Tengeru & Lake Duluti

Day 23 (7/10):

It’s pretty hard to sleep in here on the weekends, no matter how much we may want to. Libby and I got up around 9:30 and had breakfast. Libby and Emily had plans to go over the “bad bridge” to find a Barclay’s Bank, which was rumored to have an ATM that had American money. The bad bridge is one bridge in town that we are told to stay away from. The embankments on either side are steep and a lot of robberies happen there. There are regular police patrols on the bridge to keep people safe, but it’s still not so great. It was a Sunday, however, and Arusha is much quieter on the weekends, so they decided to brave it. I was being a worry-wart, and told them to call me when they were safely back across the bridge so that I knew they were ok.

I did the email thing and then went to the market with two girls in my group Amanda and Jenny. We all wanted to take the fabric (congas) we’d bought and have them made into wrap skirts, and we knew there was a tailor somewhere in the craft market. We found her and haggled her price down to 5,000 shilling each for the skirts (we’d already bought the fabric so it was just a matter of hemming and shaping it into a skirt). After we dropped off our fabric, we did some more shopping. We made friends with some of the shop owners, in particular, one man named Jacob and his compatriots nearby. It was fun talking to them and learning Swahili while they polished a chess set that Amanda had bought. People here are so friendly and hospitable. It’s really nice. They even asked us what our favorite music was, and then when we reciprocated the question, they told us they liked R&B musicians, such as Celine Dion. It was funny, to say the least.

We had lunch at the hotel today, instead of dinner, because our program director, Roland, was taking us out to dinner later that evening. Lunch was good, and afterwards, my two roommates, Jenny, Amanda, and myself all piled into a taxi with Geoffrey to go back to Shanga for shopping. Geoffrey is so awesome; he and Albert both are trustworthy and great. Albert is closer to middle age, and Geoffrey is much younger, like mid-twenty's. He owns the taxi company that we use, and he and Albert are our main drivers. We love them.

Shanga was beautiful as always, and while I forgot my Visa card (they take American money and cards) I was able to pick up a few things that had been on my list for people with the little bit of cash I still had. I plan on going back with my card and really splurging.

When we got back to the hotel, we only had about an hour and a half before we were supposed to leave for dinner. I finished up the emails that I’d started before going to the market, and Libby worked out. When I went to go get dressed and ready, she did the email thing.

Since we were going out to a place called Maasai Camp, which we were forbidden to go to unless we had Roland with us (which we did last night), we all wanted to dress up. None of us were really trying to impress anyone; I think we just wanted an excuse to look and feel pretty after wearing only semi-clean clothes for the past few weeks. Suffice to say, I looked good! Lol

I wore a black scoop-neck t-shirt with the blue and green floral wrap skirt I bought at WEECE the day before, high-waisted, over black leggings, and had on the new sandals I’d bought at the market. We all looked really nice.

We piled into the bus and on the way picked up the graduate students who’d just arrived the night before. Roland was taking us to dinner because the graduate students had just arrived and he wanted to take all of us out so we could eat and mingle with them.

We were all blown away when we got to Maasai Camp. It was a really cool place, it was a wide open restaurant with a dance floor, two bars, a pool table, a mounted TV with the World Cup on, of course, and the rest of it was just tables. There were so many of us that we had to sit at two tables, so most of the girls in my group sat at one table, and Amanda and I decided to be social and sit with the grad students and Roland, Geoffrey, and Albert. There were 5 grad students from Arcadia with us. Three of them grew up in the Philly area, and two were from other states. They all went to a variety of undergrad schools. It was really nice to hang out and talk to people who knew my area. It was also kind of cool to be the “experienced” one who told them all the tips and stuff. After three weeks of feeling like I was floundering, I’d finally met people who, having only been there less than 24 hours, had no idea what was going on. It definitely helped my ego a bit, I have to say.

It was a really fun night. We drank, and ate, and danced. I can absolutely see why they would ask us not to hang out there often or without supervision, because while it was quiet and tame while we were there (7-10:30), we could only imagine the craziness that must ensue later in the evening. A lot of the tension that had been in the group was diffused after the night was over also. Once everyone got a chance to just dance and be silly, I think it definitely mended some bridges that had been smoldering.

Once we got back to the hotel, safe and sound, we hung out watching the end of the 3rd place World Cup game, and then went to bed.


Day 24 (7/11):

We woke up for an early breakfast today, around nine. Geoffrey was scheduled to pick us up around ten for a day trip to Tengeru for cultural tourism. We piled into the bus and drove less than twenty minutes outside of Arusha when we got to the sign marking the place.

We waited at the main road for our guides to come and show us how to get to the actual compound since it was back a ways from the road. The only downfall of driving off the main road is that many to all of the other roads are dirt, pitted, and rocky. That means that our bus is in constant motion and what I perceive to be in danger of tipping over. I doubt the validity of that fear, but a lot of times it’s an anxious experience, driving down dirt roads. Nothing has ever been as bad as the roads to the camel-safari and my blood pressure has been pretty reasonable on any trips since, but it’s still a little nerve-wracking.

We arrive at Tengeru and pull into a small grassy driveway with a gate that leads onto a pretty lawn. We unload from the bus and are greeted by three women, singing a traditional welcome song in the dialect of the Meru people (the people who reside on the slopes of Mt. Meru). The song was beautiful and rhythmic. After they greeted us, we were welcomed into the compound and sat in a loose circle on various carved chairs and stools. We were served lemongrass and ginger tea as we were debriefed on what our day would look like.

They planned on giving us a tour of the compound initially, and then we were to hike 2 miles through the forest to the coffee farm they owned, learn about the harvesting of the coffee, come back and see how it is processed into the drink, have lunch, and then go hiking by Lake Duluti.

Within the compound is a small open-air lounge with chairs and couches and small tables for eating. We would eat lunch there later. As we toured, they showed us the small stalls that held two adult cows and a baby cow that they owned. The cows were smelly, but they explained that the reason the cows and enclosure might be smellier than normal is because they harvest the manure. In many cases, cow dung has high levels of methane gas. Instead of spending lots of money on industrial fertilizer, they harvest the dung, and process it for use. The methane gas goes to light the burners they use to cook food and to make light and the filtered feces is made into natural fertilizer that is better for the soil than industrial fertilizer. With the natural stuff, it enriches the soil and ensures that they are able to farm on that piece of land longer. Industrial product strips the soil of its nutrients and makes it arid in a short period. They also said that the biogas (methane) that they harvest from both of the adult cows provides enough fuel for use from morning to night. It was amazing.

Throughout the tour of the compound, our guides Noel (male) and Joshua explained that the cultural tourism company they run (that we were then receiving a tour through) goes to benefit the community. All proceeds go towards farm equipment, or various projects within the community to empower the people. They also sell handicrafts to the tourists that pass through, which generates good income.

After we toured the compound, we were led into the forest and hiked for two miles until we got to the coffee farm. Two children from the compound accompanied us, and because they were there, we picked up other village children as well. One in particular, Carol, took a liking to me and my roommate Emily. She had a beautiful face and a wonderful spirit. She picked up some English words quickly and then taught us Swahili words in return. I won’t talk about her as if we were the first tourists she’d met, or that she liked us in particular, but just being in contact with a child who was so open and willing to accept us was really nice. After a while she stopped giving attention to Emily and focused a lot more on me. I know that’s a silly thing to feel good about, but there are some people who children gravitate towards, and I’ve never really been one of those people. I’m good with kids, to be sure, but they never just come to me like to do to others, so the fact that she put her little hand trustingly in mine and stayed with me for most of the day made me feel so special. All the other girls were saying how she’s claimed me as her property and other funny little jokes, but it was just nice to interact with children again. It’s a need that you don’t really recognize as being deficient in until it’s fulfilled.

After visiting the coffee farm and learning about the way the plants grow, we hiked back to the compound, a different way. It was nice to see the scenery and to just experience hiking on the slopes of Mt. Meru in general. We got back and rested for a few minutes, and then they brought out a woven tray full of coffee beans. Our guides explained that after the beans are removed from the berries, they must then be husked of their outer shell. To do this, they have what looks like a carved wooden stool, but with a big divot in the middle of it. They poured the beans into the hole and then used an almost four-foot wooden stake (not pointed, but rounded at the bottom) to crush the husks off the bean. Before roasted, coffee beans are sturdy beans, so pounding them repeatedly with this several-pound stave didn’t crush them, only created enough movement and friction to loosen and remove the husks.

After sifting the husks off the beans, we then put them into a clay pot that was heating over a small fire and stirred the beans while they roasted. If they are not stirred constantly, they will burn, as we soon found out. All of us wanted a go at stirring the roasting coffee beans, and we quickly learned that the exchange between each girl needed to be quick in order for the beans to be constantly moving.

After roasting them to sufficient darkness, we moved the beans back into the wooden stool turned mortar/pestle and were then able to crush them using the wooden stave until the were ground the way we wanted them. The ladies who greeted us when we first got there took a break from making lunch and sang a traditional rhythmic working song as Joshua and Noel pounded the roasted beans into powder. We sifted the powder through a sieve just to make sure it was fine enough, and once it was, we scooped the powder into a large pot of boiling water and made coffee. Let me tell you, I do not drink straight black coffee, and the black coffee I’ve had here in Africa has made me think I could possibly drink it when I get back home. It’s THAT good.

When we finished enjoying our freshly made coffee, Mama Gladness (I promise you, that’s her name) came out with hot water, lemon soap, and warm towels for us to wash up with before lunch. Our meal consisted of rice (as always), chapatti (a flat bread that’s cooked and kind of looks like a tortilla), and three-four different dishes/sauces. One was a beef sauce, another was a creamy corn sauce, a third had plantains in it, and the fourth had chickpeas as the main ingredient. We had water to drink, and bananas for a little sweet. For dessert, they brought out an avocado, orange, and passion-fruit smoothie for us all to try. Delicious.

Throughout lunch, we’d heard these small mewing noises, and we figured it was some farm animal on the compound (the cows and roosters had been going all morning) but what one of the other girls found out when she went to the bathroom was, there were week-old puppies hidden in the bushes near the water-closet. They were all piled on top of one another and sleeping and making small puppy noises. I have to say, I seriously weighed the pros and cons of trying to get an unvaccinated animal past customs. I let go of the idea, but it was considered. They were beyond cute.

Once we’d finished lunch and digested a little bit, played with Carol and her friend Norie, we were told that the last part of our day was about to take place. We all had to pile into the bus and we were going to hike up to sacred caves on the rim of Lake Duluti.

I was sadder than I expected when I had to leave Carol with her Grandma Gladness at the compound. Seriously, only Carol had attached herself to me, and Norie had attached herself to my friend Katy. We were the only two girls in the group to really make a connection with the children and I was sad to leave her behind. Clearly, the girl was not suffering in any way with the life she lived. She got to meet tourists a lot who gave her water from their water bottles and let them play with their cameras, and when there weren’t tourists, there was Mama Gladness and Joshua and Noel. This girl did not seem to be wanting for anything, but it was sad to say goodbye nonetheless. I do feel blessed (and I don’t use that word lightly) that I made a connection like that on this trip. It was very healing for me.

We drive once again on the bumpy, rocky, pitted road, crossed the main road (paved) and turned again onto another bumpy, rocky, and pitted road. We ended up at Lake Duluti which means The Lake That Swallows. Apparently, there is volcanic activity in the middle of the lake, which goes as deep as 600-700 meters. Whatever pressure the bottom of the lake exudes, creates a small whirlpool affect, whereas if someone were to fall in, they would be sucked down to the bottom of the lake. Suffice to say, canoeing was out of the question once we heard that. Our guides tried to reassure us that we could just canoe around the rim of the lake, but none of us were having it. We were ok with hiking.

The hike was fun and steep and only slightly challenging. It made me excited to get home and start hiking more regularly. Our destination was sacred caves that the local religious and tribal people utilized as a prayer spot. They weren’t very deep, more like small outcroppings in the cliff-face, with only a small space of path between the edge of the hill and the cave, but it was moving nonetheless. People wrote letters on paper and stuffed them into the crags of the cave, and there were tarps and old blankets for those that wanted to use to space to meditate overnight and to go somewhere quiet to pray. We were all pretty dirty and gross, so I’m not sure I felt the full affect of the holiness of the place, but there was absolutely something peaceful and soothing.

We hiked back to our bus and made it back to the hotel with time to spare before dinner. After dinner I skyped with my mom and Brian, and then a little bit afterwards with Rich. I miss everyone so much. Skype makes life away infinitely more bearable. I swear.

When I got off the computer, I joined my roommates to watch the epic final match of the World Cup game between Netherlands and Spain. I was rooting for Holland, but Spain won after 120 minutes of hard-fought and evenly matched play. There were even a small amount of fireworks outside when the game was over which was nice.

I just showered and finished this blog post. I am EXHAUSTED. We did a lot this weekend, and I have to be up for class tomorrow. I probably won’t be able to post this until after class, but that’s just as well.

I love and miss you all!

Thanks for reading, and what do you think of the new layout?

Colleen