were scarce in Lira and Mbale. Traffic rivaled Nairobi and the boda boda drivers were slightly more aggressive on the roads. It was definitely the type of downtown that made me hold my bag a little tighter as we walked into our hotel.

Our room at Aponye hotel was cheap and comfortable with a restaurant attached and wifi. We consulted lonely planet and lit up when we found that there was a Mexican restaurant, Little Donkey not terribly far... a Mexican restaurant! We boarded a boda boda and headed about 15 mins east (I think) where we found blended margaritas, beans, cheese, taco salad for me and even guacamole. Little taste of home in the middle of our six week adventure. We were stoked. We road through the hilly town that evening in the dark slightly buzzed and grateful to be alive. 

The next day we took a free shuttle from the downtown Oasis mall to Red Chilis backpackers for the next two nights on a friend of Corrines's recommendation. Red Chilis is a venture out of town about 20 minutes southeast and is situated on a hill overlooking Lake Victoria. Gorgeous. It was red tiled roof U- shaped building outlining green fields with a saltwater pool we could hardly wait to jump into. Kampala would be the closest town to the equator we would visit and sunscreen was not an option, more of a necessity. I was out with spf 50 for probably 45 mins and still found splattered pink and white bikini lines later that evening. Our room was lovely and spacious with communal hostel style washroom down the hall. Lovely restaurant, friendly staff and they had a local craft woman come and set up shop each evening. I ended up buying some flowy elephant pants that were a little too long and she sweetly offered to take them home and re stitch them and bring them back the following day. Solid purchase, they rock. 

I was a little sad to find out I would not be able to meet up with Sherry, the director for Loving One by One Ministries. She sent me an email describing her next few days shuttling surgical patients in and out of town, transporting stroke patients, and having several optometric surgeries lined up that she had to organize. It was simply not going to work and I didn't want to force it. My goal was to learn more about the program and perhaps find a place with them for future volunteer work and it sounds like this will still be an option. Through our travels I've spoken to multiple abroad healthcare providers and volunteers - one specifically, a young nurse Natalie, I got to talking to at the Nairobi airport en route to Diani beach (she struck up a convo as I was being all touristy with my lonely planet book and a colorful Post-it situation). She had been working in Moshi's oncology unit teaching younger nurses how to administer chemotherapy for a few weeks and she again fueled my desire to practice medicine abroad. She had lived in Kenya for 13 months three years back and came across the opportunity to return to East Africa through the hospital she worked at in Michigan. Speaking with her made me more confident I could find connections through future employers, as well as of course Sherry and perhaps even Safari doc Scott I met climbing Kilimanjaro. My biggest worry is doing volunteer work that is not genuine, and instead more of a touristy opportunity where you end up paying a program all this money to have your "'medical experience" ... nuh uh. Not doing that. The dream is to find a more sustainable way to spend a couple weeks to a month annually helping local providers with their workload and perhaps bringing over extra needed supplies and actually make a contribution that may make a difference. 

Anyways. Not all was lost and I enjoyed a morning run along Lake Victoria, trying more local foods, and collecting souvenirs at Banana Boat- a beautiful 'made in Uganda' store at the Garden Mall that has everything from local soaps and handmade cards to handcrafted wooden stools. Also had a delicious brunch at a place called Prunes, recommended by Lonely Planet. Outside seating included all sorts of fun garden furniture and they were real big on the coffee... who could really ask for more out of a brunch spot? 

I especially enjoyed my run... I departed early morning as fog was still settled over the lake and ran about 20 mins South following roads as close to the lake as I could.

I passed small children in uniform walking to school and a small bustling village with young people waiting for matatus (the small local bus). I passed a white, pristine one level psychiatric hospital with a large field and garden out front. My favorite part though was when a boy about my age carrying a soccer ball in a plastic grocery bag came out

 of nowhere and started running with me. We didn't exchange a word. At first I was a little concerned... why was he running with me? What did he want? Would he follow me all the way back to Red Chilis? But I pushed those thoughts aside and just ran realizing I kind of enjoyed the company and I might be over analyzing. I went on a shorter run than my norm so I decided to test myself with a little speedwork and picked it up a notch. He matched my speed. We circled around the road towards the hill getting closer to home and I took it up another two notches. He matched me. At this point I was breathing hard while he, on the other hand, was composed, with a relaxed face that didn't appear to be participating in any sort of labored oxygen

exchange. I maintained. This went on for probably another minute which felt like eight before I reached the driveway toward Red Chilis. He kept running straight and I waved and yelled "byeee!" to my new running buddy and he looked over his right shoulder, waved and nodded and without slowing his stride continued off over the hill. It was awesome. He wasn't trying to sell me something or ask for money or follow me home. Instead it was a fun little connection that made me giddy as I returned to tell Corrine.

Lira: Sport and the Universal Connection

          While Mbale was full of village outings, local waterfall hikes, chappati, and homey comfort, Lira, the Northern Uganda town Corrine coached baseball in three years prior, can be described as the walking town (at least for us) where three days were easily filled with baseball practices, new local Ugandan dishes, and visits to Sankofa Internet cafe. We stayed with Mark and Benard (or Beno) and his sister Judith who was visiting from Kampala during a break in her studies. Mark and Beno coach the baseball team now and we tagged along each day to observe and for Corrine, reconnect with the handful of kids who still played. I watched the second day as Beno divided teams and told two groups of about 30 kids total to come with me to start a soccer game. I was caught completely off guard, he hadn't prefaced it at this at all... but I gladly accepted the task. This is my game, I thought! I brought my mini bright orange soccer ball on the trip, a ball that my FC willamette coach had us all buy in order to perfect our touch at about age 15. I use to hate the thing because it was like, I had finally perfected juggling on my knees and feet with a normal size 5 ball and here he had to go and make it tougher. As I got older I learned to love it though and I got better and better developing more foot control and composure keeping the ball closer and under my knees. It turned out to be the best travel item. No matter location, language, gender or age the soccer ball acted as a universal token to connect. 

In Mbale one morning I ran to a nearby stadium where I watched as older boys played a high caliber match while younger girls practiced on the side of the field. I asked if I could join two girls, Lilian and Eileen, before their organized practice began and although there was some language barrier (by the way there are 61 different languages/dialects spoken in Uganda), they both smiled and waved me in to join their passing circle. YES, I thought, this is what this whole trip is about! I recalled playing soccer in Costa Rica in a muddy field with the local boys when I was about 11, in Samoa with the girls club team (where I ended up scoring the winning goal- oops) when I was about 17 and here again I was laughing with two Ugandan teens passing, juggling and playing keep away at 26. The sport creates a middle ground, an understanding of one another without any spoken word. A game is a game, and the skill, competition, and goals are known and understood. It's beautiful really and a great way to connect whether you grew up around the corner or live half way around the world from each other with day to day lives that don't even look the tiniest bit alike. 

I pulled out my mini soccer ball at the Lira Army primary school field that day and started with a big passing circle

which quickly turned into two teams of flocking kids running wild around the field chasing the ball in every direction. It was a blast. I called to them to keep passing and to try and keep the ball in bounds, but as I looked around everyone seemed to be having a good time so I dropped it. After goals were scored my teammates AND opposing teammates would line up to high five me even if I hadn't scored...not only was I the older kid, I was the mazungu that these kids wanted to interact with. Which leads me to another big theme that has struck me this trip: all the young kids especially in Uganda practically fall over themselves just to say hi or wave or yell "mazungo how are you!" Its like they are taught to appreciate differences as soon as they can walk. It's heart warming. Corrine and I laughed one day as we took a boda boda from a village to Mbale and heard a kid yell MAZUNGU but couldn't even find where the little voice was coming from. Their voices seemed to echo around us everywhere we we went.

As we walked home on the last day of baseball practice Gloria, a girl whose face I remembered well out of the 60 kids or so because she was just so darn sweet, took my hand. We walked and I tried to talk to her but quickly learned she hadn't learned much English yet (Corrine told me they don't start teaching it until 3rd grade). We walked in silence with the occasional giggle. She led the group to her house on the corner which was connected to a small kiosk. Her mom greeted us and Gloria brought Beno, Marc, sir William (another sweet baseball guy), Corrine and I chairs to sit behind the store. We were welcomed with a soda, crackers and her mom even brought out wanagi (a locally made hard alcohol). As we talked Corrine pointed out to the barn area behind where four baby piglets, only hours old, were shuffling around blindly. Eeeeeeee!!! I had to get a closer look. Gloria held my hand as we went over to check it out. The tiniest little creatures! They huddled together and stumbled about, easily started by any movement or noise. Seriously cute. A family friend or relative (not sure) picked one up and put the squealing creature in my arms. Such a cool experience, both being so welcomed into Gloria's home out of the blue and the family generously hosting us, and then their recognizing my excitement about the piglets and making my day by letting me get in some piggy snuggles. Peep Gloria and the piggies below! 

Gloria on the left and Bridget on the right

That evening Corrine and I were fiending for some local Ugandan eats and found ourselves at Mama Michelle's kitchen about a 30 second walk from our front door. I tried fish served with scale and eyeball still attached, matoke which is a type of banana mash with subtle but tasty flavor, cabbage (the most common leafy green here... don't try to get spinach), and posho which basically looks like mashed potatoes but made of cornstarch and supposedly is meant to be eaten with a sauce as it is very bland. My favorite Uganda dish (besides chippati of course which really isn't even a dish) I had in Kampala. This was Ground nut (G-but) stew, which somewhat resembles a peanut butter taste in a thicker orangish broth. The vegetable version I ordered had some greens and simson sauce (a local seed thing) mixed in and came with a list of sides such as yams, sweet potato, rice, beans, matoke, and Cassava (a local root which also tastes like a bland potato) all which you could get for the same price of the meal...a whopping 10,000 UsH so just a little over $3. Overall food here seems to center around potatoes and meat so the stew was a nice change up. Looking forward to trying some fresh seafood over the next two weeks when we head to the Kenyan coast and Zanzibar! 

The walk home from baseball practice

Hello Uganda!

Sipi Falls and Mbale

Arriving to Uganda included a whirlwind of events. After a long bus ride stopped short of the border, our contact, Rodgers, thankfully popped out of nowhere even on the Kenyan side a kilometer or so out from the border. Phew! We hadn't taken more than a step off the bus before experiencing the hustle and bustle of several locals competing to give us a ride to the immigration office. Rodgers instructed us to jump on a boda boda (basically a motorcycle taxi) and just like that I experienced my first boda boda with Corrine and our two large backpacks weaving our way through traffic as I couldn't help but grin by the freeness of it all! Weeeeeee! 

Soon, after a semi hectic walk back to Rodgers car through crowds of people and tight walk ways with bodas streaming through (came within inches of being knocked over a couple times) we we were off into the night to Mbale from the Malaba border...one pot hole at a time. :) 

Mbale Mbale Mbale - honestly have never felt so at home abroad in all my travels. Not even because of the city, but because of the people. Rodgers and Whinnie, a young couple with a new five month old baby, Divine Blessing, welcomed us into their home as if we were extended family and had a quiet way of making us feel like part of the household as we contributed with kitchen and water duty and of course, babysitting :). We were also greeted by Irene another young girl living at the Maple house. Just for info sake- Corrine helps work with the Maple organization and through her we have these connections and free stay in both Mbale and Lira in exchange for showing face at some of the savings groups. Maple works to build projects and groups in order to raise funds, create loans, and teach locals how to save and maintain money so they may start or grow their own businesses. They put on events like teaching women how to sew and even provided them with sewing machines. Really neat. I had the pleasure of accompanying Corrine on two village outings and interviewed groups on their Maple experience. All were thankful, warm and welcoming people who were almost as excited to talk about Maple as they were just to talk to some mazungus (white travelers). 

Below: Some Uganda Faces :)

Rodgers, Whinnie, Corrine and I sat at the table and discussed our travels and thoughts for the next few days. Rodgers only 29 has this soft spoken, calm demeanor about him that reflects someone in their 60s while Whinnie is a little fire cracker, so confident and sure of herself and easy to laugh. Lovely people. We made a plan to check out Sipi falls, a three tiered waterfall about an hour away that Corrine got me really excited about. In the meantime, we were hungry and Corrine led me the half block from the house down the street to where a handful of small food carts waited on the corner...and there I was Introduced to my first chappati. 

A chappati is really quite simple. We watched as a young man grabbed a ball of dough, rolled it out and put it on his frying pan. He used a ripped off portion of the flour bag, almost like an oven mitt, and pushed into the dough as he turned it around and around over the heat. The dough made of only flour, water, salt and oil turns out to be like a thicker but slightly crispier tortilla but better and its friggin addicting. You can also ask to have a Rolex - a chappati with an egg and vegetables (typically cabbage, tomato, and onion mixed in) rolled inside. Corrine had prefaced these amazing things saying she barely went a day without them when she was here three years ago...and I get why! They are sold for only 500 Ugandan schillings, equivalent to about 20 cents in the states (its about a 1:3000 exchange currently). We ended up having Rodgers show us how to make them at home and made breakfast for dinner one evening. There's this new song by Ed Sheehan called "shape of your body" that we played as we rolled the dough and laughed as we remixed the lyrics to say "im in love with chippatiiii"... yeah, we're obsessed. Rodgers chimed in too. 

Corrine and I made family burrito bowls one evening and Whinnie had me sift through the rice. 

Clockwise: Corrine, Rodgers, Whinnie, Irene, and Hyasinth at family dinner

The Maple House is small and simple but really all you need. The theme I have picked up from Uganda so far is that in general, people seem really happy and again, in general, have far far less than we do in the US. Whinnie informed us of a water issue they had been having so instead of using the shower she filled a huge basin of water each morning in the bathroom and we showered with buckets and used it to fill the toilet before flushing as well. I felt myself initially being a little disturbed by this.. but why! Because I'm use to my perfectly warm shower with strong water pressure at home anytime I decided to turn a knob? Because water access has never been a problem for me? I felt selfish and silly! These things clearly didn't bother them. Even when the electricity went out one evening at dinner, Rodgers just laughed and turned on his phone light. I ended up growing to enjoy the showering process and found cold water at the end of a day in Uganda was refreshing and the buckets so simple with little water wasting. I would watch Whinnie in the mornings fill the basin and put water on the stove to boil and then in the fridge for drinking water for the day. She would hustle around the kitchen unfazed as their chickens peaked in and out and baby Divine sat upright on her baby potty in their room. Super woman? I think yes.

Bathroom wash basin

Whinnie`s tailor friend made me this gorgeous African dress for less than $15!

Baby Divine. The happiest of babies. And the cutest ah!

In our Sunday best!

Ngorongoro Crater

Post Kili, Corrine and I knew we wanted to have some sort of safari experience, especially since we were as close to major wildlife sites such as the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater or Arusha national park as we would get. Unfortunately, we had limited time before getting to Uganda and once we started mapping it out and calling around it seemed like the time and amount of money required just wasn't making sense. We left it up to fate, and sure enough at our celebratory dinner out with our Aussie friends the night of finishing our Kilimanjaro trek, Perry recommended I talk to their tour guide, David, who conveniently had tagged along to pizza with us. One call by David and a short conversation with his manager and we had arranged a car to pick us up at our hotel the next day and take us from Moshi to a small town, Keratu (?) just outside of Arusha for the night and then on to the Ngorongoro Crater the following day for safari. We jumped on it. Initially a little more expensive than we wanted but we later found out park fees alone were $220 a person so we rested a little easier knowing that. Apparently we had gotten a good price...we would most likely never be back plus we were told the crater was the best place to see the most concentrated group of animals in a short period of time...And we were told right. 

Sure enough, At 11:00am a driver was at Springlands hotel ready and waiting for us. This driver took us into Moshi where we traded our Sudan for a large white 4wd safari vehicle. We met our new driver Dismus, a friendly and outgoing guy who would surely make a wonderful guide, and found we would be the only two. We had been told we would be an add on to another group so this was pretty awesome because everything I read said the fewer the better for optimal viewing and vehicle comfort on a long safari day. 

We had no idea what kind of accommodation we would be staying in that evening in Keratu. We pulled into a long dirt driveway and when we parked we were greeted by two young, nicely dressed men who took our backpacks and led us down to quite possibly the coolest glamping experience I could have imagined. Basically, underneath multiple grass type open air huts were large tents with cots, complete with a little sitting area . This wasn't even the best part;  as I took in my surroundings unnoticed birds chirping a little louder- all sorts of low and high pitched clicks and songs-, zero traffic or city noises, and just on overall sense calm and serenity...it felt like we were already out on safari. One of the young men, Israel, told me not to worry, no animals would get us here...Haha thanks Israel. Additionally there was an open air larger, wooden crafted structure where tea, coffee, fresh pineapple juice and popcorn were waiting for us. Popcorn is a thing here I guess! After snacks and a lovely dinner of broth, bread, potatoes, avocado salad, chicken, dessert of fresh watermelon and pineapple and a nice (warm!?) shower with a window open into the trees, we tucked in for the night to prepare for an early start. Wow. 

 

So. if you are ever in Tanzania... GO TO THE NGORONGORO CRATER. I feel that this part of the trip is probably better explained in pictures...(see below). Even right at the gate baboons greeted us. We took a long gravel road along the rim of the crater to a vantage point before the descent. Gah- the view resembled something straight out of discovery channel or Jurassic park, like something so beautiful I think I've only seen paintings close to it. As we looked down into the 131km width of the crater we appreciated the vast grassland with shimmering watering hole to our right, as well as clumps of denser trees and jungle. As we took the car from this point we passed Masai huts.. basically circular clay type structures with grasswork for the roof. Then sure enough we saw a Masai man dressed in the traditional red cloth from head to foot. He pointed and motioned with a stick in a direction off the road away from the caldera. Dismus stopped the car as we spotted a group of about 7 giraffes towering over the trees. Ohhhh my gosh... and it just kept getting better and better. Next were wildebeests, herds and herds of zebras, buffalo, and gazelles. Oh my! 

Black rhino from afar

Look closely, they aren't rocks!

Ngorongoro is home to 30 or so of the rare black rhino 🦏, hippos, lions, African elephants, monkeys, ostriches, flamingos, allllll different types of birds oh and of course can't forget pumbas with their antenna like tails that jut straight upward into the air (Dismus said these were his favorite). I personally love the zebra oh and giraffes, ah it's all so good. We saw so many baby zebras playing and frolicking around, probably the least scared of us of any.  Or maybe that's the monkeys... those lil devils are not afraid at all. Dismus instructed us to eat lunch in the car at the picnic site because the monkeys would steal our food... but this didn't stop them. One monkey with a little baby hanging from her chest took a dive into the car before we had a chance to think and stole a half of Corrine's sandwich. And just like that she was gone. Lesson learned.