Drive Back from Dodoma

We got up and ate the breakfast provided at the lodge (toast, boiled eggs and tea) and left around eight (late by the Allisons' standards, quite early by mine ;) ).  We were blessed with another day of beautiful sunny weather with fluffy white clouds for our drive.  It's pretty flat around Dodoma, with some occasional outcroppings here and there, but it got hillier as we drove north. 

I took some pictures of the countryside along the way; sorry they're not great as I didn't roll down the window for most as we were trying to get the air conditioning to keep up as the day warmed up.  

The dirt in central Tanzania is very, very red; you can see a bit of it at the edges of the road but none of these photos really capture it.  I love driving here, seeing farms and villages along the way, and many baobob trees.  We don't have many baobob trees right around Monduli and Arusha, but in most of Tanzania (and much of East Africa) they are common.  They are such iconic African trees, and I love to see them.  

We thought the roof on this little guard house was interesting.  Must have been a lot of fun putting the metal roofing on that.  The corn is really coming up, too! We chatted about music for a good while; the Allisons had a pretty good mix of country music on an iPod, and I played some Home Free, Secret Sisters and Chris Stapleton on my phone. 

We stopped in Babati on the way back to get some fresh vegetables at the market, since it's a bigger town than Monduli and therefore likely to have more variety, and so we wouldn't have to stop once we got back home.  I found a little bit of broccoli, but they didn't have much, but I also got my usual staples, bell peppers, onion and carrots.  The Allisons wore their masks while there; I didn't have a mask (and no locals were wearing them at all), but I did wrap my scarf around in such a way that I could pull it up to cover my mouth and nose when in a crowd.  However, I mostly just managed to confuse people; in their experience, Americans (which I clearly am) who come to Tanzania are generally Christians, but I was wearing a scarf on my head, so was I Muslim?  At least it was a conversation starter to have a nice chat with an avocado and green bean seller.  

Below, the gates into the market place: 

Above: the street that runs alongside the market in Babati.  

We stopped for food at a rest area a bit after Babati; I bought some chapati and some mishikaki (beef on a stick) for lunch, and the Allisons found some samosas.  They only had beef samosas, though, and I prefer the chicken ones.  I really need to learn to make good chapatis or find a good place in Monduli to buy them.  My friend Upendo can make them, I know, but she's pretty busy these days with her laundry business.  

We stopped for gas in Makuyuni, where the road turns toward Arusha.  If you turn left in Makuyuni, the B144 runs out by Lake Manyara an on to the Ngorongoro Crater and eventually the Serengeti.  After Makuyuni, we could see the crater wall of Ngorongoro in the distance for several miles.

I finally did roll the window down briefly to get a good shot without glare.  What a beautiful day!

We made it back to Monduli by three in the afternoon.  The photo below is driving up the TMA road into Monduli.  It's so green here after the recent rains! 

Road Trip to Dodoma

Road trip time! While we have been trying to socially distance as we can (social distancing is not really a thing here, and we are only at the early stages of the pandemic here, unlike the US), the Allisons and I are all still trying to get our residence permits (still...I've only lived here a year and a half...), and one of our current issues is that our work visas we got last year are not coded correctly for the type of residence permit we need.  Fielden has been on the phone with the labour department in the capital city, Dodoma, but it's hard to get much done over the phone here.  Without school, we've got plenty of time anyhow, so the Allisons decided to just drive down to Dodoma and ask at the office in person, and invited me along. 

It's about a six-hour drive to Dodoma.  Dodoma is not a huge town; the capital was moved there from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's biggest city, a few years back because Dodoma is so centrally located.  Dar es Salaam is on the coast, which made for quite a trip from the western parts of the country.  The highways only pass through one city of any real size on the way, Babati.  Other than that, the scenery is rural countryside.  I took these picture from where we stopped alongside the road in case anyone needed to use a bush.  

We packed our lunches to eat along the way so we didn't have to stop; I had peanut butter crackers and yogurt and we bought some bananas along the way.  

I took some photos of the streets of Dodoma as we arrived; I took them through the car window from the backseat so sorry about the reflections.  We were fortunate to have beautiful weather for our drive (not a given in April, the middle of rainy season).

Above, I didn't get a good picture of the parliament buildings, but here's a photo of the entrance to the Bunge (parliament) complex. 

We went directly to the labour department office.  We got the information we needed, but unfortunately, we can't get our work permits corrected until we have a certain document that is dependent on the school finishing an audit that has been put on hold due to the coronavirus closures.  Maybe someday...

Although our trip didn't yield the results we hoped for, it was really nice to get out of Monduli and it was a beautiful drive.  After we left the labour department, we went to Dodoma's new Shoppers (one of the small chain of grocery stores that we often shop at in Arusha).  They had the chocolate that I like that the Arusha Shoppers' had been out of, and a new flavour of Doritos, as well as a few other things that I picked up.  

Below, some of the items in the bakery at Shoppers.  I'm not sure Americans would always recognize things that are labeled American, and I'm not sure they quite understand the meaning of the word pie, but they tried.  We decided to just buy some snacks to eat for supper rather than trying to find a restaurant, especially as the Allisons are older and trying to wear masks when in public spaces when it's necessary to be in public.  I bought a little mini pizza (edible) and a spring roll (not edible), and I have some bananas as well as the chips and chocolate I bough just to stock up, so I've got plenty to munch on if I want it.

We stayed the night at the Zebra Lodge, which the Allisons had stayed at on a previous trip and liked.  It was clean and comfortable and had a gated area to park, so it was fine, although my shower didn't work.  I was looking forward to a real shower since I take showers with a bucket at home, but oh well. 

We checked in and sat around reading on the front patio for a while, but we still had a nice afternoon and we weren't ready to eat the snacks we'd bought at Shoppers for our supper yet, so we went on a walk through the nearby neighbourhood.  

Here's my room for the night.  It was nice to be in a city, as I had really good phone service.  I never could quite figure out the lights, though; the bathroom had a normal light, but the room seemed to only have an odd red bulb (trust me, it's not the red light district ;) ).  The room had an air conditioner, but it didn't seem to actually be cooling much, but it also had a ceiling fan which was plenty to be comfortable. I had a pretty good night, and we'll be up for the provided breakfast tomorrow and then drive back to Monduli.

Road-tripping to Moshi

Well, today I went on a little road trip to Moshi (three hours' drive one way) with a car full of Tanzanian friends.  We all had some business there, and so we carpooled.  Moshi is a nice city; I've visited there a couple of times before.  It's the city closest to Kilimanjaro, right at its foot, really, but it was too cloudy to get any good views of the mountain today.  

We had a couple of stops for car issues: getting gas, checking the oil and adding more, fixing a puncture in a tire, etc.  Such is life on the roads here.  Fortunately, all the issues were easily fixed and didn't slow us down much at all.

  

We stopped for lunch at friendly-looking place on the edge of Moshi.  Here's another good look at typical Tanzanian food for you--the guys shared a platter of roast goat meat along with ugali.  I was really craving chapati (kind of like thick, fried tortillas), so I ordered some to eat with roast chicken and pilipili (handmade hot sauce).  Add coca-cola all around, and it's a great meal!  Also something nice about Tanzania--a good lunch for five cost about $15. 

Above: Beth and I had added air to the tire several times, but it kept going flat again.  Albert stopped at Lake Oil to have them fix the puncture once and for all. 

Driving back into Monduli, we realized we had just missed a major downpour.  We had very little rain on us on our trip, but dark clouds were just leaving Monduli and the ditched were full to overflowing.  Just outside of Monduli we came across a place where water was flowing over the road; the car got doused with quite a wave of muddy water as we passed through it.  

I was keeping the car (I have a lockable gate, so I've been keeping the Shorts' car that they haven't sold yet until Lewis is able to return to sell it), so we made the rounds of Monduli dropping everyone off.  It had just gotten dark by the time Jackson (who lives somewhere nearish) and I reached my neighborhood.  I was afraid my road would be a complete mess after the heavy rain, especially as they just did major work to move the road over several feet and straighten it out just a few days ago.  When we got there, a gravel truck was dumping a new load of rocky dirt onto the new road, and several guys were out shoveling it out on the road as it began to drizzle again.  The old road is still there just to the right of the new road; we tried driving along it so as not to disturb those working, but it quickly became so deep with mud that we backed out of it. I was going to turn around and go park the car at Beth's and walk home from there, but Jackson insisted that we could make it through as soon as they finished shoveling, and jumped out to help shovel.  Sure enough, after a few minutes the pile of rocks and dirt was smoothed enough that I made it through with the car.  

I think it might need washed, though.  

Arkansas Skies

On the road again! (Imagine sung by Willie Nelson).  The weather couldn't be more perfect than it is today as my mom, brother, and I head for Arkansas.  Usually by this point in July, the sky is dulled by a white hot haze, but this cooler than usual summer has given us several days with brilliantly blue skies and white fluffy clouds.

I'm really looking forward to spending some time with Papa and Nanny; we're hoping to go camping at Buffalo River, where they've been going nearly every summer for about forty-five years now, if the campground isn't already full.

Flying Home

I guess they don't want to encourage people to sleep on the chairs in the waiting area of the departure hall, but they know very well that many people do, so it seems like they would be a little kinder in having chairs without gaps in between them to make it slightly more comfortable.  Oh well.  I arranged my bags around in the seat next to me and made a pillow of sorts out of a jackets and a couple of scarves.  I had intended to use my inflatable neck pillow, but it inopportunely sprung a leak.  I couldn't find any comfortable way to recline, but made myself somewhat comfortable sitting up leaning on my bags.  I used on of the sarongs I bought in Ubud as a blanket, and actually slept fairly well, all things considered.  I probably got four hours or so of sleep all together, although I'd have to wake up every forty-five minutes or so to unkink all my muscles that were going to sleep.  

About a quarter to five I rearranged my stuff back into flying order and went to brush my teeth and freshen up.  I planned to put on shoes at this point, but I just couldn't bring myself to just yet.  I may end up being cold for a few minutes once I land in Wuhan, but it's worth it for a few more hours in flip-flops.  

Check-in and security went as usual, and I headed in search of breakfast on the way to the gate.  I had been disappointed, as the Krispy Kreme I had been to on my last trip through the Don Mueng airport was on the domestic departure side, and there wasn't one listed on the international departure side.  Fortunately, the signs were wrong...there it was, tucked in the corner right next to the Subway and McDonalds.  I had a subway sandwich for breakfast (yes, I know that's rather an odd breakfast, but I wanted something solid and non-greasy), sitting in a small waiting area balancing it on my lap, since all the tables were full.  I bought a couple of donuts, of course--I ate one for dessert after I finished my sandwich.  I wasn't in the least bit hungry for it, and sadly it was cold (what kind of Krispy Kreme doesn't have warm donuts at 6:30 in the morning??), but after I'd waited all night for it I wasn't going to turn it down.  I saved the other for later, though, as it was cold anyhow.  

I finally wandered down to the gate.  After sitting for a few minutes, I stood up and surveyed my belongings, considering whether I needed to go bad enough to schlep it all to the bathroom or not, when someone three rows back stood up to and called my name.   

Kristin, who works at the university-next-door where we go on Sundays, had been travelling in Thailand and had booked the same flight back to Wuhan.  Later on, we saw another teacher from Wuhan also on the same flight, but neither of us was close enough to talk to him. What are the odds?

We finally landed in Wuhan around lunch time.  Other was one of those landings where they pull the stairs up to the plane, you disembark onto the runway, and then they bus you to the arrival gate. As I was still wearing flip-flops bad it was supposed to be only 43 (although sunny) in Wuhan, I was prepared to freeze, but I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't seem too cold at all.  Maybe it was the sunshine. I did, however, put on shoes after collecting my bag from baggage claim.  

One of the great things about running into Kristin was that we could split the fare of the rather expensive taxi home, since our campuses are so close. It was a good trip, but coming home is nice, too.

42 Amazing Maps

I love maps.  As any of you who have been in my house know, as maps feature prominently in my decor. On road trips, I'm the one with the atlas, navigating.  Maps make me happy. :)

Driving in Rajasthan

On my last full day in Udaipur, I decided to get out of town.  According to the guidebook, there are several sights worth seeing within driving distance of Udaipur, so I asked the guy who ran the hostel about how to get out there.  And that's how I found myself bumping along the backroads in a little white car with a driver/guide named Jebbar.  My destinations for the day were Kumbalgarh and Ranakpur, but the drive itself was well worth the trip.  We drove through villages, along rivers, up and down switchbacks over a mountain, through desert areas and farmland.  Several times he pulled over to point out old men perched on the back of cattle, hitched to a huge stone disc; as they circled the disk, a waterwheel pumped water up into the irrigation ditches of the adjacent wheat field.  The winter here is the growing season--the highs are in the 70s, while in the summer, the highs of over 100 and monsoon rains make growing things less convenient.

The villages we passed through could have been any time in history; the only thing that showed that the 21st century had arrived were the advertisements painted onto the sides of various buildings.  Cows and goats wandered the streets, and I saw many women carrying huge baskets on their heads.  The women were the bright spots in the rather drab colors of the landscape and dusty roads; poverty is no reason here not to dress in the brightest colors of saris.

Jebbar was a good talker; he explained the farming methods as went along, and the names of the villages, and pointed out all the best views.  He told me a bit about himself, too: he is one of six children; four brothers and two sisters.  The oldest brother and sister are married, but the rest live together in Udaipur.  He and his younger brother are both drivers.  His family is Muslim, although he says that being a Muslim in India is a bit different than being one in an Arabic country; according the the laws of Islam, men shouldn't see women who are not in their family, but there's no way to avoid it in India, where many neighbors are not Muslim and don't  wear headscarves.  Besides, he works with tourists.  His family is from a small village in the countryside, but his father moved the family to Udaipur when he was a child; there's no work in the village.  Every summer, he goes back to the village; for many years, he would stay a month with his grandparents, living without electricity or running water, but loving every minute of it; now that they are gone, he still goes, and visits cousins.

I'm glad I got the chance to take this drive.  For several years, I've tried to make it a point when traveling to not only see the cities and their famous sights, but also to see something of nature.  I'm glad I got the chance to see the countryside of India, away from the tourist crowds.  

Sand, Shrimp, and Summer

My mother’s goal in life seems to be to have all four of us in the same room at the same time, which has become increasingly challenging as my brother and I are now adults, and I have this little quirk of moving off to other continents.  So, one last time before I move back to China, she organized a little weekend family trip.

The closest place from middle Tennessee to see sand and waves is the gulf shore of Florida, so we started out at the crack of dawn (or, a little before that, really) Saturday morning for Navarre.  Along the bay, there are several little camping area; the one we stayed at (Navarre Beach Campground)  offered little cabins—there were beds for four, a kitchenette, a bathroom, an a screened in porch with rocking chairs, all just a couple hundred yards from the water.  You can’t beat that for $99 a night! 

The campground was just a little ways down the road from the bridge over to Santa Rosa Island; Santa Rosa is a barrier island that runs for miles along the coast, from Pensacola to Destin. The section of the island at Navarre is dedicated to public beaches (including bath houses, lifeguards, a fishing pier, and lots of Florida’s famous white sand).  The western end of the island is preserved from development as the Gulf Islands National Seashore.  Driving through the state park was probably my favorite part of the trip—white dunes and sea grass on both sides of the car, on a brilliantly sunny day with white fluffy clouds, turquoise waves rolling in from the gulf on one side, and the calmer waters of the bay on the other.  Now and then the dunes are interrupted by scrubby trees and driftwood; we saw a huge heron standing by its nest in the top of a dead tree. 

At the very point of the island is Fort Pickens, which was built in the 1800s to defend the bay at Pensacola.  There’s an eight-dollar-per-car fee to get into the park (good for a week), and once inside you can walk the ramparts and pose for photos with the old cannons.  A museum has been built in the old caretakers’ home.  Fort Pickens was sometimes used to house prisoners; its most famous inmate was the Apache warrior Geronimo, who was held there for a time before being moved permanently to Oklahoma. 

When you’re at the ocean, you have to have seafood; we splurged by going to Flounders’ in Pensacola.  We sat out on the covered deck; although it was a hot day, it was fairly pleasant in the shade with a light breeze coming off of the water.  A live musician was singing mellow classics; everyone clapped the hardest, of course, for anything by Jimmy Buffet.  The deck ended on the sand, where a beach volleyball game was halfheartedly going on, and the bay was just a few steps beyond that.  The fried fish I got was honestly the best fish I’ve ever had, and if I ever go back, I’ll probably get a shrimp basket like my mothers—I tried various things off of it, and particularly enjoyed the grilled shrimp and bell peppers. 

Now, I’m not enough of a beach person to enjoy staying at the coast for a whole week like most of my friends like to do (I get tired of sand in everything very, very quickly), but after a long weekend in the sun I feel like I’ve really had summer. 

Autostrada del Sole (ITC Week 19)

Indie Travel Challenge Week 19: Road Trips

 For week 19, we’d like you to design the perfect road trip. Who’s with you in the car? What kind of car are you driving? What snacks are in the cooler? What music is playing? And, most importantly, where are you?

When I read this prompt, the first thing that popped into my head was  sunlight pouring in the windows, catching a glimpse of Orvieto, an ancient town built on top of a cliff, out the window as I head south towards Rome on the Autostrada del Sole.  Giorgia’s Girasole (Sunflower) is next on the playlist, and I’ve brought along a bottle of A.C.E. fruit juice. It’s hot outside, but the air conditioner is thankfully working at the minute. 

 Even the name Autostrada del Sole, the Highway of the Sun, Interstate 1, seems an invitation to find out where it goes.  It’s the backbone of Italy’s interstate system, running like a spine from Milan to Naples.  In between, it passes through most of the major cities of central Italy, including Bologna, Florence, and Rome. 

When I lived in Italy, I traveled every mile of it at some time or another, most of those in a large and crowded van (the rickety old gray Bible School van on our way to a convegno in Velletri, just outside of Rome; crammed in the back of the di Marco’s van with the Naples crowd as I bummed a ride down to explore Naples after another trip to Velletri) or else riding along with the Shorts to Florence, or again Velletri.  I guess those trips to the women’s retreat and family retreats held at Velletri really added up the highway miles. 

However, the thing all of these trips had in common was that I was in route somewhere, and I had a time I needed to be there.  And while the sights along the way are nice even in passing, it would make a beautiful road trip if I had the time to wander: a side trip to the independent country of  San Marino, parking and taking the tram up into Orvieto to see the famous old church,  fields of sunflowers with the Tower of Pisa floating on the horizon behind them, eating the original ragu (meat sauce) in Bologna, meandering off side roads to explore the small towns perched on top of hills in rural Tuscany, parking at Piazza Michelangelo for the postcard-picture view of Florence, passing miles of empire-era aqueduct just south of Rome, and finally taking my life in my hands driving into the chaos of Naples, with Vesuvius looming over the city.  Dozens of other side trips would be possible, if the time and money held out. 

Sadly, it’s been three years since I left Italy; nearly as long as I lived there.  I still feel homesick sometimes to walk across Piazza del Duomo in Milan.  I thought when I left that I’d find a way to visit frequently, but as always, life hasn’t worked out that way.  Life instead took me even further the opposite direction, to China.  My Italian is getting rusty as there’s rarely anyone to talk to around here. You would think that after living for three years in Italy, I’d have seen it all, but I only scratched the surface.  I could spend three more years and still not make it everywhere I’d like to go: I’ve never seen Juliet’s balcony or the ancient amphitheater in Verona, taken a cable car up over the Alps into France from the mountains near Aosta, visited the Borghese Gallery in Rome (I could spend three years just in Rome), or gone to the little republic of San Marino, and the whole mainland of Italy south of Naples is unknown territory for me.  I’ve been to Catania and Mt. Etna in Sicily, but making the loop around Sicily would be another road trip of a lifetime in itself.