Today we started our long trip home. Everyone is in good health and will definitely miss this wonderful place.
Today: Ruaha to Iringa.
Monday: Iringa to Dar Es Salaam
Tuesday & Wednesday: Dar es Salaam to Minneapolis.
Now we can plan for the next trip ... :).
See you all soon. I hope you enjoyed the blog.
-Dave
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Saturday - Ruaha
Saturday was a full day safari in Ruaha National Park. We started the day watching the sunrise and full or almost full moon set. After a quick breakfast we hoped into our land rovers and were off to Ruaha. We took a different route in Ruaha today. We started out in a dry river bed and saw a family of elephants soon after we entered the park. As we continued down the dry river, we saw a dead giraffe. One of our guides thinks it was killed by natural causes, because it still was fully intact. Just past the dead giraffe was a female lion resting in the shade. As we watched, she left her shaded perch and headed over to the dead giraffe. Apparently, when a predator takes down an animal, it (or they) begin eating right away and guard it very well - they want to enjoy the spoils of their work. According to our guide, in this case, since it died of natural causes, the female lion saw the dead giraffe, but was very cautious in approaching it, because she didn't want to anger whomever had killed it. When she got to the giraffe, she went to the head first and smelled and listened (too make sure it was dead?) and the proceeded out of our view to the rump and the belly our guide guesses to start eating... It was a really amazing this to witness - even better that we couldn't see the blood once the eating began.
We spent the entire day traveling through Ruaha and saw many different animals, including the lesser kudu. It looks a lot like a slightly larger impala, except the horns are twisted differently. Apparently it is very rare as well. According to our guide, Ruaha Park is where it is because it is at the southern end of the range of the lesser kudu and at the norther edge of the range of the greater kudu, thereby capturing both within the park. Our guide said there are over 8 types of antelopes (impalas, kudus, etc.) within the park.
It was an incredible day. As we were leaving the park, we came across a family of elephants very near the park headquarters buildings. The family seemed to be lead by a huge male elephant with only one tusk. I like to think he lost it in a fight, but our guide though it more likely that he lost it in a tree while he was trying to knock it down for food. Below is a picture of the giant elephant.
We left the park and made it back to the camp in time to watch the sunset at Sunset Mountain resort - definitely a worthwhile experience.
We spent the entire day traveling through Ruaha and saw many different animals, including the lesser kudu. It looks a lot like a slightly larger impala, except the horns are twisted differently. Apparently it is very rare as well. According to our guide, Ruaha Park is where it is because it is at the southern end of the range of the lesser kudu and at the norther edge of the range of the greater kudu, thereby capturing both within the park. Our guide said there are over 8 types of antelopes (impalas, kudus, etc.) within the park.
It was an incredible day. As we were leaving the park, we came across a family of elephants very near the park headquarters buildings. The family seemed to be lead by a huge male elephant with only one tusk. I like to think he lost it in a fight, but our guide though it more likely that he lost it in a tree while he was trying to knock it down for food. Below is a picture of the giant elephant.
We left the park and made it back to the camp in time to watch the sunset at Sunset Mountain resort - definitely a worthwhile experience.
Friday - To Ruaha!
We left Friday morning for Ruaha National Park. Because we were staying at a resort outside the Park, we had to trade our big bus in for three Land Rovers. So, we were our own little caravan driving through Iringa and onto the road to Ruaha. We got to the Sunset Mountain Resort just in time for lunch. All meals were served in an open air dinning room. Below is a picture of the dining room.
The resort is built on a hill. The dining room is the first building you come to as you climb the hill. All of the rooms are further up the hill. Not the greatest layout for Mary Lou and her somewhat new hip, but she took her time and made it with no complaints.
Attached to the dining room was a wonderful balcony looking out on the savanna and on to Ruaha National Park. We spent mornings and evenings enjoying the wonderful view from the balcony (see below).
After a quick lunch, we hoped back into our land rovers and headed for Ruaha and an afternoon safari. The entrance to Ruaha was about 30 minutes from our resort. The entrance is at a crossing of the Ruaha River, the park's namesake, that is filled with sharp rocks and small waterfalls - a beautiful introduction to the park. As Jack and Judy and our guides were paying the entrance fee, the others in the group were able to spot a couple of hippos, some crocodiles, and a pair of eagles. Let the picture taking begin!
We entered the park and traveled down river in search of game. For the first 1/2 hour or so, we saw one giraffe. I was worried, thinking we've only got this safari and tomorrow, where are the animals. Turns out you have to drive though an empty (or almost empty) area to get to the good part with all the animals. The sightings started out with a solo giraffe here, a warthog there, another solo giraffe, etc.
Then we went down by the river. We were just in time to see an entire herd of water buffalo come down to the river to drink - something they do only twice a day. There were easily over 200 water buffalo in the heard! An amazing site. The further down the river we went, the more animals we saw: zebra, impala, elephants, monkeys, baboons, greater kudu, etc., etc. We even saw a leopard - very rare! By then end of the day, the only big animal we hadn't see was a lion, I was disappointed, but not worried - we had another day. And then, on the way out, we took a small detour and found 8 lions, two lion couples and one lion with three lady lions (mom and kids or harem, your guess is as good as mine). It was an amazing site - what a way to finish day 1 of the safari. We left Ruaha as the sun was setting behind us and headed for our camp.
Oh, the bad news (or maybe good news for those of you reading in the US) is that I switched cameras for the safari and the other camera is harder to pull pictures off of for blog posts. Therefore, there will only be a couple of pictures from the safari on the blog. But, I took over 200 pictures in 1 1/2 days, so all you have to do is ask when I get home :).
The resort is built on a hill. The dining room is the first building you come to as you climb the hill. All of the rooms are further up the hill. Not the greatest layout for Mary Lou and her somewhat new hip, but she took her time and made it with no complaints.Attached to the dining room was a wonderful balcony looking out on the savanna and on to Ruaha National Park. We spent mornings and evenings enjoying the wonderful view from the balcony (see below).
After a quick lunch, we hoped back into our land rovers and headed for Ruaha and an afternoon safari. The entrance to Ruaha was about 30 minutes from our resort. The entrance is at a crossing of the Ruaha River, the park's namesake, that is filled with sharp rocks and small waterfalls - a beautiful introduction to the park. As Jack and Judy and our guides were paying the entrance fee, the others in the group were able to spot a couple of hippos, some crocodiles, and a pair of eagles. Let the picture taking begin!
We entered the park and traveled down river in search of game. For the first 1/2 hour or so, we saw one giraffe. I was worried, thinking we've only got this safari and tomorrow, where are the animals. Turns out you have to drive though an empty (or almost empty) area to get to the good part with all the animals. The sightings started out with a solo giraffe here, a warthog there, another solo giraffe, etc.
Then we went down by the river. We were just in time to see an entire herd of water buffalo come down to the river to drink - something they do only twice a day. There were easily over 200 water buffalo in the heard! An amazing site. The further down the river we went, the more animals we saw: zebra, impala, elephants, monkeys, baboons, greater kudu, etc., etc. We even saw a leopard - very rare! By then end of the day, the only big animal we hadn't see was a lion, I was disappointed, but not worried - we had another day. And then, on the way out, we took a small detour and found 8 lions, two lion couples and one lion with three lady lions (mom and kids or harem, your guess is as good as mine). It was an amazing site - what a way to finish day 1 of the safari. We left Ruaha as the sun was setting behind us and headed for our camp.Oh, the bad news (or maybe good news for those of you reading in the US) is that I switched cameras for the safari and the other camera is harder to pull pictures off of for blog posts. Therefore, there will only be a couple of pictures from the safari on the blog. But, I took over 200 pictures in 1 1/2 days, so all you have to do is ask when I get home :).
Thursday the 17th in Iringa
We started today by visiting Tumaine University, the Lutheran sponsored University in Iringa. As I understand it, the entire University was built by donations from Lutheran churches in the Twin Cities area. It was an incredible campus. The head of the University was in a meeting, so one of his assistants gave us a tour. They have a building for teaching Information Technology and other science related classes, including basic robotics. The picture below is of the first building constructed on the campus. It has four wings, including numerous class rooms, a small grocery store and an ATM. 
They are currently adding on to their library. The current library has a computer lab with over 20 computers. Unlike Pommern Secondary School, most of these computers appeared to be in working order. They also have numerous dorms, split by gender. Each dorm is named after the sponsor church that raised the money to build it. If memory serves, the enrollment at Tumaine is about 2,700 students. Jack, Judy and Kay said that the enrollment is almost double what it was two years ago when they visited. Amazing growth!
After the University, we went to visit the house of Kiponda, the local minister who accompanied us to Magome to act as translator and liaison between our group and the local church. He showed us his home, introduced us to his wife and served us a snack of fried bananas and cookies.
Kiponda then joined us as we continued on to Humara Orphanange. This orphanage is located on the outskirts of town and houses just under 40 children that come from homes where both parents have died or there has been extreme neglect or, some of the children were taken off the street. Children at the Humara Orphanage range from 5 to 18 years old. We met with the assistant head mistress and all of the children in a gathering hall. We were given a brief talk on the history of the orphanage and who they help. The, we played some games with the children. First Sandy taught us all a group game and then Jack passed out some more of the small red balls we brought along and played a short partner game. After that, we got out some baloons and had some fun with the kids, ending in all kinds of popping ballons. Below is a picture of us playing with the kids.
After a short tour of the facility (they raise cows for the milk and for sale to make money), we met with the headmistress who had been in a meeting. I was very impressed with her. She has been headmistress of the orphanage for many years - I don't think I could do her job for 1 week much less for many years. To the right is a picture of the headmistress and Jack.
They are currently adding on to their library. The current library has a computer lab with over 20 computers. Unlike Pommern Secondary School, most of these computers appeared to be in working order. They also have numerous dorms, split by gender. Each dorm is named after the sponsor church that raised the money to build it. If memory serves, the enrollment at Tumaine is about 2,700 students. Jack, Judy and Kay said that the enrollment is almost double what it was two years ago when they visited. Amazing growth!After the University, we went to visit the house of Kiponda, the local minister who accompanied us to Magome to act as translator and liaison between our group and the local church. He showed us his home, introduced us to his wife and served us a snack of fried bananas and cookies.
Kiponda then joined us as we continued on to Humara Orphanange. This orphanage is located on the outskirts of town and houses just under 40 children that come from homes where both parents have died or there has been extreme neglect or, some of the children were taken off the street. Children at the Humara Orphanage range from 5 to 18 years old. We met with the assistant head mistress and all of the children in a gathering hall. We were given a brief talk on the history of the orphanage and who they help. The, we played some games with the children. First Sandy taught us all a group game and then Jack passed out some more of the small red balls we brought along and played a short partner game. After that, we got out some baloons and had some fun with the kids, ending in all kinds of popping ballons. Below is a picture of us playing with the kids.
After a short tour of the facility (they raise cows for the milk and for sale to make money), we met with the headmistress who had been in a meeting. I was very impressed with her. She has been headmistress of the orphanage for many years - I don't think I could do her job for 1 week much less for many years. To the right is a picture of the headmistress and Jack.
Wednesday the 16th in Iringa
We started the day by trying to visit the Bishop at the Iringa Synod office. Unfortunately, the Bishop was out of town on business so his deputy greeted us and talked in detail about the many different avenues that the Lutheran Church is taking in and around Iringa to help the local people. Everything from Hospitals and Schools to a fledgling micro-loan program. It is amazing how much the Lutheran Church, especially from the Twin Cities area, has touched the Iringa area. It is also amazing how much has been done and how much more there is to do.
After our visit to the Bishop's office, we left Iringa and headed for the small town of Ilula. The Lutheran Church has built a hospital in Ilula. Below is a map of the hospital area.
The building are color coded with red roofed building under construction and green roofed building still in the planning stages/needing funding. We brought a small amount of medical supplies to the hospital - those we felt would not be used or needed in Magome. They were very appreciative of the supplies.
When we visited, a group from an international eye clinic were visiting and performing cataract surgery on as many people as they could. The hospital had an amazing surgical suite (currently being used for the various eye surgeries) and had a men's and women's ward for recovery. In our tour of the hospital, we walked through the current birthing and women's health building. We learned that a new mom with a normal birth stays in the hospital for up to 3 days and a c-section mom stays for a week or more. Also, the cost of a c-section is $60,000 Tanzanian Shillings (about $60.00 US).
After the Ilula Hospital, we went to the Isimila Archaeological Site. It is the site of a stone age civilization. They have numerous examples of stone tools: knifes, clubs, stones for hurling, grinding stones, etc. In one area, it is estimated that over 75% of the visible stones are tool stones from the ancient civilization. Our guide told us that Isimila has the most stone tools of any site in Africa.
After seeing the Archaeological Site, the tour continues up a winding patch until you reach the entrance of the Pillars - a canyon carved by an ancient stream leaving amazing pillars. Below is a picture of the canyon. I would estimate the pillars are 80-100 feet tall.
The hiking was easy, so everyone had a good time in the canyon, but Kay and Dave had an especially good time. They both kept comparing the Pillars Canyon to canyon trip to the SW United States. This trip was a worthy detour for any future trips to the Iringa area.
After Isimila, we returned to Iringa and had dinner at Shooters, a pool hall/restaurant with only one pool table. The dinner was very good and afterwards, those of us in the know taught the others how to hang spoons on their nose. By the end of the night, everyone in the group, including our four guests from Magome, had successfully hung a spoon.
After our visit to the Bishop's office, we left Iringa and headed for the small town of Ilula. The Lutheran Church has built a hospital in Ilula. Below is a map of the hospital area.
The building are color coded with red roofed building under construction and green roofed building still in the planning stages/needing funding. We brought a small amount of medical supplies to the hospital - those we felt would not be used or needed in Magome. They were very appreciative of the supplies.When we visited, a group from an international eye clinic were visiting and performing cataract surgery on as many people as they could. The hospital had an amazing surgical suite (currently being used for the various eye surgeries) and had a men's and women's ward for recovery. In our tour of the hospital, we walked through the current birthing and women's health building. We learned that a new mom with a normal birth stays in the hospital for up to 3 days and a c-section mom stays for a week or more. Also, the cost of a c-section is $60,000 Tanzanian Shillings (about $60.00 US).
After the Ilula Hospital, we went to the Isimila Archaeological Site. It is the site of a stone age civilization. They have numerous examples of stone tools: knifes, clubs, stones for hurling, grinding stones, etc. In one area, it is estimated that over 75% of the visible stones are tool stones from the ancient civilization. Our guide told us that Isimila has the most stone tools of any site in Africa.
After seeing the Archaeological Site, the tour continues up a winding patch until you reach the entrance of the Pillars - a canyon carved by an ancient stream leaving amazing pillars. Below is a picture of the canyon. I would estimate the pillars are 80-100 feet tall.
The hiking was easy, so everyone had a good time in the canyon, but Kay and Dave had an especially good time. They both kept comparing the Pillars Canyon to canyon trip to the SW United States. This trip was a worthy detour for any future trips to the Iringa area.After Isimila, we returned to Iringa and had dinner at Shooters, a pool hall/restaurant with only one pool table. The dinner was very good and afterwards, those of us in the know taught the others how to hang spoons on their nose. By the end of the night, everyone in the group, including our four guests from Magome, had successfully hung a spoon.
Magome Day 4
Our last day in Magome :(. In the morning, J.R. and Dave finished the work on the solar lights. Everything should be running at sunset! While they were working hard, Mary Lou sat with the cooking ladies and journaled - with all the action she had fallen behind. The rest of the Salem crew gathered up a bunch more school supplies and visited the Magome primary school (sorry, no pictures, I was work on the solar lights - others have pictures, but their out shopping right now). The soccer game two days ago was played at the primary school, so we had been there before, but now everyone got to meet teachers and students. Again, we presented them with a big bag of school supplies: pencils, pens, markers, colored pencils, notebooks, calculators, etc. We even brought a couple of whistles for the teachers to help them keep order...
After the gang returned from the primary school, there was just enough
time for Sandy and others to set up the Dispensary in the pastor's office building. Then, it was time to say goodbye to most of the people of Magome. We dressed in the wonderful shirts/wraps we had been given as gifts and headed to church to say goodbye. A picture of Jack in full garb is to the right. There was even more singing and dancing (they do that a lot here :) ). The pastor read a letter of thanks to everyone and then we were each presented with letter an individual letter - written in english! Afterwards, we gathered on the bus with the pastor and three other people from Magome and headed out of town.
The pastor and three other people of Magome were coming with us to Iringa and then on safari with us.
After we left Magome, we headed to Pommern Secondary School. There is one student sponsored by Salem at Pommern, so we brought another gift package for her. School had just started two days ago, so at first, they thought the student had not yet returned to school (fairly common). However, we did find her eventually and I believe Jack took a picture of her as well for her sponsors.
At Pommern, we were greated by the assistant headmaster and given a short tour. They have a computer lab with 17 computers (all laptops) powered by solar power. Unfortunately, the power source is not good on the computers, so they only have 3 working computers - the rest have bad screens or other problems. Pommern was definitely a larger school than Lutangilo. I think the total student count was 800-900 students. During our tour, all the students gathered at the steps of the headmaster's office. We returned there and met the headmaster and there was another brief welcome and hello ceremony. We are all learning to say "My name is" is Swahili. Pronunciation is a hurdle, but we should have it figured out, just in time to leave. Below is a picture of the students of Pommern, or at least as many as I could fit on camera.
After Pommern, we headed back to Iringa. To pass the time, Sandy taught the back of the bus the game of cows - be the first to see a cow or herd of cows, yell "Cows!" and get one point. There are more rules, but that is the basics. Due to a lack of cows, additional points were allowed for other more common Tanzania things during the trip. By the end of the drive, most of the bus was involved in the game ... an excellent way to pass the time on a road trip. We got back to Iringa just as the sun was setting.
After the gang returned from the primary school, there was just enough
time for Sandy and others to set up the Dispensary in the pastor's office building. Then, it was time to say goodbye to most of the people of Magome. We dressed in the wonderful shirts/wraps we had been given as gifts and headed to church to say goodbye. A picture of Jack in full garb is to the right. There was even more singing and dancing (they do that a lot here :) ). The pastor read a letter of thanks to everyone and then we were each presented with letter an individual letter - written in english! Afterwards, we gathered on the bus with the pastor and three other people from Magome and headed out of town.The pastor and three other people of Magome were coming with us to Iringa and then on safari with us.
After we left Magome, we headed to Pommern Secondary School. There is one student sponsored by Salem at Pommern, so we brought another gift package for her. School had just started two days ago, so at first, they thought the student had not yet returned to school (fairly common). However, we did find her eventually and I believe Jack took a picture of her as well for her sponsors.
At Pommern, we were greated by the assistant headmaster and given a short tour. They have a computer lab with 17 computers (all laptops) powered by solar power. Unfortunately, the power source is not good on the computers, so they only have 3 working computers - the rest have bad screens or other problems. Pommern was definitely a larger school than Lutangilo. I think the total student count was 800-900 students. During our tour, all the students gathered at the steps of the headmaster's office. We returned there and met the headmaster and there was another brief welcome and hello ceremony. We are all learning to say "My name is" is Swahili. Pronunciation is a hurdle, but we should have it figured out, just in time to leave. Below is a picture of the students of Pommern, or at least as many as I could fit on camera.
After Pommern, we headed back to Iringa. To pass the time, Sandy taught the back of the bus the game of cows - be the first to see a cow or herd of cows, yell "Cows!" and get one point. There are more rules, but that is the basics. Due to a lack of cows, additional points were allowed for other more common Tanzania things during the trip. By the end of the drive, most of the bus was involved in the game ... an excellent way to pass the time on a road trip. We got back to Iringa just as the sun was setting.
Magome Day 3
,
Day 3 in Magome was a day for travel. We first traveled to Lutangilo - the secondary boarding school to where many of the Salem sponsored students attend class and live. The road to Lutangilo was incredible. We went over many mountains and through many valleys. The road quality varied from rocky and wide to rutted and barely wide enough for our bus. But, Peter, our excellent driver was able to handle it all. Even an old wooden bridge as seen in the picture to the right. Just so no one worries, we all walked across the bridge and then Peter drove the bus across by himself.
When we got to Lutangilo (above), we had a short ceremony with all the students, then met all of the Salem sponsored students as a group. We presented all the sponsored students with a Salem/Magome sweatshirt, a calculator, and a new notebook. They were all very greatful for the support of their sponsors as well as the gifts we brought. We then went out to the school's courtyard and took a group photo and individual pictures of each student. So, sponsors, don't forget get to harass the Grand Pooh-bah (Jack) for a picture of your student when we return (maybe give him a week, we have a lot of pictures). To everyone else: There are plenty of spaces still available for new students at Lutangilo and students wanting to attend at Magome. Talk to Jack or Judy or Kay or anyone else who went on the trip if you are interested in sponsoring a student.
After we met with the students, we took a short tour of the school and saw a classroom and the girls and boys dormitories (those who visited last time - the boys have a new dorm!). We finished with a visit to the headmaster's office. There we gave him some more notebooks and a variety of other school supplies - pencils, pens, colored pencils, markers, calculators, etc.. He was also very greatful for this donation.
After Lutangilo, we headed out, back across the treacherous bridge toward the Magome congregation's preaching point, called Ikelamo. The Magome congregation is spread out over a large area and the only mode of transportation for everyone is walking. Therefore, to allow more people to attend church on Sunday they have set up a preaching point where an evangelist runs the Sunday service. Both the main church and the preaching point have an evangelist. I believe the pastor visits the preaching point about once a month to perform the Sunday service, leaving the main church under the charge of that evangelist.
When we arrived at Ikelamo, we were again greated with much singing and dancing. We eventually made our way up to the church building at the preaching point where there was a small ceremony to welcome us. We then gave our gifts out as well. Just like before, w gave sweatshirts and t-shirts to the church elders, beanie babies and hand made dolls to the children, baseball hats to the adults and baby hats and blankets and two quilts to the evangelist for distribution as she saw fit. We then said goodbye and made our way back to Magome.
In Magome, J.R. and Dave and some of the Magome men continued their installation of the solar lights. Before dinner, some of the town's children came to the pastor's front yard to "play". For them, playing was singing and dancing. Sandy, Lori, and others joined in the playing and fun was had by all.
After dinner, we went up to the cook shack to thank the many cooking women for all of their hard work to serve us such wonderful meals. While we were there, we were given a brief instruction in basket weaving by the cook ladies. A basket that is about 6 inches across and 4 inches deep takes one woman about one day to weave. To show us how it was done, the ladies team wove a basket about 1 inch across and 1 inch deep in about an hour - Amazing! Sandy tried to weave some magic toward the end and the ladies were very patient teachers. Below is a picture of one of the expert weavers at work.
Day 3 in Magome was a day for travel. We first traveled to Lutangilo - the secondary boarding school to where many of the Salem sponsored students attend class and live. The road to Lutangilo was incredible. We went over many mountains and through many valleys. The road quality varied from rocky and wide to rutted and barely wide enough for our bus. But, Peter, our excellent driver was able to handle it all. Even an old wooden bridge as seen in the picture to the right. Just so no one worries, we all walked across the bridge and then Peter drove the bus across by himself.
When we got to Lutangilo (above), we had a short ceremony with all the students, then met all of the Salem sponsored students as a group. We presented all the sponsored students with a Salem/Magome sweatshirt, a calculator, and a new notebook. They were all very greatful for the support of their sponsors as well as the gifts we brought. We then went out to the school's courtyard and took a group photo and individual pictures of each student. So, sponsors, don't forget get to harass the Grand Pooh-bah (Jack) for a picture of your student when we return (maybe give him a week, we have a lot of pictures). To everyone else: There are plenty of spaces still available for new students at Lutangilo and students wanting to attend at Magome. Talk to Jack or Judy or Kay or anyone else who went on the trip if you are interested in sponsoring a student.
After we met with the students, we took a short tour of the school and saw a classroom and the girls and boys dormitories (those who visited last time - the boys have a new dorm!). We finished with a visit to the headmaster's office. There we gave him some more notebooks and a variety of other school supplies - pencils, pens, colored pencils, markers, calculators, etc.. He was also very greatful for this donation.
After Lutangilo, we headed out, back across the treacherous bridge toward the Magome congregation's preaching point, called Ikelamo. The Magome congregation is spread out over a large area and the only mode of transportation for everyone is walking. Therefore, to allow more people to attend church on Sunday they have set up a preaching point where an evangelist runs the Sunday service. Both the main church and the preaching point have an evangelist. I believe the pastor visits the preaching point about once a month to perform the Sunday service, leaving the main church under the charge of that evangelist.
When we arrived at Ikelamo, we were again greated with much singing and dancing. We eventually made our way up to the church building at the preaching point where there was a small ceremony to welcome us. We then gave our gifts out as well. Just like before, w gave sweatshirts and t-shirts to the church elders, beanie babies and hand made dolls to the children, baseball hats to the adults and baby hats and blankets and two quilts to the evangelist for distribution as she saw fit. We then said goodbye and made our way back to Magome.
In Magome, J.R. and Dave and some of the Magome men continued their installation of the solar lights. Before dinner, some of the town's children came to the pastor's front yard to "play". For them, playing was singing and dancing. Sandy, Lori, and others joined in the playing and fun was had by all.After dinner, we went up to the cook shack to thank the many cooking women for all of their hard work to serve us such wonderful meals. While we were there, we were given a brief instruction in basket weaving by the cook ladies. A basket that is about 6 inches across and 4 inches deep takes one woman about one day to weave. To show us how it was done, the ladies team wove a basket about 1 inch across and 1 inch deep in about an hour - Amazing! Sandy tried to weave some magic toward the end and the ladies were very patient teachers. Below is a picture of one of the expert weavers at work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)