TravelStream™ news feed for member mew on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/mew en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 18 Nov 2007 10:14:07 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194437160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194437160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194437160/tpod.html Sun, 18 Nov 2007 10:14:07 -0500 East Africa

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Zanzibar, Tanzania

So apparently there are two types of divers, those who admit to peeing in their wetsuits and those who don't admit it.  It was pretty hard to get around on the dive boat that I was certified on - the two options for a full day of diving was the one I noted in the heading, the second was using a bucket on the deck of the rocking boat while someone hid you from view behind a towel - I'm pretty sure the bucket would then be dumped into the ocean.  In any case I am now a certified diver.  The diving was excellent.  Chris ended up being my diving buddy yesterday (I was the only student) which was nice - we saw lots of things, most of which I don't know the names of.  There were some huge schools of fish, great corrals, eels, lobsters...  The most exciting thing I have seen so far though was a sea serpent like thing, the length of my arm, that Chris and I found in chest deep water this morning just off our beach.  I now will not put my feet down unless the water is waist deep or shallower.  Not sure that will help but it makes me feel better.We took a day off diving today to hang around on the beach - snorkel, read etc...  It is once again crazy hot.  There is this highway of ants that passes in front of the porch of our room that I jump over most times of the day, but right now it is even too hot for the ants.  It is so fantastic here - the weather is great, the water is warm and very clear, it is really laid-back and absolutely beautiful.  Wish we could stay longer.In any case we dive tomorrow and then head to Zanzibar Town on Friday, before heading to  Dar es Salaam on Saturday for our flight home.Take care.P.S. (For Jess and Lachlan) I finished the post above and went to the bar to get a Savanah (dangerous that they have them here - fortunately they are quite expensive) and Matt (from the Murchison Falls trip) walks up.  World is always smaller than you think.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194614520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194614520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194614520/tpod.html Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:28:37 -0500 East Africa

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Zanzibar Town, Tanzania

We spent the last night of our trip in Stone Town, the old part of Zanzibar Town, the largest town in the Zanzibar Archipelago.  It was very hot - even after 6 weeks in Africa we found it nearly unbearable.  However, Stone Town was worth it - winding narrow streets between Arab influence buildings.  I could have spent the entire time we were there just wandering around the streets.  The best time to wander around was first thing in the morning and at sunset - that is when most of the local Stone Town people are out and about.  People going to mosques, school kids reciting the Koran or playing in the streets, vendors selling their real wares (not tourist trinkets)...We stayed at the Zanzibar Coffee House - which has a coffee shop on the main floor and some boutique rooms on the upper floors.  All the rooms were really nicely decorated in Zanzibar style and really comfortable.  The best part was a rooftop terrace with a 360 degree view over the town which was also very comfortable with low chairs, covered in pillows.  Chris and I did the tourist thing - we visited the Old Fort, built by the Arabs to protect against the Portuguese's, which is now a craft market and the House of Wonders, which was the Sultan's palace but is now a museum.  Both were interesting - we learned a lot at the museum about the history of Zanzibar, the culture and language.  The best thing we did was visit an Anglican Church that is built on the site of the Slave Market.  It was very informative, and disturbing to see.  The Bishop who built the church, Edward Steere, was instrumental in abolishing the slave market in Zanzibar.  We had a guided tour which included the church and chambers where they kept the slaves before they went to market.  The estimated that about 60,000 people were put up for auction every year for about 100 years - this does not include the ones who died before they even made it.We also went to watch the sunset at Africa House, an over-priced rooftop bar that is the tourist 'it' place to have sundowners and watch the sunset.  By this point however I have seen some pretty impressive sunsets, and the appeal of sitting in the hot sun waiting for the sun to go down quickly diminished - we ended sitting inside, in the shade and under a fan, and watching the sunset through the window.After Africa House we tried to go to the night market for dinner, however managed to get lost and ended up at the local market instead. It was really fun actually - we got chapatis, fish and cakes from some vendors and then stopped on a step to eat.  Apparently this is what happens at the night market as well, except there are ocean views (it was dark so we didn't miss out) and more tourists.  When we stopped on the step people kept staring at us - we figured it was because we were tourists - until we stood up and realized the step was at a mosque.  Not sure if they were staring because we were tourists or because we were eating on the steps of a mosque?  It was a great place to watch all the goings on of the city though and a fabulous way to spend the last night of our trip.After a ferry ride from the island to Dar Es Salaam we fly home...  the end of the trip. Can't wait for the next one!Take care.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194873060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194873060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194873060/tpod.html Mon, 12 Nov 2007 08:22:41 -0500 East Africa

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Calgary, Alberta, Canada

So we are home - safe and sound.  The trip back was un-eventful.  Dar Es Salaam was very hot, Dubai was about 27 degrees at 2 am, London cooler and Calgary about 8 degrees.  Not a bad transition.  Chris is off to work today but I am going to take it easy - get unpacked, wash clothes, buy groceries, try to get over jet lag, that kind of thing.  I'm happy to be back, but it was really hard to leave Zanzibar.  It was such a beautiful place! It is nice though to be back somewhere where I can rinse by toothbrush with tap water, I know what the cab drivers should be charging me, I have more than two outfits to choose from and acess to a washing machine and dryer, and I get to sleep in my own bed.Tomorrow it is back to the real world.  Signing off...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194269520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194269520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194269520/tpod.html Mon, 05 Nov 2007 08:58:31 -0500 East Africa

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Zanzibar Town, Tanzania

It is about 4:30 in the afternoon, and it is really hot here in Zanzibar.  The walk from our banda across the white sand to the internet cafe (a full 20 m maybe) is enough to do me in.  Fortunately the cafe is next to the bar.  We are actually at Kendwa Beach on the northeast coast of the island - our room is right on the sand with a view of the ocean.  There is even a hammock out front.  The sand is white and very fine - made up of broken shells.  The ocean is a tremendous aqua-blue-green and really warm, with Dhows sailing across the horizon.  I went diving today and the bottom temperature (10 m down) was 27 celcius.  The diving was good but I'm still too focused on not messing up to really enjoy what I'm seeing.  There are a lot of fish and coral though - tomorrow Chris and I are both going to Mbemba Atoll, which is supposed to be one of the top diving areas near Zanzibar.  Hopefully as I get more experience I can actually better register what I'm seeing.After Kilimanjaro, I wrote that I was suffering some severe windburn.  The severely windburnt skin dried up, turned brown, peeled off, and left the worst case of cold sores I have ever had.  The interesting part of the story is that all kinds of people have stopped me to ask what happened, and then say 'so sorry'.  It is a completely sincere gesture.  It is a nice change from staring or pretending there is nothing wrong.  Although today (after being in the salt water for a few hours the scabs all turned white) one poor lady looked postively scared for me.Other than diving it is going to be a super relaxed week before we head home.  Now, off to the beach bar for a sunset beer.  Check Chris's page for pictures - he has been here for an hour so I'm guessing that he has added a lot.  I will upload some later this week.Take care.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194093120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194093120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1194093120/tpod.html Sat, 03 Nov 2007 08:52:16 -0400 East Africa

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Serengeti, Tanzania

Sorry for the short entry, but it is super hot and the group is waiting.  Chris, Jess, Lachlan and I are back in Arusha after a fantastic Safari.  We visited the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park.  During the first day we got to see three leopards as well as a lioness stalking a warthog while her three cubs watched.  I figured that couldn't be beat, but other highlights in the Serengeti included seeing a pride of about 12 lionesses stalking a group of zebra and seeing two cheetahs - one eating its kill about 5 m from the roadway.  There was also a lot more to see - too much to list here.  There weren't as many cats in Ngorongoro Crater, but what it lacked in cats it made up for in shear number of animals all in one place.  There were so many wildebeests and zebras it was amazing.  Tarangire is known for Elephants and it didn't disappoint, but the highlight for me was the birds - we did a lot of bird watching there.  There are so many amazing birds - all sizes and colours. All the lodges we stayed at were absolutely beautiful - I don't think I have stayed anywhere nicer than Migration Camp and Tarangire Treetops.  Everything was full board, so it was a lot like Christmas - lots of really good food and drink - too good to pass up.  I'm still full.  Tomorrow Chris and I fly to Zanzibar, and Jess and Lachlan head home.  It has been great having them around for the last couple of weeks - I will miss them.  I am looking forward to Zanzibar though -  I will try to upload some pictures then.Take care.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1193572200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1193572200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1193572200/tpod.html Sun, 28 Oct 2007 08:24:54 -0400 East Africa

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Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

So yes, I made it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro!  I have to say that the most overwhelming comment is that it was REALLY COLD, but beyond that it was a really amazing experience.  Chris, Jess, Lachlan and I were part of a group of 10 clients, which required 5 guides, 1 cook, and 25 porters, bringing the grand total to 41 people.  Crazy. The porters, guides and cook did an excellent job though, because all 10 of us made it to Uhuru peak (they stats that 90% of people see the crater, and 70% make it to the peak).The trek started with three relatively easy hiking days - going 'pole pole' (Swahili for slowly, slowly) - through some really great terrain ranging from tropical forest, to forests of Erica trees covered in witches hair, to desert type terrain and finally bare volcanic rock.  Each day our tents were set up by the time we reached camp, with a warm washing water soon to follow, as well as tea and snacks.  It was great.  The fourth day was an 8 hour day, then we ate and went to rest as we started the summit attempt at midnight that night.  Around 6:30 pm a huge windstorm rolled it that continued all night.  It went from about 0 at camp to -15 Celsius at the peak, but the wind chill the entire night was crazy.  Chris told me this morning that I looked like I aged 10 years overnight because my face is so chapped from windburn.In any case, after a very long night, we arrived at Stella Point around 5:30 am, just before sunrise.  It was awesome.  The guides sang hymns just as we reached the top.  After that it was a relatively easy walk to the Uhuru Peak (easy if you ignore the altitude, cold, and time of day) and we arrived at elevation 5895 m about 6:15 am.  After some quick pictures we headed back down.  The glaciers are beautiful with vertical walls, and the mountain is mostly a soft scree of small volcanic rocks and dust, great for getting down fast.We headed down to 3100 m to camp that night, so in all we put in a 12 hour day, with a couple hours rest in the middle.  A lot of effort, but totally worth it - it was an awesome experience.  We are back in Arusha today and start our Safari tomorrow, so there won't likely be any entries for another 6 days.  There are a couple of random pictures - didn't have time to pick the best...Take care.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1192949640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1192949640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1192949640/tpod.html Sun, 21 Oct 2007 03:21:29 -0400 East Africa

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Arusha, Tanzania

Today we leave from Arusha and head to Marangu to start our trip up Mount Kilimanjaro.  We have spent the last couple of days not doing too much - booking flights and rooms for the rest of trip, looking into shuttles, getting laundry done, that kind of thing.  It was nice to relax a bit, but yesterday at about 3 pm I started getting antsy - I'm ready to get going on the next stage of the trip.  Arusha is pretty touristy, so the street touts get pretty annoying after a while, making just looking around a bit of a nightmare.  There are a number of good restaurants though, so we have had some really good food over the last couple of days.  This morning Chris and I went to this great market and even though Chris spent most of his time trying to get rid of impromptu 'market guides' it was really interesting.  The have everything - all kinds of vegetables and spices, fruit, huge bags of dried beans and rice, kitchen wares, live and dead chickens, baskets...  It was really fun to walk through.  A couple of ladies taught us how to say a couple of Swahili words.  I'm a bit unsure of their meaning and when exactly I should use them, but I will clear that up soon once I check our guide book again.  Chris bought a bag of garlic to counteract the altitude on Kili - good thing I'm not too bothered by the smell of garlic.Jessica and Lachlan arrived from their trip to Rwanda last night - they sound like they had a great trip.  We will all head to Marangu later today.  We have one night in a hotel and then we head up the mountain Monday morning.  I am really looking forward to this trip, as well as spending a week without any bus / car travel. We attempt the peak on Friday, so please send good thoughts our way on that day.  There won't be any Internet access until next Saturday / Sunday, so look for my next entry after that.Take care, stay well and wish us luck!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1192786800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1192786800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1192786800/tpod.html Fri, 19 Oct 2007 06:35:53 -0400 East Africa

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Arusha, Tanzania

We are in Arusha, Tanzania.  To get here by bus it was 20 hours, two border crossings, 15 police stops (9 of those within the first 3 hours in Kenya), two very sketchy money changes (to Kenya shillings and Tanzanian shillings), three of the worst toilets on our trip so far (one that I had to pay for), a near miss with a giraffe, and a temperature change of about 15 degrees overnight (Chris couldn't sleep because he was so cold on the bus).  Considering the route between Kampala to Nairobi is a major one, the roads are terrible from Kampala to about 1 hour out of Nairobi.  I was a bit worried the bus would shake apart due to all the bumps but it survived and so did we.  We left green Uganda (crossing into Kenya at nightfall) and the sun rose in dry, brown Tanzania.  Arusha is much more tourist savy than Uganda - a lot of touts looking for business, lots of people trying to hassle you out of your money.  So far I miss Uganda, but I'm sure that once start on our tours the enjoyment level will go way up.The last day in Kampala was fun.  Chris and I split up to do errands in Kampala.  He thinks he drew the short straw, and he may have, there was no way I was riding around on a boda-boda (I wouldn't get on the back of Chris's motorcycle fully suited up, let alone helmet-less behind a guy I don't know, in Africa).  I quite enjoy the matatu's (shared taxis that hold around 17 people) - they are cheap (between $0.25 and $0.50) and relatively comfortable.  I didn't have to wait more than a few minutes to catch one either.   The only problem is it would take a month or so in the city to actually figure out all the signals and route names - there are no maps that explain the system.  I basically had to tell them where I wanted to go and they would tell me if they could get me there.  We are here for a few days, then start our trip up Kilimanjaro on Monday morning.  Can't wait!  Kurt has been complaining that there aren't enough pictures so I splurged and spent about $2 worth of internet time uploading some pictures (the value of $$ starts to get a bit warped after a while).  Check back through old entries.Take care everyone.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1192638960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1192638960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1192638960/tpod.html Fri, 19 Oct 2007 06:32:13 -0400 East Africa

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Murchison Falls, Uganda

We just got back from our trip to Murchison Falls - it is a great National Park north of Kampala.  We saw Elephants, Buffalo, Giraffe, Harte-beasts, Ugandan Cob, Oribi, Warthogs, Ground Horn bill, Crocodiles, Hippo's...  the list goes on.  The trip up took most of Monday - there were 6 of us - our group of 4, another Canadian from Victoria / Vancouver and an Israeli from Jerusalem.  Really good group of people so it was a lot of fun.  Accommodation was at a camp about 1 or 2 km from the Nile.  This led to some interesting nocturnal visitors - a hippo munched the grass outside our tent both nights.  Chris and I were the only ones to wake up - the rest of the group was skeptical so Chris tried to take pictures.  At the moment the pictures are very black but Chris is determined that the hippo will appear when he photoshops them at home.  The hippo's eating was so loud it woke me up this morning which is impressive in itself.Tuesday we went for a game drive in the morning then a boat trip up the White Nile to view the actual Murchison Falls.  It has been a while since I last did this type of thing, so it was really fun to do it again.  A British guy joined us for the drive / boat trip - he was bird watching his way around Africa for about 6 months.  He was serious about birds so he pointed out a lot of things that we probably wouldn't have noticed otherwise.This morning we hiked up around the top of the falls - pretty amazing amount of water is pouring through a gap about 6 m's wide.  In typical Uganda fashion they state 'probably the strongest surge in the world'.  This is also how they describe rafting the Nile 'Probably the best rafting in the world'.  They like the word probably when describing things - not sure if they just are sure it is the strongest surge in the world or if they are being humble.In any case we are heading off the Tanzania tomorrow on the bus.  We will let you know how the 17 hour trip goes (and I think 17 hours may be optimistic).   I thinking it won't be fun, but who knows...Take care.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1192385820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1192385820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mew/africa_2007/1192385820/tpod.html Fri, 19 Oct 2007 06:29:36 -0400 East Africa

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Jinja, Uganda

I am absolutely exhausted.  Too exhausted to come up with a witty title to this entry.  We spent the day rafting the Nile River, in Jinja - about 1.5 hours out of Kampala.  It was fun, and the river is beautiful, but there is a lot of paddling.  Especially in the hot sun.  Rapids range up to Grade 5 - it was impressive.  We arrived back in Kampala yesterday to meet up with Jess and Lachlan.  The bus from Fort Portal was hell - we were convinced by a few people that it would be faster to take a Kalita Transport bus (logo 'In God We Trust') because it would be faster and left slightly later than the Post bus.  Very true if it had left when it was supposed to leave at 7:30 am (the Post bus left at 6 am - ON TIME) while the Kalita bus moved around Fort Portal for two hours before actually leaving the town at 9:30 am.  It was excrutiating - we got on the bus at about 7:15 am and still didn't get off until after 1 pm. That being said - our time in Fort Portal was awesome.  We spent the first two days at the Unique community campsite in the Rwenzori foothills.  It was run by a community developement officer named Elisha, who was also a herbalist, farmer, bee keeper, medic....  the list goes on.  He lived with his family in a well built mud hut with a tin roof and dirt floors.  Cooking is done on an open fire - he has plans to put in a type of mud oven vented outside.  The house is surrounded by fruit trees and then his farm land, all which is hand tended (they don't use animals to do the plowing - the terrain is too steep).  They also keep goats and chickens.  The house is about a 20 minute walk to the nearest road - no electricity, running water.  His house is very typical of the houses in the area - if not one of the nicer / better equipped ones.  The land is very fertile so no one goes hungry (there are at least two growing seasons), but it is very difficult for many people to pay school fees / get proper health care etc.The campsite is located just up the hill from Elisha's house and currently consists of one banda (hut).  There are plans to add more bandas and a number of other buildings (kitchen, dining tent...) They also have a brick storage shed, which they use to teach tailoring and basket weaving to the young adults in the area who did not have enough money to finish school.  The campsite is being built by the local people - everyone gets paid fairly for the work they do.  They hope that the campsite will eventually generate enough revenue to aid in some of the other projects - such as building primary schools, as well as provide needed money to some of the local people.  The current schools are up to 7 km of walking (remember there are no roads) from some of the homes, which is quite a trek for a 5 year old.  The landscape is beautiful, and we spent the two days hiking through the area and villages.  We spent the next couple of days at the crater lakes - we stayed in a cottage on the banks on Lake Nkuruba.  The forest came right up to the edge of the lake, so we spent most of the time watching monkeys (colobus and vervet) jump between trees, fight eat, and basically exist.  The campsite served local food which was really good - in Canada people talk about the 100 mile diet - in Uganda the people live a 10 km diet - they get everything fresh, organic, from very close by.  Tomorrow the four of us are heading to Murchison Falls for three days.  We will be back in Kampala on Wednesday night, and on Thursday we head to Tanzania...  I will be sad to say good-bye to Uganda, but I'm looking forward to all the events we have planned in Tanzania.  Until next time - take care...
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