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Adventures of a 'Gypsea', East African Adventure, Videos

Hakuna Matata: Zanzibar

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An early morning shuttle took us to the Airport where we hopped onto a larger prop plane, headed to Zanzibar. The seatback magazine recipe for a shrimp dish kept me entertained while my seat mate took photos from their window seat.

I had packed my camera and lenses in my day pack, nestled at my feet and was able to get a couple photos with the help of my seat mate, and looked out over mainland Africa one last time before the attendant gave me my mango juice and cashews. (Definitely felt like a step up from tomato juice and peanuts.)

Our arrival into Stonetown, my group descended the staircase and crossed the tarmac into the terminal. My bag came off the carousel when rounding the conveyor corner, landing with a loud THUD. I counted my lucky stars that I transfer my lenses to my small pack for flights.

Outside the airport we joined up with another GAdventures group that had just finished climbing Kilimanjaro, and bypassed the safari segment that the crew who continued with me had done. Our trip had departed a few good people, and gained a few more. By the end of the trip I counted up that I had made 20 new acquaintances from 7 countries, and from the US from 4 other states. Talking with my guides, they both said that one of the reasons they love their jobs is the very different people they get to meet from all over, and getting to show people their little corner of the world.

Our next guide for this portion of the trip, Kombi, loaded us up into a bus and headed into the city to our first nights accomodation: The Spice Palace. To get to our hotel, the bus cannot make it down any streets in the main city. The narrow streets being from long before car transportation was a consideration in building plans. We loaded all of our bags onto a wooden cart, making a towering mound of all the luggage. A smaller older gentleman who approached and loaded it began to pull it down the alleys. We follow, stopping at the stairs at the front of our hotel, each of us claiming our bag and beginning the check in process.

After dropping bags in our rooms, there our group gathered and made our way to lunch at a nice little place near the beach, The Silk Route. The first thing we noticed was how friendly the stray cats were to tourists. No doubt having their share of seafood from the tourists who take pity on the creatures. To that end, Its safe to say that Zanzibar probably doesn’t have a rodent problem.

After lunch we went to the historic slave market museum. Stonetown had been the major slave trade port for Arab controlled East Africa. on the historic grounds they had the ‘whipping tree’ which had been cut down, and over its place a church was built, a circle on the floor where the tree used to stand. The displays in the museum showing the evolution of the slave market, and the original holding cells for the slaves before they were loaded onto ships. It was a somber experience, but one I am glad gets visited and people learn this history.

Sample of one of the displays

We took a walking tour of the town after, learning about the ties of stone town to Queens’ Freddie Mercury, the town even hosting the Freddie Mercury Museum. A group of kids down at the sea wall were filming jumping into the bay with poster boards reading ” Welcome to Zanzibar!”, shouting ‘HAKUNA MATATA!’ and ‘WAKANDA FOREVER!’ We continued down the narrow ally ways, where doors are adorned with large spikes. The reason? People who moved into these areas were from India and would have spikes on the door to keep elephants from barging in. When they moved to this city, with streets far too narrow for elephants to ever pose a risk, the style of door came along anyway.

Back at the hotel, I joined the Canadians and the Aussies for a drink at the rooftop bar. The resident stray coming up when I notice he was underdeveloped and was missing an eye. My own cat at home being massive and named Sully after the Monsters Inc character, I felt it was only fitting to nickname this little guy Mike Wazowski.

That night we all ventured off for the night markets, which was a bustling scene of food vendors and people. Our guide recommended certain foods we could try if we were feeling adventurous, but warned against others as it’s ‘laid out’ a few westerners.

Finishing up at the Freddie Mercury Bar, we dined and drank and listened to some wonderful local live music before making our way back to our hotel.

Next Time: Visiting a Spice Plantation, given the royal treatment, and getting visiting my first resort.

Videos, Adventures of a 'Gypsea', East African Adventure

Back to Humans: Planeterra Project and Arusha Day Tour

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We left Ngorongoro early morning, the night having been warmer than I anticipated (having prepared to be cold). I had brought body warmers, large versions of hand warmers you use for skiing, and having had warmer nights in the Serengeti, I had a couple that I was able to use that night.

We took a break on our long drive back to Arusha at a small Masai village that is the the current site of the ongoing Planeterra Project.

One of the reasons I really like traveling with GAdventures is that they try to leave the places they (and their groups) visit better than they found it. One of these is their ripple score (how much of the funds from your tour goes back into the local community), and another is Planeterra, their foundation to make the world a bit better.

The Planeterra Clean Stove the women who are primary caretakers of their family and need a job are trained as engineers for in-home stove and chimney construction. In Masai communities, women are primarily tasked with the cooking, and it is all done over open flame inside the mud hut structure homes. Because of this, women usually have lung related illness from the lack of ventilation and ongoing exposure to smoke. With the construction of the stove with chimney, smoke is funneled outside keeping the living areas of their homes with better air quality.

The first home that we got to see had a traditional stove, with open flame cooking. The air was so thick it had a texture. The next house had 3 women actively building a chimney. The hand made bricks being layered and mortared into place by hand. The ladies working in an assembly line, the stove being put together quickly. The last house that we got to tour had a completed stove and was impressively efficient.

These ladies were so gracious to let our group see this project in action in their homes. We learned that as of our tour the clean stove project had successfully completed 3000 stoves across Masai villages through Tanzania.

That night we got back to our Arusha accommodation, where some of our party opted for laundry service, (warning, it takes a while) while I opted to had wash my few things in the bathroom sink. I highly recommend detergent sheets cut down to fit in an tin mint container. Depending on how gnarly your clothes get, you can always add more sheets. I had to use a few, as everything from my convertible pants to my undies were caked in the dust of the Serengeti.

The next morning I had the opportunity to do a tour of the city of Arusha, do a hike to a waterfall, and see some local markets. Those who know me know that I live for sunsets and waterfalls. Of course I was going on the tour!

On the tour we stopped at another Art co-op where I was able to practice my haggling on my gifts for everyone back home. Once everything was wrapped up to bring home, I noticed that I was the last one in the shop of my group. I duck outside where our ride awaited for going to the waterfall.

We drove outside of town, to a residence were we parked the car and our guide, John, knew the people who’s property the waterfall was on. As a working farm, different local crops were labeled in Swahili as we worked our way down the slicked dirt paths to what I would loosely call a grotto. The waterfall pouring into a small pool with an area of ground cover that we explored. John then told me that in the summer rains the waterfall is much larger, and the pool from the grotto takes up the area that we were standing.

Many pictures later and we make our way back to the car. We went to a small local restaurant for lunch, and then made our way to the market.

Remember to ask people before you take their photo. Before I left the US I wrote down translations for the basic questions, but I found “can I take your picture” to be a really refreshing question for many people. Also, I found that I was more interested in taking photos of the scenes, and would hold up my camera over my head and click the shutter. (This is what I call pulling a ‘Zach’ after an amazing photographer I know who can do this and have complete art work every time he does it.)

I also put my gopro on my shoulder and walked through the markets, where no one person was the subject, making a really cool insight of what the local markets look like.

Next Time: We fly to Stonetown, Zanzibar, meet new friends, eat amazing seafood, and a few more adventures!

Adventures of a 'Gypsea', East African Adventure

Ngorongoro Crater: A World Of Its Own

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It was an early morning breaking camp, the sun rising over the plain and the dust creating a pink sheen engulfing the surrounding landscape. Having a nice breakfast with some Tanzanian coffee, I was reluctantly ready to depart our campsite.

Not yet ready to leave the magic of the Serengeti all together, we took a last game drive enroute to leaving, stopping to see the leopard once more, this time atop a rock, and a lion who contemplated climbing a tree. We were the only safari vehicles around, and she was definitely not shy.

It was a long and dusty road out of the Serengeti. Where we had been able to see horizon to horizon on our way in, we were now limited to about ~50 meters (~150 feet) because the dust had enveloped the dry plains. the Olduvai skull monument engulfed in a fog of wafting dust, giving it a mysterious sheen. The people stopped for the monument were holding their shirts over their mouth and nose. We had been lucky stopping on our way in and how clear it was, the winds now were not cooperating today. If traveling in the dry season, its important to remember that this is nature in its rawest form. There are no guarantees. No guarantee on the weather, no guarantee on the animals. I recommend bringing additional buffs that can double as camera covers and face covers. I also had a fishing sun shirt with built in buff and hood with SPF 50. HIGHLY recommend!

Once out of the plains, we traveled up the crater rim, which was as if going to a different world. The Lush green forest that disappeared into the mists of fog, vines draping out of the white haze, occasionally wiggling with the presence of the unknown creatures in the canopy above.

As we got over the crater rim we saw the expanse of the valley below. Ngorongoro Crater is the biggest caldera, about 260 sq.km (100 sq mi), that has unbroken walls and has not filled up with water. Ngorongoro has an abundance of wildlife at its floor, hosting many of Tanzania’s species, except for Giraffe. The craters walls are too steep for them, and they are all found on the outer slopes which are not as steep.

Of the 30,000 animals inside, only 30 of them are the black rhino, one of which we were able to see from afar. Because of the concentration of animals in such a small area, this is considered the most reliable area to see most of the big 5. (Not guaranteed however, because wild animals do like to move around.)

We drove through the herds of Wildebeests and Zebra. Wildebeests, looking rather strange, was explained to us by Valance (our driver) as being a mash up of several animals. The way we see a platypus as a mix of animals, the wildebeests are a mix of grasshopper (face), Heyena (body) Zebra (stripes) and cape buffalo (legs and horns).

In the centre of Ngorongoro there is a lake, with a small lunch/break stop on its bank. A coffee cart, along with a delicious seafood lunch kept us going for the rest of the day.

While admiring the water, no one would dare approach the edge. While there are no crocodile in the crater, there were a LOT of hippos. The craters self contained weather makes it cooler year round, and calving can be at various times. This lead me to one of my 2 favorite photos of Ngorongoro… A mum and baby napping in the light chopped water, the baby dozily looking at me with a small smile.

Our pop tops had separated, taking the maze of dirt roads in search of animals. We had gotten word about our companion vehicle and went to meet it. As we approached, another pop-top (not from our group) pulled away and we saw what was happening… A flat.

The vehicle pulling away was adhering to the curtsey of not leaving our group members stranded with a flat tire. Dealing with a flat among wild animals, the second vehicle keeps watch for anything approaching while the guides get the spare tire off the back of the vehicle. Once we had pulled up, our driver assumed that responsibility and that’s when the other vehicle left.

Within about a half hour we were all back on the road, having spent our waiting time looking at a heard of cape buffalo that were grazing with birds hitching a ride.

We started back up the crater rim toward our campsite, going back into the forested area. After just a few turns into the dense trees, we came upon 5 cubs playing among some trees and felled logs. This provided my another favorite photo of the trip.

Recently when talking to Valance, he updated me on our lion cub friends. Two of them were attacked by the Leopard while they were young. Now the other three are big enough that they should be able to continue on. A good reminder of the circle of life.

We watched them for a while before continuing down the road. Among the floor of the jungle there were families of Baboons grooming, gathered in circles around the babies, hopping and playing around the adults.

Once at our campground, the chill in the air was further support that the camping on the Ngorongoro Crater was much colder than that of in the Serengeti. I had brought a puffy jacket, hat, knit gloves and with my leggings under my pajama pants as well as my sun shirt under my 1 long sleeve, I was able to stay comfortable in a store brand cool weather sleeping bag. I had also brought some large sized body warmers, which when one was placed at the foot of my sleeping bag, and another in front of my core, it was actually quite toasty. We were also warned NOT to have food in our tent, that the lions or hyenas of the Serengeti were nothing, and the pigs would destroy our tents in search of it. I made an effort to talk to all our crew, gathering what granola bars and various snacks were stashed away and bringing the accumulated contraband to the cars for safe keeping. No tents were ravaged that night, so it must have worked.

The meal that night was half celebration, half farewell. It was our last night of camping. The journal which I had kept the whole trip was passed around, the group signing the last pages yearbook style. Getting everyones emails so that at the conclusion of the trip I could start an email chain and a cloud drive to share my photos of the trip. It was only fair, my wonderful car mates were really kind to let those of us who get carsick sit towards the front of the vehicle. If you’re reading this, I cannot thank you all enough. We dined, we laughed, and I even wone a game of ‘pass the ace’. This became a nightly card game, betting macaroni brought this whole voyage for this sole purpose.

Next time: Visiting the site of the Planeterra project, and a day trip to the Arusha markets and a waterfall.

Adventures of a 'Gypsea', East African Adventure

A birds eye view of the Serengeti: Hot air balloon rides and reflective eyes after dark.

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The excitement of the hot air balloon ride with Serengeti Balloon Safaris had me wide awake about 2 hours before my alarm was set to go off. 3:30 am I am laying in my sleeping bag, listening to the stillness of the Serengeti at night. The quiet broken by the occasional heyena call on the other side of the camp facilities from our tents.

Once I start to hear the rustle of my tent mate leaving the tent to get herself ready for the day and had a moment of panic when I realize she left the tent before turning on her light to clear the area. As someone who lives in the wilderness of North America with bears, mountain lion, and wolves, a good rule of thumb is to check BEFORE getting out of the tent. Thankfully she made it to the toilettes in one piece.

Deciding that I should get going too, I got ready for the day, gathered my photography gear, and went to the mess-hut for some pre-breakfast snacks and some coffee. I was just finishing my coffee when our ride to the hot air balloon showed up. The 6 of our party that were going all loaded into the pop-top and off we ventured.

We came across a Serengeti Traffic Jam, 3 mother lionesses and 9 cubs all in the middle of the dirt road path to the launch site of the balloons. It was near enough a new moon that in the pitch black it was hard to get decent photos with my large lens, but the moment was magical. The cubs playing and jumping on each other and their mothers. After a while of watching we continued on by driving around the adorable fuzzy roadblocks.

Down the road about 15 minutes we came upon the hot air balloon launch point. The green and tan stripped balloons on their side, being inflated by their pilots and attendants. We were treated with some ginger coffee and balloon shaped shortbread biscuits while we waited, appreciating the oncoming sunrise.

We were quickly gathered together and instructed into our balloon, loading in “Astronaut position”. The balloon basket, on its side, had a small bench that you would sit on while holding onto straps at the baskets edge which was up at head height. Of the 5 basket compartments (4 edge compartments and the larger center compartment for the pilot) we were loaded into the compartment that, when the basket is on its side, is the top. This required a little acrobatics and channeling my inner child. We strapped ourselves in with the hot air balloon equivalent of a seatbelt, and told that once we get off the ground wed be allowed to stand. That came MUCH quicker than expected and soon after the basket was righted by the lifting balloon we were able to stand and look out at our attendants waving us off and wishing us a good flight as we gained altitude.

We were soaring.

The chirps of the variety of birds around and below us, with the occasional roar of the ignition for the balloon gave an otherworldly view of the endless plain. Floating over treetops where baboon watched, and bewildered animals would stare at the strange bird floating overhead. The crocodile blowing bubbles to claim his territory from us, the giraffe lumbering away on long legs, the Lion standing amidst a group of tourists in pop-tops stopping to watch us as entertained as the humans around her.

A little over an hour of flight, and what may be one of the most amazing experiences of my life later, and it was time to land. We resumed astronaut position and had a fairly gentle landing where the balloon stayed upright and attendants (who had followed the balloons through the labyrinth of dirt roads to meet us) greeted us and helped us climb out of the basket.

There was an immediate celebration with champaign coming from the tradition of the first hot air balloon flights by French pilots, the very word Pilot coming from the French “Pillote” for someone who steers the ship. Of course Paul, our pilot, told us a few hot air balloon jokes then started pouring the champaign and mango mimosas.

After we finished we were loaded into pop-tops again and taken to a nearby tree, where a full breakfast layout was being prepared. We were treated to an amazing breakfast, complete with wifi to send off a few photos to make everyone back home jealous, and given our official ballooning certificate by Paul.

After Breakfast we were loaded up once more and taken to meet up with the rest of our group. While we were sailing over the Serengeti, they had been able to watch a lioness attempt a hunt. We swapped stories in the car while we made our way to the next animals of our safari. Seeing a crocodile and pond of hippos that we had seen from above a few hours earlier.

We came across a puddle of lion cubs resting under a tree, mum draping herself across the branches above our pop-tops. Valance, our driver, then got the call that there was a leopard spotted (pun-intended) not far away and we took off to go see it. We passed a heard of elephants, a tuxedo bird and a few more lion before we approach a large rock outcrop with large trees sprouting from the formation.

Atop the bulky tree, the sleek white and brown spotted frame of the leopard draped over a sturdy branch, lifting its head to look out on its gawking admirers. The line of pop-tops, cameras clicking and hushed whispers of awe not phasing the resting cat.

We made our way back to camp, where another tasty meal had been prepared, this time a squash soup with roasted vegetables paired with meat. The sun was setting, and looking for my headlamp before dinner I began to worry that I had lost my headlamp enroute to the hot air balloon that morning. My tentmate had hers, and invited me to stick with her to have light for walking back to the tent after dinner.

She and I grabbed our shower stuff and started to the bathrooms for our pre-bed showers and routines. as we approach the opening to the bathroom (as there wasnt a door, but an empty door frame leading into the facilities) I see a large formation to my left, about 7m/20ft to my left, the doorway being about a meter ahead of me. The little voice in my head began to tell me “There wasnt a rock over there earlier…”

I casually ask my tentmate to shine the light to our left.
“Are those… EYES!?” she gasped.
“Yup, lets get inside.” I could feel my tone kicking into what I call ‘Search and Rescue Mode’. I Kept my voice calm and authoritative and started thinking overtime for a plan.

If you have been following my stories of the Serengeti to now, you’ll know that before we even set off we were told to look out for eyes. Yellowish eyes are hyenas, Red-orange eyes are a Lion.

Two of the Australian girls were already in the facilities, and my tentmates panic started to catch. I ask to borrow the headlamp, and looking out the open doorway check to see what exactly where dealing with here. One… Two… Three… Four… Five pairs of blue eyes attached to large dark shadowed bodies. No one told us what blue eyes meant. I shine the light over the mounds once more, they range from 20 feet away (the one I saw on approach) to about 50 feet away. ah hah…
“OK, were dealing with some Cape Buffalo” I calmly inform over my shoulder, keeping my eyes on what is to some considered the deadliest animal of the Serengeti, “Not a problem! We’re just going to treat them like the Buffalo at Yellowstone. ” Mind you… I’m the only one in the room that has ever dealt with large land mammals while camping. This isn’t any kind of one-size-fits-all advice. When dealing with wild animals respecting space, and ‘reading-the-room’ become key. Thankfully this lot was happily eating and unphased by my tentmate and my approach. We got lucky. We all are going to stick together, and the Aussies wait for my tentmate and I to finish. I walk them through what I know about how to handle this situation.
“Thankfully they are all over on this side of the building, so we only need to get a couple feet to the well-lit side of the building and we can get the building between us and them. What’s important is we stick together, because then we look a lot bigger. And we don’t make any sudden movements.” I start pointing to each person “You walk in the front, using your light to light up and make sure were not coming on anything ahead of us. You walk with yours checking back to make sure they don’t come up behind us. And you will walk in the middle with me to illuminate where we are all walking. Ok? Lets go.” We orderly slide out the doorway and around the corner to the lit path towards the cooking facilities. With a calm in my voice, however forced to be casual, I narrated what we were doing, keeping them focused on our goal; getting to the other side of the building then over to the tents. Once in the tent area, we arrive our respective tents, and crawl inside for the night. I sigh a deep sigh of relief and think to myself “Well, this will make a great story later.”

Next Time: A flat in Ngorongoro for our travel companions, a tree full of lion cubs, a black rhino, and camping on the cool crater edge.

Adventures of a 'Gypsea', East African Adventure

Lions and Leopards and Giraffe, Oh My!

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Hey Everyone! Sorry for the delayed post! (You’ll understand by the 3rd paragraph.) I will have an aditional post soon.

Leaving Mto Wa Mbu we drove past lake manyara National Park and stopped at an overlook of the lake and valley below. The steep slopes of the mountains, homing Lake Manyara’s tree climbing lions, make the beautiful greenery feel sinister. Photos were taken, hagglers dodged, and back into the safari vehicle to continue our adventure.

We stopped for a pit stop at a large art market, where we could keep our haggling skills tuned, and I completed most of my Christmas shopping. I would like to take the opportunity to give a shout out to one of our comrades, Doug, who I found in amongst the wooden carved hippopotamuses. I comment on his good find, and the musical-rolodex talent that he is, asks me if I ever heard the Christmas song “I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”?

This is one of my FAVOURITE songs… I remember being a kid hanging out with my grandmother in Florida and she gave me a bright green hippo stuffed animal, taught me that song (she loved Sherley Temple… and Giraffes, more on that later.)

We break into song there in the middle of the store. He had got his wife a hippopotamus for Christmas, which I find so stinkin’ sweet. (Of course putting this into a post I am going to wait to put this on the blog until AFTER Christmas.)

We load back up into the safari vehicles (a few souvenirs and charismas presents heavier) and continue through to Ngorongoro Conservation area. At the large gateway to the area we stop to confirm our tour add on of the hot air balloon over the Serengeti. Then we set off into the wilderness. Fun Tip: the Tinga Tinga art style is characteristic of East Africa/Tanzania. You can get a small painting and they will take them off the frames for you and roll them up so that they can be transported home.

The dry season. The bumpy roads during the dry season….. This is where I HIGHLY recommend using a mask/buff because of how dusty it got inside the car. One of my carmates was recovering from a cough, and I’m sure that the dust didn’t help at all. I had a buff on my face, one over my camera and lens, built into my sun shirt, there was a lot of dust protection and it still made an issue.

Me in my fishing shirt that has SPF and a built in Buff

As someone who gets car sick, this was the worst trip to forget Dramamine or ginger pills. but I did, so I want to give another MASSIVE shout out to all the car buddies, for allowing us carsick people to sit further up. I promise for future travel companions, I have learned my lesson and have an emergency stash already in my travel case.

We pass Maasai villages with tall wooden fences to keep out the animals higher up the food chain. Dry short grass in all directions seemed desolate. Hamdami, our guide, told us that during the wet season that the area is known for the great migration with thousands of animals, especially wildebeest, and the lions would come to hunt.

Up the crater bank through fog and vines that made me think we were transporting to another world. If Pandorans walked out of the brush, and we were transported to the floating mountains from Avatar, I wouldn’t have been surprised. At the top of the crater we stop for a quick photo op at the overlook. We would be traveling into the crater and camping along the rim a few days later. We traveled down the oposite side, back into the plains.

This is the area that gives the Serengeti its meaning of “the endless plain”, there is a quick reststop that has everything that an anthropology nerd like myself would want. The monument in the front supports 2 GIANT early hominid skulls. The area made famous in the anthropology world when Mary and Louis Leaky discovered Homo halibus, showing that our earliest anscestors were in the area, and by the Laetoli Footprints which proved bipedalism (that we walk upright). Other notable finds include Zinjanthropus boisei, aka Austrolopithicus boisei. From the monument you can see in the distance the Mary Leaky museum. The museum hosts current archaeological excavation and research, and has a replica of the laitoli footprints which are 3.7 million years old. They had to be reburied to help preserve them, hints why they have a replica. We weren’t able to stop at the museum, but its definitely on my list for next time.

This monument area also has the main gate for the Serengeti and national park sign. We were officially in the Serengeti!

The miles of dust-blown washboard road into the vast wilderness with little life habitating the landscape, and the occational wildabeast skull that had been drug around by the animals at night, remind me that here I am bottom of the food chain. Our guide reminded us that this open plane of dry grasses was lush and teeming with life during the rainy season, beign a peak place on the ‘Great Migration’. Thousands of wildabeast travel through, grazing and dropping calves as they go.

Once in the park we stopped at the rest station/shop/picnic area for lunch. The walkway from the parkinglot of safari vehicles looked much like you would see in most of the national parks around the US. Well kept, nice landscaping with flowers beside the paths to the picnic area. The small hiking path with yellow cation tape that told passers by to ‘Keep out’ in multiple languages seemed no different than a the park tennants doing maitnance behind the building for the bathroom. I stood at the caution tape and tried to see what people were gawking at as they passed. Thats when our guide points up the path to the top of a rock, only about 30 feet (10m) away. I would have missed the Lion if it wasn’t that the rock was… well… Fluffy. And to seperate the hundreds of tourists from the apex preditor – a caution tape. Mental Note: REALLY pay attention to signs. They are NOT a suggestion.

By the end of the fist day in the Serengeti we had seen 4 of the ‘Big 5’. This is aparently rare for the serengeti, especially in the dry season. The Lion were plentiful, and even lounging in one of the trees with a whole mess of cubs. The one at the picnic area was the most surprising though.

A Black Rino walked away from us some distance away. At this point we asked our drivers about the Rino that only has 2 of its species left. Those are the Northern White Rino, are under full-time armmed guard, and by definition extinct since the last two are female. Needless to say, they dont get tourists out to visit them in an effort to protect their location from pochers. The Black Rino is not too much better off with only 6,000 left.

The Elephant we didnt see as much until we were deep into the serengeti. There were yearlings out wondering about and keeping up with mum as they walked determined to some unknown location.

Water Buffalo were a little more elusive, and a heard had walked passed us on our way out of the Ngorongoro Crater area.

4 of the 5, all that was missing was the leopard.

The Big 5 was a rating system that was created by hunters as the 5 most deadly that were more likely to kill you than you to kill them. Our guides being more into conservation told us about some other “5’s”; the Ugly 5 – Hyena, Warthog, Vulture, Wildabeast, and Marabou Stork. Thats when Valance, our driver, and we decided to start coming up with a ‘pretty 5’; The DikDik, Geraffe, Hippo, Zebra, Crowned Crane… Of course these five kept changing throughout the trip since there are a LOT of cute animals in the Serengeti.

The first day we also got lucky enough to see A cheetah with its 2 cubs practically posing for us!

Once we hit a certain point in the serengeti, the sun was dropping low and we had to get to camp. Valance picked up some speed, and we watched as the sun kissed the horizon turning the sky a firey pink that looked like something out of Lion King.

Our Crew had been cooking an AMAZING dinner, and our mess hall at the camp had wire fencing over the windows, It also had some decent space from the camp cook area, the bathrooms and the tent area, miking almost a square, with the cars pulling in between the tents and the bathrooms.

After dinner and some journaling it was time for bed before the big Balloon Ride the next morning with Serengeti Balloon Safaris. I grabbed my headlight and shined it around before venturing in any direction before leaving the safety of a building or my tent. If you see eyes and they are yellow, ehhh could be dangerous, if they are red… THEY ARE Dangerous. Remember this for next time…

Next time…

Wakign up early to a puddle of lions on the way to the hot air balloon, Complete the “Big 5” and my bathroom adventure where I saw eyes.

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Where the Wild Things Roam: Lake Manyara

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The morning started with the sense of adventure. All my camping gear that had been in my check on was redistributed on, in and around my backpack, a blue rain cover providing a small amount of protection from the dust we were told we would be encountering on the way.

Checking out of the Outpost Lodge, our group convened in the small parking lot where two pop-top safari vehicles waited. Our drivers Valance and George greeted us and helped us load up. We split into two groups and made a quick supply run.

The local grocery had everything we could need for road-trip snacks and we loaded up with water. We were going to be camping and not able to access a lot of water for 5 days, and I figured that my own water amount was about 2 liters a day, and grabbed 3 – 2 liter jugs. My estimate was generous, and I didn’t get into the 3rd jug, but in 20/20 hindsight and a background in search and rescue, I appreciated having it to offer if anyone needed a water bottle refill towards the end of the trip.

Pro Tip: a week or so before traveling try to gauge how much water you drink normally, and then look at how much you drink the first couple days in East Africa. After being there a couple days you should get a good idea of how much water you will need to plan on.

Before setting off from the store, one of my travel companions tried the ATM to get some cash before leaving the city. The ATM ate her card. A few minutes of calling the 1-800 numbers in the states and the assistance of Hamdami in calling the bank of the ATM, and it was worked out that she would be able to pick up her card when we return to Arusha after the safari part of the trip.

In the village of Mto Wa Mbu we visited a local art co-op, filled with a few artistic styles, and a banana plantation. Here we were treated to a lovely local meal with a diverse spread of flavours and options.

The first day of the trip we went right to Lake Manyara National Park. The entrance way was mesmerising, instantly cueing the Jurrasic Park Theme to come to mind. A magnificent archway supporting two waterfalls.

Just outside Mto Wa Mbu is Lake Manyara. Home of tree climbing lions. Though we didn’t see lions on this portion of safari, we did get an amazing experience with some of the elephants, who walked right up to, and around, our Safari vehicles.

The myriad of wildlife of the park was a fantastic kickoff to inland Tanzania. The baboons, water buffalo, and a particularly angry Zebra who had it out for a specific group of impala, gave the area a vibrant personality that, when looking back, was so unique. Neither Serengeti nor Ngorongoro Crater, yet somehow still with a sense of familiarity between the two.

While we would be traveling through the park, our supply car would beat us to the campsite and begin setup and cooking. By the time we roll in, dusty and shaken by the bouncy dirt roads, we had a little down time to freshen up and meet at the mess area for dinner.

The Twiga Campsite is a lush, secure, campground within Mto Wa Mbu. Our tents, definitely larger than some of the other groups, were spacious and we could even stand up in them. Not quite ‘glamping’, but to my outdoor experience, not ‘roughing it’ either. I would say this was a very accommodating camping experience for anyone who hasn’t been camping before, or wants the camping trip style, but the tents already set up for them ‘vacation style’. A cold shower and frequent power outages that hit the small camps added to the sense of adventure.

The camp dinners were delicious 3 course meals. Shout out to Saranne, whose birthday it was and the camp crew came out singing a birthday song, equipped with cake, unphased by the power cutting part way through their melody. Power came back, celebrations continued, and it was a wonderful night at the campground.

Before bed I spent some time in the mess area charging my camera gear and batteries. My Nikon D7000 and D500 take the same kind of battery, so having just a couple extra made it easy to switch out. I highly recommend a multi port USB charger for the safari cars, and a usb charger for all electronics, including camera batteries.

The quiet of the camp in the evening and in the early morning was magical. Brushing my teeth I would stop, wide-eyed, realizing the far off sounds of lions roaring and hyenas chattering. This… the sounds, the feeling, of being surrounded by wild. This is what I came for.

Next time….

We journey deeper into the heart of Tanzania, passing through the Ngorongoro Crater conservation area and into Serengeti National Park.

If your interested in seeing some of the posts from one of my guides? Valence has an instagram! his adventures can be followed at @vah_ley_tz

The cool kids!
Adventures of a 'Gypsea', East African Adventure, Gap Year Ideas

Nairobi to Arusha: Border Crossing Adventure

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Our team had made it down to Arusha on a public bus, all of our gear strapped under tarps on the roof at the Heron Hotel in Nairobi, picking up a few people at the local stop before making our way out of Nairobi and to the Tanzanian border.

At the boarder we debussed and followed the assembly line, Departures from Kenya, Vaccinations, Arrivals, and Visa. The Covid vaccination requirement had just been lifted a month before my arrival, but I still carried my vaccination card with the rest of my vaccination information. The Yellow Fever vaccination was the biggest one they were looking for.

Before I had left home I had stopped by my county’s Public Health travel advisor; a Nurse who specializes in what vaccines and health advisories you want caught up in for each region of the world. I HIGHLY recommend this, as I was able to get caught up on a couple other vaccines that I may have let slide… but going to a third world country would definitely want. I also got my malaria tablets and found that there are multiple versions of such a beast. Some people on our trip had daily ones, where as mine was once a week and you take it a couple weeks before, during, and a couple weeks after your trip. I became the envy of the campground as others were constantly reminding each other “Did you take your malaria tablet today?”

Once through the vaccination line, the subsequent lines became longer and longer. If there were ever the description ‘organized chaos’, this would be it. Some people missed a line so had to go back, a local woman with a child skipped lines and just waited at the front until someone let her cut. The visa can be paid for at the boarder with a credit card, even though they will definitely tell you they prefer cash.

A story from one of my travel companions was that a member of their previous group was paying cash and told more than what the visa was supposed to be, the official pocketed the difference and issued the visa. Unfortunately this isn’t all that uncommon. Additionally as an American, the fee was already twice that of other nationals, so I made sure that I had that set aside with my passport for when it was time to go through it was already budgeted. You are also able to apply online and take care of every thing digitally before getting there, I would just make sure you keep good documentation of it.

The assembly line of customs took some time, and I was extremely grateful to my GAdventures guide who helped navigate the flow and help make the border crossing easy-peasy.

A note to the photograph savvy: it is highly illegal in both Kenya and Tanzania to take photos of government buildings, officials or signs. Thankfully I knew this before going, but you will be reminded. We drove through a military area and we’re warned not to take pictures until the guide said so.

Once back out at the bus with our luggage that was unloaded and brought in for collecting, we hoisted them back up to the roof attendant who strapped them back down under the tarps. Waiting for the last of our crew and bus driver to finish customs we were surrounded by Masai women selling trinkets, which were met with a solid ‘No thank you’, but they would still try their tenacious marketing methods.

We reloaded onto the bus and continued our journey south. Some lulled, myself included, others gazed out the window at the passing villages and cattle farmer that were making use of the vast landscape. The occasional Baoboa tree amongst the Umbrella trees that speckled the landscape. At one point during the drive I saw a camel running down the side of the road. I didn’t get a chance to get a picture, but looked around the bus in an incredulous “did anybody else see that!?” only to see that there were only a few people left awake. I had asked Hamdam, our guide about it later, and he said that some of the people who moved down from North Africa would bring their camels with them.

We eventually rolled into our gated hotel, the Outpost Lodge in Arusha and had a chance to settle in a little before our evening meeting.

The lovely lofted area that had a living-room feel is where we gathered for the run down of what the safari portion of the trip was going to look like. We met up with another group of 6, brining our total to 14. They had just finished climbing Kilimanjaro the day before, and slugged up the stairs to the loft. Coming from a mountain region where I am on search and rescue, they were the magnificent 6. I usually need motivation for a hike and do more hiking to lakes and landmarks, summiting isn’t something I’ve done in years… and here were 3 Aussies in their 20’s and 3 Canadian retired business guys who went to summit the tallest peak on Africa at 19,000 feet. All except one summited because of falling ill at basecamp. Every. Single. One. earned some serious respect from me.

Hamdam gave a similar spiel to the one he gave in Nairobi… Look for eyes before leaving the tent…

Yellow eyes are probably a herbivore, no worries. (My mind still narrated, ‘hah! large animals… I’m good with not trying my luck if I see eyes.’)

Red eyes, please, for the love of god, don’t leave your tent. Those are Lion.

Next time…

We load up the Pop-Top, meet our drivers for the next few days, and start in the village of Wto Wa Mbu.

Adventures of a 'Gypsea', Uncategorized

If everything went as planned, we wouldn’t have adventures.

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A sim card that works in Europe, Check. Camera lenses, Check. Journal, Check. A timelapse of my suitcase packing itself, Check.

I was ready to go to Europe weeks in advance. This would be my big trip ending with the milestones and the age “30 by 30”. My 30 countries by 30 years old.

There were rumblings through the news of some strange virus spreading into and through Europe, Covid-19. Two weeks before my trip Venice is quarantined. We received the notification that it would be affecting the trip for all Americans. Then Italy was a “no-go”. Ok, I would travel with the group as far as Solvenia and then make my own way around Italy going north. I’ve soloed over 10 years, one week on my own is really easy to manage.

I catch my flight to London, as my flights are not cancelled and the UK is still considered open for travel.

Having Just arrived, I was recommended to take the tube, that almost anything can be accessible by tube. There was even a stop just a bock from my hotel. Jet lagged and adventurous I make my way to Piccadilly, and going by ‘when in Rome do as Romans do’, minded my own as I rode in silence. Then a very welcome interruption got my attention. One of the fellow passengers had gone to the University of Colorado, and had seen my CU patch that I had put on my bag with my world flags that has become a ‘souvenir’ while simultaneously decorating my luggage. We chat presently to the station, got a few tips of things I must see. Small world making for fond travel memories.

Once at my hotel and checked in I hit the town running. The British museum and its virtually empty exhibits. I stood in front of the Rosetta Stone unobstructed by any other visitor. Saw Cleopatra, and the Greek marbles that were the subject of so many of my museology classes. A segment of the Egyptian book of the dead, and viking chess pieces. Even a Merman, (which was claimed to be caught in Japan, but was later revealed to be the top half of a monkey sewn onto the bottom half of a fish. This ‘curiosity’ is still in the museum and is part of a great narrative about the collection of specimen.)  This museum has been a dream of mine to visit. The stories of splendors, the treasure looted during the British empire, gifted during explorations for the knowledge of the world, making way for the idea of the ‘other’. Rooms having free tours hourly, and very specific curated tours and talks for an additional ticket.

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The Maya Stelae that captured my love of archaeology, that I had translated in undergrad with who I considered my mentor in the field (shout out to Dr. Inga Calvin) sat before me, adhered to the walls under angled lights to show the texture in their carved surface. The grey stone I started to imagine in the colours that Inga had us apply to the different parts of the text. I was reading the hieroglyphs in front of me. Dates, rulers, and intricate images of the bloodletting. The sculpture of the ruler Waxaklajuun Ub’aah K’awiil, or “18 rabbit” whom was the basis of much amusement in my Mayan classes, sat just outside the room with the Mayan figures.

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I retreated back toward the hotel to call it a night and the whole world changed.

The next morning my phone was blowing up with new alerts, the US was closing down travel with Europe. There was no warning for Americans abroad and no way to contact the American consulate, as their phone was in a constant state of ‘busy signal’. (Later I heard that the announcement resulted in a wave of American tourists fleeing to the airports in fear that they would not be allowed back home unless they left immediately.)

I am very much a “if its out of your control, don’t worry about it, plan for it” traveler, I figured I would give it a few hours, come up with plans, and then act accordingly.

I went on my previously scheduled tour of the Harry Potter Studios, reliving my childhood and hopes of receiving my owl as I was re-reading the first book as I turned 11. Much like the British Museum, the studio wasn’t crowded, though there were plenty of other Potter nerds like myself to bask in the glory of both the books and the films, and this wonderful place where those worlds merged. The goblet of fire shot out a piece of paper the tour guide put in, and as it rolled away the small group just watched. After her demonstration was over I walk over and pick up the paper to hand back, which she then tells me I can keep. I unroll it and it has the messy hand writing “Harry Potter”. Tour guides keep these papers for the demonstration, and all those that thought it was just a scrap piece of paper missed out on a really cool souvenir. I flew over the streets of London on a broomstick, Washed down lunch with a butter beer, then boarded the bus back to reality. My advice for anyone that goes, the tours are about 5 hours. Take your time! and don’t forget your Harry Potter passport to get stamped in the different areas around the tour.

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When I walk into the hotel room, a new suitcase is laid out on the bed, and I meet my assigned roomate for the night. We do a quick greeting and then I’m asked “have you heard the news?” This was a phrase that is now burned into my brain. They had cancelled ALL tours that day at lunch time. I quickly make my way towards the tour desk, on my way seeing another traveler smoking on the picknic table outside. I know the gist of whats happening, this confirms it. “That bad?” She replied between puffs of smoke “Worse.”

While on the bus back to the hotel, I had a inkling this could happen. I tried to come up with plan B. And C…. And D

Plan B: Make my way through Europe on my own. My flights were in and out of London, my roommate and new friend was equally as adventurous to the idea of making our way.

Plan C: going to my 30 countries, calling the trip a little early, and see about changing return flight home.

I went to see Tower Bridge, walking a good portion of London.

Overnight the announcement was made that the UK would join the list of Europe to be cut off from the US.

Plan D… My Month long Europe trip was reduced to a 4 day weekend. I changed my flights and was able to get one leaving Monday morning direct from London to Denver.

While wondering around with an Australian and Canadian, we stopped for some fish and chips at Ben’s Traditional FIsh and Chips, where the shop runners were pleasant men, originally from Turkey. I started to be told about an amazing church structure that was in their hometown that is from 10,000 BC. Gobekli Tepe. My go-to travel list just got longer, and over all, it was a very pleasant short trip to a big city that, while I have visited before, Now had more time to explore. I was going to make the most of my couple of days in London, and went to explore a few places that had been on my “if I’m ever in London again” list, and discovered a magnificent chain of coffee shops. Pret A Manger. French for ‘ready to eat’. This became my staple coffee place, and where I would take the Australians I met along the way.  We did the hop-on-hop-off bus tours, went up the Shard to look out over London, and had drinks at the rooftop of the Tate Modern (a museum nerd checklist item).

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The next day, I met up with my Aussies and we continued to make London ‘magical’ with Parts 1 & 2 of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Palace Theater. The effects, the cast, and the atmosphere of the theater experience added an aspect to my trip that I didn’t realize I was missing.  If you’re a fan of Harry Potter, you may not have seen yourself cheering for a Slitheryn any time in the near future, but alas, J.K. Rowling made it happen.

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Monday morning I was packed and made my way to the airport, this time much more familiar with the Tube. This turned out to be the LAST flight that was being allowed to go into Denver from London. Everything else was going to have to go through a CDC approved airport. The flight attendants had already had their flights home cancelled. The previous panic had resulted in this flight being empty enough that everyone had their own row. The overarching sense of fear, the questioning about had any of us been to anywhere else in Europe, gave way to the pleasure of having a full row to lay down in while I watched my inflight movie with a complementary glass of wine.

In the words of Dumbledore “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.“

Adventures of a 'Gypsea', Mother-Daughter Adventure, Uncategorized

Iceland: Fire, Ice, and Elves

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The last stop on our Round-The-World-From-Scratch included a week in Iceland. Iceland Air offers a deal, when traveling from North America to Europe, to have a free stop over for up to 7 days.

Making the most of our time there, while still allowing ourselves to relax and enjoy the last of our travels, the Reykjavik city pass allows you free entry to some of the city hot pools and many of the museums, with discounts to other museums, hot pools, and restaurants. (available at the tourist info centre, by the Knitting association shop where you can pic yourself up a nice Icelandic jumper.)

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One of the free things to do is to take a ferry over to Viðey island just off Reykjavik. Once on the island, the small hiking trails take you on a maze of the small island where you can see artwork my various artists including Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace Tower.

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Beyond the city, which is home to 2/3rds of the population of Iceland, remains the almost desolate expanse of green and black (the remnants of lava flows) with the occasional waterfall, (10’s of thousands just that are known by locals, not including the ones inland or away from popularly traveled routes.)

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The two most popular tours through many of the tour companies include the Golden Circle, And the South Coast.

The Golden Circle journeys inland and will normally stop at the Geothermal Powerplant (which powers the nation), The National Park (the location of the first parliament, the rift between the North American and European plates, and filming location for Game of Thrones), Two of the major waterfalls, The geysers (including ‘Geyser’, the one that we got the name from,) and the crater lake in the sunk-in remains of a volcano.

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The South Coast goes, you guessed it, along the Southern coast. The Highlights include The Black Sand Beach, Eyjafjallajokull (‘ay-ya-fall-ya-yoke-ul’,  the volcano that stopped the world in 2010), Seljalandsfoss (the waterfall you can walk behind), The glacier, and Vik (a small farming town along the south coast.) We got lucky, and at the Black Sand Beach, even though it was foggy and rainy, there were more puffin than our guide had ever seen before!

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dsc_5293And bonus! We got to see an elf rock, and some of the Icelandic horses.

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The two tour companies we recommend are

Extreme Iceland

https://www.extremeiceland.is/en/

and Your Day Tours

http://www.yourdaytours.is

Adventures of a 'Gypsea', Mother-Daughter Adventure

Time Traveling in Denmark: Ribe

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Ribe is a virtually untouched historical city that has maintained its character over the last century. Boasted as Denmark’s oldest town, Ribe (said as “Reeb”) has nightly Watchman tours that leave from the charming inn/restaurant, Weiss Stue.

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The old town hall doubles as a small city museum, with information and artefacts from the towns colourful history. Across the street from the train station is a Viking museum which explains viking burials and culture that was an active part of Ribe’s early years. While the town doesn’t have much for museums, the town is steeped in antiquity, and walking down the cobbled streets installs the feeling that you have stepped into a postcard.

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The small shop fronts house everything from cellphone repair, to handmade waffle cones to hold the homemade ice-cream, to art galleries. But if you take 3 right turns you’re back in the town centre. The courtyard of which, belonging to the church, had been excavated during the church renovation to reveal graves older than 5 centuries.

Just outside of town, accessible by a foot and bike path, is an open air museum that focuses on viking recreation archaeology, with some showmanship thrown in for good fun.

You can buy jewellery that is handcrafted with traditional methods, watch a viking battle, or ask the people about their daily lives.

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