17 Kigoma Day Two and the MV Liemba

Riding the MV Liemba was to be our third activity on the trip.  Unfortunately, the Liemba is undergoing repairs, and delayed for one week.  They are waiting for a generator part which needs to come from Germany.  We are not surprised.  We were lucky to get a guided tour of her.  John was very excited to see the engine room and really, the whole ship.  Third class berthing was on the bottom, then second, first and VIP on the very top.  

A stack of life rafts on the deck just in case.

The hallway for second class cabins.

The choo cha!

My favorite!

The spare parts.

A fender.

John in the captain's chair.

The Liemba has wooden decks, which are slowly being replaced and repaired.  The steel deck is getting a new coat of red lead paint.

Second class cabin.

Because the Liemba didn't sail, we kayaked to Jacobson's beach on Lake Tanganyika.  

14 Barafu Camp back to Mbahe Farm

After the summit and the 15 hour day, everything seems to spped up and be anti climatic, although beautiful walking through the cool rainforest.  Every step is downhill, everyone is thinking of home or moving on to another event.  Originally I had wanted to spend an extra day descending, but in the end, it wasn't necessary.  I wore a knee brace on my right knee, but it really was such a gradual descent on a great path, that it was not necessary either.  The rainforesst on this side of Kili was more Tarzan like than the rainforst on the Lemosho Route.  People did not stop long to admire, just down down down. SENE hosts a post climb party after every climb.  It's an organized affair, with Wilson as bwana.  It's very formal, first we will do this, then we will do this...We're not sure if the porters wanted to be there, or were required.  Hopefully they enjoyed it.  We each were called to the front of the space to receive our Kili certificates, and the porters sang for us.  I recommend SENE to anyone who wants to climb Kili.

We really admired these guys carrying heavy hardwood up to make a new toilet at Millinium Camp.  

Celebratory lunch at the Mweka Gate.

Celebratory beer back at the Mbahe Farm

Party at Mbahe Farm with our crew, the three guides, and all but two porters.  We had the traditional Tanzanian food, Ugali.

Eligi and Michelle.

15 Kigoma Day One

Fried chicken and mashed potatoes in Mwanza, an over night stop on the way to Kigoma.

Samosa at the Mwanza airport.gd. 

We didn't stop here!

Fishing village on Lake Tanganyika, near Kigoma.

Wooden boat building by hand, no power tools.  The boats are fishing vessels, flat bottomed, built of hardwood planks and U shaped nails.  The cracks are stuffed with oil soaked cotton.  We were told each boat could last ten years with proper maintenance.  The boats go out in pairs at dusk, using light to attract the fish, and come in at down.  One boats has a motor and pulls the other.  They're fishing for little itty bitty fish using nets. 

Annual painting of the boats.

Washing clothes.

Looking for colorful stones.

Local store.

We visited Ujiji where Stanley met Livingstone for the first time and said, "Livingstone, I presume."

Kigoma is a major trading center between East and Central Africa.  Here the boats come from Burundi and Congo.  Everything is built by hand and loaded & unloaded by hand.

Sweet treat, sugarcane.

Outside our door at the Kigoma Hilltop Hotel, an interesting place!

16 Gombe National Park

Daniel, our tracker.

This is either Glitter or Golden, with her baby.  Glitter and Golden are the only adolescent twins known to be alive in the wild.  They're 16, and if you've read any of Jane Goodall's books, you know of them! I was thrilled to be in their presence, because of Adam & Ali's twins, which are due just about any time now.

Drinking from the stream.

Gremlin and her baby.

Breaking a wild mango on the rock, which Jane Goodall documented for the first time, many years ago.  And, the chimps are still at it!

This little guy, Google, is 4 years old.

Dhows used for fishing.  They are all over the lake, very common.  This area is about half Christian, half Muslim.

Samson, Daniel and two other members of the Jane Goodall Research team.  We met up with them out in the bush.

Looking in the window at Jane's house.  We missed seeing her by about two days.  It was pretty cool just knowing that she was in the area.

Jane's house.

A village we passed on the way from Gombe to Kigoma.