Ray's Travels

For today’s entry I will keep the narrative limited so that I can show the events of the day more with pictures. For the most part I will let the pictures tell the story.

Today was a very interesting working day of visiting the projects that the University has been involved with in Northern Tanzania. We drove out to the Naitolia Village which is inhabited by Masai people. The Masai are traditionally herders. These rural villages are unlike what most think of as a village. They are very decentralized and cover a wide area. There are a number of Boma which are small areas where a man will have his household which will consist of several wives and his livestock. Each wife has her own house (or hut) for herself and her children. We visited one such Boma which gave a good sense of how the culture functions.

Of course, the big guy in blue is the head of the Boma. Behind him in the blue coveralls are 4 villagers that are being taught to help manage the livestock of the village. They were there for a demonstration.

This little goat won’t have to worry about sending anymore kids to college. Fortunately, current techniques don’t require any incision.

This is the little guy undergoing the procedure. The head of the Boma was very amused that I was taking the picture and he laughed and came up and shook my hand.

A wife and her children in front of their hut in the Boma.

Although it was about 10:00 am, this man wandered into the Boma seriously inebriated. After a brief scuffle he passed out in the dirt.

Next we visited the water project. An old bore hole had failed and after some failed tries to drill a new hole the old hole was revived. A reservoir tank and tap was constructed. To the villagers, this is the most important improvement to life in the village. It allows girls to go to school instead of having to spend the day fetching water. Women can also work at more productive projects. Because the village is so spread out the villagers now would like pipes extended further out to the school and other more convenient points.

The tap where the villagers get their water. They do have to pay for it and that money is used to maintain the system.

This elderly woman spoke to us to thank us for bringing clean water to the village. Notice that she is holding a cell phone. Cell phones are ubiquitous in Tanzania. It seems as though everyone has one. In a meeting with rural locals you will hear cell phones going off.

We then proceeded to the new cattle dip. A group of singing and dancing women were there when we arrived and we witnessed an extended show of their chanting and dancing.

The singing and dancing women in their ceremonial clothes.

The cattle dip is a major component of the development project. Livestock is subject for tick borne diseases. By eliminating them the livestock will have a better chance to thrive, mortality will be reduced and the animals will bring more money at the market. The herders will pay to thane their livestock dipped. The revenue will be used to maintain the dip and purchase the needed chemicals. Dipping is the only way the the entire animal can be rid of the parasites. Just spraying is ineffective.

The cattle that we watched were the first ones to be sent through the dip. It was an exciting inauguration for the villagers.

The first cow ever to go through the dip. The woman to the left is the Acting Provost of Michigan State University.

The next visit was to the school. Of course, education is the hope of these villagers. It is the only way they can become self sustaining for the long run.

The primary school. The children are getting an education and a hot meal each day.

Finally, we were treated to a “thank you celebration by the villagers. There was singing, dancing, food and gifts. The sincerity of the gratitude was evident.

This is Karen and Jerry. They donated a lot in terms of money and guidance facilitate the advancement of the project. The villagers gave them gift and made Jerry ah honorary elder of the village.

On the road back to Arusha we were treated to a beautiful sight of the setting sun illuminating the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

The itinerary for today was to visit the Ngorongoro Crater. I don’t understand the geology of it but it is a collapsed volcano that has left a massive plain surrounded by hills. It is now a wild animal preserve and a national park. There are a lot of wild species that inhabit the area and a lot of animals migrate through it. It is a popular destination for wildlife safaris.

The day started off rather ominously. The group left the hotel in three vehicles. The day was overcast and we had to drive up the mountain on a rough narrow road in order to enter the crater. There was a lot of fog and mist. One of the drivers (not the one of the vehicle I was in) was apparently driving too fast and was not close enough to the edge of the road. At a sharp curve there was a vehicle coming the other way and they managed to collide. While it could have been worse if there was a straight head-on, one passenger in our vehicle suffered a serious broken bone in his upper left arm. Another of the passengers hit the side window with her head an actually snapped it out of its mounting. The person with the broken arm was the Dean of African Studies at MSU. He was in serious pain. He was taken to a hospital but will need surgery. It has been a scramble to get him out of Tanzania and back to Lansing, MI for surgery. Fortunately the University has insurance for such an incident and a protocol in place for its international travelers. It’s really a shame as he is a very nice person and I had just had breakfast with him that morning.

The wrecked vehicle. Note the window laying on the running board.

Of course, the incident casted a pall over the day. Aside from that, the crater was a magnificent experience. We saw the usual zebras and wildebeests but also saw a number of lions, hippos, impalas, cape buffalo, hyenas, ostriches and flamingos. At the end of the day we ventured into the more forested are of the park where there were several elephants. The crater is different than the Sarangheti in that there are few trees at the floor of the crater so there are no giraffes.

For our lunch stop we went to an area where there is a large watering hole that had numerous hippos residing there. We had to eat inside the vehicles as birds would sweep in and snatch any food available.

As for vehicles, you see hardly anything other than Toyota Land Cruisers. While there were about 100 Land Cruisers at the lunch stop I saw less than 5 Land Rovers all day. Toyota owns this country.

It was a long day over dusty roads but definitely worth the experience. Back at the hotel we had a group dinner and prepared for a working visit to a village tomorrow.

A lioness that was on the prowl.

A cape buffalo that only wanted to pose for photos.

Coexistence of the species.

This blog has had too much time to cool down. Now it is time to get it cooking again and serve up some delicious info on the latest travel adventure.

My interest in international travel and development was noted a few years ago by my alma mater, Michigan State University. They have invited me to conferences about the direction of their international programs. This year they invited me to accompany a small group of people to observe some of their programs in Tanzania. Of course I accepted because things like this are very educational in giving one a perspective on what is really going on in a country with the people, the villages and the development in a fast changing world.

The trip started with a flight from JFK to Amsterdam. There were strong tailwinds and we arrived in Amsterdam and hour early. That left me with a 5 hour layover. Thankfully, I am traveling in business class and was able to spent the time in a lounge instead of sitting at a gate. At about 10:00 am local time I boarded the flight to Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania. Unfortunately, I felt like I had some sort of stomach bug and although the plane was comfortable enough, it wasn’t really a comfortable flight for me. I have no idea what it could have been as I had eaten very little. Nevertheless, I arrived in good time, cleared immigration and customs and there was someone from MSU, along with a driver, there to meet me. After getting into my room I was feeling much better and attended the meet-and-greet with the other participants.

Despite the long hours of travel and the time change I was able to get in a reasonably good night of sleep. Sometimes it is good to have too much time to rest with nothing on the agenda that you feel like you should be doing. We had a nice breakfast at the hotel. I had the option to visit a hospital with some in the group but on consideration I thought it best to skip that. I have had some health issues this year and it occurred to me that maybe I should stay away from hospitals, particularly in Africa, if I have the option.

Instead, about five of us opted to visit a cultural center in Arusha. It is a place that is privately owned but is filled with art and crafts. Although much of it looks like a museum, everything is for sale. It is an impressive place. Architecturally, it is over the top. The art gallery is on a spiral like the Guggenheim in New York. Some of the carved ebony figures are amazing. I was surprised at some of the asking prices for the art. It ranged from about $400 to $12,500. Not being an expert but having an appreciation for original art it seemed overly pricey, especially for that part of the world.

It looks like the place is really making it’s money on selling Tanzinite stones and jewelry. They claim that Tanzinite is 1000 times rare than diamonds although it is not as hard.

In the evening the group got together for dinner and then turned in for the night.



The Cultural Center.

An amazing piece of sculpture. This whole thing was carved out of a single piece of Ebony. There were similarly impressive pieces carved in the same manner.

This trip was one of the most important adventures of my life. I was anxious when I scheduled the trip. It seemed like a lot of money and it was scheduled far ahead of time without me knowing with a degree of certainty what our situation would be when it began. As it turned out, the tour company, TCS & Starquest Expeditions, did a magnificent job. Their attention to detail was extraordinary. At every turn they exceeded our expectations. They never “cheaped” us or made you feel that you needed to spend additional money. They never presented “add-ons” that would cost more and they never tried to sell you any merchandise. It was a huge relief from some of the outfits that pretend to cater to an affluent crowd, yet nickel and dime you along the way (hello, Canyon Ranch).

The tour guides, the lecturers and the airline crew couldn’t have been more helpful. They understood Marie’s condition and could not have been more accommodating. The same is true of the other guests on the trip. It made for a uniquely wonderful experience. We were able to cross off a good number of items on our bucket list with ease. Now I am spoiled on what it means to travel luxuriously.

The airplane crew and the guides told us that we were the best group they have had. Maybe they say that to everyone but in our case I have to believe it. There were no complainers trying to poison the adventure for the rest of us. If anyone was unhappy about something they kept it to themselves or discussed it with those that could remedy the problem. Also, nobody was late. In a group of that size you almost anticipate that there will be someone holding up the parade. Maybe that’s why we oftentimes arrived at our destination ahead of schedule.

I am eternally grateful that I made the decision to go on this adventure. More than anything, Marie deserved it. While she can’t comprehend the context of the trip it was a series of incredible events that brought her happiness. What more can you ask for?

No sightseeing today. Now it’s all about bringing it home. Spirits are high. It’s been an amazing trip but when you realize that it is time to go home you get anxious to get it over with.

We took off from Fez, Morocco but had to make a stop in the Azores, presumably for fuel. The thing that was a bit odd was that all of the checked luggage had to be taken off of the plane. I’m not sure exactly why but there was some talk that the airport in Morocco didn’t meet some security standards. Still, we were able to leave some personal item in the overhead bins of the plane. Go figure.

After leaving the Azores it was off to Orlando, FL. We picked up 5 hours on this one flight. The plane landed at Orlando-Sanford Airport. We cleared customs and were bused to the Hyatt Hotel that is right in Orlando International Airport. That means that there was no need for ground transportation the next day. While the Hyatt is a nice hotel, the rooms were a come down from the rooms we were used to.

We flew 27,400 miles and circumnavigated the globe. We crossed the equator 4 times. I haven’t regretted a minute of it. I’ll have some final thought later.

This is the last stop on the trip before we go to Orlando, FL to complete our around-the-world expedition. We had a very busy day today. We are staying at a Sofitel Hotel which is inside Medina, the ancient part of the walled city. Medina is a maze of 1600 streets, some of them no wider than your shoulders. There are residences. Some people are impoverished while some of the residences are quite elaborate although you wouldn’t know it just by looking at the door from a narrow street.

What really characterize the Medina is the shops and craftspeople that work there. You can buy just about everything. There are numerous food shops with vegetables, fish, freshly butchered meat, sweets (Muslims aren’t suppose to drink alcohol so they are heavy on the sweets). There are numerous textile shops, places to rent elaborate seating for a bride’s wedding, shoe shops, and places selling leather goods. A lot of weaving and tanning of leather goes on in there. While the origin of the Medina is before the 10th century, somehow they have been able to install an infrastructure to provide electricity, water and sewage. I even saw an ATM built into a wall which really surprised me.

Also inside the Medina are many mosques, madrases and a university. We were told that the university is one of, if not, the oldest universities in the world. Fez was an intellectual center in northern Africa. The guides stressed that although Morocco is a Muslim country they are very tolerant. Very few women wear the full burka. There is a small but distinct Jewish population. About 1% of the country is Christian. Morocco is a monarchy and the current king is the first one to have his wife make public appearances. They are quite content with their government and have avoided the recent turmoil of other Muslim countries.

Moroccans are quick to point out that Morocco was the first county to recognize the United States as a sovereign nation. (They were in a dispute with Great Britain at the time.) They are proud of the fact. They are a gracious people who made us feel welcome. Still, it is evident that their Muslim religion is an important force in their life.

In the afternoon we visited a tannery, a place where they were weaving fabrics, and a rug co-op where they claimed that the rugs were handmade and provided by rural women. Of course it was mostly a sales pitch. This late in the trip most of us are jaded to the concept of buying, much to the consternation of those trying to make a sale. The tannery/store was especially troublesome in a way. We could see where the hides were having the hair remove and the skins were tanned and dyed. The store was full of leather goods. There were shoes, purses, attaches, coats, belts, wallets, ottomans and everything else that could be made out of leather. The problem was that it wasn’t fine leather. The price was right but the stuff they were selling isn’t something you would be proud to wear. The inventory looked a bit aged and I can’t imagine what the actual “turns” (a retail term) are for the store.

In the evening we had our last group cocktail hour and dinner. It wasn’t an elaborate blow-out like the evening in Jaipur. The flight crew was there for the cocktails which was nice because they have been a great group of people looking out for us.

Tomorrow we get our luggage ready for the last leg of an amazing trip. We will have circumnavigated the globe.

The Medina.

Shops in the narrow streets of the Medina.

A shop selling spools of thread for weaving.

A weaver on a hand loom.

The tannery in the Medina. The workers are paid on piece work. The white tubs are where the hair is removed from the hides. They use water, salt, lime and pidgin dung. The hides are then dyed in vegetable dye.

Another long day. The reason for that is that we will leave Luxor, fly to Cairo, take buses to the Giza pyramids and return to the plane for our flight to Fez, Morocco.

As I mentioned, we have been to Luxor and Cairo. I was hoping that Cairo would be deemed unsafe and would get bypassed for a more direct flight to Fez. The pyramids are amazing structures but the experience of seeing them leaves a lot to be desired. You are constantly harassed by vendor wanting to sell you things. We have all seen the great pictures of the pyramids as magnificent freestanding structures. Yet, if you turn around to the main entrance you see a Pizza Hut and a KFC across the street.

We made our way there in the buses and it was worse than 3 years ago. There was a sandstorm that was blowing fine sand into our eyes and hair. The venders are worse than ever. Tourism has taken such a hit that they are more aggressive than ever. I would be willing to bet that 90% of the junk they are selling is being made in Chinese factories. To me, it’s just depressing. The pyramids should be a spiritual experience. It is just the opposite and I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

We made it back to our plane and took off for Morocco.

A fairly nice photo of the 3 plus 1 important pyramids at Giza. The pyramid to the left is actually the highest although the center one appears to be. The sandstorm restricted clarity.

The pilot was able to do a flyby of the pyramids. It’s not as close or impressive as some of the other flybys but still it was a treat to get a look from the air.

Three years ago we were in Egypt when were doing a humanitarian project for an organization called Coptic Orphans. We renovated apartments in the slums of Cairo for single women who were caring for orphaned children. At the end of that trip we took the overnight train to visit Luxor. While it was a great trip we never left the east bank. Today we started our Luxor visit by boarding small boats that took us across the Nile to the west bank.

The prime site on the west bank is the Valley of the Kings. It is where the ancient Egyptian kings had their graves constructed in the sides of the mountains. The area is extremely arid. Elaborate digging was done to construct the tombs and the entrances were sealed to prevent grave robbing. Still, nearly all of the graves were looted except for the famous grave of the young King Tutankhamen. There is still a lot of excavation going on in the site. The archeologists think that there are at least four more graves to be discovered. Maybe one or more of them will not have been looted. Unfortunately, cameras are not permitted in the Valley of the Kings so I don’t have photos.

For lunch we boarded sail boats and had a catered lunch out on the river. It was very nice lunch and afterwards we went back to the hotel. Many in the group visited the Karnak temple in the afternoon. We were both very tired and since we had toured the temple before we decided to get some much needed rest at the hotel.

In the early evening there was a question and answer session with our guides who were all Muslim. Eventually the conversation got into the current political situation. It was more than interesting to hear their take on it. They find the Egyptian President Morsi to be an embarrassment. He doesn’t understand protocol and doesn’t speak a word of English (in the cities even the children speak some English). They said that there will be another revolution and it may be led by the women. We were cautioned not to believe the extreme rhetoric that comes from some radicals that have been able to gain the attention of the media. The guides called the extremists “crazy” and that not one in 50 Egyptians agree with them. However, it’s always the crazies that get the media to take notice. Egypt is in a difficult situation right now. Many people feel that they are out from under the police state of Mubarak and no longer respect the police. There are terrible gas shortages. One of their prime sources of revenue, tourism, is down drastically. Right now they are limping along. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

There was a spectacular event scheduled for us in the evening. After the Luxor temple was closed to tourists we had it to ourselves for dinner, drinks and a show of Egyptian dancers. It was awe inspiring to wander around the lit up temple. It was another one of those unexpected events that has made the trip so sensational.

One of the small boat that we took to get to the west bank. Don’t ask my why they named it the Titanic but it did make it across.

One of the sailboats on which we had our catered lunch.

The Egyptian sunset from the balcony of our hotel room.

The moon above the obelisk at the Luxor Temple at night.

The Luxor Temple at night,

Another long day. We loaded up the safari vehicles and took the hour drive to the landing strip where the small shuttle planes were waiting to take us to the Kilimanjaro Airport so that we could board our 757. The guides took the drive slow so that we could stop if there were any interesting animals. It was a small version of what we saw yesterday.

By the time we arrived at the hotel it was just about dinner time. We stayed at a Hilton Hotel which was very modern and very nice. Not a lot of “charm” but very nice. It is situated on the east bank of the Nile River so there were some nice views.

A herd of elephants.

Animals, Animals, Animals!

That’s why we are here. We loaded into the safari vehicles and set out for an extensive drive through the savannah. There had been rain in recent days and the guides correctly surmised that the zebras and the wildebeests would be migrating. Zebras and wildebeests have no problem mixing together. The zebras like the longer grass and then the wildebeests like the shorter grasses. There were huge herds moving across he savannah. When I say huge herd I mean wide open grassland and zebras and wildebeests as far as the eye could see on both side of the road. I can’t begin to estimate a number but we had to have seen well over 100 thousand. The thought crossed my mind that this is what the Great Plains probably looked like before the buffalos were killed wholesale.

I was keeping track of the number of species of animals and birds that we saw. I came up with 30. We saw thousands of impalas. We saw elephants, giraffes, hippos, two lions mating on the side of the road not 10 feet from us, a leopard lounging in a tree, cape buffalo and hyenas, one of which must have messed with wrong lion and was badly hurt. We stopped for about 20 minutes and watched a whole group of baboons. The social interaction was very interesting to observe.

Back at the hotel there was a show by native dancers and an excellent dinner.

This photo doesn’t really do the scene justice but there were zebras and wildebeests as far as the eye could see. This was just one of the herds we saw.

The lions doing their thing on the road.

Zebra working together. They position themselves so that they have a 360 degree field of vision in case there is a predator stalking them.

Baboons. They one in the foreground is the alpha male. The little guy on the branch is about a week old.

Giraffes.