Tanzania

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We went to Tanzania to see some of the big sights like...
Lake Victoria - Jason ate fish from the lake and we visited a fishing village full of children. Interesting fact: while sitting at dinner eating local lake fish someone was reading their guide book which noted the high concentration of pollution in the lake. We are still waiting to see if there are any effects.
The Serengeti - The wildebeests were gathering! Each year millions of wildebeests and their friends, the the zebra, gather around the Mara river before heading to the Serengeti for greener pastures. The big event is watching them actually cross the river while the Nile crocodiles pick off one here and there. Woodley was very happy that we didn’t actually see the river crossing. All we saw was the gather, run and follow which was incredible anyway.
Ngorongoro Crater - The highlight! This is an amazing place with absolutely beautiful scenery and tons of wildlife. Some people call it the 8th wonder of the world and it lived up to it. We had a couple of scary moments though, like an earthquake in the middle of the night while sleeping on the ground in a tent…the zippers were shaking. Also, there was a flat tire on one of the jeeps. Our guide and several others got out to change the tire while Jason stayed with the women. Good thing since we blew out the tire next to a lion who scared the #%&*#@* out of our guide. Everyone lived though.
Maasai Village - The Maasai are a nomadic people that live in Tanzania and Kenya. They measure wealth in cattle and children. They live a very rural life and are kind enough to invite us to their villages for singing, dancing and of course, shopping.
Mt Kilimanjaro - Originally this was on the “to do” list in Tanzania. However, after assessing the price and Jason’s propensity to high altitude sickness we decided to forgo this excursion until next time. Jason will be starting a high altitude training group….any one interested???
Here are a few little known facts about Jason Lipka, he has experienced the following:
Mt Humphreys, Arizona - dizzy at 3000 meters. Placed blame on Woodley for making him carry a lot of supplies.
Mt Siguniang, China - almost passed out 4000 meters. Placed blame on “bad” rice.
Mt Sinai, Egypt - He was sick at 2500 meters. Claimed it was a religious experience.
The ONLY bad thing we can say about Africa is mosquitoes can kill you and flies can knock you down. We came across many travelers who had suffered from malaria. If that isn’t bad enough, the flies can give you sleeping sickness. Jason is claiming to have contracted this but I think it is just the altitude sickness.

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