Did it hurt your mind?

Hey guys.

I know its been awhile again, I've just had so much happen lately. I haven't even written it all in my journal yet. But, I have to start writing about everything now cause otherwise I will get too far ahead to effectively retroactively story tell.

Okay, I'm going to start with the day Steve left. It was April 9th, and Steve had to get back to the realm of peace (Dar es Salaam) for his flight to Australia. I saw him to the bus, then I went back to our hotel so I could pack. I had seen no other Mzungus (white tourists) in Mombasa, and so I decided to head into the town centre to find a different hotel. Like a backpackers hostel or something, where I could hopefully make some friends. Using the map in my Lonely Planet guide, I headed in the direction I thought was town with a great big pack on and a small shoulder bag underneath the shoulder straps. I went the wrong way and ended up in an area of town I now know as Chuda, on the bank of an inlet that extends around Mombasa kind of like the one in Vancouver. I asked for directions and a man pointed me in the direction I had been walking. I kept going and came across a path with a sign that said beach. I decided I would go have a look at the beach and stop for a drink cause I was hot and tired.

I'm realizing right now that I really don't want to talk about this, and I'm procrastinating with all the descriptions. I'm going to cut to the chase.

I got down the path to the brink of a leafy ravine that let down to the water, and I guy came up behind me. He introduced himself and showed me his identity card. Unusual, but whatever. He tried to "help" me with my bag, but I told him no, I was fine. He tried to get into my shoulder bag and I pulled it away glaring at him and telling him no, that was not okay and I want you to let go of my bag. He was blocking my way back, so I pulled away and walked along the edge of the bank and down into the ravine. Stupid, but I honestly wasn't scared until I started hearing him follow me through the bushes. He cut me off with a glass bottle in his hand and said in a harsh voice "I can kill you anytime!" He was right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything cause I had this huge bag on my back. I couldn't even give him my little bag cause it was tucked under the straps, and didn't want to take my attention away from him long enough to take it off. Acting on fear, I grabbed his arm with the bottle and tried to hit him with my other fist, but I had no strength with that stupid bag. We struggled, and he threated to hit me with the bottle. I couldn't think to do anything but protect myself, and I couldn't really even do that. He hit me with the bottle on theside of the head. Hard. I still can't open my mouth all the way two weeks later. I grabbed the bottle and tucked it under my arm and held it there. The man took my shoudl bag and ripped it off, then ran away up the ravine.

Angry and scared, well, mostly scared, I screamed at the top of my lungs. Several times. A confused minute later, a herd of guys who had been playing soccer on the beach came running up. They hardly saw me, but ran past to catch the thief. They caught him and beat him up and gave me back my bag. The last I saw of the thug, he was spitting blood, struggling against an angry circle of fit African soccer-players. Vigilante justice is common here.

One guy, Moses, took me back into town. I was a wreck, chaking with adrenalin and a bloody lump on the side of my head, and needed all the help I could get. He was awesome and comforting and has since become a good friend of mine. It wasn't until I checked into my hotel and opened my ruined shoulder bag that I realized my camera was missing. I think that is a story for the next post. Not a good one really, but I don't want to tell it now.

A couple of days ago, I was telling someone I had gotten mugged on my second day in Mombasa and he asked me if it had hurt my mind. It took a minute for me to realize that he meant had it hurt me emotionally. I was definately unnecessarily afraid of even leaving my hotel room for a couple of days, but I phoned to my boyfriend, Ian, who of course had the right thing to say, and forced myself to get out of the hotel for meals and stuff and pretty soon I was back to normal. I'm still more careful than I was before, which is not a bad thing, but I've also made some great local friends and I know that there are a lot of really great people here in Mombasa too. Far more great people in fact than bad ones.

Thanks for getting through all this if you did. If not, I'm glad I finally got it down, anyway. I don't like reliving bad things, but it helps to get them out of your system. Plus it was an important milestone on my trip and worth remembering however bad it was.

I'll try and write again in a few days. A lot more has happened since then.

Hello!

I suppose I better stop the suspense, but before I do, see if you can guess where Steve and I are now:
A week ago, we spent a few days in a absolutely beautiful canyon, with bright green grass and hundred foot high walls of stone, sprawling yellow fever trees and rolling hills. The antelope and zebras grazed in the vast fields, and buffalo eyed us from the trees. giraffes stopped their leaf-munching to stare at us and ran away gracefully as we got close. In the early morning, a baboon visited our tent to see about sharing some food. The second day, we explored a volcanic gorge, which we had to navigate carefully as it had flooded recently, and we had to watch out for poisonous green Mamba snakes. We found a great spot and spent a couple of hours bouldering.
A few days after that adventure, we took a 7-hour bus ride to the East Coast where we spent a few days on a small mostly Muslim island where there are no cars, only donkeys for transportation. The white stone buildings are carved in intricate archways and wide open terraces and the streets are gravel and cobblestone. We took a Dhow (a fishing sailboat seen often along the African coast) to a remote beach where we camped over night, cooking over a fire, swimminng and lying on the beach trying to fend off the sand flies. At night, a guard on patrol came and chatted with us. He was a Somali man, and had grown up in the bush. He commented on our freeze-dried camping food, saying only soldiers ate that kind of thing. We took the Dhow boat back the next day and spent the evening wandering the island, and drinking tea on the dock. Early this morning, we ferried back to the mainland and bussed down the coast to a city in the South East from which Steve will shortly be leaving.
Any guesses?

I'm in Kenya. The park is called Hell's Gate National Park, the Island is Lamu, and we are currently in Mombasa. Good job if you got it!
I was nervous to let the truth out, because I didn't want anyone to worry unneccesarily. The truth of the matter is, though that the violence is over, and especially in the places we\ve been staying. In fact, other tourists have been laughing at me when I've expressed worry about coming here.
We decided to go because Steve had about 10 days between the end of his internship at AMREF in Dar es Salaam and his flight home, and it was the only country we could get to cheaply and quickly in order to have enough time to see some of the sights before he had to be back for his flight. He'll be leaving in just a couple of days and I am sorry to see him go. I'll have to find some new travelling companions.
Actually, I am currently looking for short term volunteer opportunities. I'm enjoying travelling, but I want to give back as well. And it's been six weeks already. I have a few leads, but I'll say more when things are solidified. I might be doing some pretty neat stuff.

As for pictures, I have some good ones. I got a camera from home in the mail to replace the one I lost hurray(. It'll have to be later that I post them, though, cause the internet is just too slow! I've already spent an hour just on this. Hopefully I'll have time in the next few days.

Talk to you all soon!
Georiga

Pictures!!

Hey folks!
Good news on the picture front. Steve has put his photos of our adventures together on a page that can be viewed by people who do not have a facebook account. Here are the links:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=30711&l=c92b1&id=508482750
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=30717&l=d2018&id=508482750

Also, I have just recieved a camera from home, cunningly packaged by my mom so that it was not "lost" in the mail. So from now on, I will be able to upload my own pictures onto a slideshow on my blog. It is most exciting.

SO that's all for now. I'm in Dar es Salaam for the week, and plans for next week are as yet not solidified. Further bulletins as events warrant.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Georgia

Msafari

Hey all! It's been a while again, but I think posting once a week or so will be about as often as I can manage. If that. But there's only so much you guys want to read about me anyway, I'm sure.

I'm having a really good time right now! I'm staying on Zanzibar for the weekend - an island off the coast of Tanzania which is well known for it's beautiful beaches, and coral reefs and that sort of thing. It's very relaxing. In fact, if anyone needs a good honeymoon destination, I found it.

Here's my day so far: slept in, had some bread and fruit for breakfast and went swimming in the Indian Ocean. We (Steve and I) had to dodge around the local women who were chasing fish into a huge net. We didn't have to worry about the Dhow fishing boats today, cause they tend to leave earlier in the morning. They dotted the water further out though. I'm hoping to take a ride in one at least once before I leave the coast. At about noon we went for lunch - rice and beans and fish for the equivalent of about 80 cents. When it got hot (that is, hotter than we could really deal with) we went inside to use the internet. Then we'll go swim some more, hang out on the beach and go for a beer at the local bar. Tomorrow we are planning to go snorkeling.

Last weekend I went on Safari in Arusha with a group of characters who are living there teaching English, friends of my former workmate Madeleine. There were 7 of us, all late teens and early 20s and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
In Swahili, the word Safari means "travel" or ""trip". More general than the common meaning of a trek through a national park where we get to encounter exotic wildlife. We participated in the latter, though I suppose we were all msafari (travelers) as well.
We spent two days in the Serengeti and on in Ngorogoro Crater, a huge area of land protected by crater walls as well as the Tanzanian government. We drove around in a huge jeep with seven seats and a roof you could raiseThe driver was also a guide and very knowledgeable about Tanzanian wildlife. We saw Zabras, giraffes, hippos, elephants, alligators, baboons, many kinds of antelopes, buffalo, lions, warthogs, a cheeta and a leopard (very rare apparently. Lucky us!). And a large variety of strange birds. Pictures will explain them better than I will, but unfortunately I will have to wait for the others to send me theirs, as I still have no camera. I intend to rectify that soon.
At night we camped in park campgrounds and watched the sun rise and set over the plains. We had a variety of wild animals visit our camp including a lion and a hyena on the first night, looking for hunting, but unable to see us in our tents (thank goodness!) and an elephant and a herd of buffalo on the second night. And always these enormous birds would hang around the camp looking for garbage. They were up to our chins standing with huge beaks and enormous black wingspans. Apparently they don't attack humans usually though. I don't think much of my chances against one of them. Or three.
If anything, the weekend ended too quickly, but in is close to $150 a day to visit the parks. I did get to spend some time in the village they teach in this last week and visit a couple of schools for the day, which was pretty cool. I also visited the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda at the Arusha Conference Centre. Also very interesting, though most of the exciting stuff happened in a closed trial.
I got to bond a lot with the gang in Arusha and was sorry to leave. I'm hoping to stay in touch with all of them.

Well, that's all I have for now. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend. I'll be missing Turkey and Easter egg hunts, so please eat some chocolate for me. And Turkey. Just generally eat a lot.

Till next time!
Georgia

PS. Other pictures (Kilimanjaro, etc) are up on Facebook and I will try to get them onto my blog next internet venture. Should be this coming week. Sorry it's taking so long!

Post Kilimanjaro

Hey folks!

Sorry it's been so long. I got down from six days of climbing Kilimanjaro last Friday and have had a hard time getting on the internet since then. Or rather, I've had a hard time finding an internet connection that will allow me to access my blog account. I finally found one at a rehabilitation centre for the disabled in the village I'm staying in outside Arusha. Unfortuntely, Steve, who has all the pictures from Kilimanjaro and the week before, had to go back to Dar es Salaam for work early this morning, so the pictures will have to wait for a later date.

In the meantime, I'll tell you a little about my experience on Kilimanjaro. We arrived in Moshi on Friday Feb 29th, and spent most of Saturday shopping around for a good tour company. We finally settled on one called Crown Eagle, because they offered us a reasonable price and were very professional.
On Sunday morning, we left on a six-day trek up the Marangu Route, a winding but scenic variation on the traditional way up. It was a beautiful hike. Although it rained consistently for a couple of hours every day at about 2:30, we generally had good weather and gorgeous views. And we did our best to be at camp and in the tent by the time the rain started.
There are several species of plants and trees that grow only on Kilimanjaro, so there were times when the surroundings felt very foreign even for Africa. The static electricity in the air often made lightning strike even though there was not a cloud in the sky. It was fascinating during the day, learning about the vegetation and weather from our guides Losobo and Ezekiel. Once we were above the rainforest, teh nights felt a little eerie, as if we were at the bottom of the ocean.

The food was also amazing! We had four porters and a cook with us (who all carried huge loads on their backs and heads in a most incredible display of strength and fitness) and we had huge meals every breakfast lunch and dinner ready prepared. Things like pasta, chicken, ragu, potatoes, spanish omlet, sausage, fruit. It was like a five-star hotel. My only regret about that situation is that we didn't get much of a chance to connect with our porters, even though we camped with them every night. They kept their distance from us and treated us like very important guests at their restaurant.

On the fourth day of our trek, we circumnavigated the mountain so we could approach the summit from the other side. We climbed down into several beautiful valleys with rivers and waterfalls, and up the side of a canyon at one point, which was slippery with ice, but otherwise really fun! We finished the day at about 4600 meters. At this point I was feeling less than well, but I passed it off as symptoms of the stress on my body and the altitde. I had no headache or any of the common reactions to altitude, so I just brushed it off.
That night, the guides woke us at 11:30 for our overnight ascent. I had overheated in my sleeping bag and I was feeling a little weak and feverish. I was very slow to start. All the same, I pushed on for about three hours up the steep zigzagging path in the freezing clod and wind. I had to stop every now and then to catch my breath, at which point I would get very sleepy and almost pass out. When the guides asked me how I was, I lied and said I was just a bit tired, that I'd get better if I kept going a bit more. Eventually, Steve suggested maybe we should go down. I fought it, cause we had come all this way and payed all this money and we were so close. Maybe an hour and a half from the summit. The guide looked at me, and told me that the insides of my lips and gums had changed colour and my pupils didn't dialate when he shone his light at me. He told me I had Altitude Sickness and I had to go down. I didn't want to, but my body really did. When I argued, Ezekial asked me which was more important, the money or coming down alive. So I went down.

I convinced Steve to continue to the summit, although he didn't want to. I think he's glad he did. His pictures are pretty amazing. I wish I had made it to the top, but I also think that I made the right choice. That night, a man died on the summit from Acute Respiratory Edema, because his guide had not recognized the symptoms of Altitude Sickness.

When I got down, I did some research. I learned a lot that I wish I had known before about aclimatization and keeping your body healthy while you climb. Things like how much water to drink and how much weight to carry. Kilimanjaro was an extraordianry hike, and maybe another day, I'll have a chance to do the last 500m.

So, that concludes my Kilimanjaro adventure. This week, I am staying near Arusha with a girl I know from working at MEC. She is teaching English in a small village, and today I went to visit and help out. School is very different here.
I'll be in Arusha for the week, then off on a Safari with six other young English Teachers from the area. We'll be going to Ngorogoro crater and the Serengetti, so I'm sure I'll have a lot to talk about after that.

Until then, hope you are all well and thanks for reading!
Georgia

I'm Here!

Hello all!
I've made it into Africa! I'm currently staying with my friend Steve, who lives on a beautiful beach outside of Dar es Salaam. He is working for a world health organization called AMREF. I followed him to work this morning and borrowed the computer briefly so I could update my blog.

My first few days have been an experience in themselves. Most notably, it is stiflingly hot here, and coming from February in Vancouver I was not entirely prepared. I am so sunburnt, I feel like a great big tomato, and that's just from a few excursions around the airport and on the beach, sunscreened and all.
Most people here are very polite and well dressed. Suit pants and button-up shirts are common for men and vibrantly patterned dresses for women. School children are all uniformed.
Swahili is the most common langauge here, and communicating can be difficult. I'm starting to learn some of the language (simple greetings, numbes, how to order food), so that shouldn't be a problem for long.
Cars drive on the left here, and the transit system is hectic at best. There are a ton of cars rattling and honking their way in and out of the city, along with tiny three-wheeled "tuktuks" which carry up to four people on their tiny back seats. Luckily, traffic never goes too fastand people are friendly, so there is little danger even if the roads seem chaotic.

The place where Steve is staying is right on the beach with many of the expensive hotels. We've been doing a lot of swimming in the warm-to-hot ocean. Steve's neighbour Ken is from the original Baywatch boat, which the TV show was based on. He's been teaching us to use his kite surfing gear. I'm really excited about that.
Yesterday we went to a small island on a little wooden boat with a bunch of tourists, and went snorkelling. It was amazing! I took a bunch of pictures with my underwater camera. There were some amazing tropical fish and other sealife living around the coral reefs. Lots of Jellyfish, which I must say freaked me out a little.

We're eating well, too. Lots of very flavourful tropical fruits and intersting local food - mostly fried fish, beef, chicken, rice, beans, etc. The average meal costs between one and five dollars depending on where you go.

Sometime this week, when Steve sorts out some Visa issues, we will be travelling up to Moshi to climb Mt Kilimanjaro. I've been talking to other travellers who have dome the climb and heard many great stories. I'm looking forward to it!

I'll post another update after Kilimanjaro and let you all know how it went.
Thanks for taking the time to read!

My First Post

Hey everyone!

Thanks for checking out my blog! I'll do my best to keep it up to date during my six month stay in Eastern Africa, so please feel fee to check it out again. I'll be putting pictures up too when I have them. Those people who have facebook, I'll be updating that as well, so i'll see you there!


Now, for those of you who I haven't told this to a hunded times already, here's a brief summary of my plans, subject to change without warning.

Upon arrival, my friend Steve and I will be heading up to Moshi to negotiate our way up Mt. Kilimanjaro. That will be quite a start to the trip, I imagine. It's the best weather we'll have for the next few months, so we decided we'd do it right away.
I'll be staying in Da es Salaam, the capitol of Tanzania with Steve for about a month after that, during which time I plan to visit Zanibar, explore, and possibly find a short term volunteer job. Then Steve is off to Australia in Mid April.
I am planning to hook up with a really awesome oganization in Uganda around mid May, so I will be making my way up to Uganda, visiting and touristing along the way. I assume I will find fellow travellers who also want to explore.
The organization in Uganda is called Edirisa, and if I like it there (I think I will), I may stay there until my flight leaves on August 19.
Then I'm going to Holland for my aunt's wedding and home on sept 1st.

I'm currently on my way to Dar es Salaam airport. I'm sad about leaving my family and friends (and of course Ian) fo so long, but I'm also exciting fo what I'm sure will be a really big adventure!

That's all for now, but expect further bulletins as events (and internet access) warrant.

-Georgia