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Published: August 21st 2008
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Saying Goodbye
Standing (L to R) Marc Urvois, Hudson Nkotagu, Ed de Mulder, Ellen Goldberg, Majura Songa, Eva de Mulder, Vicky Niku-Paavola, Rainer Ellmies, Charles Saanane, Larry Woodfork, Priscus Shirima, Melania Sangeu, Peter Mmbando, Fredrick Mangasini, Dan Molina, Riza Mbaga Sunday, May 4, 2008 Two Land Rovers left the lodge to begin a four-day pre-conference excursion. The group included international scientists and IYPE leaders Eduardo de Mulder, Executive Director, and Larry Woodfork, Chairman of the Board; Rainer Ellmies and Vicky Niku-Paavola, geologists from Namibia; Marc Urvois, a geoscientist from France; and Eva de Mulder, IYPE Event Organizer and Ed's daughter; Charles Saanane, Majura Songo and Fredrick Mangasini, scientists from the University of Dar es Salaam; and me. Wanda Smoragiewicz, a Polish biology professor from Canada, and her husband Lech joined us in the city. They had missed their air connection by minutes and went through a harrowing ordeal to get to Arusha, minus Lech's luggage. What good sports they were, especially considering they had been awake for two days.
Coming from the Bureau of Change where we converted money (approximately 1100-1250 Tanzanian Shillings to the US Dollar), we were approached by teenage boys selling bracelets, necklaces and paintings. They kept dropping their price until Larry finally bought something, then they began surrounding the rest of us, hoping for the same result.
As we drove off we noted that almost everyone walks, which explains why they are in good
Meeting Wanda and Lech Smoragiewicz
(L to R) Ed de Mulder, Majura Songo, Eva De Mulder, Wanda Smoragiewicz, Rainer Ellmies (partially hidden), Lech Smoragiewicz physical condition. Some had large bundles on their head—bananas, sticks or other objects balanced on a large, circular platform or in a container. Women wore colorful dresses, and no two patterns were alike. We passed quite a few universities, colleges, secondary schools, boarding schools, elementary schools...people in Tanzania value education. Alongside the road were farms with tall corn stalks, short coffee trees or rice fields, sometimes all three.
Our first stop was Minjingu Hill where we had a view of Manjara Scarp in the Gregory Rift System. Not having a background in geology, I was grateful to the professors and professionals who patiently explained complex formations and how they got that way—in terms I could understand. I learned that all the hills and mountains were, in fact, volcanoes.
We stopped for lunch along the way. Evidently the restaurant compound people knew we were coming, but since we were quite late, they were unprepared. They forgot my food, so I reordered. When it finally arrived, the chicken was so tough my teeth bounced off it as though it was rubber. They ran out of rice, too. No matter—I was fascinated by the area, especially the yellow weaver birds who
had made strange nests in the trees around us.
After lunch we left the main thoroughfare. On the way to Manyara National Park, our vehicles paused at a bridge to see why a crowd had gathered on the banks of the river. Parishioners in their finest Sunday clothes were there to witness a Baptism.
Driving on, we reached the park. Displays gave us a brief history of the area. One sign read “...the four oldest linguistic languages in the world are African.” All can be heard in the village of Mto wa Mbu (“Mosquito Creek”), where we entered Manyara.
Baboons and elephants blocked the road at times. It was easier to urge the primates to move than it was to convince the pachyderms. We waited patiently in our vehicles behind them until they went on their way. We reached Hot Springs inside the Lake Manyara Crater and dipped our fingers in water that seemed near boiling temperature. Fredrick, who teaches geology at the University of Dar es Salaam, explained that when the rain falls in the highlands, it seeps through the cracks in the rocks and picks up materials. The temperature rises when it reaches the primal
heat deep inside, then the water finds its way out through fissures. A strong smell of sulfur lingers in the air.
Because we got a late start, and the park was about to close, our visit was cut short. We waited at the exit for our companions who were changing a flat tire far behind us. Roads in the park were narrow with barely enough room to let a car pass in either direction. At times we were high up on a ridge. Tanzania follows the English system of driving on the left, and my seat was at the left side of the middle row. I held my breath each time I saw a car approaching on the right and looked down to see how far we'd fall if either driver misjudged the distance.
We had magnificent views of the valley, crater and lake below us. Since so many of us were photographers, we frequently got out to take pictures. On our way to Karatu where we would spend the next two nights, we saw a number of animals feeding on the lush grass. It came as a surprise to see a giraffe, then we noticed a group
of them grazing near Lake Manyara. The big thrill was seeing thousands of flamingos—not on an IMAX screen in a theater, but right in front of our eyes.
Before long, night had fallen. It was extremely dark, with only our headlights to guide us. None of the pedestrians wore bright or reflective clothing, and often we would notice them only when they were inches away from our Land Rover.
The lodge was new. Each of us had a spacious bungalow. Whereas our quarters at Ngurdoto Lodge were elegant, these were rustic and homey. Both cottages had fireplaces and mosquito netting suspended above the beds. Still, it was good that we had been inoculated against Yellow Fever and other exotic diseases. (We would often greet each other by asking, “Did you take your malaria pill today?”)
With no city lights to dim it, the sky was so black that we could see thousands of stars. We used flashlights that were on our nightstand to guide our way to the main building for a wonderful dinner served family style. And we became a family that night, bonding with our companions we would get to know better before returning to
the conference.
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hussnainali
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http://www.thehiddenpathsecret.com
most amazing moment this photos Elleng i really like your work .