Nairobi Revisited

7/5-6

We arrived in Nairobi the third and last time, this time staying in the Red Court, which was near to both the Kenyatta international airport and the Wilson Airport, where we just arrived, walked off the tarmac.
Our last night in Nairobi would be celebrated at the restaurant Carnivore, which was near to Wilson Airport, and not far from the National Park of Nairobi. We were expecting a sampling of various game, the only exotic meats we were offered, and probably better that way, was ostrich meat, crocodile and water buffalo testicles (tasted like liver), in addition to the usual chicken, beef, turkey and pork and beef sausages.

The next day, our flight was leaving only at 10 pm. I had an appointment at the Institute for Primate Research, which was located in the outskirts of Nairobi, in a section called Karen. We coordinated this visit with a tour at the Karen Blixen Museum, where Luz and the boys joined me.  My appointment with the Director was at 10 am, and I was instructed to leave my hotel a half an hour earlier by taxi. The trip took me through a Muslim district of Nairobi, past Wilson airport and the National Park, whose parking lot was filled with school buses, and along Lukata road which was being renovated by the Chinese, who were involved in most infrastructure projects. We passed International Schools, farms, the Country Club, the latter already located in Karen. It took me one-and-a half hours, but in polite and understanding Kenyan manner, the Director was still gracious to see me. The Center's main focus was infectious diseases and reproductive health, two important areas of health in Africa.  The Director was not aware of epilepsy being as widespread in the baboon population. One research supervisor observed seizures in vervet monkeys that were infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the cause of Chagas Disease in humans. Apparently, the trypanosomes migrate to the brain in more sever cases. Baboons have a natural immunity against these parasite.

 Karen Blixen Museum

This area was named after Karen Blixen, who was the protagonist of the Oscar-winning movie, "Out of Africa", which was based upon her autobiography. She was represented by Meryl Streep, her husband by Karl Maria Brandtauer, and Austrian actor, and her lover by Robert Redford. She belonged to the Danish aristocracy and came to Africa when she married a "half-cousin" from Sweden.  Her husband turned out to be philanderer, she remained childless, but contracted syphilis from him. She eventually divorced her husband and eventually her long-time English lover moved in with her. Before that she had used lanterns of different colors to let him know when she could come and when she was ready. The red lantern was definitely, "no-go".  She helped run the cattle farm, the coffee plantations, but along with her marriage, these enterprises eventually dissolved. But at one time, her property included 6000 acres, including this section that was named after her. Aside from her museum, which provided a fascinating view of the late colonial period, most of the homes belonged to ministers and other well-to-do citizens of Nairobi. she was know as a hunter (she wore two hats not to develop sun stroke and brain injury), she educated her servants and their children, but most importantly, she wrote books, which one year won her a nomination for the Nobel Prize in Literature. She retired and died in Denmark.

Close by, there were a number of excellent restaurants, one with Asian fusion cuisine called Talisman. After eating there, around the corner, on Dagoretti Road, was the "Souk", an store selling upscale ethnic designer clothing, some of which was made by Hamm, a designer whose belt was worn by the Catheryn, the new Duchess of Cambridge.  We had a taxi driver for this whole tour, hired for 5000 Kenyan Schillings for 6 hours ("half a day", about $60).

 Talisman Restaurant

The Souk

Well, that will be the end of this trip.  I would like to acknowledge my son Daniel, who helped me post this blog and with his photography. Also I would like to thank Robert Nagy and Kriszta Lauer for their encouragement to write this blog. It was a challenge to post blogs in a timely fashion without internet access.

Ngorogoro Crater

7/4

Ngorogoro Crater was formed about 2-3 million years ago, when a volcano exploded and subsequently collapsed on itself, leaving a huge crater, about 300 square kilometers in area. It is daunting to imagine how all of these volcanic explosions and implosions may have effected the birth of humanity, whose cradle was in the Kenyan and Tanzanian Rift Valley.  Surely, adaptation to the volcanic activity which must have resulted in a massive destruction of plant life, must provided an advantage to carnivores  hominids over those that ate only nuts and seeds.  The crater walls vary in height, but on the average, the crater is 600 meters deep. One side of the crater is shallower, providing an opportunity for some animals to enter and leave.  While zebra and wildebeest enter the crater in  a seasonal fashion, most animals remain in the crater the whole year round.  Male elephants tends to live within the crater in gangs, but now that the rainy season was over, and the females were in heat, most of the male elephants abandoned the crater, leaving only the old guys behind. The craters highlands are covered mainly by montane (rain)forests, similar to the base of Kilimanjaro, while the bottom of the crater consists of grassland. Even so the base of the crater is at about 1700 meters elevation, a little higher than the Serengeti. There is a salt lake at the center of the crater which ids fed by a natural stream, the Munge. This stream supplies the rich animal life with fresh water all year round. The Maasai used to live in the crater over thirty years ago. while they are allowed to bring their cattle and goats tot he crater, the are no longer allowed to settle inside.

The crossing point for migrating animals

Maasai villages adjacent to the Ngorogoro Crater

We arrived late afternoon at eh Ngorogoro Sopa Lodge, which like the hotels in the same chain in the Serengeti were first class, with large rooms, bathrooms and beautiful views. The Sopa Lodge was at the highest point of the crater at 2800 meters elevation, and it really did not make sense why they would build an unheated swimming pool at that elevation. But they did heat the bedrooms at night. Computer connectivity, like elsewhere in Tanzania, was nonexistent, partly because of the relatively outdated equipment, I presume. 

Ngorogoro Sopa Lodge

The next morning we descended into the crater.  Twenty-two years ago, when I was here in the rainy season, the salt lake was filled with flamingoes. This time, the lake shore had receded, and the flamingoes were visible only from the distance. We did drop in on a group of lions digesting their breakfast. Judging by the bones that the hyenas were eloping with, and the fullness of their bellies, they must have caught a warthog.

Elswehere, over twenty vehicles were about to witness the hunting of another seemingly unknowing warthog at the edge of a swamp. A lioness slowly closed in on the warthog, nearly shutting off all escape routes, while another less interested lioness watched from the distance. Maybe she decided her friend should do the work this time. It was a game of chess, playing out over minutes, almost an hour. The lioness may have been only 30 yards away from the warthog, waiting for it to drink from the swamp. But it would never turn its back long enough for her to make the the dash. Lions were not as fast as cheetahs and in contrast to leopards were not able to hunt at night. They could sustain a top speed of 60 km/hr for only a hundred  meters or so. Well, unfortunately for the lioness, and much to the delight of the women audience, the warthog finally either smelled or saw the lions ears poking out from the grass.

After the failed coup, the two lionesses left the site, walking along the edge of the swamp. It was easy to know where they were heading as all of the animals, including wildebeest and zebras stood frozen looking into a single direction, frozen and attentive.  With this fearful respect paid by hundreds of animals, even hundreds of meters from the lions, it was clear why the lions received their title as kings of the animal kingdom.

Finally, we were able to find several hippopotamus pools.  But other than sleeping motionlessly in the swamps or swimming along the surface of the water far away from human activity, there was little to see. We also encountered some unusual birds, such as the pale-chanting goshawk, secretary birds, bateleurs, and the Kori bustard.

Hippo Pool 

 Bateleur

Kori Bustard

Water Buffalo

We left the crater in the afternoon to spend one last night on the road. this time we stayed in a newly opened hotel, which was intended to become a spa, on the outer hillsides of the crater. The hotel owner, Willy Chambolo, descended from African and German natives of Tanzania. He was a guide in the National Parks for many years, but ten years ago decided to enter the hotel business, in addition to managing several (mainly coffee) farms. He was running about ten hotels in the area. The Kitela Lodge was completely designed by him, with the design being adapted from a South African hotel, with palm reed thatched roofs, high ceilings. The hotel consisted of several bungalows, clustered around a hacienda-styled reception area, and adjacent to his vegetable garden and coffee plantation.  The plants were treated with recycled and treated water, the houses were powered with solar panels. There were fireplaces everywhere, in the bar, the restaurant, and in every bungalow. We were still at an altitude of 1900 meters, so that made sense. Drinks were free, we tried a local infusion, and his kitchen utilized only vegetable grown organically in his garden. while eating supper, they arranged the room, as in most other hotels, closing the mosquito net around the beds, closed the shutters, but in this case, they also started a fire in the fireplace. The pool and spa areas were not ready yet, but the Kitela lodge was already booked out completely for several months to come.

The next day we left for the Kilimanjaro international Airport. We stopped at one more handcrafts outlet, employing local artists.  We were going to spend our last Tanzanian Schillings, but managed to also leave a few dollars there after some hard bargaining. The propeller plane barely seated ten passengers. One of the main reasons for booking a flight to return was to fly over and photograph Kilimanjaro. The only problem was that it was under a cloud cover that day, and apparently this was the weather since we had left the mountain. I guess the guides were not carrying their umbrellas to ward off the clouds.

 Hussein, our guide

Cloud-covered Kilimanjaro 

Over the clouds 

7/2-3

Over the next two days in the Serengeti, we would see a plethora of birds, including Secretary birds, Hammerkop, Red-billed Francolins, Helmeted Guineafowl, Fischer's lovebirds, Crested cranes, Superb Starlings, Lilac-breasted rollers and a multitude of sunbirds, hornbills, shrikes and vultures.  More importantly, we also encountered cheetahs, lions and leopards, animals I had not seen on my previous safaris.

 Lilac-breasted roller

 Superb starlings

Sunbirds

The zebras and wildebeest started on their migration to the Kenyan Maasai Mara, at times in long single files, usually the zebras taking the lead.  On their way they grazed, usually in the morning or in the evening, waded into the streams or enjoyed the shade of an acacia.

We watched the zebras and Wildebeest entering a waterhole. The zebras usually led the way, as the Wildebeest were more fearful of drowning or being attacked. The zebras piled in, waist-deep in the water, huddled in long chains side-by-side, until there was a random noise or splash in the water, a growl of an imaginary lion or the plunge of a crocodile, and all of the zebra, along with the rare Wildebeest evacuated the waters in a chaotic pandemonium. Once they made it safely to shore, they stopped, reflected, reassessed the imagined threat, then one by one they entered the pond, retunring to the same formation. They enjoyed the water for a few seconds, before another unfamiliar noise disrupted their pleasure.

Zebras and wildebeest hanging out under a shady 

acacia 

In "again" 

Out "again"

There were numerous animals with offspring, elephants, wildcats, zebras and giraffes. We followed two baby hippos running through the brush to escape our cameras (or were they just late for school?).

There were a few hippos, but they lay mainly submerged in the streams. They were most active in the nighttime.  Lions and tigers were also generally lazing around all day, usually resting 20 hours a day. They were active only while hunting, which occurred mainly early at daybreak or at sunset.

We were able to watch these larger cats hunt on several occasions.  Usually, the animals could be spotted by an observant guide like Hussein, or by other cars stopping along the road. We encountered only a handful of jeeps the whole morning. We encountered a cheetah with three cubs that playfully wandered to a waterhole past a tribe of Thompson gazelle. The cubs playfully pranced toward the petrified gazelles, some retreating, others stiffened in opposition, facing the threat like statues of indignation.

We watched three lions creeping up on a herd of water buffalo, surely looking for a calf that would wander off from its mother. There they lay, crouching in the tall grass, for an hour, waiting, crawling a few inches, then crouching and watching. The herd had not noticed them until a clan of Thompson gazelle approached them. They were alerted by their smell which was carried by a breeze over the tops of the waving grass.

In another area, we encountered hyenas and vultures, a sure sign of a successful hunt. Nearby we would expect to find a pack of lions that were obviously satiated. 

And some mating ostriches. The male announces his interest by hurling and weaving his head side to side in a rather awkward fashion. this lasted for several minutes, while the female sat down on the ground. He then approached her with his wings spread and lowered himself onto her back. Again he started to shake his head in a similar fashion while rhythmically flapping his wings with every thrust. After a few seconds it was all over. He stood up, proudly arranging his feathers (like adjusting the knot of his tie), and departed leaving the female on the ground.

Time to get dressed!

We also saw several lonely old giraffes, buffalo and elephants. These animals appeared to be banished from their clans. Retirees without a retirement home, waiting to die in their solitude.

We visited the a Maasai cave, where the tribesmen performed the circumcisions of boys in a time when they were still allowed to live in the park, over thirty years ago. There were cave paintings, in red, black and white, some depicting an elephant hunt, which was part of the transition of adolescence into manhood. Those rituals have long been abandoned with the protection of the animals.We visited another site, the Ngong rocks ("ngong" means knuckles).  The stones were naturally hollowed, and striking them would produce a gong-like sound to notify the neighboring Maasai settlements of important meetings.

 Petroglyphs of an elephant hunt

 Circumcision cave

 Adoleascent boys banned to live away from their 

village for six months after their circumcision (they 

are fed by their families during this period) 

The "Ngong" Rocks

Safaris in Style

6/24 

We were picked up by shuttle to Moshi. It was a six hour trip over paved roads, through the Maasai country in southern Kenya called Amboseli. Hilly terrain, red clay soil so typical for the Rift Valley. We met two young ladies on thebus, each traveling alone. Heline was just out of college, waiting to hear from medical schools in the United States. She was from North Carolina, a daughter of history professors who travelled the world. Her mother's expertise was in African history and that may have nurtured her passion for the continent. She worked as an educator about HIV in Moshi, living in a house without running water or electricity. She was returning from a weekend in Nairobi with friends and acquaintances, weekends serving to recharge her batteries.  She had learned some Swahili, but not enough to mingle with the locals. The other woman was Carolyn, and she had just graduated from law school in Toronto. She had a rather extensive travel itinerary, which included southern and western Kenya, Arusha and the Serengeti, Zanzibar, then Zimbabwe, and finally a few months in Eastern Europe. Luz was most impressed with the  courage of these women to travel alone, especially in Africa. Up on the mountain, we met other single women from England and Russia.

We crossed the border at Namanga. We had to get out of the bus, line up at the Kenyan  toll boths, then walk across to Tanzania. The visas cost  $100 instead of $50, but that really did not phase any of the the Western tourists. We all just wanted to get across.

Onward to Arusha, the northern most metropolitan center of Tanzania. The city of flowers, organized and well-developed, in the shadow of the volcanic Mt Meru. These names were derived from local tribes or nations, the Warusha who lived south of Mt. Meru, the  and the Lameru tribes, living north of the mountian. Arusha was also in the headlines as the host of the Rwandan tribunals, seeking justice for crimes of genocide during the recent civil war between the Hutus and the Tutsies. A few hours later, we arrived at the Mountain Inn at the outskirts of Moshi, which was run by Shah Tours.  The hotel appeared to be a remodeled school or government health clinic.  It was organized and clean, except for the shower the trcurtains which sustained mold. We also had to remind the staff to turn on our hot water before venturing into the shower. One of travel guides met with our family to review details regarding the Kilimanjaro ascent. She explained that we would be accompanied by two guides,   8 porters, and by a cook. She explained the need to maintain a safe speed, "pole, pole" or just nice and slow, remain hydrated.  She also explained that the porters would arrive several hours before us at each hut, along with the cook.  She recommended we pay the guides about $80-100 and the porters about $30-50. We had calculated similar amounts according to the suggestion of a travel guide, i.e. about $5 per participant per day.

Mt. Meru next to Arusha

6/25 

The next day we were driven to the gate of the Kilimanjaro National Park.  The gate was at 1900 meters elevation, and the 1000 meter climb though coffee fields gave us hardly enough opportunities to decompress our nasopharyngeal passages. At the gate, we finally met our guides, Josephat and Faustin. They were both experienced, and licensed guides, however, their English skills were limited. After we registered ourselves at the gate, we were released to embark on our four-night, five-day, journey to summit the highest peaks of the Kilimanjaro.   The first leg of the hike led to the Mandara Hut at 2700 meters elevation. The ascent, at times steep, crossed through a tropical rainforest. This stage would  challenge most casual hikers, especially when combining the steep ascent with of altitude and humidity. The thick brush gave way to taller trees, covered by moss and ferns. We encountered our first monkeys, Colobus monkeys with their long white fluffy tails that blended in with dangling tufts of moss. Colobus monkeys remained in the distance, and while I patiently waited for them to emerge from behind the foliage, I was attacked by ants of various sizes, all of which shared the desire bite and sting any intruder.  This ant colony would mark the Colobus territory on the return trip. After arriving at the Mandara hut, a short excursion took us around the rim of the Maundi crater, one of the many reminders of Kilimanjaro's volcanic birth and demise. The rim of the crater was adorned with opulent flora and hanging moss that danced in breeze, it's bottom merely a soft meadow. Above the crater, there was a gradual transformation of the tropical rainforest into a pine forest. On our return to the camp, we encountered a couple Colobus monkeys flaunting their fluffy white tails which blended with the moss, a pack of blue monkeys making their gradual descent into the more tropical montane forest, and a rock hyrax which decided to sleep in a tree instead.  The huts were similar in all of the camps. They were alpine-styled A-frames, with separate entrances into 4-6 bed rooms from either end. There were windows, but also an opening for ventilation at the top. A dim LED light inside was powered by a solar panel built on the roof. No, there was no heating, no outlets to charge your phones or running water. Bathrooms were outside, mainly outhouses, but even toilets, which tended to malfunction, and at least one shower stall.  The cook prepared three-course breakfasts and dinners, as well as box lunches that Faustin carried as they would not fit into our backpacks.  We would receive soup, first a cucumber soup which struck our fancy, then a pasta with some vegetable sauce, and a dessert. This, we drank with water, tea or Milo. Breakfasts were also hearty, beginning with fruit, such as mango, papaya or orange, porridge, then eggs with sausage and toast, with the same condiments. The box lunches consisted of grilled chicken, egg, mango or pineapple juice, a sandwich and sweet. There was no question we would remain well-nourished throughout the trip, even if the diet became repetitive. It was amazing that the porters would carry all of this food almost to a altitude of 5000 meters, in addition to our bags and their belongings. In addition, the porters would carry our water supply up to Kibo, cooking about 6-8 liters of water per day.  We never saw our cook, only Joaquin, one of the porters, who diligently served our meals, without ever breaking a smile. 

Mawenzi's peak to the left

Blue monkeys

6/26 

The temperature was still moderate, dropping down to single digits on the Celsius scale.  I attempted to take a shower, and the water was colder than the morning air.  It was pretty much decided that would be my last shower for the remainder of the trip; Luz bravely ventured into the showers at the next hut, and that would her last as well.  We ascended across the Shira plateau, which resulted from the collapse of one of Kilimanjaro's three peaks, the Shira peak. This occurred in the last millennium, bearing witness to the volcanic activity even to this day.  The plateau consisted of only heath and moorland, pines and other evergreens replaced the lush tropical vegetation. On the way, we passed a smaller peak, the Kifilnika, which was a site of sacrificial rituarelay the local Chagga and Maasai people. It was on this stretch that we became acquainted with our guides. Josephat was the leader of the team, including the cook and the porters.  Faustin, who was also licensed, remained his assistant. Both of them were in their forties, both had economy-sized families, with two children. Faustin appeared to have more interest and knowledge in the plants and vegetation, but less ability to communicate with us in English. The important Swahili expressions we had to learn, particularly the boys, who were always walking ahead, were "pole, pole" ("slow, slow") and "hakuna matata" ("don't worry...be happy").   We were blessed with sunny skies, good health (no dysentery or other febrile illnesses), but we began to notice  the elevation dragging our stride.  Yes, "pole, pole" became our mantra, as Faustin took over at the head of our group.  The next hut was hut was Horombo, at 3720 meters. Faustin took us on another short excursion before dinner, this time to the Zebra Rocks.  The Rocks were located 300 meters above the camp and accessible on a straight path up a steep hillside. It would be good for our acclimatization, he suggested. Climbers in the Himalayas also ascended beyond the base camps to better tolerate the elevation.  We arrived at the Rocks out of breath and thristy, as he did not explain that it would be a four mile round trip.  The Rocks had a sacred aura, honored by stone pyramids and pillars built by climbers, overshadowed by Mawenzi's 5200 meter peak. Luz added her own creation which Dani immortalized.  In the dining huts, we met a few Americans, two Austrian men, and a Russian geologist who appears to have travelled the world, but hardly on a professor's salary. The night was cold, temperatures dipping into the freezing range.

Kifilnika Peak

Zebra Rocks

6/27    It was remarkable that the vegetation persisted up to 4000 meters elevation, far higher than in Europe or in America. The shrubs persisted, desert flowers still bloomed.  Beyond that point, only a few plants remained, ones that could  survive the cold and drought of the alpine desert.  We were surrounded by a  Lunar or Martian landscape dominated by the two highest masses of Kilimanjaro, the Kibo and the Mawenzi separated by an arid saddle. There was no more water past this point. Kibo hut was nestled at the foot of the final steep trail to the snowy at an elevation of 4700 meters,  the height of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe.  When we arrive at our bunk beds (about 12 beds per room) the custodian was washing up a fresh sample of emesis, probably from the one of the hikers who was zonked out in his sleeping bag on the other end of the room. Yes, we did ask for other beds, and were all accommodated as a family in a room to ourselves.

We were supposed to go to sleep at 6 pm, to rest for at least six hours, before embarking on the final ascent to the top of the Kibo.  All of the hikers would be awoken at 11 pm by their guides, eat a short snack, dress up in multiple layers, and depart by midnight.  Why midnight? The short explanation is in order to arrive at Gillman's point by sunrise. Most peaks are summoned at daybreak in order to celebrate the rising sun. Our guides told us that most hikers would not want to see the steep ascent to the rim of the Kibo. I presume both explanations have some validity, but the main reason is to return to a more tolerable elevation, i.e. to Horombo, in a timely fashion. No matter why, the nocturnal ascent, particularly because of the temperatures, was the reason for carrying pounds and pounds of winter clothing. 

The alpine desert before Kibo

                                             The Saddle between Mawenzi and Kibo peaks

Kibo's Marangu ascent (right of

Gillman's point), with Kibo huts

at the base (white specks)         

                                  

                                                                                                                                         

6/28  

Luz and Miklos read multiple accounts of the final ascent. While travel guides suggested a 70-90% success rate of reaching the top, but only 30-40% make it up to the highest point on Kibo, Uhuru (or "Freedom") peak. It is important to point out that being a successful athlete, even marathon runner, does not guarantee any success in making it up to the top. Smokers may even have an advantage in tolerating hypoxemia better than runners. In order to avoid altitude sickness, hydration is paramount. Pretreatment with acetazolamide, a carboxyanhydrase inhibitor is much more debated. It works as a diuretic but also changes the pH in the tissues, facilitating the release of oxygen by hemoglobin in the tissues. Many hikers swear by it, but our guides tired to dissuade us from using it. There is no clear direction of when to start taking it, but we started a 125 mg twice a day at 3000 meters which we titrated to 250 mg three times daily before final ascent.  If it helps avoid severe altitude sickness with brain edema even in a small percentage, it is advisable to take it and is relatively innocuous.

The climb was supposed to last  6 1/2 hours, at subzero temperature and air pressures 40% of that at sea level. It would be challenge for all of us, slowly ascending in the darkness.  The climb would be a greater challenge for all of us than expected.  Luz and I knew that all we had to do was take one step at a time, breathe deeply and regularly, forget about the cold, any other distractions for the next six hours.  The boys, who had never hiked before, became overwhelmed by the sheer elevation, length of the ascent, and the cold. They were focused on the headlights of other climbers, suspended in the darkness, and the hikers that were keeling over in our path, partly due to fatigue, or nausea and vomiting due to altitude sickness.   I was amazed how many of these hikers just continued onwards, some not even remembering the ascent due to hypoxemia. Josephat succeeded at convincing both of the boys to complete the ascent, even without the needed English skills, just singing Church hymns, encouraging the boys, with "twende, twende", and reassuring them with "hakuna matata". We made it to Gillman's Point (5680 meters) little after sunrise, enjoying the full weight of the sun's rays on our shoulders. We stood on the Eastern edge of Kibo's crater, catching our breaths and warming up with a cup of tea, looking down at the sun and Maenzi's peak, on top of Africa.   After a few photographs, Luz and the boys made their gradual descent tot he Kibo hut from there.  I continued onwards to Uhuru Peak (5891 meters) with Faustin. We proceeded along the edge of the main crater of Kibo, eventually traversing across snow fields that capped the mountain and the glaciers below. Luz and the boys encountered a group of hikers who had oxygen tanks for the ascent...and the descent. Somehow, not very "descent".  The sheer size of the glaciers, even though they were shrinking, was still immense. Pristine ridges of ice and snow lined the path to Uhuru,along the northwestern face of the mountain. Not even my Oakleys were prepared to deal with the scattered sunlight. I had to remove several layers of clothing to make the ascent.  Faustin must have been in a hurry to arrive at the Kibo hut. We made it in little over two hours, including a long stretch that we  "skied"  down the trail cutting across the traverses we had ascended the night before.  My quadriceps had stiffened in the process, and would not relax for the next 48 hours. One of my Austrian friends who climbed Uhuru, Andreas, had done the same, and we commiserated briefly at Kibo hut. When we arrived at Horombo, I realized that my toenails had caused bleeding in the nailed, but all were intact.

Sunrise below Gillman's Point                         

Part of the main crater from Gillman's Point                                            

 Miklos and Luz, Faustin to their right.                                           

Glimpse of Uhuru Peak                                             

Remaining glaciers on the Kibo                                             

We asked the guides to get her the entire team for group photograph against the backdrop of Mawenzi, as the sun was setting behind Kibo. We also decided to pay the tips, $8 per day per person (at least $5 was recommended by our Kilimanjaro guide book, $5-6 per day per person form the porters and the cook. The group sang a farewell song about Kilimajaro, that had been trapped in the embrace of a large snake (zungu, not mzungu which means "white").  We heard other stoics prior to our descent, about an oriental hiker paying less than $3 per person per day, or an American group, forgetting to tip their cook. The best approach to avoid these issues, is to be informed ahead of time. One has to realize that each team does only about 6-10 trips per year, so that's he's tips do make a difference to their annual income.

Mawenzi Peak while descending Kibo                                            

 The "Team"                                           

6/29  On our descent from Horombo, we were no longer in the "pole, pole" mode. Instead we crossed the different biospheres at a accelerated pace, almost as though we were crossing time zones in a space ship.  Large groups of mainly American youngsters passed us on their way up. It seems that we made it before the peak "Peak" season! We arrived at Mountain Inn after a ten hour hike, to find warm water to wash our bodies, a place to wash our clothes, and a place to drink a Coke, whiskey (for Luz and myself) and eat Pringles. Finally, we were able to contact our family members, even if for just a minute at a time, to tell them we had all made it to the top and had returned healthy.

Mountain Inn on Moshi's periphery                                           

                                 
6/30

The next day, we were on our way to Arusha to join up with Takim Tours for a second, five-day Safari to Lake Manyara, Olduvai Gorge,  Serengeti National Park, and Ngorogoro National Reserve.  Luz and I were completely sore from the exertion of the last two days, especially the practically anaerobic exercise when we climbed the peak. The boys were also a bit stiff, but hardly complained of muscle soreness. The office of Takim Tours overlooked the main outdoor market place in Arusha, i.e. centrally located. The office was large, with an entrance hall, several bathrooms, spacious offices, which had minimal furniture, and not a single picture on the wall. No picture of a Maasai, a lion, or the Kilimanjaro.  The agent, Salma, was very friendly, informative, and provided us with a guide who had a wealth of experience as a guide, Hussein. Our car was a Toyota jeep, in good shape, very different from Shah Tours transport vans, that practically fumigated its passengers with exhaust fumes.  Hussein, had an extensive background as a tour guide. He had worked as a park patrol at Ngorogoro Crater for two years, protecting elephants and rhinoceri from poachers. He had  been shot at, and he had been trained to kill poachers, who were often better armed  than the park security. This portion of the trip was to be a grand finale, visiting famous parks and reserves, while enjoying first class hotels, serving somewhat as a rehabilitation from the hardships on Kilimanjaro. There were camping trips which ran at less than half the price we were paying per person, but we decided, we would not be back to these parks so soon.   We started for Lake Manyara, where I had been in 1990. We entered the Rift Valley, defined by ridges and  volcanic spouts. In 1990, I did not realize anything about the geological importance of this region. It never occurred to me that the Rift Valley had defined the Nile's passage to Egypt instead of the Indian Ocean.  Imagine the development of an Egyptian civilization without the Nile.  In 1990,  I could only afford a two-day, one night tour, which also included a overnight stay at the only government hotel at that time, built on the rim of the crater. At that time,  I visited in April, at the tail end of the rainy season. The roads were covered by a few inches of water, and the cars appeared to be driving on the surface. Lake Manyara was also flooded, with flamingoes, pelicans and hippopotami lining the shallow waters. Giraffes, elephants, water buffalo and wild boars  densely populated the coastal forests,  and the muddy roads criss-crossing the park. This time, The edge of the lake had already receded, with the flamingoes and hippopotami remaining I the distance. Nonetheless, we did encounter large groups of baboons, blue monkeys, elephants, zebras and gazelle, but no tree lions or leopards.  Baobab trees jutted out across the hillsides, some several hundred years old. When entering a dry season, they retain water, and look like they are sporting a beer belly. Thy also lose their leaves, to avoid any further water evaporation.

A 200 year old baobab tree

We spent the night in a beautiful hotel, the Kirurumu Tented Lodge, overlooking Lake Manyara. Getting there was an adventure in itself, driving on dusty earthen back roads.  Housing was in separate buildings built from local  volcanic stone. The hotel was filled with American retirees, which was a surprise. Most Americans we had met so far were young and unmarried. This group just showed that there is another type of tourism, if you have the money, where travel was safe and comfortable. One just hopes they don't develop chest pain here.  The service at the hotel was friendly and excellent, but as in most hotels on our route, the internet was either slow or not working.   Maasai guarded the hotel; they also carried the bags of tourists. They were not willing to model for photographs, however, as if abiding by strict rules of engagement.  I remember the Maasai never allowed themselves to be photographed, only if they were paid. In Kenya, the Maasai felt that Westerners could steal their souls with their cameras. I had taken care of so many Maasai families in 1990, I should have been granted ample opportunities to photograph these tall, outlandish appearing nomads, draped in colorful, bright red or blue or sometime yellow robes. It never happened.

 Kirirumu's Dining "Room"                                              

A two story "cabana"                                              

View of Lake Manyara                                                         

                                                 
7/1

The Maasai are particular in their habits and traditions. straddled across Kenya and Tanzania, these nomadic peoples have been granted a special status by both governments, but particularly by Tanzania. the Tanzanian government aims to assimilate the Maasai by requiring the children to be educated, and be able to speak Swahili and English. The government has also provided free health care.  However, it has not succeeded to discourage the Maasai to pursue certain rituals, such as male and female circumcision at puberty.   Boys are then required to spend 6 months in the wilderness, before retuning home as an adult. girls may already be slated to be married to well-to-do bridegrooms, ready to add to their "harems".  The fathers of the brides benefit greatly from the ceremony, receiving 10 head of goat, sheep and cattle as dowry. The Maasai villages serve as temporary housing, built of wooden fences with thorny outcroppings, surrounding a circle of homes built from cow dung on a wooden skeleton. The homes usually houses one wife and her 4-6 children.  The husband has a separate home, but visits his wives's homes. The homes have sleeping areas that are partitioned merely by leather or cloth so it seems that intimate relations occur in intimate spaces.  The Maasai continue to thrive in their nomadic life, occasionally living from the bleeding of their cattle and milk from their animals. The government had forbidden any pictures in consensus with the Maasai desire to remain away from media attention and the distraction from tourism. The government allocated particular villages for tourism use. We visited one village which was open to the public. The boys were a bit put off by the show.  We crossed along the edge of the Ngorogoro crater, with the basin submerged in cloud cover or fog. We descended along a depression also caused by the implosion of a volcano, an entire mountain.  Here the Maasai were permitted to settle. The depression opened into the vast plains of the Serengeti.

Maasai Traditional Jumping Competition

Inside one of the huts

Before entering the next park, we visited Olduvai Gorge. The gorge was named after a plant, actually oldupai, that was ubiquitous in the Serengeti, a thin reed-like cactus that the baboons and other animals would eat in times of drought. The Oldupai Gorge was the site of the first findings of prehisotric skeletons belonging to Homo sapiens by a German, Hans Reck, in 1913, while Tanzania was still a German colony. Louis and Mary Leakey started visiting this site in the 1920s, then settled here.  Over the course of decades, they found several more ancient skeletons, tools and even footprints, including  the famous Lucy, who was shown by genetic tests to be a foremother of 3 million years. Very little was on display at this museum, but it was interesting to see how erosions over the millennia had helped to unearth several layers of sediment.  In the deepest layers they found several million year old hominid, Australopithecus afarensis, and the "nutcracker" Austrlopithecus boisei, who was large, but still had a brain only one third the size of present day humans. Homo habilis was also discovered, though smaller than the "nutcracker" man, this species had a larger brain and used tools. More superficially, the Leakeys discovered samples of Homo (about a million years old) and Homo sapiens.

Layering of sediment at Oldupai Gorge                                            

I had never been to the Serengeti National Park, although it was famous for viewing large game, particularly wild cats, such as lions or leopards. We entered the park and opened the top of the jeep. Standing in the jeep, feeling the cool wind and looking out over the flat endless plains reminded me of standing in a boat over calm, open waters. The only difference was that the wildlife was mainly under the surface of the sea, here the animals were visible for miles. The tall parched grass, did conceal the smaller animals, even the stealthily, creeping lions.  The roads were bumpy and sometimes filled with other jeeps, which did stir up the dust on the roads. Hussein was an excellent guide, with an immense knowledge about the animals, and people, of Tanzania. More importantly, he spoke English fluently and had an excellent sense of humor.  Both nights in Serengeti, we spent at the Sopa Lodge, a large hotel with windows and balconies overlooking the plains and neighboring hillsides. Animals grazed below the balconies, but we were also visited by entire clans of Vervet monkeys descending from the forest. While catching up without e-mails at the edge of the pool, they entered the hotel grounds one by one, along the sidewalks or rooftops, looking for any way to approach the kitchen and restaurant. One of the waiters tried to scare them off with a sling-shot, but it was a futile guerilla (monkey) war in such close quarters.

Vervet monkeys invading the pool at the Serengeti 

Sopa Lodge