"Rochester and Elizabeth"

The Long March; the Blessing; “Rochester and Elizabeth”; Tarangire and a girl named “Happy”

Up at 6:30, and for me down to breakfast for a roll and two slices of watermelon due to stomach problems, and chatting with Dave and Jackie. Then we gathered our bags, said goodbye to James until Saturday, and boarded a larger bus to take the entire crew to the Kenya-Tanzania border. Believe me, the bus was much worse than the vans, and the roads were just horrendous, at least for the first 30 miles or so of the approximately 80 mile trip to the border. The road was a dirt road next to the new road being constructed and due to the dryness, extremely dusty. We would close the windows as each car we encountered passed us, or if another car from behind passed us, or if we got behind a truck or too close to another vehicle. There was absolutely no leg room for me so I sat with my legs in the aisle as bags packed in the rear fell on me when the driver jammed on the brakes. I finally tried to get some sleep, and at least shutting my eyes helped - the scenery was unremarkable, just dry, dead looking landscape with leafless bushes and dust covered trees and bushes beside the road. It was really the first time that I was uncomfortable in a vehicle.

Things improved once we reached the border. Simon ushered us through the process, first exiting Kenya by stopping on the Kenya side, having our passport stamped, then by filling out a form we picked up at a curio shop for Tanzania, passing through No Man’s Land (where there were 20-30 large trucks parked) and through the gate into Tanzania where we took our form and passport to the Immigration windows and had our passports stamped. Luckily, all of us had our visas already. We transferred our bags to a Toyota Land Cruiser with Francis, an older man, being our driver. We scraped through the huge trucks blocking our exit, and were off on a nice paved road headed for Arusha. We crossed a desert land on the north side of Mount Meru, the second highest mountain in Tanzania (to Kilimanjaro) of 4500 meters, and being very shy enshrouded in its curtain of dark clouds. Once we passed through the desert land, we encountered sprinkles, and then a steady rain, and the world came to life, the smells of wet earth and bushes and trees invading our stuffy Land Cruiser - what a treat. Francis turned to me and said that the people think that the rain is a blessing, and that we have brought his people this blessing. What a nice thing to say, and I thought that if we could have bestowed this blessing on his people, we certainly would have. And he had been thrilled with the Obama sticker I gave him - he is also a member of the Luo tribe from western Kenya, the same as President Obama’s father.

We stopped for lunch at the Arusha Coffee Lodge, a beautiful lodge next to coffee fields supposedly owned by a Swiss company (Nescafe? Scherteinleib Coffee Company?). After lunch, we received our briefing for our itinerary in Tanzania, and the lady in charge handed out the packets, the last one being for “Rochester and Elizabeth.” So I have even more names in Africa than I do in the US, and it was later spelled as “Mathaniel Rochester” - so that must be where Matt came from. And to make matters worse re Bay, as Francis turned over the Land Cruiser to Max to take us for the rest of our stay here, he told Bay that she must be 23 as she reminded him of his daughter who is 20 and in her second year of college. Did I tell you that our party thinks she looks like Cybill Shepherd in “Moonlighting”, looks good in pink, has white teeth, is either a scientist or a nurse and is now 23? Oh, and has a very sexy voice. Did I?

The road to Tarangire was mostly pavement and passed smoothly. Max is a 26 year old unmarried Tanzanian from Arusha and had gone to school to study English and wildlife so that he could be a guide. Once we got to Tarangire gate, I moved from the front seat to the back seat so that I could stand up to take pictures as we would do a game drive into our lodge, Tarangire Sopa Lodge. We were immediately confronted with 15 elephants, something that this park is known to have in abundance. By the time we arrived at the Lodge, it was almost dark, and 7 PM, 11 hours after our departure. And tomorrow we get up at 5:30 for a 6:15 game drive!

But what a treat we (or probably I should say “I”) had a dinner. Our waitress is named Happy and she is beautiful, 27 years old, very petite and speaks so softly that only I can hear her. After saying hi and asking how she was in Swaheli, she asked me if I knew any other words. I said yes, and then said in Swaheli, “I want to eat something now.” Her smile disappeared and she rushed off to get her pad and came running back to get my order, even before the 4 ladies at the table. Whoops! I tried to explain that I was just showing her I could say other things, but she didn’t understand so I ordered my meal. From then on, when she came to the table, she came to me first and wanted to know if we would be here for breakfast and how may days we were staying, etc. I think she’s great! I could get used to this, I’m sure. Just kidding, honey.

So it’s 11 PM now and I need some sleep, so good night to you all.
Love, Nat, Dad, Matt, DB, Rochester, Tall Man, etc.

PS Quiz for the day. How did the Secretary Bird get its name? Good luck. We already have three answers from two guides. And there’s always “Because God made it that way.” Any others?