We had one day of rest in Moshi, Tanzania before we headed out for a 3 day safari. We were in search of the "Big 5" - lions, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, and water buffalo. We had a private vehicle and tour guide.
Our first day was to Tarangire game preserve This was about a 4 hour drive and it was hot and dusty. We had to register before going into the park and while we waited for our guide to get our permit, the baboons were coming right up to the cars. They were not afraid of all the people and cars outside waiting. The guide had told us to keep the windows up and the doors shut because the monkeys would get in the vehicle and steal our food!
We ate our box lunch at a picnic area before heading into the game park. Within 500 feet, we encountered two rather large elephants right next to the road. The driver stopped and we were right next to the elephants. The smaller one didn't like us being so close and started snorting, dragging his foot in the dirt and throwing dirt up with his trunk! We had the roof of the Land Rover open and were standing up, watching through the roof. I think in a battle of Land Rover vs. elephant, the elephant would definitely be the winner so we moved on. :)
We saw lots of zebras, wildebeests, warthogs, and a couple of giraffes far off in the distance. There were also lots of birds.
We stayed in the Highview Hotel which is owned by the same company that did our tour of Kilimanjaro. It was definitely no frills! Twin beds with mosquito nets. They did have a group of local youths performing native dances and music after dinner.
The next day we drove to Ngorongoro Crater which is remains of a collapsed volcano. It was incredible. We drove through thousands of zebras and wildebeests and saw lots of water buffalo. Some of the animals were so close we could have reached out and touched them. There was a family of elephants, marching in a line with the largest elephant in front, in descending order with the smallest one in the back. It was so cute. There was a lake that had so many flamingoes in it that it looked like shimmering pink silk instead of a lake (it was beautiful but the smell was terrible!!). We ate our box lunch parked by a lake full of hippos. It was fun to watch them playing and sunning while we ate. We had to eat inside the Land Rover because the birds were swooping in trying to steal our food. It was very windy and we had a little bit of rain but we still had a great day. The only downside to the day (other than our guide talking on his cell phone most of the time) was that it was too windy to see the black rhinos. This is one of the few places to see them in the wild. I guess we will have to go back again someday!
The next day, on the way to Lake Manyara, we saw elephants on the side of the road. It was really cool. This was our last game preserve. It was okay but we didn't see too many animals, lots of birds but not a lot of animals. There were giraffes but you had to use the binoculars to see them.
All in all, our trip to Tanzania was wonderful. The climb up Kilimanjaro, the safari and the experience of walking through the local markets in Moshi was an adventure for sure.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Kilamanjaro Sept 2013
We trained for months and finally September arrived and Kilimanjaro loomed large!!
We traveled from Algiers to Cairo to Nairobi to Kilimanjaro (total travel time of about 20 hours). This was right after the airport in Nairobi had burned so the transfer through there was interesting to say the least. There were huge tents set up outside to handle waiting passengers. Since we transferred through in the middle of the night, we were inside. Talk about high tech & high security...the connecting flights were written on a dry erase board and they had chains on the doors but the glass in the doors was broken out so you could just climb through the doors!
We stayed one night in a hotel in Moshi, Tanzania where we met the rest of our group (total of 11 of us) and prepared for our hike the next day. The hotel is probably what we would rate a one star in the states but it was considered one of the nicer ones there. We had to switch on the hot water heater 15 minutes before we wanted hot water and when we did take showers it was a drip! The hotel offered laundry service which consisted of the maids washing your clothes in a bucket and hanging them outside on bushes to dry in the sun.
We had a big buffet breakfast and then the porters piled our duffle bags onto the top of our bus, we piled into the bus with our backpacks and set off to the trail head. It was an interesting ride to say the least! I am amazed that the bus made it up those narrow, rutted, dirt roads to the trailhead! That was an adventure in itself!
We went through 5 different climate zones as we ascended. We chose an 8 day climb up the Lemosho route. This route allows you to acclimatize more gradually and have less chance of getting altitude sickness.
The first night at camp, the tents were very close and it was noisy. We listened to the monkeys chattering back & forth all night! We had Diamox to minimize the effects of altitude sickness but I unfortunately felt the effects that first night and they were not pleasant! Thank goodness we brought a first aid kit. Neither of us slept well the first night. We had to leave the tent several times to use the bathroom, which by the way, was a small tent with a 5 gallon bucket in it. At least there was a lid attached to the bucket! You can imagine how pleasant that tent was by morning after 11 people used
it all night.
Because of the symptoms of altitude sickness symptoms, breakfast was out of the question for me. Kirk was awesome & carried both backpacks for the morning hike ( his on his back and mine on his front)! After lunch & water, I was able to carry my pack for the rest of the day.
We had a guide named Chambo, 2 assistant guides, & about 40 porters with our team of 11. In the
morning, when we broke camp, we would take our backpacks loaded with all the gear we needed for the day and the porters would take our duffle bags and tents and dining equipment. The porters hiked the same trails we did and they passed us by quickly, loaded with equipment on their heads & backs, many of them wearing sneakers or sandals!
Each day, we were woken by one of the guides bringing hot tea and a bowl of hot water to wash up
with. We got dressed in the tents, packed up our gear for the porters and went to the dining tent
where we were served more hot tea, porridge, some form of eggs, some form of bread, and fruit. Our
water canteens were filled with boiled water before we headed out. We added water purification tablets just in case! It gave the water a metallic taste but when you are thirsty, you will drink it! We also brought Gatorade tablets and lemonade powder to give it some flavor. We had to drink about 4
liters a day.
Each day, we met up with the porters at lunch time for a hot lunch. They would set up the dining tent and the outhouse tent for us. We ate a hot soup (more like thin broth), bread, some meat, more fruit. Water bottles would be filled and off we would go for the afternoon hike. When we stopped to camp for the night, the porters had our tents set up with our sleeping bag mats. We were given another bowl of hot water to wash up with before eating. We were given tea and popcorn or cookies each day while dinner was cooked. Dinner was usually more soup, meat of some sort, bread or pasta (which was usually over cooked), fruit and tea. It was nothing to write home about but it was filling and very carb heavy to fuel us up for the hiking.
I have never been so DIRTY in all my life! No showers, no washing hair, dust everywhere. I gave up trying to stay clean...it was impossible! We learned to use our wipes at night to get clean before
getting into our bags & how to get our clothes warm before getting dressed in the morning. It was rather cold when the sun went down and got colder as we went higher.
Each day was a new adventure with different environments and different challenges. The first full day was the rain forest and we got just a sprinkling of rain for part of the day, just enough to put on our windbreakers & backpack covers. My favorite day was called "hugging the wall" at Baranco
wall. It was more like rock climbing than hiking.
Day 6 brought summit day. We had the afternoon to rest because we had to get up just before midnight to start the ascent to the top. We awoke to our usual hot tea at 1100 pm. We put on every layer we had and prepared our packs. We put our headlamps on, grabbed our trekking poles and set out for Uhuru Peak.
We started out at about 15,000 feet. I got slower & slower as we ascended. Our group split into 3 smaller groups after a couple of hours. We were physically prepared but you can't train for altitude! It was just step by step after a few hours, concentrating on just moving my feet. I have never been so cold in my life. I had ski gloves on but my hands were frozen before we got to the summit. Someone
had the instant hand warmers but they activate using oxygen & since there was not enough oxygen, we couldn't get them to work. My hands were literally frozen around my poles!
Also, as we ascended, my vision started getting blurry in my right eye. I kept feeling like I had
something in my eye but no one could see anything. I started to see with a brown haze through that eye. Luckily, we had some more experienced climbers in our group who said I was experiencing
altitude blindness in my right eye! I could barely see by the time we reached the glacier.
We reached the peak (finally) at 6:46 am (over 19,000 feet). We missed the sunrise but I was just happy that I made it. I have never felt that cold or tired!!! The sun shining off the glacier and the
tops of the clouds was absolutely breathtaking. Unfortunately, I was so cold I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked.
The descent was tough on our knees, thank goodness we had the trekking poles. I also had to hold onto Kirk's arm because I could only see out of my left eye! There was a lot of loose scree and rocks that we had to climb over. It was an interesting trip down! We made it, slowly but surely back to base camp but no rest for us. We had a meal and we had to pack up and continue descending for another 5 hours or so. The good news is that as we descended, my vision started returning to normal and because there was more oxygen, we were feeling much more energized.
We stopped to camp for the night, had a celebration dinner and spent our last night in the tent. (My vision was back to normal by this time.) We made it back to the bus the next day, checked in at the ranger station and headed back to Moshi to the hotel. It was so nice to shower even though we had
no water pressure! After we all got clean, we met in the hotel courtyard with our group to have a Kilamanjaro beer together ( yes the local beer is called Kilamanjaro....the motto is "If you can't climb it, drink it"). We did both! We received our certificates from our guide and we had the rest of the night to relax and prepare for our safari trip.
The hotel advertised massages & pedicures for those who returned from the climb. Kirk booked a massage & I booked a pedicure....we should have known better! The massage was in like a storage area outside and my pedicure consisted of someone putting my feet in a mop bucket and scrubbing with tools that I am sure have never been cleaned properly! Good thing I was up to date on my shots!
I will continue the safari story another day. :)
We traveled from Algiers to Cairo to Nairobi to Kilimanjaro (total travel time of about 20 hours). This was right after the airport in Nairobi had burned so the transfer through there was interesting to say the least. There were huge tents set up outside to handle waiting passengers. Since we transferred through in the middle of the night, we were inside. Talk about high tech & high security...the connecting flights were written on a dry erase board and they had chains on the doors but the glass in the doors was broken out so you could just climb through the doors!
We stayed one night in a hotel in Moshi, Tanzania where we met the rest of our group (total of 11 of us) and prepared for our hike the next day. The hotel is probably what we would rate a one star in the states but it was considered one of the nicer ones there. We had to switch on the hot water heater 15 minutes before we wanted hot water and when we did take showers it was a drip! The hotel offered laundry service which consisted of the maids washing your clothes in a bucket and hanging them outside on bushes to dry in the sun.
We had a big buffet breakfast and then the porters piled our duffle bags onto the top of our bus, we piled into the bus with our backpacks and set off to the trail head. It was an interesting ride to say the least! I am amazed that the bus made it up those narrow, rutted, dirt roads to the trailhead! That was an adventure in itself!
We went through 5 different climate zones as we ascended. We chose an 8 day climb up the Lemosho route. This route allows you to acclimatize more gradually and have less chance of getting altitude sickness.
The first night at camp, the tents were very close and it was noisy. We listened to the monkeys chattering back & forth all night! We had Diamox to minimize the effects of altitude sickness but I unfortunately felt the effects that first night and they were not pleasant! Thank goodness we brought a first aid kit. Neither of us slept well the first night. We had to leave the tent several times to use the bathroom, which by the way, was a small tent with a 5 gallon bucket in it. At least there was a lid attached to the bucket! You can imagine how pleasant that tent was by morning after 11 people used
it all night.
Because of the symptoms of altitude sickness symptoms, breakfast was out of the question for me. Kirk was awesome & carried both backpacks for the morning hike ( his on his back and mine on his front)! After lunch & water, I was able to carry my pack for the rest of the day.
We had a guide named Chambo, 2 assistant guides, & about 40 porters with our team of 11. In the
morning, when we broke camp, we would take our backpacks loaded with all the gear we needed for the day and the porters would take our duffle bags and tents and dining equipment. The porters hiked the same trails we did and they passed us by quickly, loaded with equipment on their heads & backs, many of them wearing sneakers or sandals!
Each day, we were woken by one of the guides bringing hot tea and a bowl of hot water to wash up
with. We got dressed in the tents, packed up our gear for the porters and went to the dining tent
where we were served more hot tea, porridge, some form of eggs, some form of bread, and fruit. Our
water canteens were filled with boiled water before we headed out. We added water purification tablets just in case! It gave the water a metallic taste but when you are thirsty, you will drink it! We also brought Gatorade tablets and lemonade powder to give it some flavor. We had to drink about 4
liters a day.
Each day, we met up with the porters at lunch time for a hot lunch. They would set up the dining tent and the outhouse tent for us. We ate a hot soup (more like thin broth), bread, some meat, more fruit. Water bottles would be filled and off we would go for the afternoon hike. When we stopped to camp for the night, the porters had our tents set up with our sleeping bag mats. We were given another bowl of hot water to wash up with before eating. We were given tea and popcorn or cookies each day while dinner was cooked. Dinner was usually more soup, meat of some sort, bread or pasta (which was usually over cooked), fruit and tea. It was nothing to write home about but it was filling and very carb heavy to fuel us up for the hiking.
I have never been so DIRTY in all my life! No showers, no washing hair, dust everywhere. I gave up trying to stay clean...it was impossible! We learned to use our wipes at night to get clean before
getting into our bags & how to get our clothes warm before getting dressed in the morning. It was rather cold when the sun went down and got colder as we went higher.
Each day was a new adventure with different environments and different challenges. The first full day was the rain forest and we got just a sprinkling of rain for part of the day, just enough to put on our windbreakers & backpack covers. My favorite day was called "hugging the wall" at Baranco
wall. It was more like rock climbing than hiking.
Day 6 brought summit day. We had the afternoon to rest because we had to get up just before midnight to start the ascent to the top. We awoke to our usual hot tea at 1100 pm. We put on every layer we had and prepared our packs. We put our headlamps on, grabbed our trekking poles and set out for Uhuru Peak.
We started out at about 15,000 feet. I got slower & slower as we ascended. Our group split into 3 smaller groups after a couple of hours. We were physically prepared but you can't train for altitude! It was just step by step after a few hours, concentrating on just moving my feet. I have never been so cold in my life. I had ski gloves on but my hands were frozen before we got to the summit. Someone
had the instant hand warmers but they activate using oxygen & since there was not enough oxygen, we couldn't get them to work. My hands were literally frozen around my poles!
Also, as we ascended, my vision started getting blurry in my right eye. I kept feeling like I had
something in my eye but no one could see anything. I started to see with a brown haze through that eye. Luckily, we had some more experienced climbers in our group who said I was experiencing
altitude blindness in my right eye! I could barely see by the time we reached the glacier.
We reached the peak (finally) at 6:46 am (over 19,000 feet). We missed the sunrise but I was just happy that I made it. I have never felt that cold or tired!!! The sun shining off the glacier and the
tops of the clouds was absolutely breathtaking. Unfortunately, I was so cold I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked.
The descent was tough on our knees, thank goodness we had the trekking poles. I also had to hold onto Kirk's arm because I could only see out of my left eye! There was a lot of loose scree and rocks that we had to climb over. It was an interesting trip down! We made it, slowly but surely back to base camp but no rest for us. We had a meal and we had to pack up and continue descending for another 5 hours or so. The good news is that as we descended, my vision started returning to normal and because there was more oxygen, we were feeling much more energized.
We stopped to camp for the night, had a celebration dinner and spent our last night in the tent. (My vision was back to normal by this time.) We made it back to the bus the next day, checked in at the ranger station and headed back to Moshi to the hotel. It was so nice to shower even though we had
no water pressure! After we all got clean, we met in the hotel courtyard with our group to have a Kilamanjaro beer together ( yes the local beer is called Kilamanjaro....the motto is "If you can't climb it, drink it"). We did both! We received our certificates from our guide and we had the rest of the night to relax and prepare for our safari trip.
The hotel advertised massages & pedicures for those who returned from the climb. Kirk booked a massage & I booked a pedicure....we should have known better! The massage was in like a storage area outside and my pedicure consisted of someone putting my feet in a mop bucket and scrubbing with tools that I am sure have never been cleaned properly! Good thing I was up to date on my shots!
I will continue the safari story another day. :)
Monday, October 7, 2013
More unwanted visitors = Aug 2013
Just to catch everyone up on what has been going on in Algiers....we were robbed in August during the night, while we were sleeping in the house. Thank God we are fine and they only took stuff. We can replace "stuff".
I woke up one Friday morning (which is our weekend) to notice that some things are out of place by the bathroom. I woke Kirk up to ask him if he had gotten up in the night to move anything. He jumped out of bed knowing something was amiss. We realized, as we woke up more fully, that someone had been in the house. We went to call the embassy and realized all of our cell phones had been stolen. We used our radios to make contact and had security here within 10 minutes. We checked all the doors and windows only to find out they were all secured and locked....no broken glass, no tampered locks.
The local police showed up which was quite a show (think Inspector Clouseau from Pink Panther!!) The police kept questioning us like we were making it up!! They couldn't understand how there was no damaged locks or windows. I have never seen so many people in our tiny apartment. They had their version of CSI come in. I was cleaning up finger print powder for days!!! The thieves got away with my laptop, jewelry, cell phones and iPods. It was so unnerving to know that someone was in the house and we had no idea.
Thank goodness most thieves are stupid and the police were able to locate them by tracking my Blackberry. They arrested 2 Algerians who apparently had lots of keys and stolen merchandise in their house. They were targeting our neighborhood and had somehow gotten keys from the hardware store to enter residences. They will spend 3 years in jail.
We are finally getting bars and grills on all our doors and windows. They have reinforced the doors with slide bolts from the inside until the grills are all installed. They are also fortifying the outside perimeter wall, making it higher and adding concertina wire.
Never a dull moment!
I woke up one Friday morning (which is our weekend) to notice that some things are out of place by the bathroom. I woke Kirk up to ask him if he had gotten up in the night to move anything. He jumped out of bed knowing something was amiss. We realized, as we woke up more fully, that someone had been in the house. We went to call the embassy and realized all of our cell phones had been stolen. We used our radios to make contact and had security here within 10 minutes. We checked all the doors and windows only to find out they were all secured and locked....no broken glass, no tampered locks.
The local police showed up which was quite a show (think Inspector Clouseau from Pink Panther!!) The police kept questioning us like we were making it up!! They couldn't understand how there was no damaged locks or windows. I have never seen so many people in our tiny apartment. They had their version of CSI come in. I was cleaning up finger print powder for days!!! The thieves got away with my laptop, jewelry, cell phones and iPods. It was so unnerving to know that someone was in the house and we had no idea.
Thank goodness most thieves are stupid and the police were able to locate them by tracking my Blackberry. They arrested 2 Algerians who apparently had lots of keys and stolen merchandise in their house. They were targeting our neighborhood and had somehow gotten keys from the hardware store to enter residences. They will spend 3 years in jail.
We are finally getting bars and grills on all our doors and windows. They have reinforced the doors with slide bolts from the inside until the grills are all installed. They are also fortifying the outside perimeter wall, making it higher and adding concertina wire.
Never a dull moment!
Paris July 2013 Part 2
We drove from Normandy back to Paris and spent a wonderful 2 days near the Eiffel Tower. We walked miles!! We found the most wonderful sidewalk cafés where we had some great food while enjoying several bottles of wonderful French wine.
The weather was hot and we really enjoyed walking along the Seine River. We took a night cruise and took in the "City of Lights".
Nice "hat" Kirk! :)
The weather was hot and we really enjoyed walking along the Seine River. We took a night cruise and took in the "City of Lights".
Holding Paris in my hand!
Nice "hat" Kirk! :)
Outside the Louvre museum.
The Eiffel Tower all lit up at night with twinkle lights!
It looked even prettier in person (especially after a few glasses of nice French wine!!) LOL
Notre Dame
Saturday, July 20, 2013
France July 2103 - Day 2 - Omaha Beach Normandy
Our second day in Normandy was spent in awe at Omaha beach and the American cemetery. We both have a fascination with World War II history. This day was unbelievable. We spent the morning at the American Cemetery, where they have a wonderful museum that gives all the history of the war, with wonderful displays and documentary movie clips. Then we made our way into the cemetery. Wow. I find it difficult to put into words the feelings I had. If you have ever been to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC, you will know what I mean. The sheer volume of pristine white crosses is almost haunting.
After we explored the cemetery, we made our way down to Omaha Beach. It is not commercialized. It is an enormous beach, comparable to Daytona Beach in Florida. When we walked out onto that beach and I thought about all the troops that disembarked and fought their way across that enormous beach, dodging artillery and wicked looking German beach obstacles and mines, I felt my stomach flip flop. My heart broke for all those men that stormed the beaches of Normandy that day. I felt sad, angry, grateful, proud...all at the same time. I went down to the water and looked back up the top of the hill, where the cemetery is, and thought how impossibly far it looked. I thought about all the blood that was spilled by that greatest generation. It was a very humbling and reverent morning.
We ended the day at Pegasus Bridge, where the British gliders landed to take out strategic bridges to ensure the Germans couldn't advance. This is the preliminary strike before our troops took the Normandy beaches.
It was a day full of history, emotions, beautiful weather, charming French villages and wonderful goodies found at out of the way bakeries.
We also realized how good it was to drive again. It made us realize how restrained our lives are in Algiers. We felt free and it felt good!
After we explored the cemetery, we made our way down to Omaha Beach. It is not commercialized. It is an enormous beach, comparable to Daytona Beach in Florida. When we walked out onto that beach and I thought about all the troops that disembarked and fought their way across that enormous beach, dodging artillery and wicked looking German beach obstacles and mines, I felt my stomach flip flop. My heart broke for all those men that stormed the beaches of Normandy that day. I felt sad, angry, grateful, proud...all at the same time. I went down to the water and looked back up the top of the hill, where the cemetery is, and thought how impossibly far it looked. I thought about all the blood that was spilled by that greatest generation. It was a very humbling and reverent morning. 
We found a wonderful little restaurant on the beach and enjoyed our lunch at the beach. Then we got in the car and drove down the coast through charming small towns. We saw Utah Beach, Juno Beach, Gold Beach and Sword Beach, a man made port used during the war and all kinds of old churches and buildings that were destroyed by bombings but have been since rebuilt. They had photos of what they looked like before the war, during the war and after the war. We stopped a few more places and saw trenches and foxholes and tunnels used by the Germans.
Manmade port at Juno Beach
Foxholes and tunnels.
It was a day full of history, emotions, beautiful weather, charming French villages and wonderful goodies found at out of the way bakeries.
We also realized how good it was to drive again. It made us realize how restrained our lives are in Algiers. We felt free and it felt good!
France July 2013 - Day 1 - Etrétat and Houlgate in Northern France (Normandy)
After planning the 4th of July official event for the embassy, I was so ready for a break! Kirk planned a wonderful weekend in France. We flew into Paris at night, rented a car the next morning and drove to Normandy where we spent 2 wonderful days! We stayed in this place, where we had a small apartment with a balcony (where we enjoyed wine, cheese and baguettes)!
It was VERY windy this day!
We spent the first day in Etrétat, where we explored the archipelagos (natural arches). We hiked up to the top of each arch.
This is the village, nestled in the small cove.
This beautiful old church and the pasture of lazy French cows were at the top of one of the arches.
The beach is not sandy but made of smooth stones.
There was a really big cave that we walked into to explore.
We felt like pirates searching for booty! Arrrggghhhhhh!
After our day in Etrétat, we drove to a small village called Touques on our way back to our hotel. My relatives have traced our family tree back to this small French village in the 1600's. The church is where one of my ancestors, Marthe Rainville, was baptized.
Some of these buildings have been standing since the 11th century or earlier!
It was an amazing afternoon of exploring and seeing so much history.
The view from our room in Houlgate.
This is the sunset from the beachside restaurant where we enjoyed a leisurely
French meal and a lovely bottle of wine.
Alicante Spain May 2013
Memorial Day weekend was spent in Alicante, Spain. It is in the region known as Costa Blanca (the white coast). We enjoyed 4 days of sun, relaxation and good food! It is a quiet beach town, much smaller than Barcelona but we enjoyed it very much.
Here
are some photos from our trip:
This is the view of the Castillo Santa Barbara from outside our hotel (way at the top of that hill). We hiked to the top one day and had some beautiful views. It was a great day hike and we worked off some of the great food and wine we had been enjoying!
Here
are some photos from our trip:
The sidewalks on "Las Ramblas", the main street near the beach. These were a little challenging after a couple of sangrias!! Actually, even sober, they messed with my mind!
 |
| Me Tarzan... |
 |
| You Jane! |
The view from the top, with the Spanish flag flying behind us.
Sunset at the beach, right outside our hotel.
On our way to dinner.
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