Thursday, July 28, 2011

Day 2: Arusha to the Ngorongoro Crater











After a great breakfast at the Ilboru and an opportunity to practice my Swahili with the waitress (who was, no doubt, quite impressed with my language prowess). We stopped and changed money and hit a small market next door. Arusha was crowded and bustling.


After meeting with Simon (our tour operator) and stocking up on some basic supplies, we were off to the Ngorongoro Crater, our first National Park destination. As we drove through town we found the streets of Arusha bustling with motos and buses and land rovers and men pulling two-wheeled wooden carts. The sides of the roads were filled with people working, selling goods, and just hanging out. The drive to the Ngorongoro passed through many small towns and over many massive speed bumps, some combination of which cost us one tire on the way. Along the way we passed many Maasai villages consisting of small round thatched huts. The Maasai are a regal looking people who subsist largely on their cattle. The staple food is a combination of cow’s milk and blood, drawn from a nick on the jugular of a cow. Their society is structured by age group. Every 15 years all who have reached puberty since the last initiation go through the process. Any male who cries out during the five minute circumcision process (no anesthesia is used) is ridiculed as a coward and his parents are spat upon for raising one. Girls may marry after going through the ceremony but males must wait until the next group is initiated. Out of wedlock and extra-marital relations are condoned and any children resulting are raised by the husband for whom many children (and many cattle) are a source of wealth and pride. polygamy is practiced. We saw one large complex, with its own school, for one wealthy witch doctor and (supposedly) his 50 wives.


The Ngorongoro Crater was spectacular! From the first view of the crater until the time we left the floor, the sheer volume and proximity of wildlife in front of the magnificent backdrop of the crater walls was simply amazing. As we entered onto the valley floor we were literally surrounded by scores of zebra and wildebeest. Interspersed among those were warthogs, hyenas, crowned cranes, ostriches, bustards (the world's heaviest flying bird), while flamingoes waded in the shallow lake nearby. We also saw a golden jackal, five lions, a cheetah, a hippo, an elephant, and even a black rhino. Spectacular. We are staying at the Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge which is quite nice itself. Each room has a view of the crater floor as do the dining room, the bar, and, of course, the observation deck. The review I read earlier mentioned the views and the somewhat utilitarian styling of the 1970s government structure. The former still impress and the latter have been pretty much eclipsed by the addition of glass discs, hip lamps, and mirror mosaics. After enjoying the view, we ate, played a little farkel (dice game), and hit the hay. We were all pretty beat but very satisfied.

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