WE MADE IT!

Highest point in Africa, tallest free-standing mountain in the world. Mt. Kilimanjaro- I seriously underestimated you.

I've been staring at this mountain everyday day when I walk back from the clinic through this lovely open field. The mountain looks so majestic and peaceful, but it is huge, gnarly and cold. Not to say that I didn't have an amazing time doing it but it was much more than I expected in every way. Everyday was a new adventure in new terrain. Day 1 we started at the Machame gate and hiked (in rain- much like hiking at home in late winter, early spring actually) through the rain forest and through the clouds for 6 hours. Unfortunately the rain didn't really let up and because my rain pants turned out to be just pants, the first night was a bit of a negative and chilly intro to the mountain. Day 2 was clearer and drier for the climb up a consistently very steep hillside that involved some rock climbing skills that I didn't previously have, but have now acquired. It was a shorter day (only 3 hours) so we had lunch and a little rest and did a short up and back hike to a near-by camp. Day 3 was dry and cold. You forget that even though it is cold and windy, if there are no clouds in the sky you are going to get burnt. And I did, but I've learned my lesson and if I am ever at 4000m above sea level again I will remember the spf (I wore spf70 for the rest of the climb- that's how strong the sun is.) We hiked up to Lava Towers which is at 4650m for acclimatization and then back down to 3900m to camp. This was the first time that we could really appreciate the scenery now being above all the clouds. It looked like you could just hop down and walk along them for as far as you could see. Quite amazing but it also reminded you of how high up you were. Christine and I were both taking Diamox (altitude sickness meds) so weren't feeling too bad but the illness hit Jen bad. The headache and nausea were described as the worst hangover you have ever had times a thousand. Luckily it only lasted over night and with a leisurely start to the morning she was ready to go again. Such a trooper! Day 4 started out scary. I woke up in the morning to use the more disgusting port-a-potty you could ever imagine. I wasn't really fully awake yet but stumble across some new friends from the UK that were part of a big group climbing for charity. They were looking up at this large rock face that I had noted the night before and told me that was Great Barranco Wall which we would have to go not around, not through, not under but OVER to start off our trek for the day. It involved more rock climbing skills than I previously had but I adapted and now maybe I can do some more rock climbing at home- pretty well a professional now! I also had a slight episode involving my fear of heights that caught me in a moment of weakness as I hugged a boulder 100m above the ground in order to get my footing for the next step. I likened it to the beginning of the Mission Impossible film where Tom Cruise is dangling from the underside of an overhang (that may be a little dramatic!) Christine made a good point in asking why I decided to climb the tallest free-standing mountain in the world if I had a fear of heights- fair question, I had no answer. After I conquered the wall (which was an accomplishment enough for me) we continued to climb in to and out of 3 valleys on the way to Karanga camp. We had lunch and a relaxing afternoon of nothing but napping a scoping out the other climbers. Day 5 started out early at 8am with a 3 hour trip up to Barafu hut which was the last stop before the summit. We did indeed stop but only for 20 minutes. It was only enough time to put on our thermal layers, inhale a power bar and make sure we had enough water with us and it was off to the summit. Six hours later (after some episodes of nausea on my part, I will admit) we reached Stella point which is approximately 100m (altitude) below the peak. It was where I also got my second wind. I was so excited that I was able to challenge myself and make it this far, there was absolutely no way I wasn't going all the way to Uhuru Peak, 5895m above sea level! I crossed my arms to conserve as much heat as possible and I had the most emotional walk with the most breath-taking view. We had walked 9 hours already that day and to say I was a little tired is quite the understatement. I was also really proud of myself. It is always easier to give up and not follow through with something but it feels SO much better when you power on through. That is how good I felt- I won't lie, there may have been a teary eye or two. It's not like I'm mountaineer extraordinaire back at home. Anyway, after 2.5 hours coming back down to Barafu in the dark we were ready for the best sleep of our lives. Unfortunately it didn't happen. It just so happens we were too tired to sleep, it is possible! Day 6 we were meant to hike down to Mwenka hut which is a 4 hour trip and then Day 7 was to be a 3 hour trip back down to the gate. We were all so tired of having Kili's slopes as our rocky mattresses and so ready for a shower that we made it to Mwenka in 2.5 hours and to the gate in 2 hours, all on day 6! It proved to be very rough on the knees and ankles but it felt good to have a proper rest of Friday night.

Kilimanjaro was one of the hardest and more satisfying things that I have ever done! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to feel on top of the world. My limbs; however, are still recovering so if the above doesn't sound like the most carefree and positive details of the trip it's because I'm still a little jaded. Ask me once I am home and I will have nothing but perfect reviews of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Jen, Laura and I are off to Zanzibar and Dar es Saalam tomorrow and internet may not be as easily accessible on the islands. We are all ready for some relaxing in the sun!

Love,
Leila

Tearful goodbyes

This Thursday and Friday were me and Jen's last days of volunteering (me and Jen- that's correct, right Gary?). I can't believe how fast these weeks have flown by. It has been just over 6 weeks- craziness! It was so touching to see how much we had contributed. It wasn't really apparent to either of us until we had to say goodbye and see all of their reactions. There were some tears, I can't lie. We will definitely be staying in contact with the people that we have met here and maybe we'll be able to help even more once we have actual certifications/training. The clinics have been eye opening, I am so glad that I came!

Some of you may be thinking that I am supposed to be volunteering for 7 weeks and it has only been just over 6. Well, that is because Christine, Jen and I are climbing Kilimanjaro in the last week. We start.... tomorrow. Sunday, August 1st at 8am we set off. Wish up luck, it is going to be quite the trip. It will take us 7 days and next weekend there will be even more amazing stories. Tanzania is incredible!

Love you all lots and lots.
Leila

Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti- oh my!

We weren't sure if it would be worth while to go on safari for 4 days but we are SO glad we did. There is so much to see in Tanzania, I will probably have to come back.

Jen, Laura, Christine, Maggie, Elena and I left early on Saturday morning and our guide drove us east towards Arusha and the national parks. The drive to Lake Manyara was about 4.5 hours from Moshi but we were all so tired we slept almost the whole way there. We went to HeavenNature campsite first to drop off the chef and all the gear and then we set off the the park. The campsite is on the crest of the Rift Valley and the park is in the basin of the valley. The wall of the valley runs all the way from Syria to Mozambique! This park was definitely the most green that I have seen in a while. Our guide had eyes like a hawk- he saw everything! Impalas, bushbucks, dik diks, baboons, vervet monkeys, giraffes, hippos, zebras, wildebeest and elephants. Just as we were leaving the park we turned a corner and there was a mama and 2 baby elephants in the middle of the road. The babes retreated to the brush but mama came to check us out- walking literally 6 inches from the side of the jeep. This happened after we were just told about elephant/jeep protocol. Sometime they are known to stick their trunks in the top of the jeep and you have to stay very still because if they feel something there (possibly threatening) they will jab the vehicle with their tusks. I don't think any of us took a breath. We also had a training driver with us who would not take he hand off the ignition. He was ready to get the hell out of there whenever he got his cue. My favorite park for the nature, by far. Very dusty though- little did I know the Serengeti had a present in store for me. Back at the campsite dinner was ready for us at 7:30pm and we all sat around a nice big campfire afterward. It gets amazingly cold at night so we bundled up. Again, the Serengeti would be much more intense.

Day 2 we drove almost 2 hours to Ngorongoro Conservation Area and down into the crater. The crater was formed after a massive mountain volcanic eruption cause the mountain to collapse in on itself because all of the rock on the mountain is limestone, a crater was formed as opposed to protruding mass (fun fact: technically it is a caldera not a crater.) The crater is 600m top to bottom and the drive into was full of narrow roads and steep cliffs. There are a number of Masai (tradition tribal Tanzanian people) villages within the area because it is not actually a national park. The government did try at one point to up route them but failed- rightly so. The crater is very similar to Lake Manyara in it's greenery. A lake in the middle of the crater keeps things well hydrated. Because of this there were loads of zebras, wildebeest and gazelles grazing all over the place. We also saw some pumbas (warthogs- as in timon and pumba... you should see the lion king references coming by now), lions (sunbathing), flamingos (pink and gray- quite cool) and a rhino (through binoculars and definitely not photo compatible.) We stopped at the lake in the crater for our picnic lunch. However, we had to eat it in the car because there were these hawks that would dive bomb you and take your food if you were outside. A game drive after lunch turned out to be a short one when we got stuck behind another jeep with a flat tire. Luckily, it was in the middle of a herd of zebra. They're gorgeous animals, I didn't mind. We were off then for the second worst drive I've had in Tanzania (second to the dala dala to Pangani)- onward to the Serengeti. For such a popular park they have to worst roads- more than one of us got motion sickness. Giraffes just lined the roads on the way to the campsite which was about an hour long drive into the middle of the Serengeti. Got to the campsite in just enough time to set up the tent and table for dinner. That night we were going to have to eat in the caged in shelters, you know, wild animals like the smell of food and hyenas will eat absolutely anything. Before we went to bed we were reminded that we were in the middle of this park and we needed to be prepared for anything that may happen during the night. Example: Lions will often lean on the tents in attempt to feel your body heat (eek!) and if this is to happen gently push it off the tent and it will roam away. Screw that- is what I thought. I'm not touching a freakin lion. Luckily I didn't have to deal with that. If we had to use the bathroom in the night (I drank liquids strategically so that this would not be happening) we had to take a flashlight all around our tent, scan the surrounding bush and trees (because cats eyes will illuminate so we would see them no problem and not to worry- right!), and after every step we took towards the washroom we had to do a 360 degree check around us. I don't know about you but I would pee myself by the time I arrived at the washroom. One, because of nerves, and two, it would take forever. Just as we were packing up and heading for the tent a nice hyena friend strolled on through towards the washroom. I would be peeing in the tent if it came to it.

Day 3 after no late night lion adventures we headed off at 5:45am after a cup of tea to see the sunrise over the Serengeti. Doesn't that sounds like a dream? It pretty well was. It is flat for miles and miles and the colours of the sunrise completely fill the sky! Then it was time for a 6 hour game drive before lunch. If it weren't for the fact that I was IN the place that the lion king was staged in, I would have fallen asleep. Right away we stumbled across some cheetahs lounging in the morning sun, maybe 10 feet from the jeep. We were so lucky to see things so close! We, of course, saw loads of giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and buffalo. Almost immediately after the cheetahs we came across 3 female lions (they are the hunters- independent women!) in hunting formation near a group of buffalo. The lions sit in a triangular "V" shape and the first lion to attack is the one at the furthest point of the V and then the other 2 loop around to make sure the prey doesn't get away. We hung around for about 30 minutes, checking them all out but there was no action to be seen. We did get within 7 feet of a massive lion though which probably will never happen again. After lunch and a nap (it was hard to sleep in the blistering heat of the serengeti) we went out for another drive and found 6 lions and 3 cubs feasting on a buffalo. It would have been cool is that was the product of the hunting formation we saw earlier but I don't think it was, too far away. At the pond there was a huge group of hippos chilling.. I mean baking on the shore. Out of all of the animals in Tanzania the hippo is up there on the list of animals you don't want to mess with. They're seriously underestimated in my book. Just outside the campsite there was a herd (? don't know the official term for a group) of baboons, babies and all, and a couple monkeys. There is a big tree in the campsite right outside the kitchen shelter and they steal anything and everything, take a couple of bites and hurl it with all of their strength to the ground below. No one walks under the tree. More hyena vistors at night too. It is comforting in a way. You can tell by the sound of the steps of the pack that it isn't a lion. "Things could be worse," is what we had to tell ourselves.

Day 4 we were up a reasonable hour (7:15) to have breaky and pack up the jeep. We headed out of the serengeti back towards ngorongoro. The guide took us to an undisclosed location to see "shifting sands." They are mounds of very fine sand and dust that move through the desert (17m per year) towards the equator and then into the Indian or Atlantic Oceans depending on where in Africa the sands are. If it weren't for this migration of sand, sea level would never be constant. It is the recycling of earth's materials- nature is pretty impressive. From there we headed to Olduvai Gorge which is where the first human remains were found, as well as homo habilis and homo erectus and the beginning of the hominid track, buried within millions of years of rock. The exact sites aren't open to the public anymore (for preservation) but we had a view overlooking the entire gorge. As if that wasn't enough for the day, we were then invited into a small Maasai village by a friend of our safari chef. She showed us the inside of these very dark, clay and stick houses and some of the traditions of the Maasai people. Personally, it wasn't the most comfortable I have ever been. I don't think a lot of Westerns frequent these areas. It felt a little like we were invading their space even though we were invited. Finally, we arrived back at the hostel around 10pm, shoved some food down the hatch and went to sleep. Safari takes more out of you than you would think!

Best part...

I forgot the best part about Pangani! We saw 150 baby turtles hatch from their sandy nest and squirm down to the water's edge. I have photos, it was the most lovely thing I've ever seen!

Pangani

So, I stand corrected. Pangani isn't quite an island but a large (and freakin beautiful) peninsula across a river from the mainland. It was a trip that definitely came at a good time. After a month in Moshi, it was time for a little refresher. We took a bus from Moshi east to the coast to Tanga. Tanga is a bit rough around the edges but it was a character building experience trying to figure out the next leg of the journey. The buses are also highly unpredictable so we drank close to nothing on the 6 hour/30 degree drive for fear of being left at the rest stop (we saw it happen- the bus company already has their money and that's all they care about.) We then hopped on the always enjoyable dala dala for a very fast and bumpy ride to Pangani town which was 1.5 hours from Tanga. A quick (Albion-like) ferry ride took us across the river and we found our way to Drifters Lodge. It was recommended to us by a volunteer at our hostel who had been a week before. It worked out to about $7.50 per night including an amazing breakfast full of fresh fruit! We stayed in bandas (small grass huts) right on the beach. Waking up with the sun and open your banda door to find the Indian Ocean 20 feet away is pretty unreal. A sight I didn't think I would ever be lucky enough to see.

Our first day we went with Mark (the South African owner of the lodge) and 5 other guest out on a boat to a remote (literally just a large heap of sand) island about an hour's ride of the coast of Tanzania. The island is surrounded by coral reefs in crystal clear water so we had a fabulous morning of snorkeling and shell collecting. It was Finding Nemo, to a tee! We even saw a Lion Fish which was a little scary but we kept our distance. As it is the winter season Mark was saying that the 4m of visibility into the water is poor. In the summer you can see 10-15m. We told him it was just fine as 4cm visibility in the ocean at home is as stellar as it gets! We rode back to shore and had a wonder around the neighbouring Ushongo village. Pangani isn't a very tourist-y area but we felt very welcomed. A local guy who works part-time at Drifters led us through the winding sandy paths through the village that sat right on the beach. There was a large Muslim wedding happening the weekend we were there so there were people everywhere, I have no idea where they all stayed! Looking like the westerners we are they assumed we had cameras so quickly pulled us in to the family house to take the official wedding photos of the wedding party. Hopefully we will be able to send some photos back so they can cherish the memories too. After being shuffled out of the family house we were taken to sit under a thatched shelter and were served platters and platters of food. It is rude to say no to food but we were going to need a miracle to get through all of it! We had pilau which is rice seasoned with spices from neighbouring Zanzibar and a tomato/cabbage salad and a mysterious meat in some sauce (I tried the sauce.) After the unexpected meal we walked back over the beach in front of the lodge to enjoy the afternoon sun. It didn't take us long to find another adventure as shortly after dinner we were whisked away to a birthday party at the hotel next door. There was music, dancing, more food- a very extravagant party we assumed was for a very important person. It was for a 4 year old. Maybe a very important 4 year old, who knows? Of course we had to high tail it out of there by 9:30 to watch the world cup final. Karoline, one of our good friends is from the Netherlands so this was a big night for her. We had to make her feel like she was at home so we collected up all the orange we could find and were waving it in the air all night. Our cheer just wasn't quite good enough- a tough loss for Karoline. Our second day consisted mostly of beach lounging which no one seemed to have a problem with. The local man we had met the day before collected us for a lunch of fresh octopus that his friend had just caught that morning! I had to try it. I knew that I would feel the wrath of my mother if I hadn't have gone for it. How often do you get fresh seafood straight out of the Indian Ocean. It wasn't bad either, the texture is just not my thing.

I'm back in Moshi now getting ready for another week of volunteering and hopefully a Safari trip on Thursday or Friday! More updates will be posted before then.

Lots of love,
Leila

Time flies in Tanzania

I can't believe that is has almost been 2 weeks since I last posted on the blog. I'm so bad at this! But it is a good sign that I am out seeing the sites rather than sitting in an internet cafe.

At the hostel we have had our first big turn over of residents. A whole bunch of people arrived the same day that we did so we bonded instantly as we explored this strange new place together. Unfortunately, most were only staying for 2 weeks so we had to say our goodbyes last week. It was much tougher than I thought but we, of course, have facebook so contact is never far from reach.

As some may have heard, Jen and I had a bit of an incident while walking through a small (very poor) village on the way into town from our clinic. A very large man made off with Jen's camera after a bit of a tug-of-war in the middle of the street. In the end, it is better we have our health and safety than a camera but it was a rather disturbing experience. As we know though, 99% of the Tanzanian people are absolutely amazing, we just ran into a bad apple. What doesn't kill you just makes you stronger and we are all just a little bit more careful with our belongings.

HAPPY BELATED CANADA DAY to everyone back home. We were definitely celebrating over here. It just so happened that the majority of the items we brought to share with the children at Laura's orphanage had a Canada theme. July 1st happened to be the day that our hostel coordinator planned a Tanzania cultural/info night for all of us. After the Tanzanian part of the evening was finished the lone 3 Canadians had to perform something that spoke of where they came from. Not to mention that this was in front of 35 people. We were put on the spot with 5 minutes to come up with something sooooo we lined danced (grade 7 style) to Shania Twain "who's bed have your boots been under." I know some of you would have been very proud!

Last weekend, Jen, Laura and I along with a group from Alabama went about one hour out of the city to the most beautiful hot springs that I have ever seen. You may be thinking why would you want to go to a hot spring in Africa? It was SO cool. For about 40 minutes we drove through desert- baobab trees, tumbleweeds and all. Joey- it was straight out of the Lion King. In the distance you could see a small green patch which our drive pointed out and said, "there is paradise." That is was. A small rain forest no more than 500 square meters that surrounded this hot spring. It was cool in the rain forest so the warm water was welcomed and you dried off in about 2 minutes when you walked out into the sun. For those of you (Dad and Sara) worried about my fluorescent white skin burning to a crisp in the African sun, I have been doing very well! Daily routine includes a plentiful lather of SPF45, a soaking in period of 10-15 minutes followed by a spray down of 30% DEET. I'm burn (for the most part) and malaria free so far. My skin feels disgusting during the day but I'm coping.

As for the reason I am actually here, the volunteering, we have had some alterations made to our arrangement. The clinic that we were originally placed in is very quiet. Mostly children, mostly with malaria or UTIs. Not to say that is insignificant but we were able to help as we were only able to shadow the physician during his appointments. Fortunately, the head doctor is also the senior medical officer at a large hospital (TPC) that I mentioned before. We absolutely love it there and really contribute the the health care of the local people. For the most part we have been working in reproductive and child health and wouldn't mind if we stayed there. However, we will also be doing some clinical work and mobile clinics in the next few weeks. We have also been connected with an American retired ER doctor from Colorado that looks after the kids at our friend Christine's orphanage. He is putting a team together to screen 80 children at a school in Moshi next we and asked if we would be interest in helping out (heck yes!) They will be screening the kids for anything and anything- infection, disease, hygiene, you name it. That is only for 2 days but hopefully there will be more. He is so passionate about making sure these kids get the care they need. He told us that he just got his resident visa and doesn't plan on ever going back to the US.

I had a small bout of illness this week. Some stomach upset and nausea followed by cough and congestion (not a combination that I have had before.) It's okay, I'm just getting it all out of my system in one go. Should be in the clear for the rest of the trip (knock on wood.)

This weekend we are off to Pangani (google it- drop dead gorgeous.) It is an island north of Zanzibar and much less tourist-y and budget friendly! There will be more details next week. I WISH that I had the cable for my camera because the things that I have and will see here and breathtaking!

Hope you are all doing well! Feel free to post a comment or send me an email. It is always nice to have little greetings from home. I feel like I'm on a different planet- that is how far away from the norm this has been. I'm loving every minute though!

Love you all.
Leila

Week one

Well, it goes without saying that the 29 hour journey to Tanzania was a long one. Jen and I ended up asleep on almost every flight which made for a terrible sleep our first night in Moshi, Tanzania. Now that we have adjusted we are loving it. The hostel we are staying in is a series of 3 houses situated around a courtyard with a nice garden and patio for enjoying the sunshine- which there has been a lot of. It's winter here but by Canadian standards it's freakin hot. I don't have my trusty weather network here so I'm not sure of the exact temperature but it peaks at around 30 almost everyday. It seems as if people are coming and going from the hostel all the time because the duration of people's placements are all different. Jen and I will be in Moshi for 7 weeks so we'll be the veterans by the end. There are a whole load of Irish and American students, some Brits and a Scot. New people show up every week so we are going to be making a lot of friends.

Our volunteer placement thus far has been in a health centre just outside of Moshi's city centre. It is a good hour and a half walk each way from the hostel so we have had no shortage of time in the sun. In the clinic we are shadowing the GP as he sees patients and he translates the symptoms/issues to us. We have also been watching some minor procedures- they don't perform anything major at the clinic. Today was our first day at a new hospital- we will be volunteering there for 3 days a week. It is located in the middle of a sugar cane plantation that is absolutely massive- 17,000 hectares. We weren't sure what to expect because it is outside of our current exploration radius but it was beautiful! The plantation is like a city that runs itself. We were treated to lunch and most exciting was the ice cream we had for dessert. Many of us at the hostel have been talking about how nice some ice cream would be. Now Jen and I are going to head back and do a little bragging. We were placed in the RCH (reproductive and child health) clinic today. It was a health education day today so we pretty much got too coo at babies all day which put us both in a very good mood. A good mood that was necessary because the trip back to Moshi was a long one and upon arriving we were mauled by people trying to sell us things- these bits of Africa we are still getting used to. Driving is strange here, the drivers seems to make all the rules. And the pot holes are larger than life so you have to play chicken with the car going in the other direction to see who gets to take the smooth route around the massive crevasse in the middle of the street. Our first day here we saw a car hit a motorcycle that had 2 men on it- not a nice sight. Now, we do 360 degree checks before crossing any street!!

We just had our first weekend to do some exploring. Saturday we went to Marangu Falls which is in an amazing village on the side of Mt Kilimanjaro. We walked through the village and through a coffee plantation to get there. The weather was warm but the water was not. Regardless, some people got in for a swim- I opted to wade. Sunday we explored Moshi a little more and went out for lunch with some of the people who have left today.

That is about all I can account for right now. I'm still getting into this blogging thing. Maybe I can make a rough draft before I hit the internet cafe to make sure I'm getting all the best parts in!

Hugs and kisses to everyone! I do miss home (a lot) but I am definitely enjoying myself.
Lots of love,
Leila

I'm alive.

Hello all! I am alive and well in Tanzania! I'm loving everything about it so far (except for the waves of homesickness.) I have had a terrible time managing my internet time in the cafe but I will post some more stories very very soon.
Love you all.
Leila