August 11
Ron worked
very hard all afternoon on his draft report and I suggested we go out to
celebrate. We returned to Mama Iringa’s for another fine Italian meal. I had
veggie lasagna that had shredded veggies and cheese but no sauce. It was mighty
fine. Ron had scaloppini and it was delicious
as well and Robin eggplant Parmesan which if we were here another week I’d like
to try it as it looked rich and fabulous. Ron even ordered a beer. A good time all around.
August 12
Ron worked
all day today, Saturday, on his report. Around 5:30 I proofed it with him and
we made corrections. At one point I asked him if he was being paid more than me
to work on this report. It was a joke since this is a pro bono job. It took us
an hour to get through it all. Afterwards we walked over to the Greek Club and
had a great meal. The owner sent us off with a batch of peanut butter cookies
that were sitting on the counter and that Ron had admired. YUM!
August 13
Ron worked on
his report until 3:00 and we went to town to get some cash, 400,000 TZ
schillings is a bit less than $200. Makes one feel wealthy walking around with
that kind of cash. Not much is happening on Sunday in downtown Iringa. We came
back to our room and Ron worked on his report some more. Tonight we are going
up the Sunset Hotel where we had lunch earlier this week. Ron will get some
photos of the grounds and the sunset with any luck. |
| Tricia and Robin |
 |
| The intrepid phtographer |
Only a few
photos were possible as there was a large cloud on the horizon. We met Nathan
whom Robin had met on safari. He joined us for the evening. He works for a
Canadian NGO. We sat on the deck and as the sun went down it got quite cold so
the staff brought out the charcoal terra cotta heaters and placed them on each
end of our table. We ate starters on the deck then went inside for our meal.
August 14,
2017
I woke up
with a cold and a very drizzly nose. After blowing my nose for an hour I gave
up and took a pill and it took hold around 11:30. I went to town and got some
change for the staff tip envelopes I had prepared and went to a pharmacy for
some throat lozenges. After lunch with Ron and Robin we said goodbye to the
woman who owned the eatery where we have lunch every other day. We each wrote a
review for her on Trip Advisor.
Ron went back
to work and I headed back to the guesthouse to rest. I watched CNN to see the
uproar over Trump’s poor response to the Charlottesville
I stayed home
and had soup for dinner as I really was tired from the cold. Ron joined Nathan,
Robin and Rachel, another person working on the project who
just arrived. They walked to a new nearby restaurant and had …Indian food!
After dinner I started packing for our morning departure. We went to bed around
9:00.
August 15
We woke up
around 5:00 and I got up around 6:00 to start the day. We didn’t have to rush.
On our flight
back to Dar, we had a loaded plane. All 12 seats were taken. One couple was going
on a safari and we fly into a safari ‘air strip’. No buildings, no nothing
other than pole structure with a thatched roof for shade. As we approached the
primitive runway I saw a giraffe standing on the edge. We got so close to it I
decided it was a statue of a giraffe…that is until it starting running away as
we passed by it. It was a first for us: seeing a giraffe on the side of a
runway. I said this out loud to the other passengers and the man in front of me
said he has lived his entire life in Africa
and has never seen it before. It was a real thrill. I can see why people are so enamored with this
part of Africa and stay here even with all the
things one must do without when living in a developing country.
We were an
hour late arriving in Dar and had awful traffic getting to our hotel. It took
an hour. By then it was 2:00 and we grabbed a bite to eat at the hotel. Then Ron
went to work at 3:30. I rested hoping to kick this cold I have. At 6:00 our
friends from Albany OR
We ate at an
outdoor restaurant in a high end mall sitting by the bay. What a treat. We
couldn’t resist ordering fresh seafood: calamari and perch. Oh my it was so
good and so fresh! The best part of the evening was our visit with the Hares.
We so enjoy each other’s company and regret we don’t get together more often
when we live just a little over an hour away from each other. Wes and Evelyn
told some funny and some harrowing travel stories. Evelyn was leaving tonight
for a flight home as she has a grandbaby due any day now. She will return here
as Wes has signed up for a four or five month stint here as a volunteer. He is
a generous soul.
August 16,
2017
Ron is giving
a debrief presentation on his project today and he expects that will finish his
obligation. The project went well and he is pleased. We both have had a good
experience on this trip: the people are incredibly friendly, we have felt safe
and there have been no incidents thus far. We are thankful we got to see two
different areas of Tanzania
When Ron gets
home we hope to do a little exploring but after the traffic we experienced
yesterday I am going to suggest we stay on the little peninsular where we are
staying rather than going into the heart of Dar. Dar is notorious for its awful
traffic.
Ron came home and reported the presentation went well. The Chief of Party is known to be demanding and asks lots of questions or seeks clarification on some issues. He did not do this with Ron's report. In fact, he was very complimentary and said he was very impressed with how much got done in such a short amount of time. The staff gave him two rounds of applause when he was finished. YEAH!!!
We had dinner with Wes and Evelyn one last time in our hotel and had really good snapper. We made it an early evening as we needed to repack things for our safari. We will leave out big suitcases at the hotel and only take what we need in our computer bags. We leave early in the morning. Better get some sleep,
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