The Muyenzi Road Show has officially begun. Literally this
means that Muyenzi (Marisa and I and all of our random belongings) have hit the
road with full speed and are surely a show to see.
I must admit that Marisa is much better about this whole
vacation blogging thing, so for more stories check out tanzania365.com. But I
suppose it wouldn’t hurt for me to share a few stories of my own as well, as
well as daily highlights!
Tuesday December 18
We left Zanzibar in the afternoon, taking the ferry back to
Dar for the night. Luckily for us, we found a really nice hotel right next to
the bus stand…and when I say really nice, I am mainly referring to the hot
shower I took for the first time since leaving America.
HIGHLIGHT: a very long hot shower
Wednesday December 19
The bus to Arusha left bright and early this morning, and we
travelled for 12 hours across the beautiful Tanzanian countryside. Having a
seat to myself made the 12 hours fly by, and overall it was a pleasant day of
traveling. When we got into Arusha, we wandered around for a while, found a
cute little ice cream shop, and ate dinner at a very fancy yet inexpensive
hotel where we were able to watch the news!
HIGHLIGHT: Catching up on real world happenings.
Thursday December 20
In the morning, we attended the final hearing at the UN
International Criminal Tribunal for the Rwandan genocide. For years, the UN has
been hearing cases, 71 in total, of people involved in the genocide of 1994. On
Thursday morning, the verdict of the final case was presented, and the man was
charged with 35 years for genocide crimes, incitement to commit genocide, and
rape as a crime against humanity. Here’s
the BBC article summarizing the case: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20795808
HIGHLIGHT: witnessing history in the making
In the afternoon, we took a Dala Dala to Meseroni Snake Park
to take a look at all the different African snakes, birds and crocodiles. We
even held a snake and baby crocodile! How crazy is that?? We were also able to
ride a camel! Well, really I just got on and walked in a circle, but still…We
also met a man from Minnesota who is teaching in Dar es Salaam, so that was
very exciting as well!
HIGHLIGHT: The whole Meseroni Snake Park experience
(including transportation) cost 8000Tsh. Or $5US.
In our wondering around town, we saw posters for Via Via
Café, which was apparenetly hosting a live band and karaoke night on Thursday.
Did we attend? Oh certainly? Did we make new friends? Why yes. Did we
participate fully in the evening’s activities? Of course. When we first got
there, we were a bit skeptical, because there weren’t many people there
initially. But clearly, we were just ahead of the party, because once the band
started playing and the karaoke kicked off, it was certainly a party. We met a
group of guys from Australia and New Zealand who had just finished climbing
Mount Kilimanjaro in a “save the rhino” effort that included wearing a rhino
suit on the entire trek. We sang some good karaoke with them before shaking our
skeletons (as they like to say in Zanzibar) on the dance floor. It was a really
fun time, and it was nice to make some new friends too!
HIGHLIGHT: Shaking our skeletons!
Friday December 21
Although we had limited sleep because we were out late the
night before, we got up, packed our bags, and headed to the bus stand to catch
a coaster to Moshi. While the 1 hour trip took 3 hours, I paid less than $2 so
I can’t really complain. We spent the afternoon doing a little shopping, eating
delicious Indian food, and booking our Kili adventure for Saturday. Also, the
hotel had free wi-fi, which meant that the evening was devoted to precious
internet time, but considering the lack of any connecation in Muyenzi, it was
certainly wonderful to spend at least 2 hours on facebook!
HIGHLIGHT: definitely the wifi!
Saturday December 22
What did we do today? Oh, just climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. No
big deal. While we didn’t have 5 or 6 days to devote to climbing to the summit
of Kili, we did have one day. Our Australian friends had wanted to give us the
name of their guide, but unfortunately we forgot to get his name before we left
on Thursday. So we just booked with a company we found in the guidebook, and
our guide showed up at our hotel this morning for our adventure. Come to find
out, Erick had in fact been the guide for the “save the rhino” group, and none
of could believe that we all randomly know each other. He was an awesome guide
though, very friendly, and a wonderful leader up to the first base camp. We hiked
for three hours up to the first camp, which is 2770 meters above sea level. By
the time we got there, it was really cold and starting to rain, but thankfully
we were taking a brief stop for lunch. Unfortunately the rains did not let up,
and since I lost my good raincoat in Kigali, I had decided to tough it out if
it rained…worst idea ever. Especially when you consider we descended 2 hours
down the mountain in the pouring rain. Somehow I was able to laugh through it
all, but a little word of wisdom: if they tell you to bring a raincoat, DO IT!
One day, I will be prepared, and then I will actually climb to the summit!
HIGHLIGHT: Getting to skype with my parents and my roommates!
And of course, climbing on Africa’s tallest peak J
There you have it! A brief glimpse into all of our
adventures thus far! Check out my fb for more pictures, as well as Marisa’s
blog for more stories. We are heading to Kenya in the morning to spend
Christmas on the beach, so stay tuned for more travel excursions from the
Muyenzi Road Show.
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