Mud, mud and more mud!

I've been meaning to post this for the last two days but the internet and/or power has been sketchy at best.  Yesterday we got the first real rains since we arrived in Tanzania.  We've seen the odd storm or dash of a 20 minute downpour but nothing like yesterday.  We awoke yesterday morning about 7:00am to hear the sound of rain falling in the distance - SIGNIFICANT rain...  then you could hear it as it advanced to our location.  That was very cool.  It wasn't wind that was pushing the rain as is often the case (or if it was, it was nearly non-existent) but rather just the rain flowing down in rivers from the clouds high above.  We heard it coming from at least 1/4 mile away and when it opened up here, it was like someone had turned on a huge fire hose.

I'll say something for the rain here... when it finally does happen, it sure does happen!  And the mud?  Well that hard packed concrete red dirt we've been walking on almost instantly turned into the most vile, sticky substance known to man.  Our Pamoja (together) Guesthouse is located on a long stretch of dirt road between two main, well paved, roads which hasn't been an issue.  (I've marked it on the location for this post and you can see the house we are staying at in the satellite view.)  Every day, we've packed up our stuff and hiked into town or to the Y for swimming or what ever with nary a thought for the conditions of the road.  It's rough as all get out and nearly takes a 4x4 to navigate the ruts and bumps but on foot, it's as hard as pavement and we've loved passing by all the locals and kids who unfailingly shout out Jambo! to us as we walk by.

Yesterday however, we found out just how bad that road can get.  Within seconds of passing out of the gate (the driveway is made of stone and red-concrete), our shoes were carrying along another 2 lbs each of mud.  The mud sticks in layers so you end up walking on 6" platforms... and this mud is SLIP-PER-RY!!!  While the adhesive properties of this mud would put the Space Shuttle Tile Glue to shame, it is also more slippery than water on ice and teflon combined!    Imagine our fun walking with an extra few inches of sole to your shoes (that weigh a LOT) and then add the fact that ANY slight incline (let alone the trenches and moats of this road) is enough to send you slip-sliding-away like Paul Simon from Art Garfunkel.

When we finally did make it to the Y (and took our shoes off at the entrance to the building and carried them 150' to the sinks), it took us over 20 minutes each to get the mud off the shoes because of that fore-mentioned adhesive properties.  I thought I knew mud from PEI.  This stuff is red like that, but it puts PEI mud to shame.  After doing a swim and getting our shoes/sandals cleaned off as best we could, we stuck to the pavement (dodging motorcycles driven by maniacs with less than 1-2 years behind the wheel - Motorcycles are only within the last 3 years here) and buses (driven by drunken maniacs carrying 250% more people than they should) to go in and try out the wifi at the local Muzingu (white person) Union Cafe.

The internet is cheap here (I bought three 60 minute cards for each of our devices) for under $2 but we found it's the same provider as the guesthouse - with those proverbial two tin cans and a string somewhere between here and North America.  Didn't get a lot done but did have a pretty decent Pizza for about $2-3 each.

This AM, we awoke to the sun again and were planning on going back to Theresa's Make A Difference Now Orphanage for a Christmas Celebration with the kids before they all head back to their villages for the holidays.  I went out and checked the roads and sure enough... they were back to their usual hard packed selves... the tire treads from the cars the previous day being as firmly etched into the surface as if it were concrete!  No issue taking tire prints here - if you happen by during a heavy rain at least!

The Christmas celebration was very cool.  We walked to the Y (about a mile) and were picked up by Theresa in her van and driven out to the Orphanage in Hima.  We got there around noon just in time for a traditional Tanzanian lunch of corn meal in a large shapeless blob and beans - which add some flavour.  It's not the most tasty meal out there but it sure is filling (which is obviously the point).

Then we helped prepare the Christmas dinner.  This involved picking through the rice (about 25 lbs of it) for chaff and small stones, peeling loads of vegetables (cucumbers, carrots and green peppers) and fruit (oranges).  We then spent the afternoon playing and/or reading with the kids again.  I've said it before but these kids are really special and stick to your heart.  One of the girls (that was our star swimmer) came down with a malarial attack it was thought so Theresa took her into the local clinic for a quick checkup.  We had the kids to ourselves - and the Tanzanian house moms of course.  They knew UNO and played for keeps!  They also loved teaching us a new game with cards and would peel off a new rule as soon as we goofed so it seemed we could never win although by the end, it was clear that there really was some rules to this game and they were very good at it.  They throw down every card with such enthusiasm, it's hard not to have lots of fun playing with them - even if one of the little monkeys could teach a pool hall card shark a thing or two about cheating!

Christmas dinner was served about 7pm and it was a traditional dish called Pilau (beef flavoured rice - quite tasty), some VERY overcooked and cheap beef/bone chunks, a few slices of orange, cucumber, a small passionfruit and a slice of watermelon.  All quite good and from the silence around the classroom as everyone was busy eating, a real treat for them!  Then back to Moshi to drop off two of the youngest brothers (Peter and Juma) with their Auntie who is a street vegetable seller in Moshi for the holidays and us to the guest house.

The power and Internet were on (thanks to my handy Apple Airport Express router that I'd brought alone - the main router was not working as the power supply got fried in the thunderstorm the night previously) so we caught up on the news and Jen looked into our next destination - we're now thinking of avoiding Zanzibar at least to start with as neither of us can face a 10 hour bus ride, a night in Dar es Salaam, a two hour ferry ride and then a 2-3 hour taxi drive.  Theresa had pointed out a great little spot on the coast halfway between Mombassa (in Kenya) and Dar called Pangani and we are thinking to stop off there for a bit and see how things go.

Now that the swimming lessons are over, we'll likely pack up here in a few days and head off on the road again.  We'll certainly miss this place and the people we've met here - both at the guesthouse as well as around Moshi.  This has been a great spot to hang out and get to know Tanzania.  Hope all is well with everyone.With our love.