14 Homeward Bound

Sunday, October 15, 2017

     We spent a couple of hours in the Amsterdam airport.  We had coffee or tea and cookies at a cafe there.  We had to say goodbye to Russ and Mary1 there because they were on a flight 2 hours later than ours for the second leg.

     Then it was back on a plane for 9 more hours to Minneapolis.  Impossible to sleep because they kept coming with drinks, meals, and snacks.  I sat next to a Dutch man (I think) and he didn't say much either.  I had to bother him twice to get up and go to the bathroom.  I watched a lot of movies, played Free Cell, Sudoku, and read to pass the time.  Finally we were landing on time about 12:30 pm (and no smoke this time).  The lines for immigration and customs were long, but we had no problems getting through.  We got our suitcases and I got my drum out of Deb's cargo bag.  We took one last group photo and then we went our separate ways.

     Mary2's husband was there to drive her and I home to Brandon (another 4 hours!). We stopped for a snack just outside of the Cities, but then it was non-stop home.  I got home about 5:00 or so.  Big hug and kisses from my husband.  Oh, it's good to be home!  I can go to the bathroom on a decent toilet and not be rushed.  I can brush my teeth under running water.  Took a shower and then had yummy meatballs for supper.  Transferred some of my photos, but I got too tired and went to bed.  My own soft bed again.  Home!

13 Last Day in Dar

Saturday, October 14, 2017

     We didn't get up real early but early enough that we could get some breakfast.  Deb2 met Edward at 9:00 to go look for some compression socks for the flight home.  He took her to an army surplus store and had some success, although they look like old granny socks.  Then we went to the grocery store right next to the hotel to get some water and coffee.  I did some shopping in the hotel stores and got a dress, a new carry-on bag (to replace my torn backpack) and 2 shirts for the grandsons.  We went back to our room to pack everything up.  I put my carry-on stuff in my new bag and put the ripped backpack in my suitcase.  I haven't had to use the expander on my suitcase yet so I have plenty of room but not sure how much weight I have.  We put all our suitcases in the lobby.  Our plane didn't take off until about 11:00 pm but we had to check out of our hotel rooms at 11:00 am.

      Now it was shopping in earnest time.  We went to a little shopping area right behind the hotel where prices were cheaper.  I used up almost all of the schillings I had left.  Got gifts for co-workers, a drum for Oliver's birthday, some coasters, and a picture frame.  Deb2 let me put the drum in the big cargo bag with her baskets.  Hopefully it doesn't get smashed on the plane.  We put the rest of our purchases in our suitcases.

     It was time for some cooling off and food, so we found a spot at the restaurant right near the water. We had some cold drinks and when everyone else eventually joined us we had lunch.  Mary and I shared a Hawaiian pizza.  While we were eating lunch, we helped Deb1 compose a Facebook posting to ask for donations for the science equipment that the school needed for their exams.  They need about $3000 which the Image Project doesn't have.  We're hoping that social media will help us raise half that much.  Edward is supposed to get the other half from Tanzanians.

     Then we shopped a little more.  I found a couple of books in a book store.  We sat in the lounge of the hotel for awhile (in the air conditioning).  Some guy came up to us and asked if we knew who he was (we didn't, of course.)  He said his name was Nimrod Mkono.  We asked Edward about him afterward and we learned he was a very rich member of parliament. We could have asked him for money for the science equipment.  If we'd only known....

     We were getting very hot so we found an ice cream store and had some ice cream to cool off.  It was such a hot day again!  Then Edward said he would take us shopping over by the SeaCliff hotel where we were last night.  We piled in the van and drove over there.  We looked around a little but there weren't many stores open (it was a national holiday), so we decided we should just eat an early supper and not wait.  We ate at the SeaCliff again out in the wind and sea spray.  Deb2 & I shared some chicken breast and french fries.  Very good.  We asked for our checks right away so we were out of there soon after we were done eating (one of our fastest meals yet).

     We came back to the Slipway Hotel and some of us changed clothes and freshened up in Edward's room (he was staying there another night).  We waited with our suitcases for a taxi to show up.  When the taxi came, the four of  us (my DSH ladies) went in the taxi and everyone else went with Edward. Traffic was not bad so we were at the airport in plenty of time.  Russ & Mary thought they had first class tickets on the same flight as us, but the ticket counter had no record of it.  The rest of us made it through all the baggage, security checks and customs.  Deb2's cargo bag had to get all taped up before they would take it, but it looked like it would be safer that way.  We waited in the lounge and had something to eat and drink.  I got some t shirts at the gift shop.  Russ & Mary1 did finally get their tickets. Turns out the agent on the phone had taken all their credit card info, but had forgotten to actually charge their card. Mary1 needed to be able to keep her leg straight, so they are hoping their travel insurance will cover the cost.  The finally did get their tickets and they were on our flight to Amsterdam.

      It was 8 1/2 hours to Amsterdam. I sat next to a woman from Switzerland but didn't talk much.  Too tired.   I didn't sleep much on this leg.  I watched a movie, then dozed on and off for a few hours, then watched another movie.   We actually landed a 1/2 hour early with "priority status' because there was a smoke smell at the back of the plane.  We had to stay in our seats about 15 minutes while they checked things out.  Then when we exited, there were fire fighters at each door. Not a reassuring feeling, but nothing was wrong. A few days later, we got an apology email from the airline, explaining the situation and that we were never in any danger.

12 More hot driving back to Dar

Friday, Oct. 13, 2017

     Woke up at 3:30 because our air conditioner was making funny noises.  Read for awhile and then decided to just get up at 5:00.  Got ready leisurely and had a nice breakfast at the hotel. The view of the mountains from our hotel rooms was gorgeous!   We packed up (again) and were ready to go by 8:00 as directed.  We waited around until 8:45 until we finally got going. At least Deb2 got some more snuggles in with Edward's kids.   Drove over some atrocious back city roads to drop off Edward's family at their house.  We were finally on the real road back to Dar at 9:15.

Mountain view from our room.

Deb2 and Edward's kids

     It was slower going with lots of traffic and speed zones.  We had to stop at a bush toilet for Deb2 but other than that we didn't stop except when traffic stopped.  The drive through Dar was very hot!  So many people and buses and trucks!  The road into Dar looked like an earthquake zone because everything close to the highway had to be removed for the widening of the road.  They were breaking buildings apart by hand and salvaging every little brick.  But it was a mess.  People were selling things right up at our vehicle windows.  They were selling everything and everybody was selling the same things.  So many people selling - how can they make a living?

Messy lands by the road.  

     We got to the Slipway Hotel about 2:00.  We freshened up a little (once we got towels).  Had a glass of wine and then decided to shop at the hotel shops here.  We were just getting into it when Deb1 said Edward was here with the school van and we should go get in.  We got out front and no Edward.  We stood around waiting for another 1/2 hour or more.  Finally we were all there, piled into the van and went to the SeaCrest hotel for a supper right on the Indian Ocean. On the way there, Edward pretended he was an airline pilot and welcomed us to his "flight" and we could enjoy the wifi on our trip.  We thought he was kidding, but he really had turned on a hotspot and we could use wifi.  We wasted the opportunity texting each other in the vehicle.

     The restaurant was out on a terrace overlooking the ocean.  There were tankers and waves and a very stiff breeze.  It blew a glass of wine over onto Deb2's lap.  There was also a nice gift shop there where I found a souvenir spoon and a puzzle set for Linus.  Still need to do more shopping.  Edward wants us to go to the island of Bongoyo tomorrow but Deb2 and I want to stay here and shop.  For dinner tonight I had a crispy chicken wrap.  Everybody else except Deb2 had fish or seafood.  Good thing the breeze was blowing the smell away.  We all had a little too much to drink.  Came back to the hotel and finished up more wine in Mary and Russ' room.  Deb & I got tired-we'd been awake since 3:30.  We excused ourselves and went to bed.

Indian Ocean view from SeaCrest

11 Lots of driving

Thursday, October 12, 2017

      Deb1 and Deb2 got up early to go on a bird/nature walk around the camp.  This camp is also a training camp for future guides (working now as staff at the camp) so they go along to learn about everything, too.  They saw lots of birds and animal tracks to identify.  The rest of us had time to take a shower and pack.  We all met for breakfast at 7:30.  Chris was there and wanted all our email addresses and pictures with all of us.  Not sure I wanted him to have mine, but went with the flow.  After a delicious breakfast we went to the office to settle our bar bills.  Mine was $0 - Fanta orange soda was included.  We couldn't pay the bill for our stay there because we couldn't use VISA as were informed we could.  We felt guilty saying goodbye to Alex and Trude (the accountant who was also very friendly and nice) when we couldn't pay.  But Deb1 had made some arrangements so we bid farewell to our camp and wonderful hostess.

Trude and Alex

     We had a long drive ahead of us.  We would have much rather stayed another day in this lovely park, but we had places to go and people to meet.  It was an hour drive out of the park with a quick stop to take a shot of the hippo pond and then 2 hours on gravel roads back to Iringa.  Deb1 and Edward stopped at a bank and transferred some funds.  Deb1 said she really was questioned as to why she needed all this money - a single white woman with an African man - was she being kidnapped?  But all worked out fine. We stopped at the Sai Villa (again-we just couldn't get enough of that place) for lunch.  A representative from the park met Deb1 there and our stay at the park was paid for.  The rest of us would have to send her a check once we got home.  (Which I did, by the way, how about the rest of you?)  

The hippo pond on our way out of Ruaha Park.

     After our lunch at Sai Villa, we got back on the road again for 5 more hours to Morogoro.  We had taken advantage of the wifi at Sai Villa and the time we spent waiting for the money transferring to reconnect with our loved ones.  We didn't have the accompaniment of the DC for this part of the trip, so we thought we might have to stop at more check points, but she must have called ahead again and told them not to stop us.  The only place we stopped was a little hotel that Deb1 had stayed in before.  We used the restrooms and bought some ice cream.  A refreshing treat!  Then another hour and half back in the vehicles.  It was so hot today.  Somebody saw it was 98 degrees.  Not a comfortable day.
       We got to the Nestera Hotel in Morogoro about 6:30.  We checked into our air conditioned rooms, took showers, and met for supper.  Morogoro is a town very close to where Edward was raised.  His family stays in some government housing there and came to meet us for supper. His wife's name is Namnyaki and the school was named after her.  He has a daughter, a son, and a niece.  Deb2 had brought some gifts for them from her granddaughter, Aleah.  She presented those gifts and we took pictures of them with their gifts to send back to Aleah.  Those kids were so cute and working very hard on their English.  They loved seeing pictures and videos.  After supper it was back to our rooms to take advantage of the wifi and soft beds.  We still had more driving ahead of us the next day.

Edward, Namnyaki, his wife, and kids

10 Lions, Elephants, and Zebras

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

   I slept better than I thought I would with no CPAP machine, but I did snort myself awake a few times.  I hoped it didn't keep Deb awake.   Our bathroom here is massive.  I took a hot shower.  They brought us tea and scones as a wakeup call at 7:00.  We were already awake so enjoyed my tea out on the veranda watching the monkeys in the trees around me.  Mary and Marlene had the monkeys right on their veranda.

No monkeys here, but this was our veranda.

     We went to breakfast at 7:30.  Finding the dining hall was a little tricky and we ended up asking a staff member, Anton.  He asked me what languages I knew and when I said Spanish, we exchanged a few sentences in Spanish.  Alex sat with us for breakfast, too.  We had some raised cinnamon rolls that were so yummy, toast and jam, and whatever kind of eggs we wanted.

Breakfast in the dining hall

     We loaded up into the Rovers.minus Russ and Mary1.  Turned out Mary had a small fracture in one of the long bones of her leg.  They had bought her a knee brace and some tylenol.  This morning her knee felt better and she could put some weight on it, but she chose not to go on the morning safari drive.  Today is her birthday, so what a bummer - to be in this fabulous camp and not able to go out and see the animals.  And we saw lots of animals: lions, zebras, giraffes, kudus, impala, elephants, cape buffalo, a cobra and a bee's nest.  There were many colorful birds also.  We crossed the dry (and sometimes wet) river bed many times. It was the Mwagusi River, hence the Mwagusi Safari Camp name.

Zebras and a giraffe.  Michael noticed there were nervous about something.  

A little further down the road and this is what the other animals were nervous about.

     When we got back about 12 we freshened up.  Our bandas had been cleaned up and opened up for all nature.  Our dirty laundry had been spirited away to be washed, sun dried and ironed by hand during the day.  We went to lunch in the dining hall again.  We had rice, meatloaf, some kind of vege (meat)balls, tomato and cheese salad, and wonderfully soft yummy buns.  While we were eating, small squirrels kept trying to sneak in and eat the food on the serving counter.  For dessert it was apple strudel.

Lunch buffet

     There was a big bird in a tree across the river bed.  I used the zoom on my camera to take a close up.  It was a new bird to the staff so they were using a bird book and my photo to try to identify it.  After lunch we came back to our banda to take a hot sweaty nap.  I used the hammock and Deb took the couch on our veranda.  It was so peaceful!

New bird (to them) in a tree across the river

    At 4:00 I went on an evening safari ride.  Deb2 stayed with Mary1 so Russ could go.  We saw tons more animals but all the same kinds.  One spot on the river bed had just about all of them at once.  We stayed there about 20 minutes watching the animals get water.  Watching a baby elephant kneel down and use his trunk to dig in the dry sand until he found water was amazing.  I just couldn't believe I was there, watching all this natural beauty in person.

Can you hear the baby elephant walk?

     The  next spot we went to had 2 lions, a male and a female.  We had heard that they might be mating.  As we watched, the male slowly got up and walked over to the female.  He licked her a few times and she just laid their ignoring him.  A few more licks and she got up and he started humping her.  He bit her ear and roared and it was over. Took all of 30 seconds.  He walked off and laid down to rest.  She laid there with her legs in the air for awhile.  Wow!  Talk about seeing animals in their natural state!  There were about 6 safari vehicles in a semi-circle around them.  We all took videos.  We felt privileged to be some of the few people in the world to witness this in the wild. The drive after that was a let down.  Michael tried hard to find a "chewy" (leopard) for us, but couldn't.

Wham, bam, thank you, mam!

    We got back about 6:45, just long enough to freshen up and have a glass of our own wine before being picked up by our "taxi" to go to supper.  It was down in the river bed again.  They even carried Mary1 (Queen Mary) down in a chair so she could be part of the group.  We had drinks beforehand again with Chris and Rebecca from London and Bob and Julie (great names!).  I had told them earlier that my husband's name was also Bob and he said he was sorry.  Dinner started with "crisps" (potato chips) and drinks, then pumpkin soup, a buffet with potatoes with parsley, beef stroganoff with mushrooms, leek muffins (good!), chapati (Indian flat bread), spinach something and broccoli.  For dessert they came out in a singing line with a cake for Mary1's birthday.  We had a grand time with lots of bad jokes told.  Then our "taxis" took us back to our bandas.  Deb2 threw up everything, felt better and we went to bed.

Mary1 and her birthday cake

9 Ruaha, here we come!

Tuesday, October 10

   We woke up early again to take a hike to the falls.  Packed up our suitcases and took them down with us so they can get loaded in the van by 10 while we are hiking.  We met up to start our hike. Russ informed us that Mary1 had slipped on the wet sidewalk and hurt her knee.  She wouldn't be going with us.  Deb2 chose not to go also.  Our guide, James, asked if we wanted to go on the shorter easier route that would take us 40 minutes and or the longer one.  Since we were pressed for time and we weren't feeling too confident, it was unanimous for the shorter one.  Good choice because it was a tough climb for us.  Our knees and thighs got sore. They gave us walking sticks to use on our hike and for good reason. We didn't go to the very top of the waterfall, but just to a good viewpoint.  We did have to climb a few rocks to get there, but the security guard who followed us helped me.  We had to cross a scary bridge, too.  For some reason it just terrified me and I couldn't even take the first step.  Our guide had to come back and help me across.  The falls weren't that spectacular and we didn't see any of the black monkeys that Edward was raving about.

Udzungwa Falls

     I scraped my arm on a branch squeezing between 2 trees.  I washed it real well when I showered for the 2nd time when we got back.   We were all dripping with sweat.  We had some breakfast at the same table we sat at last night. I just had bread and fruit. We gathered at the reception area and saw that Mary1 was hurting a lot more than we thought.  She couldn't put any weight on her leg.  They finally got a wheelchair and some ice for her.  That at least helped her get to the Rover.  Set her up in the backseat with pillows and her ice bag.  We had a long trip ahead of us to our next stop-Ruaha National Park, about 6 hours away.  We worried about Mary and her knee especially over the first bumpy road we had to go over.  The plan was to stop at Iringa and have her checked out at a hospital.
     We left Udzungwa at 10:00 (right on schedule).  Stopped three different places for gas until we found one that had some.  They even had restrooms there (although the hole in the ground kind). Another 100 km to Iringa and when we got there we stopped at Sai Villa, the hotel we had stayed there while working at the school.  There was a conference going on in the main room, but they were nice enough to let use use a bathroom in one of the rooms (the one I stayed in).   Mary1, Russ, Deb1 and Edward were going to stay there and take Mary to the hospital.  Our vehicle with Michael as our guide went on to Ruaha Game Park - another 2 1/2 hours on gravel roads. Ugh!

The check in spot for Ruaha

     When we got to Ruaha National Park, the sun was going down (more gorgeous photos).  We just beat the 6:00 deadline.  If you don't get to the park before 6, they won't let you in.  Michael helped us with the check-in.

Sunset over Ruaha

     Then we drove another hour through the park to the camp, Mgwasi Safari Camp.  By then it was dark and they greeted us warmly.  While Alex, our hostess and the camp manager, was talking to us, an elephant walked by.  Alex told us if we were out walking in the camp and and saw an elephant coming close that we should back up and go back into our banda.  She told us we had a whistle in our banda for medical emergencies.  She also said hearing a lion or elephant outside our tent is not an emergency.  It was completely dark by this time so we were led to our bandas by flashlight.  We had no idea what the place looked like, just followed the leader. We had about 20 minutes to freshen up and they came back to take us to dinner.  We were led down sand paths and down a hill into a wide open area surrounded with rocks and lanterns.  It was the dry river bed we learned later.  So cool!   

Photo from website of the camp.  The river was dry now.

     We were first seated in a semi-circle around a bonfire and we could order drinks of any kind.  They also offered us some chips as an appetizer.  We met a British couple from London, Chris and Rebecca.  He took a lot of teasing from us and gave it right back.  After our drinks, we were led to a table for our "starter": spinach won ton and grated carrots.  It was actually much better than it sounds-very good.  We were then led to a buffet of many different dishes. Alex explained that all of their food is prepared over a wood fire. The meat was pork so I didn't have any but I tried everything else: potatoes, ratatouille, baked spinach, cauliflower and carrots.  The carrots were the best.  While we were eating, Alex excused herself and said that our other vehicle had arrived and she was going to welcome them.  We all mentally cheered because we knew that Mary1 must be somewhat ok if she was able to travel.  (They had the influence of Asia, the DC, helping them get in after the 6:00 deadline since it was a medical emergency.  It pays to have friends in high places!)  Alex came back and said they weren't going to join us at dinner and would eat in their bandas.  With Mary1's knee injury it would have been hard to get her down to this dining area.   After dinner, we just sat around the table and asked questions about each other's countries.  They came with coffee and tea next.  I thought the salt was sugar (it was in a bowl with a spoon) and put it in my tea.  I had to ask for a new one.  When Alex saw we were tired she called our "taxis" (staff members with flashlights) to lead us back to our bandas.

Outside of our banda

    We had a little time to look around our bandas finally.  It is a tent within a permanent structure made of sticks and stones.  They try to use all natural material.  What little electricity there is (about 4 dim lights) is solar powered and we were told would last all night.  We turned ours off, though, when we went to bed.  The bedroom was enclosed in a large tent that zipped closed in the front and the back. We were told to put any food we brought with us into a trunk and close it tight if we didn't want "visitors".   On the back side was our huge bathroom.  It had a dressing area, which included a basket where we could put dirty clothes and they would take them in the morning to wash them (all except underwear).  There was a flush toilet around one curve and a shower with solar heated water around the other side.  A sink and mirror and towel racks made from driftwood were in the middle.  It was gorgeous.  Made our bandas at the last place, Mikumi, look like the slums.

Looking into the banda from the front veranda.

The bathroom.

The shower area.

Bathroom sink.  

     I washed out some underwear and socks enough to last until I got home, I hoped.  While I was hanging clothes up, I thought I heard a car but then realized it was a lion's roar.  (Alex told me in the morning it was more likely an elephant roar but it sure sounded like a lion to me.)   I could hear other creatures outside in the bushes.  I hoped I could sleep with all the critters, no air conditioning and no CPAP machine.



   
   

8 - Change of Plans

Monday, Oct. 9, 2017

   We got up early to go out on a 6:30 am safari drive.  This time we saw hippos, crocodiles, impalas, zebras, lions and lion cubs.  I got the shot of the day-2 lion cubs looking right at me, hidden in the bushes.  There were right next to the road and you would never know they were there, unless you were a guide in the park.  Thank goodness for our guide, Amani (which means "peace" in Swahili).

Lion cubs and their mother

   We came back to our bandas and Edward and Deb were bubbling with excitement.  Edward had gotten an email that a photo of our Maasai girls at their graduation in their full gowns made it onto the front page of the newspaper most read by the government people.  It wasn't a picture of the RC or DC - it was of the girls performing  They were ecstatic because now everyone will take notice of these girls (and the girls who have gone missing)! We had a celebratory breakfast. 

The girls' photo on the newspaper

    We decided not to stay at Mikumi another night since we weren't too happy with our bandas.  We had already paid for the second night, so we could only get half of that money back.  We had also paid for a second day in the park, so we weren't in a big hurry to leave. Asia and Edward thought we should go to Udzungwa Falls. They told us it was a beautiful waterfall and had black monkeys to see.   They also wanted us to go to the Ruaha Game Park (3 hours back the way we came and 3 hours more.)  After many phone calls to make sure we would have a place to stay that night and the next, we packed up all our stuff in the Rovers.  We drove around the park for a couple more hours and saw a lot more animals.  We stopped at one point by a huge baobab tree that everyone but me climbed up inside. Somebody had to take the picture!

Inside the baobab tree

     We had lunch at a different restaurant in Mikumi park.  This was a much nicer restaurant.  Deb1 thought that maybe we were mistakenly booked in the wrong bandas.  There were some other nicer looking ones near the restaurant.  We sat at a massive table over-looking the park and a watering hole.  As we ate, animals would walk by on their way to the water. The table had some very heavy sculpted animals on top of it. This place had a gift shop so we all bought some souvenirs.  Asia bought us each an African scarf or shawl.  Since 3 of them (including mine) were not so pretty, she told Edward to buy 3 more when we got to Dar (and 3 more plain ones so we'd all have 2).  I gave Asia and Miriam each one of my SD scarves (not near as pretty as the African ones, but at least it was a little something.) The restaurant ran out of beer while we were there (just like the bar last night).  Guess we must be heavy drinkers compared to the usual guests.  

The table at the restaurant

Miriam (the security guard) and Asia (the DC) with my scarves

     We then drove by the lion spot one more time on our way out of the park.  The male and female were out more in the open.  Got some more great shots.  Then we started on our way to Udzungwa Falls. Along the way we stopped in a town.  Edward came up to each our vehicles like a carhop, introduced himself and said that DC had ordered him to take our orders for beer to drink on the way.  We all wondered if that was legal, but our driver told us as long as he wasn't drinking them we were ok.  Anyway, we had the DC leading the way and buying them for us.  Who would stop us?  I got one Kilimanjaro to take home to Bob.  We also stopped to buy newspapers with our girls' picture in it.  Edward even found an English language one.

Can you see both lions?

Asia at our "beer stop", probably on the phone pulling strings for us.

     More driving up and down, through the mountains to a whole new climate with sugarcane plantations, palm trees and steamy humidity.  The last stretch of road was even worse than the road to the school but thankfully not as long.   The Udzungwa Falls Lodge is very deluxe.  They greeted us with cold wash clothes and a watermelon drink.  It's built into the mountain side so it was up hill to our room. I hauled my suitcase halfway up myself because the path got too narrow for the little gal pulling both Deb's and mine.  Ugh!  Then we were told to go down and pay so we walked all the way down to the desk only to be told we needed to pay in US dollars.  Back up to the room again to get our money and then paid the $120 for the night.   The room was gorgeous, huge, and deliciously cold!  The bathroom was beautiful and so modern compared to the night before.

Our bedroom at Udzungwa Falls Lodge

Deluxe bathroom!

     We then found the dining room and they had a big round table for 10 all set up for us. It looked out over the rain forest, but we couldn't see much in the dark.  Deb2 and I ordered a bottle of wine because we thought it was one of the smaller sized ones we had been getting at other places for 15,000 schillings (about $7.50).  Turned out it was a full bottle and 55,000.  So I drank a lot of it.  Meanwhile everyone else showed up and had taken showers.  We felt grungy and they were all clean and refreshed.  Especially Asia and Miriam who were all dressed up. That night I had the best meal I had in Africa yet - creamy vegetable soup, tomato and cucumber salad, spaghetti, and carrot cake (a little dry, but good).  Came back to our deluxe room and they had turned down our bed and put our mosquito netting down, too. We plugged everything in to recharge, showered and crashed!

Table for 10 in the rain forest