Well here we are again in decision mode. Seems like every few years or so we find ourselves trying to figure out what best to do with our lives, what's best for the kids, etc. etc.
I guess I never was the kind of person to stay put for too long or keep up with the status quo, so I guess I'm staying true to self!
Still haven' t heard anything back from France on the final offer, I guess we'll see what fate brings us!
As for the last week it's been crazy busy. Last weekend we went downtown with the Schnackenberg family (Lukas' best friend Chris) downtown to the Mag Mile Festival of Lights which ends with the parade lighting Michigan Ave. After the parade, we went to Gino's East for good old Chicago style deep dish pizza - yum! We stayed overnight right next to the Rock n' Roll McDonalds and in the morning we went over to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Thankfully, we were treated to nice warm weather on Sunday. It turned out to be a perfect weekend, but we were a bit wiped out by the end of the day.
On Monday, we had to go retrieve Justus who was being babysat by Grammy in Rockford. Tuesday was playdate heaven with Ben Castro and Chris Schnackenberg going back and forth between the houses.
Wednesday we went to see Planet 51, again with Chris and Peyton.
Thursday Thanksgiving at my Aunt Joette's house in Rockford with the rest of the family.
Friday, Black Friday 4:30am shopping frenzy with Pam Castro, then Christmas tree hunting at Oney's Tree Farm with Grammy, Grandpa and Max's family (we just ran into them there!), then the Crystal Lake Holiday Parade with Lukas in the Cub Scout Pack 347 float with the Grinch.
Saturday shopping at Nordstrom's for shoes for the boys, lunch at P.F. Changs.
Sunday, finishing up the Christmas decorating, yummy moules marinieres for lunch with red wine, swimming at the club, the bowling league for the boys at 6pm.
Do you think we kept busy enough during the Thanksgiving break?? I can only imagine what Christmas break will be like!
Now it's headlong into the month of December with tons on our plate. Christmas cards, shopping, wrapping, Lukas First Reconciliation, Chris' birthday, Cub Scout Breakfast with Santa, holiday parties, visiting relatives, etc. etc. never a dull moment :)
So we woke early this morning (about 5:45) to a school bell clanging in the background. Seems that the school up on the hill above the football pitch sends out an actual wake-up alarm before the school day starts. I guess it makes sense, they probably don't have alarms in each home!
In any case a tent is not soundproof, so I too am up at dawn. It's alright though, gives me a chance at those toilets and showers before the going gets too nasty. Miraculous as they are, those toilets get pretty rank after 12 hours of 50 people using them!
the magical toilets and showers
After a nice, but rapid breakfast, we get ready to pile into the little buses that will apparently transfer us to out start point. I guess it's not surprising that after yesterday's perilous downhill finish, we are told that the roads are too rough here. We have about a 45 minute drive up the road to our push off. The bus ride gives us all a chance to rest a bit and see some sights from the comfort of the buses. Our drivers treat us to some nice loud tunes along the way.
Jacob's gone a bit mad with sunblock
termite mound
Bertrand fast asleep during the transfer
We all seem to be lacking some energy this morning as we pile out of the bus. Standing in the field looking at the bikes lined up all nicely in a row, we can see the Uluguru Mountains in the distance - that is our goal - our end point. We are slowly getting there! Simon decides we need an American-style military morale boosting chant - which we all get into nicely.
starting point for the day - see the Uluguru Mountains in the distance?
Marty and Phil
Awwwh, best buds, Magz and Marrs
Today we will be traveling some more rough roads with lots of elevation. Our first stop will be at a school that has been briefed that we are coming. Apparently they have a little welcome program for us as well. This will be our first real encounter with local kids on a large scale. We are are excited about the stop.
After lunch we will be crossing a military zone. We are absolutely forbidden to take any photos. Simon tells us that we also do not have permission to stop, so there will be no scheduled water break, just the trucks with our water if needed. This leg will also be longer as we cannot stop until we exit the MZ.
After the military zone we will be entering Ngerengere and reaching our camp.
So off we go, and I must tell you I am dragging. I'm not really sure if it's fatigue or what. The heat has gotten to me already before we even start. It's going to be a tough one.
My initial feelings about the heat are not wrong. Because we are at a higher elevation, the vegetation is much sparser and the sun is just beating relentlessly down on us. No matter how much I drink, I am really struggling. By the time we arrive at the school, I am really not well. I guess heat exhaustion has officially hit me today. I am completely nauseous, dizzy and my vision isn't right (it's kind of tunnel-like). I try my hardest to get myself hydrated and under control before we walk to the back of the school to meet the kids, but it's really a struggle. I really just want to lie down in a shady patch somewhere.
The medic checks me out and finds my temp elevated. He decides that I need some re-hydration salts and that I should sit out the next leg.
Thankfully, I am able to get my mind off it a bit as I watch the
performance by the school kids. It is really touching and beautiful.
Simon misunderstands the teacher and tells us that all the kids there
have HIV/AIDS, which makes most of us dissolve into tears. Then rushes
over to tell us that he was wrong, that they are singing about having
HIV/AIDS. Thank God! That was just a little too much for us. We all
sign their guest book, then have a look around the school. Our kids
really have no idea how very lucky they are.
Maggie chats with the kids
I must say that I am happy to get into the Day Bus and feel the air blow over me as we drive down the road. The next water break happens way too fast, and I'm still not feeling well. So Simon recommends that I sit out one more until the lunch break. I'm REALLY frustrated with myself. I have worked really hard to get here in more ways than one, and I am annoyed that my body is forcing me down. However, I know that I should play it safe, so I do as I'm advised.
Lunch turns out to be a little slice of heaven as it is fully covered and has cold SODA!!! Since I didn't ride the last bit, I went and got cash from my bag, and I bought a cold soda for several of the people coming in. They were as happy as I to have that cold open bottle handed off to them. Pepsi, Coke, Fanta and Sprite NEVER tasted this GOOD!
After a nice long, cool lunch, I was ready to try again. This time we were entering the Military Zone, which you could tell made the Ahsante guys a bit nervous. Nobody wanted to make a wrong move and we wanted to get through it as quickly as possible. Simon decided to pair up all the riders into a buddy system where the weaker riders were all paired with a stronger rider. That way we could encourage each other and not get so spread out, which was unwise in that section of the ride. I think it was also to help the people who were struggling. I think that this was the hottest day, lots of people were having a hard time, I was not alone in that Day Bus.
Not only was it a military zone, but it was barren and totally exposed. It was also a stretch of long climbs and a distance longer than we had done without a water break. Trouble for me hit soon after we started out. I was paired with one of the strongest riders, which I think made it a bit more stressful for me. To top it off, I now had mechanical problems. My bike's gears were so caked with dust and mud that the gears were constantly slipping. As I pedaled, I tried to cycle through the gears to get them lined up right again, but it didn't work. They changed with every stroke of the pedal. I kept getting thrown into 3rd gear at the crest of a hill. At one point there was a little shelter of sorts that many people had stopped at to get a little shade and take in some water - even though we were not supposed to stop.
I had the Ahsante guys try to fix my bike there, but they were not having any luck and wanted us to get moving. It seemed as if my partner wanted to get moving again. I felt bad that this was happening and didn't want to hold him up. Despite being really disappointed, I decided to get on the bus again and have the rack truck guys try to fix the bike so that I could get on a ride again at the next stop.
To my utter surprise, we never stopped again until we were at the camp. I never got an opportunity to get back on. This had turned out to be my most disappointing day. I seemed to have spent more time off the road than on and mostly due to my bike malfunctioning. I feel like a complete failure as we enter camp. As everyone is resting and recuperating on mats, I seek out Simon for some much needed support. I fight tears as I tell him what happened. He was so sweet, putting his arm around me and assuring me that I was doing great and not too be so hard on myself. He got the guys to immediately take a look at my bike and make sure that it got cleaned really well for the next day's ride so I wouldn't run into that problem again.
a typical hill...the Ahsante guys clear away a cow obstacle...looks fun hugh??
mad dash for the showers
blessed relaxation and beers :))
I tried to forget it all as I waited for the toilets to be built, as I was in desperate need that a bush just couldn't help me with! This was the first night that we had some daylight at camp and it made for a huge difference. What a luxury to be able to organize and shower in the light. We even all had a chance to do a little laundry and hang our clothes out to dry before it got dark. We were told that the Ahsante guys actually had to negotiate for days with a local farmer to allow us to camp on this site. Apparently, we were in the middle of some guys farm? They also told us that the town had literally never seen white people/tourists before - we were REALLY in the middle of nowhere. People had come for miles and miles around when the news was spread that 45 Wazungu cyclists would be passing by.
a little dirty...
When we were all getting ready for dinner Marlies made my week by offering to let me make a phone call to Karim on her Blackberry. Yeah, remote as we were, there was still cell service and all the Blackberry people were happily chatting away when they got the chance. The world is a crazy place when you don't have a pot to pee in, but you can surf the Internet! In any case, Karim was soo happy to hear from me and I was so glad of the chance to let him know that I was ok!
After dinner, we had a HUGE bonfire and we played a sort of table quiz game. I was made a team captain - I'm sure a ploy by Simon to lift my spirits (and it worked!). I lead the Marcia's Mallows to a second (or was it third? I don't remember now) place in the game - not too bad hugh? It was great fun. I decide to turn in after that so that I can start tomorrow fresh and hopefully have a much better day :))
Today we started out very early (5:30am) for another mini-safari. There were about 6 people in the vehicle and we were all tucked in and ready to go before first light. As we slowly made our way into the park, the sun started to creep up over the savannah. The colors were so beautiful as light slowly spread over the trees and standing water, the photos really don't do it justice. The anticipation was thick as we silently scanned the park for game. We had seen Nicola's photo of the lioness last night and were really crossing our fingers in hopes of seeing one.
Unfortunately, we were less lucky this morning. Perhaps sunset is better than sunrise? We did see more primates of various sorts, several more gazelle type animals, and beautiful birds. The guide even found fresh lion tracks in the mud, so we know they are out there somewhere. No giraffe today though - oh well. Despite the lack of new game to see, we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to ride in comfort (as opposed to riding the bikes over the bumpy roads). It was not lost on us at all how lucky we were to be witnessing that scene this morning.
When we arrive back at camp and switch off with the next group of safari-goers, we still have plenty of time to have a swim in the ocean before heading to breakfast (breakkie as Simon refers to it). The ocean was gorgeous again even without the moonlight. We did encounter a few more jellyfish this time, but nothing too bad.
Breakfast was shared with a big troupe (is that the correct term?) of yellow baboons. They were unbelievable close to us and utterly unafraid. They seemed as curious about our breakfast ritual as we were about theirs. There seemed to be one central male who was meaner than hell with the others. I personally did not want to get too close to those guys - they were quite intimidating. They really were much bigger than I had ever realized, with very long powerful looking arms and legs. One of the group took an opportunity to sneak behind our breakfast gathering and made out for the tents, but the Ahsante guys chased them off so no harm done. Apparently they are thieves and will take anything not nailed down.
Breakfast finished we were ready to roll and all very excited to be able to cycle through the national park in hopes of seeing some giraffe. No such luck, but a very nice ride indeed. Because we were so close to the ocean, the starting 10-15k or so were quite sandy and very hot next to the coast. After the first water stop things smoothed out a bit. Anything was smoother than yesterday's ride! It felt really good to be on the move again. Big open roads that seemed almost vacant led to the group getting very spread out. Several times throughout the morning I found myself seemingly cycling alone. At these moments I took the time to drink in the view and marvel at the peacefulness of the place. It felt good to catch back up with the group again as well though. We passed several herders on the road, most of them seemed to be women and a few were visibly Masaai. It was really interesting to see a lone Masaai sprinkled here and there, as if they really were not where they belonged.
Babu Phil
One hot water break, notice the lack of shade?
After climbing a particularly large hill, we approached the gate to the park. It was really getting hot and for me, I was having a hard time getting ahead of it. After resting and sucking down 3 bottles of water and eating countless orange slices and handfuls of nuts, I was still feeling very light-headed. I think that being sick for so many days and heading right into cycling was catching up with me. My body really never had a chance to recuperate before all the exertion. It was going to prove to be a recurring problem for me all week.
Water consumption
I decided to play it safe and sit out the next section until lunch. It's a good thing that I sat out the next 10k as it was a really hilly and totally exposed 10k. I did not envy the cyclists out on those hills at all. I was also not the only one sitting out this section, it was the hottest part of the day and many of us were feeling it.
After lunch, I was ready to go again. We still had lots of ups and downs, but what proved to be the hardest for me was the downs. Going down hill is always mentally hard for me as it is ALWAYS really steep and really rocky. For me it's really a mental obstacle. Whenever I get some serious speed downhill, I see my life flash before my eyes as I go hurtling over the rocks, bumps and sandy patches. I just don't have enough confidence in myself and I feel every time as if I am going to go flying head over heels off my bike. And this is not an unreasonable thought either, as I have seen several of my fellow cyclist fall going down the hills, thank goodness no one gets seriously hurt. The very last hill leading us into Lugoba camp is really, really, no I mean REALLY rocky and steep. Once again, I feel as if I cannot do 1k more, and then we finally arrive.
Think Marty and Dawn are tired??
This time we arrive before dark. We are camping on a soccer (football) field in the village right at the bottom of the hill on which sits a primary school. The entire village has turned out to watch their team play a game against our riders. A brave collection of men, abandon their bikes and take their positions out on the field and we are treated to our first match of visitors against locals.I have no idea where they get the energy to play after a day full of riding, but they actually hold their own somehow. It is really quite fun to watch as the sun sets over the field.
Soccer field camp
After dinner, it's time to make camp and bed down for the night again. We attempt to get clean in our camp showers. I am amazed at the actual flush toilets that they build for us. We didn't have them at yesterday's camp because they had shower and toilet houses in Sadaani. It is the coolest thing (although not the sweetest smelling after a while) that I have ever seen. The toilet is comprised of a wooden box, in which is placed the ceramic commode. Attached to the box is a wire frame stand thingy that holds a water tank. The whole thing is connected to the same water source as the showers, which is a 30000l water tank inside that big supply truck of ours. The whole thing is inside one of those zippered cubbies for privacy. The guys dig a giant 4-5 foot deep collection hole behind it every time they set it up (every night). It's really unbelievable the amount of work that goes into supporting all 50 or so of us. Once again - a SERIOUS THANKS to Ahsante and all they do for us.
As I lay my head down to rest that night, I am really pleased with our days work and am looking for to more riding tomorrow.
Well today is the day - my first riding day! I am really excited to get going. Of course, that's because I have NO idea what lies ahead!
Let's just call today the "Railroad Track from Hell" day. I'll explain in a bit.
The day started off normal enough, Simon tells us at breakfast that this might be one of our hardest and longest days of the week - yippee. He tells us about the very bumpy/rough road that will be followed by the disused railroad track portion. We are told that for the railroad part of the ride, the support vehicles WILL NOT be following us (as there is no place to do so), and that if we have any reservations about doing this leg we should bow out in advance. There will be no Day Bus to jump on in a pinch.
Sounds okay to me, I'm up for it (I think). So forge ahead I do, and I really have no idea what is to come. We start out down at the port with a few (hah!) words from Fidheli about Livingstone and Bagamoyo in general before hitting the road for good.
Simon ready to roll!
Being my first day, I am still really getting a good feel for my bike and the roads, which are no longer tarmac. Although I have lived in Africa before, I really had not anticipated just how bad the conditions of the road would be. They are teeth rattling bumpy, full of large rocks and potholes, uneven angling down on each side with a strange hump in the middle and peppered with hidden sand patches. So anyone who knows me, knows that although I have really enjoyed my cycling training, I don't much appreciate gravel or sand, so getting used to that in itself is a mental challenge for me. The more experienced riders give me some tips and that really helps.
About 20k into the day, my back is absolutely killing me, so I flag the Ahsante guys for help. I was almost feeling like I couldn't go on. Luckily, they pointed out that my bike was really not fitted properly, the seat was WAY to low for me. I guess I really didn't pay much attention to the bike fit on fitting day because I had felt so horrible. Then later I didn't want to say anything 'cause I thought maybe I was just being wimpy! Thank goodness I got a brain in my head and had them adjust my bike, after they fixed it life was SO much better.
Looking a bit hot and tired here...
After a water break in the boiling hot sun (very little shade there), we headed out toward the railroad path. I should have known from the absence of an actual road/trail that the railroad bit wasn't going to be a piece of cake. We emerged out of the bush, got off our bikes, crossed a little ditch and came upon the railroad track. The track immediately looked treacherous to me, it was very narrow, alternatively sandy and rocky (I mean big bouldery railroad bed type of rocks) and in most places the drop-off was several feet into a whistling thorn filled bushy ditch (yeah, those bushes with the 6 inch spikes on them) or dropping down into more bigger rocks - NOT GOOD. We are advised to go very slowly, always single file and walk the bikes over the bridges - wait, there are bridges too?? They also advised that maybe we might not want to use our clips in case we can't extricate ourselves quickly enough!
So, out we head. Dawn, Marty, Marlies and I all vow to stay together just in case. I pretty much beg Dawn and Marty not to go too fast, because I didn't want to feel totally alone out there - which occasionally happened when the group got very spread out on the road. Needless to say, I don't think that it was hard for them to go slowly as there really was no other way to go.
yes, it's a bit wider here, but it's sandy and if it wasn't wider, there would be no photos!
That path took EVERY ounce of my mental prowess and physical balance. I have never encountered anything like it, and don't expect to any time soon again. I literally could not raise my eyes for even a nanosecond to look up from my front wheel.
We stopped once for a much needed water break and several people decided that they could not continue, which caused a small logistical issue. We had one motorcycle following us, and they took 2 people to the end. Apparently, Simon hired another local motorcyclist riding by to give a few more people rides to the end, but I guess that guy left with the money and no people (we didn't hear about that until much later of course). Poor super-Maggie had taken a spill on the first leg and landed face first in the big railroad rocks and had a growing shiner to show for it. She has decided to take it a bit slower here on out and not try to stay in the front of the line with the super-cyclers (my new name for them).
In any case, I'm glad I decided to continue on. The rest of the way was about the same going, at some points extremely narrow though. After a few kilometers, I lost balance and tumbled off to the left, into the bush (yep, it was a little spikey) and down the embankment. I really didn't hurt too much, shook me up a bit though. Marty had to pull me up, it seems I went a bit head over heals, but I was okay to continue. From there on out, it was minute by minute. By the time we started seeing civilization and realized the break was almost in front of us, I had almost reached my point of no return. I'm not sure I could have done another km!
It was much later than anticipated for lunch, we spent several hours on that railroad leg, and we were way off schedule. Our stopping point was the back end of some village with a big corrugated iron type of warehouse. It provided blessed shade and that's all I really cared about at that point. From the force with which I was holding onto my handle grips, my fore-arm muscles were screaming in pain. I don't think that I have actually ever used those muscles that way. I poured several bottles of water over my head to cool off - it felt great. The ground was dirty and hard, but I didn't care, I laid down flat and stretched out and it felt GOOD.
Josh enjoying the ground as I look on and Clare battles with work of all things!
Then we got the bad news from Simon that lunch was actually set up at least another 15km away and it was already 2:30pm. It was decided that they would bring lunch to us instead. However, that turned out to take almost an hour and a half and by the time we had "lunch" it was 4pm. Major snafus seemed to be plaguing us today! During the long wait, a huge collection of village kids (probably every last one of them) congregates around us in curiosity. One little boy has an amazing homemade toy that I wonder if my children would content themselves with? Several of the cyclist decide to strike up an game of "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" with the kids. They look on with smirks on their faces - I think some of them thought we were nuts! But some of the kids try to join the fun.
village cool-dude teenagers...
Simon makes the executive decision that we did not have enough daylight to finish the ride - it was approximately 25km more on very bad roads through the Sadaani park. Some of the better riders were none too pleased. There was no way that we could (all) finish that in 1h30 (sun sets exactly and immediately at 6pm). It was just too dangerous, so we all got transferred to the Sadaani camp by safari vehicle. We unfortunately had to go in waves though, because they could only take about 16 at a time.
I got lucky and went with the first wave. Because of that, it was sunset as we drove through Sadaani. We were treated to an impromptu safari. We saw giraffe (still waiting for Josh's photos of that), yellow baboons, some other little tree monkeys, lion (not me, I missed that guy), waterbuck, Thompson's gazelle, wild boar and tons of beautiful birds. The scenery was absolutely stunning. What a wonderful treat after a really tough day of cycling!
whistling thorn trees with ants growing in those black pods
Waterbuck
Baobob tree
Lion print
Yellow baboons
tree monkeys of unknown name
By the time we arrived at the camp, it was black already. Being our first night of camping, it was a bit tough getting all set up and cleaned up in the dark. As usual though, the Ahsante staff was wonderful and got us all into tents eventually. There was a flush toilet, for which I was really thankful! My intestines were still not happy and that stressful bumpy day did not help matters. The lines for the showers was very long also. I decided (along with a few others) to skip the showers and head straight to the beach and clean up in the ocean. What an amazing experience! We stripped naked (just girls of course) and took our shampoo into the ocean. There was a beautiful full moon and the water was warm like a bathtub. My first ocean bath was an incredible experience.
We obviously needed it
After our bath, we made our way back to the campfire, which was set up in a big circle every night and had some dinner which was served buffet style as usual. We found out then that the last wave of cyclist were just coming in (it was almost 11pm I believe). At least we were all there safe and sound.
Simon briefed us and let us know that we would have a slightly later start the next day. For anyone who wanted, we could have a sunrise safari at 5:30 and 6:30 (our choice). Marlies, Marty, Dawn and I decided to go for the early one, who needs sleep right??
Decided to sit it out today on Simon's (our Leader and a physician) advice to give my tummy another day to heal. I am still not really able to eat anything and none of the medicine is making a dent - Pepto, Immodium, Cypro antibiotics, nothing. I'm really not very happy about not riding, but I'm really trying to do the wise thing and not make myself more sick. After all, we have a whole week of riding ahead and I don't want to miss any more than necessary.
We start the day early with an 8h00 push off, but first a group photo. The newspaper is there as well to document the event.
Cycle Tanzania 2009 - the Crowd!
Our first group stretch
That's us in the news :)
Soooo, instead of riding, I get my first experience riding in the Day Bus". We have 2 Day Bus vehicles and an ambulance as well as the bike rack truck, the big supply truck and the refrigerator truck that goes ahead with our meals. The Day Bus is really a safari vehicle (a modified Toyota Land Cruiser with a top that opens). The Day Bus is where we store all our "day bags" which hold anything we might need along the ride. It's also meant to carry anyone who has to sit out a portion of the ride. One Day Bus rides at the front and one rides at the back at all times.
So today, I get to ride and also get the chance to become acquainted with all the Ahsante Tours guys. Ahsante Tours is the local tour company that Action Challenge/International Childcare Trust has hired to support our ride. They are really an incredible bunch of guys. They do all sorts of tours, but specialize in climbing Kilimanjaro. They are really some tough dudes! Although this is their first time supporting a large group of cyclists, you would never know it. Already they have fitted and kitted 45 riders for a week of riding. Throughout the week, they will ride right along side of us, making sure everyone makes it and is okay, answering any questions we might have, replacing or repairing broken bikes, smoothing the way with the local village chieftains, setting up our water breaks, cooking all our meals, setting up our camps, digging toilets and building camp showers, and absolutely ANYTHING else that is needed. Did I mention that they do all of this with giant smiles on their faces and words of constant encouragement? I really can't explain how wonderful they are. One day I will see (and maybe climb) Kili and I hope that I can do it with them!
So, I ride all day in the Day Bus with Timba and Amrick (Ahsante guys). I sat up on top most of the time taking photo after photo as the kilometers zoom by. It was really awesome. Although I am really bummed about my body's betrayal, I think that there was no better vantage point to see the start of the week. I really enjoyed taking in all the scenery, watching the cyclists and helping out on water breaks.
Ready, Set, RIDE!
Muksin the Great
Through the streets of Dar es Salaam
Modern day scaffolding!
Shady water break
Lunch time anyone?
Last water break before arrival in Bagamoyo
The day's ride turned out to be 15k more than expected, but at least
most of it was actually tarmac (YES, I missed the ONLY tarmac day). We
had a police escort through Dar. Once we left the city, the tarmac
heaven was in the past, replaced by the rocky, bumpy, pot-holey,
uneven, sandy, teeth-rattling African roads that we would continue to
cycle on for the duration of the week.
We finally arrived in Bagamoyo
on the Indian Ocean, which was the most important slave trading post in
East Africa that was originally colonized by the Germans, then taken
over by the Brits. After his death, Dr. Livingstone (as in Dr.
Livingstone I presume?) was laid out in Bagamoyo's Old Church's tower
(nowadays named Livingston Tower) to wait for the high tide to come in
and ship his body to Zanzibar.
Riding into Bagamoyo
Local Mosque
Lone Masaai warrior
Our hotel
Before dinner, many of us take a (not really) brief walking tour
through Bagamoyo with a guide named Fidheli to learn about it's
history. After dinner and our nightly briefing, all of us enjoy our
last night in a real hotel before the camping begins. Simon says that
there will be showers and flush toilets at the campsite - how will they
pull this off? Needless to say I'm a bit relieved about that bit of
news. You have no concept of how very dirty we get biking all day on
these dusty Tanzanian roads.
Oh, and did I forget to tell you they confiscated my deodorant in Heathrow (in my sick foggy brain state I had put it in my hand luggage and it was liquid and too big)? Yes, that's right folks! Biking 8-10 hours a day in the 95+ degree heat - without deodorant. I feel bad for poor Magz who has to sleep in the same tent with me :))
Tomorrow will be a new day, I am determined to bike no matter what this old tummy says! I can always take breaks if I need to!
Well, as most of you are aware by now, on September 30, 2009 I set out for Tanzania in East Africa (with 5 other Chicago area friends) to participate in a charity cycle in support of the work of International Childcare Trust (ICT). ICT is run by one of my best mates (that's British for friend for all you Americans) Maggie O'Grady. Her organization funds a cycle challenge every year in which the participants must raise funds (and pay their way) to cycle across one of the countries in which ICT does work. At the end of the challenge, the participants visit the local ICT project(s) and see firsthand where the money they raised will go and the work that is being done. They also have the privilege of meeting the children who benefit from this work.
Okay, so that's the background, right? Well now that I have been back for a week and a half, I feel I have digested the event enough to attempt to share the experience with the world at large. I will be posting in chronological order my journal of the trip and a few photos from each day. To see more photos please visit the complete collection onFlickr (not all photos were taken by me, some are from my fellow cyclists). We will also be posting to the Cycle Tanzania Chicago website in the near future.
Well, needless to say, participating in Cycle Tanzania 2009 was surely the most physically and mentally challenging thing that I have ever done (parenthood aside of course). I will try me best through my reflections to relay exactly what this experience was like, but I doubt that my words will do it actual justice (my teammates can corroborate that). It was a grueling 304km + ride that wound it's way through very remote areas not far from the Equator (so you can imagine the heat...well probably you can't) on roads that really shouldn't even be labeled as such and up and down continuous hills and, well in one case pretty much a mountain. We constantly battled heat exhaustion, fought against our rebelling tummies and staved off the ever present mozzies.
However, in the midst of all that, we found inexplicable beauty, warm hospitality, people always ready to great the Wazungu (that's us white folk), children thrilled with our presence and cheering us along the way, new friendships, a unique bond that will forever be shared among a group of virtual strangers who shared all manner of personal experience (some that we didn't necessarily WANT to share), and most importantly an experience that gave us the privilege of being able to impact a few children's lives for the better. One that will change our perspective on our own lives forever.
What more can I say?? Now on to the daily musings from Tanzania .....Karibuni! (Welcome!)
Day 1/2 London to Dar es Salaam
Unfortunately after arriving in London I came down with a stomach issue that I can't seem to shake! Maybe it was the awful HOT salad in that United flight to Heathrow? In any case I woke up Friday morning not at all sure that I even was capable of traveling to Tanzania. Maggie convinced me that I need to practice mind over matter. So I put the tummy aside and boarded the plane with the rest of the crowd. The flight from London to Nairobi wasn't too bad, I just tried to sleep and ate nothing...which was good.
Kenya Airways - Heathrow to Nairobi, Kenya
However, the airport in Nairobi almost killed me. I was way over dressed ('cause I had been freezing in London) and I consequently almost keeled over form heatstroke in the airport. I was so happy to see the inside of the next plane to Dar (if you can believe that after already flying more that 16 hours in two days) just because it was blessedly cool! That flight was quick - thank God! Arrival into Dar was very smooth, then we had to transfer to the hotel. More struggle ensued as we sat in our 20 min transfer that took 1h30 min of traffic in an non-AC bus. It took every ounce of my self control not to throw up or pass out in the bus that afternoon. I just tried to calm myself by looking out the window and absorbing all the familiar sights and sounds that are Africa.
Although I haven't been in this part of Africa before, so much of it seems familiar and like home to me. That time I spent in Cote d'Ivoire had left an undeniable impression on me.
Sweet arrival at the hotel, and it is SUCH a nice one. I am already feeling better (after another visit to the loo). We have lunch and Cokes (most had beer) at the hotel. Unfortunately, I didn't eat anything except rice - the food looked great though. The BEST thing of the whole place was the beds in our room (my roomie for the week is Maggie). It feels SO glorious to stretch my body out full-length and enjoy the cool, fresh sheets and the down pillows. This is the first (good) bed my body has seen since September 30...4 days ago. Simon, our fearless leader, tells us that this hotel is spoiling us a bit and NOT to get used to it. If you ever find yourself in Dar es Salaam, I highly recommend the Southern Sun Hotel!
After lunch we all have our bike fitting. I get my seat and pedals and packs added to my bike. This bike is going to be my trusty companion, my ally and my partner for the next 6 days. Better make sure it's all good, but I am still so weak I really don't care much!
Bike fitting at the Southern Sun Hotel on Sat Oct 2, 2009
After the fitting we don our new Cycle Tanzania/ICT jerseys and head off for the British High Commission (we are the only Americans and ICT is a UK org) for an informal tea on the lawn and a little meet and greet. It is very nice of them to have us all over. We are now feeling pretty psyched about our upcoming ride as we head up the road to get a peek at the Indian Ocean. We make quite a spectacle riding the coastal road.
Getting ready to head out!
Dawn, Marty and I waiting outside the British High Commission
Dawn, Marlies, Monique at the British High Commission
Our Indian Ocean view stop
Our view of the Indian Ocean
That night we get our first briefing from Simon. Lots of information on what is to come, how to take care of ourselves and battle the heat, loads of lecturing on staying hydrated (thanks so much Simon) and we are paired up with buddies. As buddies, we will be responsible for making sure that we are present and accounted for at all stops and starts, remind each other to take our Malarone every day (anti-malaria drug) and to check on each other's pee (not physically look, but to ask thank God) for proper color! Such begins our initiation into knowing WAY too much about each other;s bodily functions!
Simon Watson from Belfast our fearless leader and GP in charge during the first night's briefing
Perhaps the others have stayed up for a little first night kick off, but between the jet lag, bad stomach and just general lack of sleep, I can't wait to hit the bed. But first I take advantage of the business center (surely the last one of those I'll see for a while) to send off a little "I'm okay" email to Karim and the boys. I end up sleeping like an absolute BABY straight through the night until our wake-up call at 6h30. The big adventure starts NOW!
Can't believe it's been 10 days since my last posy. I swear to you that I had every intention of posting at least every other day, it just doesn't seem to ever happen!
Well in the last 10 days we went on our last hooha camping trip of the year. We headed back to Wheeler's campground and Devil's Lake - we just really love this place. This time around we met up with friends we had met on Memorial Day weekend. It was fun to see the same family and kids again. We also explored totally new things within Devil's Lake park. This place just has so much to offer. We went rock climbing up the East Bluff. The trail was rated as "Difficult", but can you believe that Lukas was the fastest of us all? The views at the top were stunning. The weather was also perfect. This was the first camping trip this summer that it didn't rain a single drop. It was pretty nice to come home without mud on everything :))
Now we are back to school and into the swing of things again. Full-on activities as well! We have baseball (both boys) on Mondays, Boy Scouts on Tuesdays, CCD on Wednesdays, and baseball games on Saturdays - WHEW! It's all good though, they like to stay busy.
Well Saturday is here and my list of things to do is LOOONG! However, first we'll have to take Lukas to the doc as he has been running a fever since last night :( We were hoping to pay a viist to Santa this weekend, I guess we'll have to play it by ear. I'm still plugging away at my paying scrapJobs - hopefully I'll put the big one behind me this weekend. The Christmas Journal is really fun, a little diversion in a busy time! Hope you enjoy.....more soon
Today was just a typical Monday. Thank goodness it's been nice and quiet so far - except for Noah not wanting to take a nap! I hope he's not getting to the stopping point! I'm not ready for no breaks yet :) We had a nice quiet weekend also. We took the boys to the big Baptist church down the road for their Holiday Family event. It was really nice. The boys had a good time seeing the Living Nativity and riding on little trains. We had a wonderful gormet meal of hotdogs and tater tots (they loved it) and they wer enice and worn out by the time we got home. Today is the first day we really feel like winter. It didn't get above 45 - which is cold for this time of year here. I worked on my Christmas cards (I really need to finish those) and my Christmas journal (having lots of creative fun with that). So the day is winding down.. tomorrow's another day - one less before Christmas!
Well yesterday was our birthdays! One more year under our belts... 36 & 37. For those of you who don't know my hubby and I share a birthday.
My Studio Thursday morning was spent gathering and organizing photos for a new custom scrapbook job, so not much creative went on, oh well - all part of the process. The afternoon was spent coloring and playing....
We had a little family celebration with a cake and candles at home..nothing major.
Today is the BIG DAY though! Lukas gets his cast off FINALLY. I will post more later with smoe photos. He is very excited - we all are! More soon...
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