First Experiences in Tanzania – Arrival in Dar es Salaam and Heading to Work

27 February 2012 by Raul Leave a Comment

Before the days of this blog, I would send periodic emails to family and friends about my travel. At first it was report that I’d made it to wherever and then I started adding some of the things I was seeing for no real reason other than I wanted to tell someone about anything interesting I saw from the trivial to the significant. What follows is the email I sent soon after arriving in Tanzania in 2007… Enjoy!

Hello, hope everyone is well. I have been now about 4 days in Tanzania for my work trip. After the long journey here, it is nice to be “settled” into a normal day-to-day living schedule though the first few days I kept waking up way too early for sanity (4 AM, 5 AM, etc.). Today, I slept past the desired wake up time. I think that is a good thing.

So what is my workday like? I start with a FULL breakfast at the hotel since lunch will not be until 1 PM, at the earliest, and since we start at the office at 8 AM. There is nothing in the vicinity of the office where you can buy any snack or other food, so I must load up at the hotel before coming over. No vending machines either. I fear hunger almost as much as I fear critters so I am proactive 🙂

The work location is what looks like an old house, big for the standards of Tanzania but smaller than the McMansions in Atlanta. Being an old house, rooms are small and I imagine some rooms where broken up into offices at some point too. Each little office has its own window A/C unit to keep people cooled. I was actually surprised they had these in every office but I am VERY glad for many reasons. I sit with the IT manager who has technical equipment in her office so her A/C unit works especially well to keep everything cool. I will miss her next week when she will not be at work since her office has to be kept locked due to the equipment and I will not be able to enter it…

Lunch is cooked on site by some ladies they hire to cook lunch for the office. Apparently everyone chips in like a subscription type of scheme because there is nowhere to eat around here. Visitors pay 2,000 shillings for lunch which sounds like a lot but it is less than $2. A bargain for a full plate of rice, a couple of small pieces of meat, beans or vegetables, and some fresh fruit. Around 530 PM we go back to the hotel. We are able to go out if we want but it means a taxi ride as there is nothing near the hotel (it is not near the city center).

Tanzania, unlike other countries where we do work, is quite safe so we are not required to stay in the hotel for our safety. I have heard stories of other countries where once you get to the hotel you must stay in per security standards. Transportation to and from work is provided by the local office, so we don’t have to worry about catching a cab, etc. That is a nice thing.

In the hotel I can get free wireless Internet access, unlike the US where we are squeezed to pay for that in most hotels. However, some nights the Internet connection is down which may have nothing to do with the hotel. That may not be atypical in many of the countries we work in from what I hear. Infrastructure (power, water, etc.) can be rather fragile. I have not experienced power outages in the hotel which is nice because it keeps the A/C on! (I am, I have to say, a little needy that way though I would survive without it if I had no choice which may happen when I travel outside of the big city.)

Alright, this has become quite a long email so I will begin to wrap up. My plans for the next few days are to travel to a town called Mwanza in the NW of the country to visit the field work Saturday and Monday (here is a link to my hotel there http://64.91.230.207/accomdation.html). From there, I get a small break on Sunday to visit the Serengeti National Park (hopefully) (this is where I may stay outside of the park http://www.spekebay.com/). I will return to Dar on Tuesday and probably head out to visit the field in Zanzibar.

Finally, I return to Dar and visit some of the field work done in the urban area here. We do a lot of work here related to health, education and national resource management (I was ignorant about this last area and now I am very curious to see the work we do; there is a strong correlation with national resource development like mining, forestry, etc. and poverty; the former when not managed tends to impact those who live in those areas rather strongly and negatively).

OK, now I will stop.

Filed Under: Africa, Tanzania Tagged With: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, travel

Can’t a Guy Just Get Out of the Sinai Peninsula? Please?

4 August 2011 by Raul 1 Comment

Moses was not the only one trying to get out of Egypt… There are three travel stories of mine that family and friends greatly enjoy, remind me of, and ask to re-tell. One is easier to tell than the other and it involved a monkey and me in Tanzania. But that is for another day… The second one is about a public restroom in a French train station and getting locked in. Also for another day. I almost forget these stories until out of nowhere, in some group gathering, someone will bring them up. The third and longer story is the one I will tell you here. It is not that it is ROFL-funny, nor I-was-in-serious-danger-scary. But it has a little bit of many things…

Picture this: Sharm-el-Sheikh, the Sinai Peninsula, 1998

I’d gone to Egypt with 4 friends on a whim. They had planned the trip a few weeks in advance (planning meaning they had a plane ticket and knew the parts of Egypt they wanted to hit). I suddenly had availability to take off from work and planned on joining them like 2 weeks before the trip. I love that stuff. But, because I joined them later, my travel differed from them. On top of that, I had decided to go see a friend in Istanbul afterwards.

We get to the Sinai Peninsula by flying from Luxor after exploring Nile-hugging Egypt. Well, 4 of us, the 5th took a bus to Hurghada and then I-don’t-know-what. (He told us he severely regretted taking the long painful bus ride…) Sharm-el-Sheikh, to be more precise, was our destination. Sharm is a popular resort town that many foreigners come to sun and scuba in; some don’t even hit Cairo when they come from Europe to vacation in Sharm.

The others in my group were scuba divers and I wasn’t so after a day of snorkeling, I was ready to explore other things. So I went to the St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mt. Sinai from Moses, burning bush and 10 commandment fame. We also did some off-road fun roading in a Hummer through red canyons in the area. And, I took a flight to Aqaba, Jordan from which I would take a 2 hour bus to see Petra. Phenomenal day trip but long. And with implications…

It’s the Little Glitches…

There was one little glitch in my independent travel. Specifically, the one to Jordan. You see, the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt is surrounded by extra security that you are told it’s “because of the Israelis” except that seaside towns on the east coast of the Sinai Peninsula are flooded by Israeli tourists so clearly their military are not about to invade. It is probably more because of the Bedouin who live in the remote areas of the peninsula and who do not get along with the central government from Cairo or its representatives on the peninsula (trust me, this matters to my story!). So, the area around Sharm-el-Sheikh in the Sinai Peninsula is actually a special zone. Special for military, special for foreigners. Europeans are a big market for this resort town and come in charter flights from everywhere in Europe. To attract them and make things easier, the visa requirement to get to Egypt doesn’t apply to get to Sharm-el-Sheikh. But if tourists who enter Egypt DIRECTLY by flying to Sharm want to go elsewhere in Egypt, they need to get a normal Egyptian tourist visa to cross through the checkpoints around this special security/tourism zone.

A Stereotype Helps Me

When I boarded the little plane to Jordan, I invalidated my entry visa into Egypt (I had entered through Cairo). No problem, I was returning to Sharm where I did not need a visa to get in (it was not that I had had one already for Egypt; that one was now invalidated when I left the country). Except no one told me as I cleared immigration at Sharm’s airport that there was this thing and that if I were going to Cairo, I would need a new visa to enter “mainland” Egypt which I could get right then and there. So, with this background, you can understand the setup and where this is headed.

I had to return to Cairo to catch my flight to Istanbul. So, I get instructions from the hotel on where the bus stop is, they hail me a taxi and I wait at the stop with other tourists and locals. I get on the bus, happily and ready to get back to Cairo. Not 10 minutes later we hit the first military/security checkpoint. They come on board and want to see everyone’s papers so I provide my passport. A few minutes later, I am made to get off the bus with my things. I am a little shocked but don’t want to challenge anyone with big guns. They explain to me I need a visa to “enter” Egypt. I say that I have one but they tell me that was voided when I left the country (they could see my Jordan entry/exit stamps – such efficiency I am sure is rare in Egyptian bureaucracy, except at this checkpoint!). So I ask if I can get the visa there but it is just a checkpoint on the road so I am told I need to go back to Sharm to the port (or the airport) to get the visa. They proceed to stop the next car coming the OTHER way and tell the guy he has to take me to Sharm, to the port. I have no idea what they literally said as I don’t speak Arabic. All I know is I am being told to get in this stranger’s car and that does not please me. Stereotypes can be valuable: this guy had a few dry cleaning items hanging from the backseat oh-shit handle so I took some measure of reassurance that maybe this guy was not a serial killer.

Re-Directed at the Port

He didn’t speak English so he just drove on with me in the car (I guess they do what they are told) and dropped me off at the port’s entrance (I offered him money which he refused – talk about setting me straight!) where two 18-year old guards with big guns greet me. They don’t understand me much but one takes me to the office building but only if I leave my large backpack and shoulder bag (with my more important valuables!) at the gate. Well, no choice but to comply. Off I go to the office, where I am told I need a stamp. I reply questioningly of the official: isn’t that what I am there for, to get the visa? The official says yes but the visa requires a stamp be bought from the bank; the stamp indicates that I paid for the visa so he can then stamp the passport. They don’t sell the stamps at the port so I am told to head into town to go to the bank and get the stamp and come back. Off I go, to claim my belongings hoping they are still all there. They are. The entrance to the port is on this little circle of a street off the main road in the middle of nowhere beyond the west end of Sharm, and not close to the main road. But providentially a taxi with a passenger is passing right by and I stop it.

The passenger is one of the many expats who live in Sharm who work in tourism. In her case in the boats that take people out to scuba. She is Italian and tells me she is trying to get to the drugstore intown and for some reason they went through this side road (it still makes no sense why as it is only a half-circle with nothing else but the port entrance). So we head intown and they drop me off at the bank.

Sorry, No Cigar at the Bank

I go to the big dark door and it is locked. I knock and eventually someone opens up and tells me they are closed for the rest of the day. I beg and plead that I just need this one stamp and would they please. No way. So I stand there going “what the heck” and he tells me to try at the airport where the bank’s branch there is likely open (I can’t remember if it was a Friday or just lunch hour break).

So, the airport is at the OPPOSITE end of Sharm-el-Sheikh. And I am running low on Egyptian pounds. Remember I was supposed to leave Egypt the next morning and my only expected expense after getting to Cairo would be dinner and hotel which I could pay with credit card so I was trying to not withdraw more local money. I hail a cab who takes me to the airport where, if I need to, I will withdraw more money thinking I will have a lot left over if I get money… At the airport, I face what looks like two tourist buses about to offload into the little security area to enter the terminal so I forget about the money question. I am itching to get back to catch the bus to Cairo before it gets too late. The taxi drops me right in front of the buses so I manage to avoid most people getting off and their drama.

Victory. I buy the darn stamp no problem and get another taxi to take me back to the port. I get to the port and my, by now, good friends at the gate are waving at me and smiling as they see me get off the taxi, as if seeing an old friend (I wonder what they were really thinking!). I know the routine so I drop the backpack but manage to take my shoulder bag with me to the office accompanied by one of the friendly soldiers. A clerk tells me his boss, the official I had spoken to earlier, had left for a few hours and that I should go and try later. At that point, I am taken over by a mix of outrage and acting skills.

Acting up at the Port

I huff, sit down on a chair and say I would wait as I need to make it to Cairo that night to catch my flight the next day at the crack of dawn. The clerk seems taken aback by my reaction and insists I need to leave and come back later. To me, that is the stupidest thing for many reasons. Where would I go with luggage and little cash (I had not withdrawn money at the airport)? What if I missed the official again when he came back? etc. So I said I was intending to wait and that was that. Immediately, I pull out my book (“History of the Arab Peoples”!) and plop down even further into my chair which clearly exasperates him. He goes off to his little desk and gets on the phone and starts what sounds like yelling and gesticulating. In Egypt that could be he is angry or just that he is telling his wife he loves her. It is hard to tell the difference. Time passes and I am flipping the book’s pages furiously as if I am actually reading it (I am not as I can’t focus at this point) and as if the book’s pages are to blame for this little chaos in my day. I wasn’t angry – but I was close to tears not for fear but for sheer frustration at what I could not control and at being in this situation because I didn’t research and because immigration at the Sharm airport had not offered information I could have needed…

What seems forever-later but probably was just 45 minutes, the official comes back not quite in his full uniform (official may make him sound too mundane a goverment person; he seemed to have a position of power in the port). He talks to the clerk and calls me into his office where he reviews my passport. He asks me “Did you give him money?” referring to the clerk. I realize I am at a critical juncture here. So I go with the truth and a twist. “No, should I have?” He shakes his head no, stamps the visa on the passport, and waves me off. I start walking out of the building faster with each step before anyone thinks of anything else for me to comply with. I smile at the guards, they are smiling at me, I pick up my stuff and wave these friendly guys goodbye.

Success Breeds the Need for a Plan to Get Out

Now to find a taxi with my luggage in this remote corner of Sharm. Nothing in sight. Not the random luck of the first time leaving the port. I start walking towards the main road when, around the bend and behind this massive rock, there in the shade is a taxi parked. Its driver is off to the side by the rock, with a pail of water cleansing his face and arms. I can’t believe my eyes (and I wish so badly I had taken a picture of this). But there he is and he is willing to take me back into town!!

I don’t quite know if the bus stop is the best place to go as it is barely a stop. I need to know when is the next bus to Cairo though I begin contemplating heading back to the airport and catching a flight and be done with the military checkpoints on the road – I don’t want to give bad luck a chance! But a flight would set me back money-wise a good bit. I decide it would be best to head back to the hotel (the Sanafir) since they were so helpful. They immediately get on the phone, make a few calls, and tell me a bus to Cairo is about to be at the bus stop in less than 10 minutes!! So they run outside with me, hail a cab, tell him where to take me, and tell him to do it fast. I like how they took ownership of helping me out!

I make it to the stop and get on the bus. Praying nothing else comes up at the checkpoint. It doesn’t. I am on my way to freaking Cairo to leave Egypt almost like Moses and his people. The main story ends here but let me drive it all the way home until I am at my hotel in Heliopolis.

The Bus Ride and the Finish Line

Since this stop is after the intown stop(s), the bus is pretty full. The bus was mostly Egyptians with a smattering of tourists (funnily, mostly towards the front). I sit near the back next to a fellow maybe my age that spoke some English. We speak a little bit until the movie started to play in the little overhead TVs: Speed. Let me tell you, that is not the movie you want to see while your bus is careening up the Sinai with ever-so-slight movements side-to-side… It eventually gets dark and I miss seeing the Suez Canal with any clarity so I can’t say I’ve seen it. But I don’t care at this moment. The guy and I pick up talking as we approach Cairo and I ask him how far my hotel is from the bus station. He tells me not far and that he will get his brother, who is picking him up, to drop me off on their way home. I cringe at getting into another stranger’s car but besides being close to out of money, I just don’t care anymore. I’ve had a long and action-packed day and I don’t care. I ask him for his address to send him a post card from Atlanta (which I did send) and proceed to take the ride to my hotel. I say my goodbyes and happily enter my hotel for a nice shower and bedtime as I have an early flight out.

So ends the story of my leaving the Sinai Peninsula. Had my friends been with me, it would have been a little more fun for sure. But I am glad I am tenacious and able to think things through on the spot. I just don’t like HAVING to do it like I did that day!!

One observation: I did not meet one single person that day that was rude to me. The bank guy was not rude, he was just neutral and did not care. The port clerk? He was probably going to be reprimanded for making his boss come back to the port from his afternoon break but he probably understood I needed the visa to leave and hence called him to come back. Most Egyptians along this experience were friendly and helpful. That (which matches experiences in Aswan and Luxor) is why I always think fondly of Egypt and its people. But lesson learned: traveler beware of visa requirements as they could vary WITHIN a country!!!

Filed Under: Africa, Egypt Tagged With: Aqaba, Egypt, Egyptian visa, escape, Jordan, Petra, Sharm-el-Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula

Photo(s) of the Week – Going down the Nile in a Felucca

2 August 2011 by Raul Leave a Comment

Many moons ago I went to Egypt for the first time, deciding -on a whim- to join several co-workers who had planned to go for 7-10 days with no plans other than a plane ticket. Among the many things we did, we hired a felucca to take us around for 24 hrs from Aswan to a point downriver where we would catch a caravan towards Luxor.

One of the neat things about this approach was the ability to get away from the crowds, the noise, the everyday (for us!) and get a little closer to the Nile and its surroundings.

Captain Bob, our felucca captain, and his assistant cooked for us on the felucca and we slept pretty much under the stars (it got cold!!!). Though they brought bottled water for cooking, the cleaning of utensils and pots happened with river water with the associated impact to my stomach the next morning.

But, you know what? I’d go through it again just to get to experience the Nile like this for the first time. Now, I would NOT suffer that again for a second time. The second time, I will be more picky with my source of food but I highly recommend doing the felucca ride for 24 hours. Just peaceful!!!

In the end, it was about getting to awesome Luxor. Though the caravan was required due to safety concerns in the area south of Luxor and it felt odd to us, we made it to the destination – Luxor has a lot to offer so don’t miss it!

Temple at Luxor

A younger version of yours truly in Luxor with my OWN private sphinx

Read my funny story about trying to get out of the Sinai peninsula to get to Cairo.

Filed Under: Africa, Egypt Tagged With: Aswan, Egypt, felucca, Luxor, Nile, sphynx

Photo of the Week – New for the Blog!

6 June 2011 by Raul Leave a Comment

A new add-on to the blog… I have so many pictures from the places I have been to… since pictures sometimes say more than 1,000 words (or “1K” words to be more modern…), I’d thought I’d share them. No use just having them on my laptop! Though I will not be able to post the next couple of weeks (I may post a second one this week to make up for it), no sense waiting to kick it off!

This is from a trip in 1998 when we took a felucca down the Nile for a 24-hr voyage. We slept on the felucca, outdoors (a first for me). It was cold in the evening and we had blankets that probably dated to the 1950s when they were last washed. But they were heavenly given how cold it was… Waking up to this in such a unique place in the world was a great experience and one of my best memories.

Filed Under: Africa, Egypt Tagged With: Egypt, felucca, Nile, sunrise, travel

Visiting Old Cairo – and Feeling Cairo

13 July 2009 by Raul 14 Comments

I am fortunate to have visited Cairo two times: once in 1998 and then in 2007. The first with friends and the second for work. However, while we hit some of the key places to see in Cairo in the first trip, one grave mistake was not to explore Old Cairo… Old Cairo is the way to feel the real Cairo!

A First-Timer in Cairo in 1998

Let me take a step back and tell you about the first visit to Cairo. For that trip, I joined 4 friends about 2 weeks before they were to depart due to an opening in my work schedule in between projects. There were no pre-defined itinerary or arrangements except the plane ticket and the hotel for the first night in Cairo as we were landing at night. I didn’t fly with them as I was using miles to get there so I flew from Atlanta via Newark, Paris, and Istanbul to get to Cairo (I was going to visit Istanbul after Egypt). The first thing that struck me as I got off the airplane and walked the steps was the smell of burning wood, followed quickly by the sense of being in a dry place!

My friends and I were supposed to meet at the airport (I was arriving after they did) but, when I got there, my friends were nowhere to be found. Eventually, I was taken by a customs (or was it immigration?) official eager to take me to his cousin’s taxi business (funny how that works…). I got his “cousin” to let me use his phone to ring our hotel in Cairo – my friends were already there! What happened? The airport had 2 different terminals and we had landed on opposite ones so they ended up going to the hotel. I ended up riding with the customs official’s cousin who, try as he did, could not hit a pedestrian…

I will admit that I was uncharacteristically anxious being there my first time. It was the year after the massacre of tourists at Queen Hatshepsut’s temple in Luxor where many were gunned down execution style. It took the first full day of being in the city to get past this initial anxiety. People’s friendliness made me feel welcome and comfortable and pretty soon I was back to normal mode: ready to explore!

We decided to not spend too much time in Cairo but did want to see the essentials. As happens to most tourists, we were offered a camel ride to see the Pyramids “from behind” by first being taken to someone’s store or house (hard to tell the difference) where we were swayed to hire them with tea and plenty of smiles and friendliness. Riding the camels was a fun ride but they ride differently than horses… However, we did not see the Pyramids up close so we were left still wanting to do that. We tried again the next day to get close to the Pyramids by hiring horses to get us there. I emphasized to our guide that if I didn’t touch the Pyramids, I would not pay – I really wanted to make sure we didn’t get cheated again from seeing them up close. So he made my horse gallop super fast either to pay me back for being demanding or to make sure he could get us further than he had planned in the time he had!

Yet ANOTHER picture of the Pyramids!

Next on the list: The Mohammed Ali Mosque in The Citadel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_Citadel) which was spectacular (as was the Citadel itself). For sure, one of the best places to see!

Mohamad Ali Mosque

We visited the Egyptian Museum which, as you can imagine, have some neat things to show from pharaonic times for those who enjoy the topic. We also hired a car to drive us to Saqqara, a step pyramid south of the city. The site was worth the trip but the drive to it also allowed us to see life outside of the city (e.g., bread being made on a wood burning “stove” by the side of the road).

The end of our stay in Cairo came quickly and we took the overnight train which would take us to the southern city of Aswan. So ended my first visit to Cairo back in 1998…

Cairo Re-Visited 10 Years Later

I returned to Cairo on business to attend a conference with colleagues from around the world. Having gone once and checked out the main sights, it was actually very nice to return and not feel the pressure of visiting a must-see list of places. Instead, we discovered hole-in-the-wall places to eat at, hired a boat for a group of us to cruise up and down the Nile at night, visited Khan el-Khalili (the bazaar or souk), etc. It was a very nice way to enjoy Cairo and just be. In fact, we return to el-Khalili another day not only to shop but, again, to sit and watch life go by – so enjoyable!

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Around one of the entrances to Khan el-Khalili

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Exploring Khan el-Khalili in Cairo, Egypt

I did add to my list of visited sites the Old City which I missed the first time there. What a tremendous miss on a visit to Egypt! The Old City is a phenomenal corner of the large metropolis and full of neat architecture and history… I am glad I got to “re-do” Cairo so I could correct my rookie mistake from 1998!

We first visited the Amr Mosque (Mosque of Amr ibn al-As), first mosque built in Egypt (and Africa) initially built in the 7th century but built-on and expanded over the centuries.

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Mosque in Old City Cairo

…then the Church of St. George (originally built in the 10th century but completely re-built in 1904)…

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Church of St. George

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Light in the dome of the Church of St. George

Detail at the entrance to St. George Church: St. George on his Arabian horse slaying the dragon

… then the Hanging Church (St. Virgin Mary’s Church, largely rebuilt in the 10th century but originally built on the 7th; the main nave is built over a passageway, hence the name “hanging”)…

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Mural in the entrance to the Hanging Church

First entrance to the Hanging Church

Facing out from the front porch of the Hanging Church, a narrow entrance in a crowded part of town!

Doorway in the Hanging Church

Interior of the Hanging Church

and the Ben Ezra Synagogue. However, this was not a matter of just visiting important sites as I had always been curious about Coptic Egypt. I really liked the Old City as it was loaded with history and meaning: just about anywhere you look, there is an interesting site or alley!

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Crypt of the Holy Family under St. Sergius Church

Cairo – Always Something New to Experience

My second trip differed significantly from the first in many ways. However, Cairo offered me great experiences both times. The city itself awes you (or intimidates you!) as it teems with so many people, so many cars, and so many sounds (and do watch out for those cars!). Some of my favorite images are those of the people I interacted with or saw in their day-to-day life.

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The world’s most dedicated and daring tea server: crossing the crazy streets of Cairo with a tray-full of tea!

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Taking a load of fresh bread from a bakery around the suk in Cairo, Khan el-Khalili

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Sipping tea while watching others play a game in Khan el-Khalili

It can be initially daunting but then, if you let yourself wander a little and soak life in, say, at a local tea shop, you can begin to see beyond the main things that draw us to go there in the first place – really get a feel for the tempo of and life in this ancient and fascinating city.

Filed Under: Africa, Egypt Tagged With: Cairo, Cairo bazaar, Canon EOS Rebel, Citadel, Egypt, Hanging Church, Khan el -Khalili, Mohamad Ali mosque, Old City Cairo, photo, travel, what is there to see citadel

On the Shores of Lake Victoria in Mwanza and on to the Serengeti

22 February 2009 by Raul Leave a Comment

In early 2007, I went to Tanzania for work reasons and I was excited to get to this part of Africa. Two other entries in this blog cover the trip over and some observations about Dar es Salaam. This entry will share more of the logistical items about my visit to Mwanza, the actual stories of what I saw once there (field visits, the city, and the Serengeti) merit their own to-be-written entries and I don’t want to make this entry too long!

Part of the reason to be sent to Tanzania, as I may have mentioned in earlier entries, was to better understand my organization’s operations in the developing world. I was fairly new to the organization so this was to be part of my onboarding, if you will. There were a few places in Tanzania to potentially visit but we settled on a 1-day visit to Zanzibar and a 4-5 day visit to Mwanza, on the shores of Lake Victoria.

Getting to Mwanza

To get to Mwanza, I flew Air Tanzania as land travel is extremely slow (there is a train and some sort of road but nothing that would make for an easy and speedy trip; the latter being more important due to time constraints). The plane was brand new and very well kept. I was not sure what to expect but the service and the food were quite good and I felt quite safe flying the local airline. I landed in Mwanza and, though I have flown to a smaller airport (Contadora Island in Panama), I was amused by smallness of the airport and the baggage claim area: a wall divided the area where the plane was from baggage claim and a big rectangular hole in the wall was where the baggage handlers placed the luggage to then be claimed by the passengers.

Mwanza airport

Lodging in the City

I was picked up at the airport and taken to a hotel on the shores of Lake Victoria, named Hotel Tilapia (http://www.hoteltilapia.com/). There were different types of rooms and over the few days I was there, I got to try one of the rooms in the building and one of the rooms on the docked boat (the Buganda, which appeared in the movie the African Queen!). (I didn’t stay at the bungalows, the 3rd type of room.)

Tilapia Hotel House Boat Buganda in Mwanza, Tanzania

The Buganda

The one on the Buganda was rather interesting as the boat (which was well docked and tied up so it didn’t move) was sort of tilted. Also, my window to the water wasn’t really sealed so I wondered what creatures would come in during the night… Actually, both rooms were well fumigated so I actually saw no critter in either one (a key success factor for me even if the spray they use daily in the rooms is toxic to ANY living creature!).

The best feature of this hotel was being on Lake Victoria. There was an outdoor bar and restaurant area by the water which, as long as you had put on some mosquito spray, was quite enjoyable. Clearly, there are other hotels in Mwanza and I didn’t get to see them so there may be better options but this one worked well for me.

The Tilapia Hotel’s bar area right by the shores of Lake Victoria

Mwanza

Mwanza is blessed to be located on Lake Victoria and not terribly far from the western entrance to the Serengeti. It is the second largest city in Tanzania after Dar es Salaam (located on the Indian Ocean coast). I traveled the Mwanza region visiting projects with work which was a neat way to see the area. Some of the projects I visited had to do with village savings and loans (economic livelihood improvement projects). Everyone was very friendly to this visitor!!

Village savings and loan group in Tanzania

Village savings and loan group 1

Village savings and loan group 2

Being on the lake, it is a port (other countries bordering the lake include Kenya and Uganda). One of the natural features of the lake are the rock formations which you also see on land. The most famous of the rock formations is Bismarck’s Rock right by the shore.

Bismarck Rock in Mwanza (Tanzania), by Lake Victoria

Bismarck’s Rock

The city of Mwanza was very manageable and there seemed to be a lot of economic activity at the time. It was a great base to explore the lake area and enter the Serengeti from the west.

Downtown Mwanza

Lodging near the Serengeti

I did overnight in another part of the Mwanza region because I was going into the Serengeti (from the western entrance) the following day and since you want to be there at the crack of dawn, driving from Mwanza was not going to work. So I stayed at the Speke’s Bay Lodge ( http://www.spekebay.com/ ), run by some Dutch (if memory serves me right). They built the lodge area (bungalows and tent area) and they cleared the reeds/bushes from the shores of the bay and actually created a beach (which apparently is very difficult to keep clear of reeds so it is a labor of love, I suppose).

Speke Bay Lodge on the shores of Lake Victoria in Tanzania

Speke Bay Lodge – my lodge

Speke Bay Lodge room by Lake Victoria in Tanzania

Speke Bay Lodge room by the shore of the lake

The “beach” looks very nice but not a beach you would walk around at night – the hippos are not far away and may meander through the beach! I stayed at a bungalow by the lake (the ground where the bungalows are is at a higher level than the beach so I assume the hippos can’t get up there, or so I hoped!). All night long I could hear the hippos – I could have sworn they were right outside my window! (They were not.) The hotel shuts off electricity at some point in the evening so it was an early night which suited me fine because of the early start. However, it was a very hot night and I didn’t think it wise to open the sliding door… One good thing was that the bed had a mosquito net and was quite comfortable.

Lots of wildlife around Speke Bay Lodge

Sunset on the shores of Lake Victoria at Speke Bay Lodge

Sunset on the beach at Speke Bay Lodge

Unfortunately, I did not spend too much time at the lodge because of all the visits on the day on my check-in and because of the very early check-out the next day. However, I had a great meal at their restaurant where a group of Canadians were nice enough to ask me to join them since I was on my own and the grounds were very beautiful and well kept.

There are likely other options (the lodge was on the more expensive side) that may make more sense but I generally went were I was taken so cannot offer other suggestions.

The area around Lake Victoria is beautiful and the memories of nature and people will last me a lifetime…

Sunset on Lake Victoria

Does someone else have insights into other hotels in the city of Mwanza and accommodations near the western entrance to the Serengeti? Can anyone comment on traveling by road or train instead of flying there?

Filed Under: Africa, Tanzania Tagged With: air tanzania, hotel, hotel tilapia, lake victoria, lodging, Mwanza, serengeti, Speke's Bay Lodge, Tanzania, travel

On the Way to Tanzania, via Dubai

31 January 2009 by Raul 8 Comments

My first international travel with the non-profit organization I work for was Tanzania. Originally intended as a one week review of operational controls, a second week was added to the trip to get me exposure to the field work we do in the developing world. I jumped at the opportunity to see firsthand what my new organization did and looked forward to my first opportunity to see sub-Saharan Africa.

Again, getting there is half the fun

Being mindful of cost, I found what was an incredibly cheap fare from Atlanta to Dar es Salaam for less than $1500. I did have to connect in Gatwick (connection hell, second perhaps to CDG) and then in Dubai. Connecting in Gatwick became more hell than I expected when I was informed I could only continue with one carry-on after standing in a security line for connections that would make a tortoise race look speedy. I had with me my laptop bag and a small backpack with camera and personal items. Shocked at this absurd rule from a major international gateway (which I have proactively sought avoiding ever since and recommend likewise), I had to reconfigure things such that I could send via checked luggage my now fairly empty laptop bag. Surely, as a passenger I could be notified of these sclerotic rules AHEAD of getting to the annoying airport?

In London I switched to Emirates Airlines and things picked up quickly. What a fantastic airline. Though traveling coach/tourist class, you are treated as if you had paid business class. Some frills (like footrests) but, more than anything, it was the flight attendants’ attitude towards their customers. I think U.S. based airlines have forgotten who it is they are seeking to serve. You don’t have to spend money, just please treat me nice and pretend you are happy I am there.

The special surprise for me on this Dubai-bound flight (besides the footrest) were the cameras in the underbelly and nose of the aircraft. You could watch from your seat monitor as you flew over things or the space straight ahead! A little freaky at first, it quickly became fascinating. Tops was watching the approach and landing in Dubai from the camera feeds.

Laying it over in Dubai

In Dubai, I had a very long 9 hrs. layover. I had tried to book a room in the hotel in the secured zone of the airport but it had been full weeks in advance and I didn’t feel like leaving the airport. Through research, I did find out that for like $12, you could take a shower in the gym facilities at the airport. These shower facilities were very nice and spacious (you got a private room) and that shower was heavenly. It helped me re-charge a little bit but 9 hrs. was too much time. Since I was traveling alone, it was hard for me to lower my guard enough to nap in any of the sitting areas or areas with the seats made for napping (nice airport!). So I was extremely fatigued and lucky to not have fallen asleep unexpectedly and deeply before my flight to Dar! I slept like a baby on the flight to Dar and I do not fall asleep easily on airplanes…

The Dubai airport is very glitzy in a commercial/Las Vegas-ish kind of way. But it felt nice and clean. It was interesting to see the flights to all these, to me, very exotic destinations that one rarely hears off in the U.S.: Khartoum, D’jamena, Tehran, Riyadh, etc. Very cool. Then you see the passengers from all over the world who cross paths at the airport with different languages, clothing, and customs… People ARE people. Seeing people sleeping UNDER the seats in the hallways of the concourse sure made it feel like the Dubai airport was the air-equivalent of a train station of the world, if such a thing existed.

The Dubai airport is also known for its shopping arcade. I did compare prices on some things and they did not seem really cheaper than back home (for example, electronics). That may have changed since I went a couple of years ago but it is best to do research before heading there to make sure you know if you are getting a deal… It may be that the real deals are in things like jewelry but that was not an area I researched nor was looking to shop in. Does anyone have any insights into what are the best deals to be had in that airport? Any other suggestions for things to do in that airport or the ease of getting in and out of the airport for a hotel stay in between flights?

In future entries, I will share more about Dar, Mwanza, the Serengeti, and Zanzibar. Stay tuned!

Filed Under: Africa Tagged With: airport, Dar es Salaam, Dubai, Emirates, Gatwick, Tanzania, travel

Meeting the Past and Present South Africa in Johannesburg

3 January 2009 by Raul 3 Comments

Johannesburg is one of the most important cities in Africa (Cairo, Lagos and Nairobi come to mind as competitors for the top spot…). It is a city of contrasts and, for me, a place where the past and the current South Africa came together – I ended up with a much better understanding of the challenges of the past and present with this short visit.

I went to Joburg to attend 2 conferences for work. I preceded that with a weekend in the Cape region center on Cape Town (read about visiting Cape Town here, the Cape of Good Hope region here and of visiting Stellenbosch wine country here!).

The conferences I went to were internal gatherings of the organization I was a part of and it was neat to meet so many colleagues from around the world. And, in the second conference, Archbishop Desmond Tutu addressed us and I got to shake his hand! It was a great speech and a once in a lifetime opportunity to shake his hand – a man of courage and principles! We also were addressed by other important figures in the humanitarian sector and it was all a call for action and uplifting at the same time.

My Short and Limited View of Joburg…

For the first conference, I stayed in the Rosebank area, a very nice area of town. We were even able to walk outside at night (as long as we were not on our own). The Rosebank Mall was nearby which was very convenient as there were restaurants there as well as a market for African arts and crafts. The second conference took us to a hotel by the airport. And I mean, BY the airport… planes would fly over us as they were landing and they were at most 300 ft above the street next to the hotel grounds. Incredible!

Soweto

We did manage to squeeze in some important short trips in between conferences and after the second conference. The first place we visited was Soweto (SOuth WEstern TOwnship, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soweto ), the township which was the epicenter of a series of riots that perhaps was the beginning of the end of the apartheid regime starting in 1976 and through the 1980s. We started at a shantytown in Soweto and that matched, I suppose, what I expected to see. A shantytown in Soweto, South Africa is not different in some ways than one in Chinandega, Nicaragua.

One of the poorest streets in Soweto

But the moment we left the shantytown we started seeing middle class and upper class neighborhoods leading us to ask if we had left Soweto (which has slightly less than a million residents). Well, we had not. It is incredible to see the mix of levels of income in such a small area. Winnie Mandela’s house is in a very nice neighborhood close to the street where Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela had lived when younger.

Kids in the streets of Soweto, South Africa

Kids being kids in Soweto

Learning about Apartheid

We also visited the Regina Mundi Catholic Church that shielded protesters from the police during demonstrations in the apartheid era; the choir was practicing when we went which made the visit much more colorful. Finally, we visited the Hector Pieterson Museum which tells the story of how this boy was killed; the image of this boy’s dead or dying body being carried by a stranger as Hector’s teenage sister ran along crying is a famous image of the period.

Picture of Hector Pieterson's body being carried by a stranger

Picture of Hector’s body being carried by a stranger

The museum is small enough to be easily visited. It is an eye opener for someone like me who knew only superficially the struggle against apartheid (I only remember the sanctions and images of riots as I was growing up).

The Hector Pieterson Museum was a good start to learn about the history of the country but it was the Apartheid Museum that really taught me what it was all about and how South Africa was able to come out of such a horrible regime without becoming a ground of ashes from vented anger. It is a testament to the contributions of ANC leaders of the kind that Nelson Mandela represented that prevented violence as revenge and the pragmatism of others such as DeKlerk who understood things had to change whether they wanted the change or not. That may be oversimplifying (for example, not all ANC leaders would have proceeded as Mandela did) but I am only describing what I took away – not trying to write a dissertation! I highly recommend this as the most important stop for anyone visiting Joburg. It is not only a record of the history of modern South Africa but a testament to the human spirit.

Safari!

Finally, we did not have time to go out to Kruger National Park but did manage to visit a nearby park at Pilanesberg. We enjoyed the drive from Joburg (about 3 hours each way) and got to see most animals except that we did not see any felines (bummer). We did have a near hit by an adult male rhino but our experienced driver knew how to read the rhino and know by when we really needed to get going as the rhino was getting testy with our presence.

Rhino about to charge our van!

(Photos taken by Canon EOS Rebel)

Filed Under: Africa, South Africa Tagged With: apartheid, Apartheid Museum, Canon, EOS Rebel, Hector Pieterson, Johannesburg, PIlanesberg, Rosebank, South Africa, Soweto

Sampling South African Wine in Stellenbosch

29 December 2008 by Raul 5 Comments

Ready to hit a new wine region? How about Stellenbosch in South Africa, a short drive east of Cape Town?

The Wineries

So, we finally hit the road east from our hotel to get to Stellenbosch. We made a few stops in the wine region hitting some wineries pretty much randomly.

The vine of happiness!

We did apply enough intelligence to the itinerary to make sure the first one we hit was one that had a place to eat since we were getting there around lunch time. The winery we chose (Vergelegen) had very large fields and gardens and a café where you could eat lunch in the shade of trees overlooking a rose garden. We then proceeded to the wine tasting area where for a fee (on top of the R10 we paid to enter the property…), we could sample 6 wines. Not getting into details, the wines generally were refreshing and quite drinkable. It was a blue-sky day and we faced a mountain range so the setting was perfect to sit back and enjoy life.

View of the gardens and backdrop of the Vergelegen winery in Stellenbosch, South Africa near Cape Town

View from the Vergelegen winery garden

After the initial winery, since wineries began closing after 4 PM, we chose a road where there were a few wineries back to back to minimize driving time (did I say we both studied engineering??). The first winery was in an old building and the wine was quite nice. In this winery, the person who served us stood there by us and happily answered our questions but the conversation was nothing special. In a later winery (Peter Falke, not to be confused with the actor; the owner, if I remember correctly, was a German who owned a socks company in Germany) that seemed a little bigger (but not as big as the first one we went to), the only employee in that afternoon was the winemaker himself who was quite willing to sit outside with us and sample the wine on the backyard as we overlooked the fields and the nearby mountains. You can tell this winery is new but the setting is perfect to be rented out for events as it has the right lay out in the patio, has great outdoor furniture, etc. He was quite willing to discuss winemaking and generally answer our questions so I think this winery was my favorite . The wine was also quite nice.

In Stellenbosch Town

As the wineries closed, we headed into town to check in and have dinner. Our hotel was a local small hotel (the Eendracht) right in town. The architecture of the town as in much of the Cape region, is Cape Dutch. I, not being a student of architecture, have to admit I was clueless about it. I really found it quite charming. I will make a note to someday google it and learn something about it…

Typical construction in Cape Dutch architecture style in the Stellenbosch wine region of South Africa

Example of the Cape Dutch architecture

The town was very nice and we quickly ran into the shops and restaurant area of the town. We also hit a wine store where we were given samples of wine without any pressure to buy. The store had a long wooden table that indicated frequent wine tastings took place. If I lived there, I would likely frequent it :). That night we decided we were done with seafood so we smelled our way around the various restaurants until we found one that seemed right for a good meal. I don’t have the name handy but I think we did well. The place was full of locals and the meal was great. I ate springbok (a type of deer) in a brown sauce – it was delicious!So with that ended my weekend escape to the Cape region and I proceeded to the less magnificent Johannesburg area (but with interesting history) (read about it here). I also learned quickly in my trip to South Africa how cheap things are given the exchange rate!

Big thumbs up for the Cape region and here is to hoping to go back!

Does anyone have any recommendations for other wineries in Stellenbosch?

(Photos taken with Canon EOS Rebel)

Filed Under: Africa, Good Eats and Drinks, South Africa, Wine Tagged With: Canon, Cape Dutch architecture, Cape Town, EOS Rebel, South Africa, Stellenbosch, Wine

Reaching the End of Africa…

29 December 2008 by Raul 2 Comments

We started the day by going to the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town as the Ocean Volvo Race was expecting its first arrivals on the first leg of this round-the-world regatta that morning. They were expecting the Ericsson team to be the first to arrive from Europe and, sure enough, when we got there, the crew was already packing up sails, etc. It was neat to see them getting with their families after however long they had been in the ocean. It was then time to leave to go see the famous Cape of Good Hope which is NOT the southernmost tip of the continent (I felt taken in!).

Leaving Cape Town and heading south passes through beach areas that I only wish I could have enjoyed!

Heading out Cape Town on our way south to the Cape of Good Hope

Driving from Cape Town to Cape of Good Hope is a neat drive. The peninsula is rather small so the distances are short. There seem to be 2 main roads going down, one along the west coast and another further east. We decided to go down one and come up another. As we trekked down the beach towns south of Cape Town, we greatly enjoyed the views of the bays, mountains and beaches along the way. The drive around Chapman’s Peak has to rank up there among the most beautiful coastal drives in the world (http://www.chapmanspeakdrive.co.za/). Unfortunately, the final part of the drive for us, south of Hout Bay was closed to traffic (not sure why but maybe rock slides?) but the views were breathtaking and we even got to see whales pretty much near the rocks at the bottom of the cliff we were standing at. It was a beautiful day to be driving around (early November). Due to the crossing we had to back track up to Hout Bay but that allowed us to drive by Constantia which seems a neat area to visit some time.

We decided to head straight to Simon’s Town and stop there for lunch.

Making a stop in Simon’s Town on the way of the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa to see the penguins

We also realized it was known for the penguins so we decided to take a look at them too. We had lunch at a great hole in the wall called the Salty Sea Dog [good eats] where we had fantastic fish and chips. There were many choices on the fish and it was all very fresh. The penguins were, as promised, perched on the rocks but I felt, as the tourist restricted to a wooden pathway, as the wildlife under observation!

Penguins in Simon’s Town

The landscape south of Simon’s Town got more beautiful the more we drove. We saw different types of wildlife along the way. We entered the park and soon found ourselves at the Cape of Good Hope. At first, it seemed just a big old pile of rocks. However, soon the colors from the late afternoon soon, the wild waves, and the hike up that pile of rocks began to yield truly magnificent views. We hiked up and set up our own rock pile atop the Cape where others had done the same. As soon as we began walking further at the top, it started raining so we had to make a run back down in the rain. Too late, we were drenched. Fortunately, it wasn’t too cold!

We then drove over to Cape Point, right next door and probably a walk over had it not been raining, and STILL not the southernmost point of the continent (Cape Argulhas is) though you are informed it is the southwesternmost point on the continent (I wondered about whether such a distinction is necessary; what is the southeasternmost point? maybe Port Elizabeth?). We hiked up Cape Point and then all the way down as far as you are allowed above the lighthouse. Cape Point was far more spectacular than its more famous neighbor in terms of the views. You can look north and see the peninsula with the Atlantic Ocean on the west and False Bay on the east.

Cape Point near the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa

Reaching Cape Point

Looking at the Cape of Good Hope from Cape Point

More info on the capes at http://away.com/features/south_africa_cape_point_1.html.

As we drove back up the west coast after nightfall, one of my favorite views was a lighthouse that we looked down upon from the road we were driving on. It was between Kommetjie and Scarborough, I think. Due to a road accident that killed 5 in Kommetjie, we had to backtrack a good way and ended up driving up the east coast (got to see the lighthouse again!).After a few misses in small towns north of Simon’s Town, we finally found a town that looked like it had places to eat (it was Sunday night so maybe many places were closed, hence those towns looked like there were no eateries…). In Kalk Bay we found an eatery called the Brass Bell right by the train station on the water. It was a pub/seafood place – it was great! Basic as it was, the food was quite good, the setting pretty cool, and the beer nice and cold! Maybe we were just too hungry??

After dinner we just went due north past Muizenberg to our hotel to get ready for our visit to wine country in Stellenbosch.

Does anyone know of interesting towns in the peninsula or good places to eat in that area?

Filed Under: Africa, South Africa Tagged With: cape of good hope, cape point, sea, simon's town, South Africa, sunset

Visiting the Phenomenal City of Cape Town, South Africa

26 December 2008 by Raul 1 Comment

I headed to South Africa to attend some work conferences in Johannesburg. But I decided, being my first time in South Africa, that I just had to see Cape Town and the surroundings, including the Cape of Good Hope and Stellenbosch. A college roommate was also going to be there for business so we decided to meet up and see the Cape region together.

Our Accommodations

We stayed at a nice hotel, The Courtyard, near the Liesbeck River and the Observatory. It had an awesome setting, kind of looking to the back of Table Mountain. The hotel had the nicest happy hour I have seen in any hotel – local beers and wines and a good amount of appetizers. In the morning you had a nice buffet breakfast and you could take it outside looking at the grounds and the mountain.

Enjoying breakfast at The Courtyard outside of Cape Town, South Africa

Enjoying breakfast outdoors at The Courtyard

In the City

We visited the V&A Waterfront which was nice but we could have been in any major city by the water. The seafood we had was very fresh. But other than that, not sure I would be making this a priority stop in any future trip there…

V&A Waterfront in Cape Town with Table Mountain on the background

V&A Waterfront with Table Mountain on the background

Slightly Out of the City

Robben Island was closed when I was in CT for some animal control project that was to last 2 weeks. I imagine it is an interesting place but I can’t comment. The beach towns south of the city center were teeming with life and seemed a nice play to stay an hang out for meals, etc. We mainly drove past them as we only had 2 days to cover a lot of places we wanted to see. But, in a future visit, I can see myself relaxing in these towns…

Driving through the beach towns south of Cape Town

The Masterpiece of Cape Town – A Natural Wonder!

The traveler freezing at the top of Table Mountain

Rio de Janeiro has the Pao de Azucar. Cape Town has Table Mountain. Table Mountain, at first thought, seemed maybe too touristy to visit but it was well worth the time and ride up. The views up there were simply fantastic. You could see the city, the port, Robben Island, the beach towns, etc. But the height from which you see them really blows you away. The clouds would come in and out of the mountaintop adding to an already-amazing setting.

View from Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa

View towards the beach towns from Table Mountain

View from Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa with Robben Island

View towards the city in the foreground and Robben Island in the background

While Cape Town as a city was not something spectacular (I’m comparing it to the likes of Paris, Istanbul, Rome), the setting of the city most definitely is quite spectacular and the neighboring areas (more on those later) are as well.