December 10, 2004 -- A collection of pictures taken in the Sinya region can be found at Kambi ya Tembo.
Early game drive. Spot lots of giraffe, some elephants, a warthog darting out of its burrow, secretary bird, and a handsome gerenuk (long-necked antelope). We stop and visit the Sinya Village School and meet with two of the resident teachers. The school is a primary boarding school for over 425 students, mostly Maasai children plus others living in remote areas of Northern Tanzania. We also meet Leyo's brother and his wife who live near the village.
Back to Sinya Camp for a quick tour of the kitchen. There are no convection or microwave ovens here. Whatever needs to be cooked or baked is placed in what looks like large metal foot lockers which are then covered with hot ash and embers produced by the main fire. It takes about 25 minutes to bake a loaf of bread using this method. There is a separate area for food preparation as well as pantries for fruits, vegetables and dry goods. Electricity for the camp is produced from a couple of solar panels.
Back to our tents to pack up for the return trip to Arusha. We have lunch and then spend time before departing taking Polaroid pictures -- leaving behind much appreciated souvenirs. We have trouble saying goodbye to newly formed friendships.
The trip back starts off routinely. We add a Savannah monitor lizard to our list of game sightings. To the southeast, our eventual destination, it is raining heavily in Arusha and on Mt. Meru. The dirt track on which we are traveling, still under sunny skies, is beginning to flood. The track eventually disappears and our vehicles are caught in a flash flood. Initially James and Pascal try and make a run for it but are forced to find higher, dry ground. This approach however leads to a dead end -- an impassable riparian. By this time we are joined by a group of Maasai boys who say they know how to get us out. Picture six young Maasai running in knee deep water followed by two Land Cruiser vehicles. They do indeed get us out and are rewarded with bottled water and cash. When we finally do reach the paved road, the seriousness of the rains was evident. In some places, heavy machinery was still removing several feet-thick mud from the main road. We arrive at Mama Wilson's in Arusha under sunny skies.
We shower and recover from our wild ride. Siobhan and I work on our Swahili. We share our Sinya adventures around the campfire, during and after dinner. We retire early with high expectations for the remainder of the trip as six new travelers and a third Kibo guide will join the group tomorrow. Lala salama.
