To Zanzibar

Thursday 22; To Zanzibar

Up early, no water and clothes stick to me, but we depart at 7:00 and the air from the windows is wonderful and, as we rise, it gets cooler. Heaven. We get to Arusha and I ask Cyprian if we can have lunch at The Jacaranda where I know they have Internet. I got some posts up, then to the bank, a good-bye, and into the airplane for the hour trip to Zanzibar.

I get to the hotel at about 5:30, with my luggage. A man from the hotel picks me up for the ten minute ride to the hotel. I had no idea what to expect, but I pictured so meshing small and cutsy. Instead, I got something big and kind of "old colonial" feeling. Fan, A FAN!! Air conditioning, TV, small balcony, BATHTUB!, WiFi, swimming pool and right on a beach with lounge chairs and a bar. The kind of place that bores me to tears after one day, but the beach is bustling at 7:00 pm (as I write) and there is a whole city built of coral to explore.

First, a bath, and when I get in, I see that one side of my upper body and both legs are covered in bites—not a preferred souvenir but one that will pass. I someone's banquet last night. Lake Natron is nasty at night—the only place I have been with more insects in the air was Veranasi where you had to protect your nose and mouth. But to be clear—both places we're worth it as cultural experiences.

I have no idea about what to do but I have hears about spice tours (similar, I am sure, to spice tours in India). I have no doubt that whatever happens, I won't be bored.

Location:Shangani St,Zanzibar Town,Tanzania

Lake Natron

Lake Natron

Hallelujah! Clouds!! I am up at 6:00 and to breakfast at 6:30. At 7:00, Timoth, my guide (no "y"), arrives to take me for a walk. We are going to the lake early to avoid the heat. Still, I am sweating and so the flies are on me (but not Timoth). I am very glad to see Cryspian and the truck when we are picked up because my feet are filthy, bloody from rubbing on my flip flops and the flies smell blood. A cool shower is heaven.


Still, walking with Timoth gave me wonderful access to the company of a Masai man.


At 10:30, the clouds cleared and so I am not leaving my porch until lunch and then later (maybe) for a walk to the nearby waterfall. With open sores on my feet, and with my immune system compromises, I am wary of infection. It is already 31 degrees and rising fast. In 10 days, I leave, and it is hard to imagine that soon I will be in winter (that begins tomorrow) while I am in this crippling heat.

There is a bird flying around here that looks like a small kingfisher, but it is not a water bird. It is brilliant metallic blue on its wings and back and has a beautiful white chest. It's underwings are dark with a white circle and it's long bear and feet and shocking brilliant orange. (Asked Cryspian: woodland kingfisher.)

All the springs and the lake are alkaline. It is weird to see the bright clear water coming out of the ground and it being salty like the sea.

At 3:00 pm, Timoth and I went with Cryspian to an access point to a trail to a waterfall. We were going at the same pace as a delightful couple from New Zealand, their two kids and their guide. When we got there, the New Zealanders all started taking off their shoes and headed to under the falls. Although Timoth wasn't coming with me, lasted two seconds in the heat and was off for a shower. The river is black with volcanic ash, but super warm.

Timoth is a total delight. Aziz was a complete drag.

Check out the 1200 K calves flexing! Bwana ain't dead yet!

Location:Shangani St,Zanzibar Town,Tanzania

About Safaris; Coming Back

The first time I went to India, I knew I'd be going back. It was my first experience with what was, for me, an exotic destination. I went with a group organized by Club Aventure; our guide was French, and after the trip, I felt I had learned enough to go back on my own. And I did—twice. I all, I spent nine months there.

Tanzania's National Park system and safari touring infrastructure is, to me, absolutely perfect. Your guide is always with you, but at nights he stays in guide quarters while guests reside in the lodges and tented camps described in posts below.

When you arrive,you are often given a drink of fruit juice and sometimes a hot towel to wash your face and hands. There are natural and commercial amenities to enjoy and the meals are presented differently in each location. When you register and printed in the rooms, you are given all the information you need. You are well thought for in terms of information, mosquito netting (that I rarely use—I hardly see any and everything you sleep in is very well netted, the whole environment, I mean,so you don't need the nets. It's the flies that bother me, truth be told.

Breakfast is served in the morning.i find there is plenty of everything. Breakfast is usually eggs (how you like them), sausages, cereal, fruit, yogurt, toast, buns, pancakes, cheese and juice, tea and coffee. Then you and your driver are given a box lunch to eat. During the next days safari. The lodges also have petrol for the trucks.

Once here, no money changes hands. My room and meals were prepaid. My drinks and/or any services I need are charged to the room and I pay when I check out. Management does not want staff handling money. There is a tip box in each lobby and it is shared under a self-administered system.

Then off you go on safari and then the system is repeated, with a twist, each time. Sometimes power is only available for certain hours, sometimes there is wifi, sometimes you chooses your meals and other times they are menu du jour (I am always easily and delightfully accommodated with a veggie meal). This ain't France; it's more like nicely done home cooking.

And not a single aspect of this safari is the result of my input. I just painted the broad strokes and wound up able to do the whole shebang—Morocco, Egpyt and here—in a way that accommodated a fifteen-day safari. I feel it is a perfect amount of time because it allowed for a bit of rest, some experiences with people and some history (the Leakey Museum) and not too much driving any day (besides, with the landscapes, flora and fauna, there's really no such thing as too much driving). And you can stand when the roof is open and, like a kid or a dog, enjoy the rush of wind and smell against your face as you ride through the parks.

Next time, I will make every decision. I have this experience to inform it. Next time: more time on the ground to see the details, some interactive experience with animals (not just observational), hopefully not alone, but DEFINITELY not with anyone I don't know. I have seen the sardines—groups of people packed into trucks who have to share a very small space for a great percentage of every day. I'll do it again alone before being part of a corporately assembled group.

Location:Shangani St,Zanzibar Town,Tanzania

Tuesday, to Lake Natron

Sleeping at Ndutu with all the (meshed) windows open is a real treat. I almost pity the sound sleeper who misses the sounds of the night. One such sound was thrilling; I think it was an angry baboon. And waking up is an instant thrust into Africa when you look out your window and see a small herd of Thompson Gazelles and zebras and dik diks.

As I say, these parks are full of micro climates. From here to Lake Victoria, I detected no change in altitude—we never climbed or descended, but here in Ndutu it is much cooler in the morning.

Later in the day...

We blasted from Ndutu back to Karatu where we turned off for the four-hour drive to Lake Natron Tented Camp. The drive was nine hours altogether, but the four-hour stretch was on THE most amazing road. We had to drive very slowly much of the way, crossing rivers and dealing with huge ruts and bumps, but the overwhelming challenge to the drive is the result of an eruption of a volcano here a that began on Setember 4th, 2007, and stopped sometime in 2008.

Steve: remember my delighting seeing the obsidian fields and the cinder cone in Eastern Washington? Well this volcano (Oldonyo Lengai; Lengai is either the name of a God or the word for God) is stupendous; huge rocks thrown out of the volcano litter the landscape, we crossed scores of ash-filled creeks, dry beds and rivers, and sheets of lava and big chunks of basalt. But the stunning thing about the black ash that is everywhere, is that is glistens in the sunlight like luminescence in the sea. And all in a lush scrub valley that will be bone dry in the hot season. I am so glad I came while all is green.


After turning off the main road, it got hotter and hotter. So when Cyprian turned off the road, my heart sank a little. (for most of the drive, I am on the hot side of the car, by choice to ride with him in the front.) but the road led to a small crater (Shimo Lamungo) near the volcano that was a totally unexpected and FABULOUS experience. I mean, you can stand right on the edge and look straight down! It is frighteningly beautiful. And there was a group of Masai women there, gently selling beads, but also seemingly taking total delight in singing and dancing. Why? Because they, and another guide and his client, and two Masai gentlemen we're all smoking marijuana. Cryspian and I each had one puff; I think it helped us deal with the rest of the road.





We got to the camp at 5:00, and yet another amazing, brilliant difference. We are in Masai country, and this lodge is Masai run. It is indescribably fulfilling to be interacting with these people whom I so badly wanted to meet, but out of the context of Masai-Disney. As I sit on my deck writing, four young girls are playing catch and frequently waving to me. And at the natural pool, a troop of mischievous velvet monkeys hypnotize me.

It is 37 degrees. I had a cold shower al fresco. Have I mentioned yet that I am coming back here?

From today, in point form:

There are 3-4 million wildebeests in East Africa. They migrate in a huge circle between the Masai Mara and here. Right now, they are here to calve. They fill a 180 degree horizon on the ENDLESS flat plain.

We have been seeing so many lions and cheetahs and leopards because they are here to feed on the births. 40% of the newborns will become food for the wildlife here. They also eat the placentas.

There are no trees on the plain; no shade, but zillions of billions of square kilometers of food (grass)—all in parks and game reserves.

Masai kids four and five (and up) work small and large herds of animals everywhere.

I suspect this country turns a lot of people in birders.

This past spring, Mary-Lou and I stayed in, and visited, the historic and beautiful French village of Chinon. The past few days have been the exultant experience of the Serengeti. Both these places are U.N. World Heritage Sites, and so is Stonetown, Zanzibar where I go on Thursday. So this year I will have visited three U.N. World Heritage Sites.

Sitting by the fire before dinner, upwind of its heat, but feeling the natural wind blowing hot against me even at 8:00. It's now about 28 degrees; sleeping may be difficult and damp. Sadly, the breeze stopped to I sweated to bed. Goodnight.

Monday, to Ndutu Lodge

After the best sleep yet, with the wind on my face and unparalleled quiet, we departed at 8:00 for what was to become spectacular day—even for Cryspian!

We headed for the Ndutu area. We passed through here in our way to the Serengeti, but now we are returning to actually go into it. For the most part, it was a return to gigabillions of zebras, wildebeests and gazelles. At one point, the animals, who knows how deep, spread from horizon to horizon. I have crossed the Canadian prairie on the land, three times. It rolls. Here, I was on flat—that's FLAT— land from horizon to horizon and for 360 degree FLAT horizon. That is one part of Ndutu, and from December until February, this is where the bulk of East African animals are.

I ride in heavenly bliss. I have a terrific guide/driver who is very pleasant and knowledgeable and he looks after me very well; he drives us through an ever-changing paradise AND today there is a brisk wind and so the temperature is a lovely 24 degrees or so.

Just before lunch, we passed another safari truck (drivers are constantly doing this and exchanging information about the roads and the animals) and the other driver said there was a cheetah "back there." The truck had come off the plain, not off the road, so Cryspian followed the truck's tracks over the shrubs and grass and soon we could see some other trucks way, way off; we headed there. Just as we arrived, the cheetah took off, running like Daytona, and caught an skilled a gazelle. I saw the while thing, and a lot of it through binoculars. I was profoundly upset, butnot a sound, but Cryspian patted my on the back. "It's the African way," he said. We were so close, I could see what the gazelle had been eating when the cheetah tore open its stomach.


We were with that cheetah for about half an hour, then we headed off for a drive around. But I felt I had seen it all. Seeing a cheetah kill is a rare sight even for Cryspian. But after that, we got the closest I have been to a lion—and not just any lion, but a majestic mature male. After that, we saw a solitary lion on a low hill nearby. Cryspian, of course, the man who can see dust on the moon, saw more lions in the bush near the solitary young male, so we headed up the hill. When we got there, FIVE young lions and we were able to get very close to them.








And then, off we went to Ndutu Safari Lodge.

Sunday: To Serengeti Medium Camp

Getting back into the truck was exciting after a day-and-a-half off, and getting back into the Serengeti felt extremely good. Back to the breathtaking landscapes, the grassland micro climates, the birds and the animals. Eagle eye Cryspian thrilled me this afternoon when we were racing through the Western Corridor of the Serengeti (racing because there are no visible animals). He suddenly stopped and backed us up, and there, moving incredibly slowly, was a bright lime green chameleon crossing the street. He or she was so incredibly gorgeous. The photo does not do justice to the brightness of the colour and remember, this was on the road in Tanzania.


Lunch was at the information centre where, besides the usual zillion hyraxes, there we're also a a zillion dwarf mongeese. Another nominee for the cutest life on earth! They thrive on the stuff that BAD visitors give them, so they are not afraid of people. In fact, Mr. Cutie dwarf mongoose sits up and begs like a dog. I wanted to bring him home!


And on the way to Serengeti Medium Camp, we saw TWO!!! leopards, and this time, quite close. It just never stops here! And — attention Steve Schilling — Cryspain scored even more points by noticing something on a tree we were passing: one of the indigo beauties I keep raving about, AND a love bird. As soon as I saw that bird, I teared up. And I am again, because how can you not think of Martha Sr. when you see a love bird?! Thinking of her, makes you wish those days could have lasted forever.

We got to the camp around 3:00. It is yet another form of fabulous! From their information sheets in the tent: "Serengeti Kati Kati Camp is a semi-permanent camp. It represents the Africa of days gone by.... The layout of the camp resembles an old explorer station where the origins of safaris began.... Be aware that were in a wild area. The camp is open and wild animals can be in the proximity (from me: there is elephant evidence mere meters from me!). The camp is safe, but bear in mind that it's not advisable to walk outside the camp boundary. Do not come out of your tent at night. If your need assistance, just blow the whistle that is provided in your tent." (I can't find mine.) When you want a shower, you go the the reception and the porters fill up a large canvas bag with hot water and it has a control that allows you to have a short shower al fresco.





The restaurant.


I have no idea what birds I have seen, but I have seen beauties! But I do know that I have seen a large white raptor that looked like an eagle that had brown and black wings and bent its head backwards and down to hoot like a foghorn, a ground hornbill, a crested pullover and hoopoes (that look like woodpeckers) and huge—I mean HUGE—storks called Marabu Storks.

Sitting around the campfire before dinner, I met Tim, his wife Terry, his sister Terry and their friend, Pam. It was fun to be social with fluent English speakers (they are all committed Democrats from Chicago). We ate dinner together and then marveled at the night sky out here where there is no ambient light.

Saturday, Lake Victoria

Today dawned with thick dark clouds but I was ready for my bird walk with George. However, precisely as it was to begin it started pouring with rain and the rain lasted until ten. Faced with a day indoors and rain, I went o see what e-books I had on my iPad. I had several, all serious award-winning literature by Turkish, Indian and Pakistani authors. But on the desk were some paper books including one by John Grisham.

Grisham is what I think of as a 711 author. That is, like Danielle Steel (I think), he is one of those authors whose books you always see for sale in 711s, Mac's Milks and grocery stores. They were names I vowed never to read, but today I did. I did little but read a 500 page pot boiler. Empty calories, but fine for an unexpected day indoors. Speke Bay has no amenities other than a bar and a lake you can't enter, so what's a guy to do? Serious literature was just something I was not up for today.

The biggest event of the day was when I was sitting on my deck reading and watching the beautiful little yellow weaver birds and sparrows hopping around my room and deck eating every crumb from my meals. (All my meals today were brought to my room.) Then suddenly, a lot of twigs and leaves tumbled onto the deck and all the birds took off and when I looked up, there was a monitor lizard, about 800 cms long. He walked along my bamboo roof and then down the bougainvillea plant and onto the ground. When I moved, he froze and stared. We played chicken for a while while I held my breath and didn't move. When I did move, I saw how fast monitors can run away.

Tomorrow, back on the road, back into the parks and back to looking at animals. And I am ready! Serengeti, here we come again. Tonight, as I write and enjoy dinner, Christmas carols are playing—the first ones I have heard. Thank God I am here! Bah humbug.