http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Tanzania , East , Lushoto en-us Tue, 05 Jan 2010 05:09:13 +0000 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 05:09:13 +0000 Even though cows are being milked daily in front of our house no one makes butter. Blue Band is the local margarine and it has to be spread thinly. So when we heard there was one place to buy real butter in Lushoto we searched long and hard and often. Should you ever be wanting butter in Lushoto here's the secret. And a well kept secret it is First you walk to a dental clinic go http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-463658.html I'm back in Arusha. Living in the same pyramid house you've seen photos of before hoping for a short contract with the UN here and basically doing the thing I like the most NOTHINGrecently 2 of my friends had arrived they are from South Africa a mother and son traveling together for the last 18 month. First we met about a year ago in Kenya we lost touch and they've magically arrived here. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-462434.html Dear Friends and Family Another Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching and we know how busy everyone is at this time of year. Please know that we wish you all a very happy day and we'll be home for the next one. In the meantime we will host as we did last year our local celebration. We expect 13 but we'll feed whomever shows up. The menu stays the same you can check out last year's blog wi http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-454046.html Het is half 10 in de avond. Er hangt een vredige stilte rond de huisjes van de sekuco universiteit. De dunne maan glimlacht zacht en goedkeurend in het lichtspektakel van de open sterrenhemel. Gedurende de nacht zal de warme lucht afkoelen en condenseren waardoor morgenvroeg weer een diepe mistlaag zal voorbijtrekken tot deze verdwijnt in het regenwoud en hete zonnestralen een nieuwe dag inleiden. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-439135.html Hello Again We're in Lushoto to pick up PCTs who are showing with us to see what to expect of life in the village.Naturally each village has its own personality but it does give a taste before they are sworn in and settled in their village. Since several of us our hosting we are all meeting here to do the usual necessities before lunching. Many PCVs have been traveling visiting with family http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-424314.html Well this is the last few days of a very relaxing and entertaining trip. I hope to include pictures of both our visits to Pangani and Zanzibar. We had a great time snorkling on Maziwe Island in Pangani. While visiting Pangani we attended the weekly market which featured local crafts and certainly ate our fill of the great food at Mkoma Bay Tented Resort. Our hosts Lisa RPCV and Ulrick Lind were http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-419084.html We've had a relaxing fun time with our family. We gave them a taste of TZ at our site. so many of our new fridents welcomed them into their homes complete with TZ food and warm TZ hospitality. After our site we headed to Tanga Pangani Beach Zanzibar and ending up in Dar esSalaam where Jen and Dylan fly out on Monday evening. Hopefully they feel relaxed by now before the 20 hour flight hom http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-417049.html Dear Readers Too much to do but we've had a relaxing fun time with our family representives. We have given them a taste of TZ at our site. So many of our new friends welcomed them into their homes complete with TZ food and warm TZ hospitality. Now we are off on Phase 3 of our travels which will take us to Tanga. Pangani Beach Zanzibar and DaresSalaam. They have pitched right in with chor http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-413621.html Dear Bloggies Jennifer and Dylan have arrived from CA and they look wonderful. It's been a year without family and it was hard. But now that we are together it's time to go on safari and do the tourist things. We met them at the Kilimanjaro Airport and recognized them instantly we look a little different thinner grayer older but they saw us and knew who we were. After talking nonstop we all http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-411405.html Dear Readership Doesn't that make you feel important I never have time to reread my blogs so I always hope I'm not repeating myself. I know I've done blogs on sights sounds of TZ but have I done smells So inhale this blog and I hope your imagination will make it come alive. At site one can always smell the cows. They bed about 50' from our livingroom so we can REALLY enjoy them. Oth http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-400167.html We didnrsquot just want to drive straight back to Dar. As it was mainly downhill from here on we didnrsquot have to worry about delays with overheating of the car. So we went for a detour to a place our hiking guide Francis had recommended Sakarani Farm on the way down to the valley. Unfortunately it wasnrsquot just next to the road but up another mountain so we had to take some involunt http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-398002.html From climbing two peaks we were quite exhausted. So the next day we were all aching and unanimously voted to walk less and relax more. We drove to Irente Farm and walked to the Irente viewpoint We could have driven there as well like the big Indian families that came in coaches one coach per family. Irsquove read in the guide book about the view being good but this was really amazing We w http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-397996.html We decided to hire a guide for the following day as we didnrsquot want to have to rely on the manual again and there are no way markings anywhere. After breakfast we met Francis a tiny 70 year old man who was going to be our guide. Despite his age and small statue he was like mountain goat climbing faster than any of us young ones. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful we hiked through http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-397988.html With the car finally on the road it was more than time to go on a road trip. Fortunately there was a Bank Holiday weekend conveniently scheduled at the beginning of December. So we tried to round up some people and find a destination. First contestant was Ellen my second new housemate. She is a Norwegian nurse who was a friend of someone Sara had VSO predeparture training with and who was look http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-397904.html Dear Springtime blog readers Here is your first autumn blog. In our Life SkilssHealth club we had 120 students packed into one classroom. That made our small group activity on decision making have 30 in it...small group But the kids are eager and want to be thereso how can we turn them away One more note of local interest today as we were waiting for a longoverdue bus the entire stude http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-385465.html Dear Friends at home. Happy St. Patrick's Day to all. Our celebration will be a wee bit different this year but I will make Irish soda bred and we have potatoes cabbage and carrots are grown locally. Breaded steaki will sub for corned beef but the real bummer is no grasshopper pie There are plenty of grasshoppers here but they're too quick to catch. All around us we see green as the Usa http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-383314.html Hello Readers Just a quick note to let you know we are alive and well. Have had the usual no power or no network problems so haven't been able to blog. Time on the computer is running out so I'll try to connect again on Sat. Stay tuned. Love D W http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-379014.html Dear Blog Readers Sorry you haven't heard from us for awhile but the last two times we have tried the electricity was down and so...But our big news from Carmel is that our oldest grandson Dylan joined 8 CHS seniors and attended Obama's Inauguration. We have to hear all about it as it must have been an occasion that will always be remembered. A chance in a lifetime experience for a 17 yr. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-366541.html Dear Pumpkin Pie Blog Readers You can give thanks wherever you are and we in Tanzania have so much to be thankful for generous family friends who are sending books and money for postage letters prayers encouragement. We thank you all We had Thanksgiving at our site in the village of Maringo of 3000 not counting livestock. These homes are family compounds with several generations li http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-350851.html The journey from Chitimba where we were staying in Malawi across the boarder and into Tanzania involved 3 minibuses a shared taxi a private taxi and a bicycle... not bad for one days travel We were heading for Mbeya a large town in the southern highlands where temperatures were cooler than on the shores of Lake Malawi the land extremely fertile and in every direction rolling green hills we http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/East/Lushoto/blog-347455.html