I arrived at Amsterdam, met Jim and his son James and we all continued the journey to Nairobi together. Unfortunately I ended up in a middle seat between Jim and a french guy who had a different opinion about personal space than I did... Oh well. We had a different apartment at the Woodmere than the previous year. It was nice enough, but I liked the place from last year better.

 

We stayed in Nairobi again and revisited the Kenya Geological Survey to obtain the rest of the maps for the Kenya Rift that we didn’t get last year. This year’s visit went a lot smoother, thankfully. We made a list of all the maps we already had and just dropped that off and asked them to gather all the other maps so we could pick them up later. We did drive around to check out some other apartments, but I didn’t think any of them were as nice as the Woodmere, but I realize I’m spoiled.

We picked up all of our maps today to the tune of 14,467 shillings (about $200) . Which wasn’t too bad as that did get us 50 maps/reports. Since I failed to buy some of the things I wanted from the elephant orphanage last year, we dropped by there today and I was able to relieve my non-buyer’s guilt and, of course, see cute baby elephants.

 

  So, one of Jim’s bags didn’t arrive with him on Saturday, and it was still missing today. We headed off to the airport to check in person, and a very nice man, Max, from Amicabre (the Safari company we rent the cars from) chased it down... Jim’s lost baggage file had been closed, but Max called the airline again and got a new person who claimed Jim’s bag really WAS at the airport and sitting in the room next to the office.....Hmmmm....suspicious.....After the bag was picked up, Max gave those airline people a very harsh earful. Lesson learned: Don’t give up on lost luggage, and get someone who knows the inner workings of the airport on your side to ferret it out.

 

    While we were driving around today we saw a blind beggar and his helper working the traffic stopped at a traffic light. Billy said that a beggar like that can make around 1000 shillings a day... Billy only makes 350 shillings a day driving for the Safari company! I spent about ten times his daily wages on pretty fabrics at the elephant orphanage. We also pay between $75-$100 a day for the car and Billy - you would think that Billy could get more than $4 a day out of that.... Jim at least tips Billy quite well for his excellent services.

After having to take a cold shower Tuesday, we were informed today that there was a switch in Jim’s room for the hot water heater that had somehow been turned off...In fact, a number of appliances in these apartments are connected to switches, most are labeled, but the switch for the water heater wasn’t...at least it was an easy thing to fix, as otherwise it may have taken much longer to get hot water if something had really been broken and needed fixing.

    We made our first trip to Lake Magadi today, and it was very hot. We tried the coring apparatus and discovered the power of the vacuum of the core hole. It tended to steal about half the core from our collection tubes. For lunch we went to the Maasai Club that Jim discovered last year after I left. It was pretty nice, they had shade, a set up that tended to catch whatever breeze there was and, most importantly, cheap, cold, beer.

Our coring results were better today at Magadi- we managed to get 6 full cores from one hole, but on the 6th one, the suction was so great that Jim and James spent 45 minutes or so trying to free the coring apparatus. Imagine laying on a hot mudflat and sticking your arm as far down a core hole as possible to try and release the vacuum..

    When we went to the Maasai bar today it was very crowded as apparently it was pay day for the factory workers and the Maasai were waiting for their milk money (literally).  We sat next to an older Maasai woman who didn’t want to move, but apparently didn’t have too much of a problem with sitting with a bunch of white folks. Jim bought her a couple of beers, and she was pretty friendly and spoke through Billy with us. When we left, Billy told us  that she had been drunk before we sat down with her. I guess when you don’t know the language and you can’t tell when someone is slurring (and since she was sitting, we couldn’t see any physical coordination impairment), it can be fairly hard to judge drunkenness.

    On the drive back to Nairobi I rescued a small tortoise from the road. I probably put him in the ditch he started from, thus setting him back an hour and not earning me any tortoise brownie-points. At least I felt noble for granting him the chance to not be squished by the next car. Later in the drive we also saw a large troupe of baboons in the road- I’m not quite sure why they choose to congregate in the road, but I don’t see too many baboon road-kills so they must be able to handle it...

    On a random note, I discovered today that “cottage cheese” in Kenya is a fairly different beast from what I’m used to in the States. It has the consistency of a soft cheese, rather than the curds and whey I’m used to.

 

We arranged a trip to Arusha today. James will arrange a Kilimanjaro climb when we get there. We went to the Village Market, which is a pretty nice shopping center and has a great food court, for lunch today. The Maasai Market apparently is at different places during different parts of the week, and on Fridays it’s at the Village Market. I’m still not comfortable with the whole haggling thing, but I was better prepared than last year’s adventure with Kate.. I was quick to say ‘No’ to the “package deal” thing. One interesting maneuver is when the seller takes out a piece of paper and starts the price list. Like, he’ll charge this much for so and so, this much for so and so, and this low price is for you! And then you haggle a bit and they cross things out etc.. So, this guy wanted 4800 shillings (about $50) for one batik! I got a lovely  batik for 200 or 300 shillings last year so that was a rather shocking figure.  I told him how much I wanted to pay, and amusingly, the man informed me that this wasn’t how haggling worked. I said I knew that, but didn’t really have the skill for it, so I left.. The guy chased me down and said “OK- 800 shillings”- that was 4000 shillings less than his original asking price! I think the normal piece of advice to tourists is to ask for half the original asking price, but that still would be quite the money maker for these guys!

    And, they always ask where you are from before starting the price game, and I’m sure they base the initial price on your nation of origin... I think if I do this again I’ll empty my wallet and claim I’m Canadian.

On the way to Magadi we got stuck behind a military precession that was for some “Isn’t the military great” day. They had a bunch of tents out for free clinics for the sick- for today only of course.

    When we got to Magadi, the guard at the gate mentioned getting a guide to the hotsprings.. We ignored him, but we discovered that at the edge of the town there was a toll gate for people who wanted to see the springs. He wanted 200 shillings per person, plus a fee for the car. He claimed that they had been doing this since December, but we had already been out there several times and there had been no sign of a toll process... Jim didn’t feel like paying the toll, and he also considered the entire thing suspect, so we turned around an investigated some stuff on the edge of the lake instead. I tried in vain to catch some Tilapia that live in the little pools around the lake... they are fast little buggers and would require more than an aquarium fish-net and more persistence than I was willing to throw at the endeavor.

Today we headed to Arusha. It was a little tricky at the boarder and Billy had to do some bribing to get a paper he needed stamped. While we were waiting for Billy at one of the several buildings we had to go to, I saw a neat looking painting across the street at one of the street vendors. This place had a rather nice system where hawkers weren’t allowed within a certain line around the building. So I left my money and Maasai bracelet (I didn’t want to look like a sucker) with Jim and headed across the street. He started at 1500 shillings, I countered with 800, and we agreed on 1200. So I got a nice piece of art for about $15, and it was nice that he started at a reasonable starting point instead of the batik vendor on Friday.

    When we finally got to Arusha we checked into the hotel, and got 3 rooms. The exchange rate in Tanzania was 1100 shillings/ dollar, so I ended up with a wallet full of 10,000 Tanzania shilling bills. They had rather pretty money too. They were different colors, with the 10,000 note being pink with an elephant, the 5000 purple with a rhino, the 2000 yellow with a lion and the 500 is green with a water buffalo. They also had pretty coins that featured animals as well.

I was able to hop online in the morning, and chat with people back in the states as it was around midnight their time. Our rooms come with a free continental breakfast that was pretty good and had nice service. James, Billy and I went around and checked out various travel agents for James’ climb and setting up something for Jim and I to go to Ngorongoro crater. We finally ended up at Tanzania Private Select Safaris LTD. and the owner was very helpful, honest and knowledgeable. He even informed us of park fees that all the other places had glossed over, and referred James to Zara in Moshe who he said was the best for Kilimanjaro climbs.

    Jim and I returned later in the day and arranged lodging in Karatu for our trip to Ngorongoro.We decided to just drive around the crater as it’s $100 per car for the privilege of driving into the crater. Apparently it’s a big tourist place to see game animals.

    For dinner we went to the in-hotel Indian restaurant that was supposed to be really good. And it was, I had some sort of anise flavored chicken dish in a cashew cream sauce.

Jim dropped James off in Moshe in the morning and later Jim and I headed to Karatu which was up on the escarpment. We were staying at the Kudu lodge which was recommended by the Safari company guy in Arusha. It was pretty much empty since it wasn’t high tourist season, and the setting was lovely. They had amazing gardens and there were so many birds. The food here was excellent, and I’d love to come here again sometime.

We drove up to Ngorongoro, and the entry fee was $30 each and $5 for the car. Mind you, that this was to just drive around the rim, not to enter the crater which would have been an extra $100. The drive was amazing and quite slow going. The roads were rough and non-paved, and I couldn’t imagine trying to do this in a sedan. At the top near the crater rim, the vegetation thinned out and it got pretty windy and chilly. We headed down the other side to go to Ol Dupai, and due to the rain shadow the environment changed pretty drastically- driving up the east side was wet and rainforest-like, but the west side was dry and scrubby. We saw lots of gazelle and a wild giraffe!

    We got to Ol Dupai, went through their museum, got a wonderful view of the gorge, and enjoyed a great boxed lunch provided by the Kudu lodge. We found out that the actual name for the place IS ‘Ol Dupai’ rather than ‘Ol Duvai’ like it is mostly known as. Apparently “Ol Dupai” means “place of the reeds” and “Ol Duvai” is simply a corruption of the original. It was a little confusing those as the names seemed to be used interchangeably on maps and signs.

    NOTE: Don’t assume salads have lettuce... I got a Greek salad for dinner and I got a plate of tomatoes, onions and feta cheese chunks topped with green and black olives and a dressing. But no lettuce. Tasty, but not what I was expecting.