Camping!

I think I've camped more this year than I ever have in my lifetime!

In order to actually complete my 'to-blog' list, I'm combining both camping trips here -- the first in January to Lake Challa, on the Kenyan border northeast of Moshi, and the second to Engaruka, on the border of Rift Valley Escarpment between Lake Manyara and Oldoinyo Lengai (active volcano!)

Rift Valley Escarpment

Lake Challa -- my first and only overnight camp-hash, as it's a twice-yearly event. Since it's been so long, I'll stick to the salient points. First, I climbed the steepest hill I'd ever climbed, on my hands and knees, hanging on to thorny bushes and roots to propel myself forward... steepest I'd ever climbed, that is, until 2 weeks later when we scaled a cliff in Machame on a separate, 'slightly rigorous trail,' according to hash-setter Nebraska Bob.

Why doesn't it look so steep in the picture? :/

But in both cases the climbs were worth it -- at Challa, we climbed to the edge of the lake, a crater lake, with sparkling blue water (albeit infested with crocs, rumor had it), walking along the lake edge until a sunset return home. Just in time to start the barbecue (of veggies, for me), open the beer and wine, and hang out by the bonfire for the rest of the night. It was an awesome weekend because most of my friends from Moshi were there (including some I hadn't met at the time). I'll let the pictures speak for the remainder of the trip...

Lake Challa from our campsite

As the sun is about to set and the hash about to end..

Kibo peak of Kili as seen from the east side...
now do you believe the ice cap is disappearing?

Mawenzi peak of Kili -- looks totally different from here!

Engaruka -- a few weekends ago, so I actually remember more! Then again, who could forget the naked old men (yes, plural), but I am getting ahead of myself! The Moshi Mountain Club, which, despite its name, does NOT climb mountains, is a group of older European men who have monthly talks about the jihad, female genital mutilation, and HIV, and commune with nature -- literally, as it turned out. Confused? Me too. But I decided to go along, because I had nothing to do and because I knew I'd have fun with my roommate and 2 guys my age -- Rick, who does malaria/mosquito research, and Freddy, who flies planes.

We set out at 630 am on a Saturday so that we could buy food in Arusha at a real supermarket -- it has aisles and signs and everything! -- and meet up with the mountain club to caravan to Engaruka. Seconds after we arrived, we convened a Mountain Club Council Meeting to discuss the options for the weekend -- who was hiking where, when, what time we were eating dinner, who wanted goat for dinner, what time we were waking up the next morning, etc... I've never experienced so much ... anal-retentiveness on a trip! Rick, Freddy, Holly, and I were pretty much the youngest people there -- after us, the next youngest age was mid-50s!

Of course pitching our tent lent itself to hours of amusement to Rick, Freddy, and even the mzees (mzee=old man in Swahili).. because it's a net tent, ie, see-through! With rain and thunder threatening over the Rift Valley Escarpment... lucky for us, we made it through the weekend unscathed...

impending rain... but crisis averted!

Engaruka Village..

Maasai market

Isn't she beautiful?

After lunch our Saturday afternoon 'walk' was to hike to some ruins of the Iraqw people, a tribe that hails from Ethiopia, legend has it -- they certainly don't look Tanzanian, with their high cheekbones, and speak a very different language. The ruins were.. underwhelming, to say the least.

Dumbfounded...

A pile of rocks in a circular fashion where 2 large metal spoons had been found. I guess you had to be there, but we laughed so hard when we thought, "THIS is what I hiked to see??" Of course, one of the European mountain club members demanded with indignation why there was no sign marking the ruins and, more importantly, strictly prohibiting local tribes from taking the stones for personal use!

We made ourselves scarce after this, hiking on our own for a bit before returning to the campsite and starting our feast, complemented by prosecco (gotta love Arusha!), wine, and Sambuca (gotta love Freddy!). With reticence, we joined the mzees, though ultimately it turned out to be very entertaining.. until Holly and Freddy went to the restroom, only to see a naked man squatting and grunting on the toilet, wielding his flashlight whenever anyone approached. Strange Mountain Club, wouldn't you say...?

But the insane stories continued.. the mzees woke up at 6am to go hiking... and starting singing as they got ready, to our consternation -- "Oh, what a beautiful morning" it certainly was NOT, for us. We got up at 9, did their 3 hr hike to a caldera (where a meteorite has struck the earth, leaving a crater) in 1.5 hours, returning in time to see another naked man... Would you believe it?! This time in plain daylight! I'm convinced this club is just an excused for old men to take their shirts off (and sometimes more, apparently!) -- just because it's hot doesn't mean you should take your shirt off!

The CalderaBeing silly at the Caldera.. can you guess which shadow I am?

Impressive mountains abounded..

It was payback time for us.. kind of. After an agonizing 2 hr dirt road drive back to the main road -- slowed down considerably because one of the other passengers in the car had malaria 25 years ago so now she gets car sick if one drives too fast... another wtf moment -- Freddy decided to moon tourists going on safari :)

See? I knew I'd have fun with this group!

Rick making fun of my sunglasses :(

Freddy being... Freddy

And Freddy, making fun of my sunglasses :)