Since our anniversary we spent some more time with Tim and Diane and lots more time looking at animals and taking pictures. We really enjoyed our time at Acacia and I really hope we’re back there soon. In the mean time please say a prayer or two for Tim and Diane as they are FULLLLLLLY overbooked for November and will need all the God help they can get to keep things running smoothly.
When we arrived back in Arusha we had set up to go for a couple tours and the first one was to Arusha National Park. I think it was a little more fly by the seat of your pants than we were expecting from the tour operator but it really was a great day. We started with a game drive through the park and saw all kinds of animals we hadn’t seen in Acacia like Flamingos, Water Buffalo , Hawks and many types of Ducks. For some reason I never pictured ducks in Africa. When I think of African birds, ducks just don’t come to mind!
After the drive we met up with a park ranger who was to take us on a walk around the park. When we booked this I figured we’d go down a couple trails and see a few things and that would be it...that’s not exactly what happened. Arusha National Park also includes Mt. Meru. This is the mountain that people often climb as a training course for Kilimanjaro. After taking us through a great meadow with all kinds of animals we started heading uphill. Now anyone who’s hiked with me knows I like hiking but NOT REALLY uphill. If I could drive to the top and hike down I would hike EVERY mountain. Two hours later we had climbed about a third of the mountain. I had a chest infection and I’ll be the first to admit I’m not in shape so on the way up I seriously thought it entirely likely that I was going to pass out and poor Eric was going to have to find a way of getting me down. I could hardly see straight, my heart was pounding faster than ever and I felt like I couldn’t get any oxygen into my lungs no matter how hard I breathed. It was pretty much hell and other than the fact I was constantly praying I really don’t know how my legs and lungs kept working. It was only by God’s grace!
HOWEVER, when we did FINALLLLLLY start going downhill and I was able to breathe again it did feel awfully wonderful and what happened next made it all worth it. We had been heading down hill for about twenty minutes when we started to hear a BushBuck barking just below us. We were following a raggedy road they use to restock the lodge part way up the mountain and suddenly a Leopard jumped out of the bush in front of us about 60 feet down the road. A LEOPARD!!!!!! At this juncture it’s important for you to understand two things: A, Leopards are VERY shy and are almost NEVER seen by locals let alone tourists. B, We were perfectly safe and the ranger had a gun if we needed it (moms that was for you). The Leopard was facing downhill and didn’t see us so Eric quickly tried to grab the camera out of the bag I was carrying, unfortunately this meant he had to hand his water bottle to me. (This is the part where you say “oh Lisa” in anticipation of me screwing up.) I was so enthralled in the Leopard that I literally didn’t take my eyes off him and when Eric handed me the bottle I dropped it. This of course made a noise, and that of course scared off the Leopard. It turned around and took one look at us with its massive head and took off down the road and rounded the bend. I felt horrible that I had ruined the moment but at the same time I was still speechless at the sight of this massive, gorgeous animal. I can still see it in my head, it’s maybe a better picture than we would have gotten with the camera! It takes my breath away, BUT IN A GOOD WAY!
After our fun on the mountain we did another drive and headed back to town where we met two Canadian girls who work in Quatar. It was wonderful to spend some time talking about home and everything we love about Canada.
The next day we took another small tour through a village east of Arusha which was interesting if only because we were followed constantly by small children saying either “Good Morning” or “How are you?” Apparently those are the first two phrases they are taught in English. From there we spent the afternoon relaxing and getting ready for the ride to Dar the next morning.
We’re now in Dar and we thought you might like to know the speed bumps and horns are just as prevalent when you go the opposite way! We don’t have any concrete plans for the next couple days but there are some things we’ve read about that we may try to find and Eric and Tej are searching for fishing options as we speak. Oh, oh, oh, and Eric got to drive (on the left side)...and he did well!
9/28/2008
Our Anniversary
We spent the day with Tim and Diane. The night before Laura Card had been in an accident with a Matatu and needed to go get all the police and insurance stuff figured out so we dropped Diane off to meet her and headed out to run errands with Tim. Tim didn’t have many errands so in short order we found ourselves wondering what to do. It turns out that over the last couple days Kaleb (Tim and Diane’s son) had been feeling a little homesick and Tim had been contemplating a quick trip out to Rift Valley Academy to cheer him up and since we had multitudes of time on our hands and a Jamie Oliver Cookbook to deliver to Kaleb this was the perfect time.
The drive out was actually quite fast and Eric and I got our first taste of Kenyan Police when Tim got pulled over in a routine stop. We have learned a valuable lesson, know the law better than the police do and they will let you go very quickly. Tim’s pretty good at Kenyan law.
The road to the Rift Valley is more tropical and almost a rainforest compared to the other parts of Kenya we had seen and it was a delight to see all the trees, vegetation and farms. You can grow nearly every fruit and vegetable from Canada there and we saw huge piles of Rhubarb hanging on the sides of stalls. I almost wanted to get some until Tim started referring to it as Diesel Rhubarb because of the number of trucks that pass by.
RVA is huge and basically awesome! If I had to go to a boarding school I would have chosen RVA. They have two Rugby fields, a huge brand new cafeteria, dorm houses, an outdoor gym, and what seems to be a stellar music program as well as everything else you would normally find in a North American high school. All of it is set into the side of a mountain amongst a forest. The school is made up of mostly North American and Korean kids but they have over twenty nationalities represented.
Kaleb was surprised to see his dad and even more surprised to see us. He kept trying to understand that we had gone all the way home and back again, we understood it seemed a little weird, it does to us too. We were able to give him the Jamie Oliver cookbook I had picked up and he seemed excited about it. Apparently he cooks for kids in his dorm all the time so hopefully this will give him even more ideas. We also promised to send any recipes we pick up in Thailand as his favourites are Asian foods. He’s a kid after my own heart! He even goes to some Korean classes with his friends just for the food, sooooo smart!
After a short tour and many offers to Tim to come back and teach we headed back to Nairobi for lunch at an Indian place with Diane. And then home to Acacia for some relaxation, Cribbage and quiet. Not very exciting I know but I thought it was a great way to celebrate. As Andrea pointed out, who would have thought when we got married that we would spend our second anniversary in Kenya!
Home Sweet Home (in Kenya)
This could take a few days; or should I say this is a few of our days. Acacia Swara is a 23,000 acre wildlife reserve and this where we are calling home. To our enjoyment when our driver came to pick us up from Mayfair it was Michael; a driver from the trip that we took with our team a month ago. This was not a huge surprise because we had requested him, but the one problem that could have come up was a communication failure. It was all good and after a dusty drive we were here safe and ready to take some pictures and just simply watch the beautiful animals. Meeting up with Tim and Diane Bannister was great. Seeing these people that made our stay here so comfortable was definitely a highlight of the day.
On Sunday we went to Church in Machakos with Diane and then made our way up to Mitiboni to see the water tanks that we were helping with on that first trip a month ago. I should just mention for the Kenya Team we stopped off at the T Tot Hotel and Diner to enjoy a couple Samosas and Mandazies. It was great to see the progress that the community has made on the tanks. When we left a month ago the upper treating tank was about 75 percent done and the lower holding tank was just about to start the foundation. Well I would say that they really are doing it as a community because both tanks were totally done, painted and all and the main pipe to fill them was buried and awaiting the pump (within the next week). Then all they will be needing is that darn rain!!!
One of the high lights to the day on Sunday didn’t come until just as it was getting dark. About ten minutes before the night fell a herd of Zebras came through the camp and thought that they would be needing a drink from the watering hole. The watering hole that was just 120 feet away from where we were sitting. Well just by chance we were waiting and ready for them. Okay not by chance because the night before the watering hole had some visitors to it around sunset as well. So we were ready, cameras in hand waiting for an hour and a half to see just what was going to be rolling on through. We had almost called it a night in the waiting department when Lisa saw a momma and baby coming in to drink. It was very cool to see because Zebras are amazingly skittish. About one minute or less after the first two came through there was close to twenty of them getting a drink. Ten minutes later and it was all over, they had left and it was dark; a very cool way to end any day.
Eric ? Lisa ? It was a good night, we lost count.
9/19/2008
Anticipation of quiet
Well we did get to the Java House and all the other places we needed to. The coffee was as good as before and I found a new drink to calm my coughing. All in all it was a productive day.
Though it was productive it was still a day in the city and there have been way too many of those lately. Both Eric and I are very ready for the peace and quiet of Acacia Camp. I think that in Calgary we often overlook the fact that wilderness is just moments away. In Africa those who don’t live in the country are not likely to visit the ‘wild’ very often and the thought of peace and quiet is I’m sure foreign. If nothing more this trip has absolutely solidified the fact that we value God’s natural wonders and more than that we value being there without other people. Not that we don’t love you all, but you’re noisy!
I can’t wait for Monday when we can spend the day exploring, finding animals and just basically enjoying God’s beauty. Of course, with my luck some loud bird or monkey will follow me around for the whole day and I’ll end up plotting it’s death (in the most humane way possible of course).
Tomorrow morning we’ll leave here for Acacia and we don’t expect to have internet access again until the 24th at the earliest so please don’t be concerned if you don’t hear from us. We’ll keep blogging and upload them all when we get back into Arusha.
Though it was productive it was still a day in the city and there have been way too many of those lately. Both Eric and I are very ready for the peace and quiet of Acacia Camp. I think that in Calgary we often overlook the fact that wilderness is just moments away. In Africa those who don’t live in the country are not likely to visit the ‘wild’ very often and the thought of peace and quiet is I’m sure foreign. If nothing more this trip has absolutely solidified the fact that we value God’s natural wonders and more than that we value being there without other people. Not that we don’t love you all, but you’re noisy!
I can’t wait for Monday when we can spend the day exploring, finding animals and just basically enjoying God’s beauty. Of course, with my luck some loud bird or monkey will follow me around for the whole day and I’ll end up plotting it’s death (in the most humane way possible of course).
Tomorrow morning we’ll leave here for Acacia and we don’t expect to have internet access again until the 24th at the earliest so please don’t be concerned if you don’t hear from us. We’ll keep blogging and upload them all when we get back into Arusha.
Answer: Fastest Nairobi Tour EVER!!!
Question:
What happens when you add:
+ Two Mazungu talk/scam their way into getting the ride to the guest house they were promised
+ Shuttle driver is told the wrong place to go from supervisor
+ Rush hour traffic
+ Nairobi driving
+ Gas tank on empty
+ End of a long, long day
We left Arusha on Thursday morning on a bus that was much more like the traditional DallaDalla’s that you see traveling around the country. I don’t think either of us really knew what to expect on the ride and at the start it wasn’t very promising. We were sitting in the back row with no windows of our own to open and traveling on a very bumpy and slow road. With 32 people crammed in to a small space it soon started to heat up. Needless to say by the time we reached the outskirts of Arusha I was ready to pull a Paul!! (For anyone not on the Kenya team who doesn’t know what this means please talk to them.) Thankfully the man in front of me had moved over a seat and now only had his briefcase sitting in the window seat and I was able to trade with the briefcase. I spent much of the next hour praying and breathing in as much fresh air as I could.
The rest of the ride really wasn’t bad at all and we met some nice people and had great chats. I had to explain to the man who’s briefcase I’d traded with about ice fishing in t-shirts in the spring and I think he basically got the impression that Canada is a bunch of freaks who wear no clothes in the cold and sit on ice to fish, not my best work. Eric was sitting beside another Eric and a lady from Oregon and talked to both of them about their travels and the UN Visa Eric was in the process of getting so he could attend school in the UK.
The roads in Tanzania were a delight as they were basically all paved outside Arusha with very few holes but two goats who nearly made the ultimate sacrifice. The roads in Kenya were an entirely different case, dusty, full of holes and almost non-existent are the nice things we could say about them. This was expected by Eric and I given our previous experience here and there was some progress seen in the amount of new tarmac that’s being laid in several places, unfortunately none of it is ready.
We arrived in Nairobi just in time for the start of rush hour and true to form the last hour of our bus ride was spent in screech and floor-it traffic, that’s Kenyan for stop and go. When we did finally get to the stop we told the manager that we had been promised a shuttle to our guest house and he got frustrated because Mayfield is not in the City Center and their shuttle is for the City Center only. Now in truth they did tell us all this in Arusha but we assumed that Mayfield was City Center and the guy in Arusha (who didn’t have a clue) agreed with us. We eventually did get a shuttle that we didn’t have to pay for but the manager told him to take us to the Mennonite House and when we finally got there we had to tell the driver it was wrong and he begrudgingly started towards Mayfield. He was more than a little grumpy at this point and traffic was pretty snarly and this made for some of the most ‘interesting’ driving we’ve seen to date. We did make it through unscathed and the van even had working seatbelts so we were never in any real danger. I was more worried about the people on the sides of the roads.
Mayfield was a very welcome site when we finally arrived and we had no hassles getting our room and all the rest sorted. By this point it was about 1630 and Eric hadn’t eaten a meal since 0730. As you can imagine this meant he was more than a little peckish. We both collapsed on the bed and reminisced about our day while chowing-down on the snack food we had. While eating we began to notice the different shades of dirt that our skin, hair and clothing had taken on and decided it was time for a long, hot shower with a great deal of soap. Clean and relaxed it was a waiting game until dinner and we spent the time checking emails and chatting with my daddy.
On Friday we’ll head out to the Java House, bank, grocery and a couple other shops to stock up before heading to Acacia camp on Saturday morning.
What happens when you add:
+ Two Mazungu talk/scam their way into getting the ride to the guest house they were promised
+ Shuttle driver is told the wrong place to go from supervisor
+ Rush hour traffic
+ Nairobi driving
+ Gas tank on empty
+ End of a long, long day
We left Arusha on Thursday morning on a bus that was much more like the traditional DallaDalla’s that you see traveling around the country. I don’t think either of us really knew what to expect on the ride and at the start it wasn’t very promising. We were sitting in the back row with no windows of our own to open and traveling on a very bumpy and slow road. With 32 people crammed in to a small space it soon started to heat up. Needless to say by the time we reached the outskirts of Arusha I was ready to pull a Paul!! (For anyone not on the Kenya team who doesn’t know what this means please talk to them.) Thankfully the man in front of me had moved over a seat and now only had his briefcase sitting in the window seat and I was able to trade with the briefcase. I spent much of the next hour praying and breathing in as much fresh air as I could.
The rest of the ride really wasn’t bad at all and we met some nice people and had great chats. I had to explain to the man who’s briefcase I’d traded with about ice fishing in t-shirts in the spring and I think he basically got the impression that Canada is a bunch of freaks who wear no clothes in the cold and sit on ice to fish, not my best work. Eric was sitting beside another Eric and a lady from Oregon and talked to both of them about their travels and the UN Visa Eric was in the process of getting so he could attend school in the UK.
The roads in Tanzania were a delight as they were basically all paved outside Arusha with very few holes but two goats who nearly made the ultimate sacrifice. The roads in Kenya were an entirely different case, dusty, full of holes and almost non-existent are the nice things we could say about them. This was expected by Eric and I given our previous experience here and there was some progress seen in the amount of new tarmac that’s being laid in several places, unfortunately none of it is ready.
We arrived in Nairobi just in time for the start of rush hour and true to form the last hour of our bus ride was spent in screech and floor-it traffic, that’s Kenyan for stop and go. When we did finally get to the stop we told the manager that we had been promised a shuttle to our guest house and he got frustrated because Mayfield is not in the City Center and their shuttle is for the City Center only. Now in truth they did tell us all this in Arusha but we assumed that Mayfield was City Center and the guy in Arusha (who didn’t have a clue) agreed with us. We eventually did get a shuttle that we didn’t have to pay for but the manager told him to take us to the Mennonite House and when we finally got there we had to tell the driver it was wrong and he begrudgingly started towards Mayfield. He was more than a little grumpy at this point and traffic was pretty snarly and this made for some of the most ‘interesting’ driving we’ve seen to date. We did make it through unscathed and the van even had working seatbelts so we were never in any real danger. I was more worried about the people on the sides of the roads.
Mayfield was a very welcome site when we finally arrived and we had no hassles getting our room and all the rest sorted. By this point it was about 1630 and Eric hadn’t eaten a meal since 0730. As you can imagine this meant he was more than a little peckish. We both collapsed on the bed and reminisced about our day while chowing-down on the snack food we had. While eating we began to notice the different shades of dirt that our skin, hair and clothing had taken on and decided it was time for a long, hot shower with a great deal of soap. Clean and relaxed it was a waiting game until dinner and we spent the time checking emails and chatting with my daddy.
On Friday we’ll head out to the Java House, bank, grocery and a couple other shops to stock up before heading to Acacia camp on Saturday morning.
9/17/2008
Fly-catchers Galore!!!
After a good night’s sleep and partial recovery from our bus ride both Eric and I woke up feeling sick, tired and otherwise out of it. My cold and his flu/cold had pretty much thrown us both for a loop. However, this didn’t change the fact that when we didn’t find real coffee at breakfast there was a dire need to search it out. At Aunt Marg’s we had bought grounds and used a campfire method to make coffee every morning which Aunt Marg thoroughly enjoyed. No longer having a stove and grounds of our own we had to resort to walking the streets in search of a coffee shop. As we set out we had no real idea of where we might find this but at the corner a man named Nelson started talking to us and soon offered to show us to the nearest shop. This was a little questionable because in Arusha EVERYONE wants to sell you something or be your friend and so we weren’t sure of his intentions but it turned out he was a very nice man who gave us some other great tips and when asked said we could pay him whatever we liked for the service. Nelson eventually led us to The Patisserie, a great little bakery and coffee shop which is highly over priced in local standards but still cheap in ours. The coffee was hot, tasty and served with care.
We spent a few hours after coffee searching out the local museum, where Eric accidentally broke the law by taking pictures without paying. Thankfully we got the pictures we wanted before someone noticed and told us we had to pay. We then found the UN building where they are currently holding the tribunals for the Genocide in Rwanda. If we had more time here (and I wasn’t sick) I would most definitely love to go watch some of the trails which anyone can do. After this we followed some UN workers to a cafe in behind the museum and had pretty darn good lunch.
This morning we took a taxi to find a ticket to Nairobi on the bus and then again went for coffee. We walked back from the coffee shop and in doing so you have to go through the Clock Tower Round-About. This is where the fly-catchers congregate in hopes of catching you. They wait silently, sizing you up to see what approach will work and then they pounce, “Jambo, How are you? I have beautiful things, no? Are you looking for a taxi? Hapana Asante? Why no thank-you?” With their hopes dashed they scurry back to ‘their spot’ and the next one crouches in anticipation of the pounce. It’s an interesting game and you find yourself wondering how best to look completely unapproachable. Thankfully I have become moderately adept at the ‘been-traveling-too-long-to-fall-for-your-crap’ stare and it seems as if daily our quotient is much reduced.
We are both feeling much better but really aren’t that motivated as yet. I’m honestly ok with that as it’s kind of fun to do nothing. In the interests of not wasting all our travelling time in Africa we have made some plans to spend two days here on the way back from Nairobi. This will also allow us to break up the mind-numbing bus hours. While here, we’ll spend some time on a walking safari and a culture tour. The doorman here is Daniel and he’s been exceptional at finding us great people to make plans and help us out.
Tomorrow we go to Nairobi and stay at the Mayfield guest house which we were in with the Kenya team. We’re going a day earlier than expected but will be glad to see a familiar place. We’ll also get to see a bit more of Nairobi and hopefully Michael our driver. We’ve learned to value his adept skills of the road even more after seeing some of the alternatives. Luckily driving in Tanzania for the most part is actually quite tame compared to Kenya. On the drive here it was interesting to see the driving styles/roads change the closer we got to Kenya. I expect tomorrow we’ll see even more of this.
Tonight we’re off to a local ex-pat haunt for Greek food. EXCITING!!!!!
Things we didn’t expect to hear: A chain saw running all day for two days off in the distance.
Things we didn’t expect to see: An older Muslim man driving a VW Hippie Van adorned with large colourful flowers through the streets of Arusha.
Eric 16 Lisa 9.250
We spent a few hours after coffee searching out the local museum, where Eric accidentally broke the law by taking pictures without paying. Thankfully we got the pictures we wanted before someone noticed and told us we had to pay. We then found the UN building where they are currently holding the tribunals for the Genocide in Rwanda. If we had more time here (and I wasn’t sick) I would most definitely love to go watch some of the trails which anyone can do. After this we followed some UN workers to a cafe in behind the museum and had pretty darn good lunch.
This morning we took a taxi to find a ticket to Nairobi on the bus and then again went for coffee. We walked back from the coffee shop and in doing so you have to go through the Clock Tower Round-About. This is where the fly-catchers congregate in hopes of catching you. They wait silently, sizing you up to see what approach will work and then they pounce, “Jambo, How are you? I have beautiful things, no? Are you looking for a taxi? Hapana Asante? Why no thank-you?” With their hopes dashed they scurry back to ‘their spot’ and the next one crouches in anticipation of the pounce. It’s an interesting game and you find yourself wondering how best to look completely unapproachable. Thankfully I have become moderately adept at the ‘been-traveling-too-long-to-fall-for-your-crap’ stare and it seems as if daily our quotient is much reduced.
We are both feeling much better but really aren’t that motivated as yet. I’m honestly ok with that as it’s kind of fun to do nothing. In the interests of not wasting all our travelling time in Africa we have made some plans to spend two days here on the way back from Nairobi. This will also allow us to break up the mind-numbing bus hours. While here, we’ll spend some time on a walking safari and a culture tour. The doorman here is Daniel and he’s been exceptional at finding us great people to make plans and help us out.
Tomorrow we go to Nairobi and stay at the Mayfield guest house which we were in with the Kenya team. We’re going a day earlier than expected but will be glad to see a familiar place. We’ll also get to see a bit more of Nairobi and hopefully Michael our driver. We’ve learned to value his adept skills of the road even more after seeing some of the alternatives. Luckily driving in Tanzania for the most part is actually quite tame compared to Kenya. On the drive here it was interesting to see the driving styles/roads change the closer we got to Kenya. I expect tomorrow we’ll see even more of this.
Tonight we’re off to a local ex-pat haunt for Greek food. EXCITING!!!!!
Things we didn’t expect to hear: A chain saw running all day for two days off in the distance.
Things we didn’t expect to see: An older Muslim man driving a VW Hippie Van adorned with large colourful flowers through the streets of Arusha.
Eric 16 Lisa 9.250
9/16/2008
For every Horn there is a Speed Bump.
Well here we are in Arusha. We did make it and we do have internet, slow but it is here. The drive was well, interesting. We started out leaving Dar at 0830 and made our way North West to our sleeping grounds, ten hours after we started out. I never realized how much I like a drive with no music and no noise until today. It seemed to me that every time we came in to any small town (every ten minutes) there was a speed bump set out for us as a red carpet. The biggest difference with the driving that I noticed today was that when they pass somebody they don’t wait for an open space they just pull out and give a couple honks with the horn to tell the oncoming to get the h#ll out of the way. After we arrived at the bus stop we got a taxi and made our way to our pad, The Outpost. A nice quick dinner later and we were ready to stretch our legs unpack and enjoy the higher elevations cooler temps (24 degrees at 2100). For the first time in the history of Lisa and I knowing each other I heard her say thank god for that breeze and the cool air.
Off to rest my butt from the flat seated bus, goodnight.
Eric.
Eric 12 Lisa 8.125
Off to rest my butt from the flat seated bus, goodnight.
Eric.
Eric 12 Lisa 8.125
9/14/2008
A day of rest
Unfortunately it was a day of rest because I’m fighting a valiant effort against a throat bug. I slept for about an hour in the afternoon and I’m tired enough now at 2030hrs that I could easily go to sleep and sleep right through. This doesn’t bode well for my well being.
We went to church this morning with the Minhas’ and we both enjoyed the sermon a great deal. The speaker was a missionary who works with kids at the local university and his approach and message were invigorating.
We go to Arusha in the morning and you should all know that our internet access may diminish with the move. We’ll do our best to update when possible but I guarantee nothing.
Good night from Dar!
lisa
Eric 11 Lisa 8
9/13/2008
Kariakoo
Uncle Tej took us to Kariakoo today and it’s was mind blowing basically. The basic description is roads and roads of vendors, bargain hunters, cars, bikes, and two white people with wide eyes (that would be us). There we massive stacks of dried fish and spices, numerous shoe and clothing stores, kitchen ware stores, vegetable stands, appliance and furniture stores, you could pretty much get anything you wanted. Of course the price depended on how good you were at bartering . We didn’t get anything today but when we get back from Arusha I expect to go again and see what deals I can get. Tomorrow we are going to the fish market early which should be all kinds of interesting. I can’t wait to get a bag of large prawns for lunch.
Eric and I are both feeling quite tired today most likely because of the heat and the time we spent out in it. We also went and bought a cell phone so I would say we spent a good four hours in the sun today.
lisa
9/12/2008
I love mosquitos!!!!
I am covered in mosquito bites. I seem to have an almost allergic reaction to the bites and I’m now covered in welts anywhere from the size of a penny to the size of a toonie. It’s not like this is abnormal for me, I do it at home too, but it does make for an itchy time. I am getting sick of it now and I hope that our new mosquito net will help stem the flow of bites. Thank God for Mefloquin as it seems to be keeping me healthy for now.
We did get samosas for lunch and they were pretty good. And our burgers for dinner turned out quite well as well. It was nice to be able to find everything we needed for the burgers and to be able to cook. India’s party was loud, very loud. If anyone wants to volunteer for giving my kids birthday parties please feel free. I won’t be doing it, I’m not brave enough.
Tomorrow we go to the station to get bus tickets and then to the market with Isaiah to get a cell phone. This will enable us to stay in touch with the Minhas’ while we are away.
lisa
Eric 10 Lisa 7
We did get samosas for lunch and they were pretty good. And our burgers for dinner turned out quite well as well. It was nice to be able to find everything we needed for the burgers and to be able to cook. India’s party was loud, very loud. If anyone wants to volunteer for giving my kids birthday parties please feel free. I won’t be doing it, I’m not brave enough.
Tomorrow we go to the station to get bus tickets and then to the market with Isaiah to get a cell phone. This will enable us to stay in touch with the Minhas’ while we are away.
lisa
Eric 10 Lisa 7
9/11/2008
Malls = Samosas
We did go to the mall on Wednesday. We actually went to two malls. They are more like blocks of shops really rather than malls as we know them. Aunt Marg dropped us at the first one (Shoppers) on her way out and we went and grabbed a coffee first from a small shop in a bookstore. The bookstore is pretty expensive but the coffee shop is not as bad, unless you compare the 3000tsh for a latte to the 700tsh for a Dalla Dalla ride. After the coffee we walked around and looked at the shops, grabbed some cash, groceries and of course some samosas. We then walked down the road past the shops to Mayfair. It too had numerous shops and a grocery story and also a couple of restaurants. One in particular is a Japanese restaurant which I hope we’ll be able to visit.
In the afternoon we started making plans for the rest of our time here. Eric has decided not to attempt Kilomanjaro this time and I hope that it won’t be long until we can plan another trip for him to try it, maybe even both of us. Instead we are both going to go to Arusha and take a couple days touring around the area and doing some hikes. From there we’ll go to Acacia Camp for a few days to celebrate our Honeymoon.
Today we went shopping with Aunt Marg again, this time at a different mall. My mom would be
happy to know I’m not spending all my money just enjoying the air conditioning. We found some more samosa’s that we decided we really should test to make sure they were good too. Turns out they were pretty good but needed a little lime. After getting home Eric and I both had a nap to try and get over his cold. He is feeling a little better but I think it will be a day or two still for full recovery.
After our nap Eric, Aunt Marg and I went to the beach. They are lucky enough to have a membership at a private beach which means they don’t have to be constantly guarding their belongings on the beach while trying to enjoy the water. It was really great to walk through the warm water and search for shells. The sun was actually shrouded a little by clouds so I didn’t even end up sun burned...very cool and unusual. After our fun in the sun we met Uncle Tej for some wood-fired pizzas. We will deffinetly be going back to the beach soon and often.
Tomorrow is India’s Birthday and Eric and I are going to make burgers for dinner after the party. I’m really excited to get to cook for everyone. I even think we should be able to find everything we normally use at home. Oh, and we’re having samosas for lunch!!!!
lisa
Eric 4 Lisa 4
In the afternoon we started making plans for the rest of our time here. Eric has decided not to attempt Kilomanjaro this time and I hope that it won’t be long until we can plan another trip for him to try it, maybe even both of us. Instead we are both going to go to Arusha and take a couple days touring around the area and doing some hikes. From there we’ll go to Acacia Camp for a few days to celebrate our Honeymoon.
Today we went shopping with Aunt Marg again, this time at a different mall. My mom would be
happy to know I’m not spending all my money just enjoying the air conditioning. We found some more samosa’s that we decided we really should test to make sure they were good too. Turns out they were pretty good but needed a little lime. After getting home Eric and I both had a nap to try and get over his cold. He is feeling a little better but I think it will be a day or two still for full recovery.
After our nap Eric, Aunt Marg and I went to the beach. They are lucky enough to have a membership at a private beach which means they don’t have to be constantly guarding their belongings on the beach while trying to enjoy the water. It was really great to walk through the warm water and search for shells. The sun was actually shrouded a little by clouds so I didn’t even end up sun burned...very cool and unusual. After our fun in the sun we met Uncle Tej for some wood-fired pizzas. We will deffinetly be going back to the beach soon and often.
Tomorrow is India’s Birthday and Eric and I are going to make burgers for dinner after the party. I’m really excited to get to cook for everyone. I even think we should be able to find everything we normally use at home. Oh, and we’re having samosas for lunch!!!!
lisa
Eric 4 Lisa 4
9/10/2008
Good old ZAIN
As we landed in Dar the first thing I saw was a slew of ZAIN (a cell phone company) billboards. Oddly enough it made me feel very at home due to the prevalence of them in Kenya, it was a very familiar feeling. It’s interesting to me that I feel so at home here, it’s very comfortable for me...well except the heat. We’re now getting to spring here in Africa and as in Canada that means the temperature rises. It’s currently 0930 and 30 degrees in our bedroom where we’ve been very careful to keep the blinds drawn and the heat out whenever possible. Usually I take three or four days to really get used to the temperature of a place and then I’m pretty much good to go, in Hawaii I even had to wear a sweater, nuts I know! All this makes me dread the thought of returning to Calgary in November. Not that I won’t want to see all your smiling faces but let’s be honest, it gets bloody cold in Calgary. My only hope is that we have a Chinook that starts the day we arrive back. Don’t be surprised to see me walking around with four (or more) layers on and a touque!!
Our flight was good and again Eric slept for most of it. He’s caught a cold and been stuffy since we got on the plane in London so it’s a very good thing he’s had so much sleep. By now we should be on the new time zone sleeping-wise but we made a critical error yesterday. We laid down for an hour nap in the afternoon which we set the alarm for but unfortunately Eric had a minor problem in setting it and set it for am not pm. Needless to say we slept for about five hours by accident and that made going to bed more difficult. We tried to stay up later and set the alarm for early but the long nap has really messed up ‘the plan’. I have forgiven Eric, but only because he’s sick!!!
Marg, Tej and the kids are all well and it’s been really great to see and hug each of them. Naomi in particular has been a real joy despite her inherent shyness, or maybe because of it. Our nap yesterday limited the amount of time we got to spend with the kids as they of course go to bed earlier in order to be up in time for school. All those kids in Canada who complain about getting up early for school really should be thankful, these guys have to be up at 0545 in order to get to school by 0715 when it starts.
Today we’re going to head off to the ‘mall’ and take a look around. It’s not a mall like you would have but at least it will keep us awake for a while. Also, India has ballet this afternoon and we might go watch that. Finally we hope to get Eric’s trip to Kilo figured out so we can book our trip to Kenya around it.
I think the thing we both miss the most about Canada right now is the changes that start to happen in the fall. The air get’s cooler but the sun seems to hit you just right to keep you warm and the trees start to change color. If you ask Eric I’m sure he’d tell you about all the different bugs that hatch on the river and the new flies you get to bring out when fishing. It will be sad to miss out on all those changes and most likely the first snowfall of the year...but, on the other hand...
lisa
9/08/2008
London Again
We’ve arrived in London safely but are pretty much exhausted (Mostly ME). British Airways was nice for the most part but I think they were trying to make us feel at home by keeping the cabin temperature as low as possible and that kind of sucked. We’re in Terminal 4 again and for any of you who read the Kenya blog you’ll remember that it’s the one with the shower. We also found a NEW, BIGGER, BETTER shower while wondering today and as soon as I’m done her we’ll head that way, yipppppeeee!!!
The one frustrating part about BA is their inability to tell me what DATE we get to Dar. Even the lady at the counter in Calgary had no way of looking this up and it was seriously frustrating. I was pretty sure I had screwed it up in telling Aunt Marg we would be there on the 8th and it turns out I was right and we get there on the 9th. After a few frantic emails I think they understand what a goofball I am.
Here’s hoping I sleep through the next flight and start to think properly!
lisa
Eric 3 Lisa 3
The one frustrating part about BA is their inability to tell me what DATE we get to Dar. Even the lady at the counter in Calgary had no way of looking this up and it was seriously frustrating. I was pretty sure I had screwed it up in telling Aunt Marg we would be there on the 8th and it turns out I was right and we get there on the 9th. After a few frantic emails I think they understand what a goofball I am.
Here’s hoping I sleep through the next flight and start to think properly!
lisa
Eric 3 Lisa 3
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