Tanzania 2011, Day 7

I'm sitting here in a structure & I'm not quite sure what to call it. It's about the size of a generous garage, the walls are made of some sort of heavy canvas, but the structure is supported by timbers, floored in concrete, & all in all it has a cabin-like feel to it. I suppose if I had to define it I'd call it a canvas cabin -- but that in no way conveys the sheer opulence of the accommodation. For one thing, it is clean; squeeky squeeky clean, not even a stain on anything. The main room contains 3 double-sized beds made up with European-style generous white linens. The bathroom has plush towels & the room is fitted with thoughtful additions like flashlights, kleenex, & an area magazine. It's not until you notice the mosquito netting & the can of heavy-duty bug spray that you realize you're not in North America anymore.

The guest book here on my desk says that the 'Tarangire Lodge is set in Acacia woodland & looks out on a seasonal floodplain with the Tarangire National Park on the southern boundary.' Sure enough, but if I read that ahead of time in the brochure I truly would not know what to expect. What, for example, is a 'canvas lodge'? We drove through some pretty rough bush & past a lot of very primitive Masai mud houses to get here & our expectations sunk lower as we drove along. But this place is probably the most luxurious we've experienced on our trip so far. Not even the Southern Sun in Dar can match this!

After 3 & 1/2 days of very intense work in Dodoma, this feels like a wonderful reward. We started our day like the others, breakfast at the New Dodoma hotel then off to MRI to start the workshops around 9:30. But our delivery was hampered by a very slow internet connection (might as well have been down altogether) & it was a challenge to keep the class going when it was taking more than 5 minutes between clicks from one webpage to another. Eventually we wrapped it up & presented each student with his/her certificate. There followed the inevitable picture-taking session, each student with the certificate, then pictures of the whole class together. Of course, pictures of the 'whole class' had to be taken & re-taken because people who had drifted out of the classroom (this *is* the last day before their semester starts, they really are busy) were drifting back in & wanted of course to have a photo that included them too. So it took a while.

Finally, after many good byes, hugs & handshakes, we left MRI & headed back to the hotel to begin the next stage of our adventure. I think I mentioned that Doug had arranged a 2-day safari to the Arusha-Ngorogoro area & our driver/organizer had arranged to meet us back at the New Dodoma by 11:30 or so. He wanted to get an early get-away because he really didn't want to be driving in the dark (totally understandable, given Tanzanian highways). Everything went as planned except for one thing: we needed gas. Did I mention that Tanzania is facing a serious fuel shortage right now? There have even been some riots in Dar requiring police action. It wasn't quite like that in Dodoma but even there, gas stations were short of fuel (the BP stations had all closed) & line ups for gas were long. We have grown accustomed to Tanzanians being very easy-going & laid back but NOT, it appears, when they are threatened with no fuel. Short tempers, armed & helmeted police, angry drivers, people attempting to jump the queue... Our driver, Kanuth, tried 4 different gas stations before finally returning to the first to wait for gas.

It's a bit of a worry, actually. If the country runs out of gas or the riots get out of hand, how will we return to Dar on Monday? I don't want to miss my flight...

But the worry can wait. Tonight I am staying at a most wonderful 'lodge', a clean bed in a canvas room, after a meal of very good food & cold beer. An added bonus: wildlife. When we signed in here, the reception fellow told us not to be too worried if we heard strange noises; that our Masai security guys would warn us if an elephant wandered too near. Right, I thought to myself; & a full-grown moose could theoretically wander into my back yard in Cranbrook. Tourist hype & it's just not all that likely. So I was genuinely surprised when I heard a strange noise nearby while drinking a beer by the campfire outside the dining tent, & turned around to see a family of elephants move past, shadowy figures barely 50 meters away. And even as I type this I can hear unfamiliar animals just at the edge of the bush outside my cabin. And the moon is full over the Masai steppe just outside the door & the whole thing really is the once-in-a-lifetime experience we had hoped (but not quite expected) it would be.

The world really is awesome.