And then there were 3

So Team B have left. Sob Sob. Actually, it is genuinely sad, I will miss the constant "niiiiiick, stupid question but..." it has filled my life with so much joy for the last 12 months. Looking on facebook the phrase that comes to the fore is "best month of my life" - and I concur completely. That was always the dream and the fact we made it come true is testament to each and every member of the team. I will truly miss them. I know for some it was more than enough of Africa, for others, they cannot get enough of Africa now and for others still it was simply a pleasant way to spend a month...whatever it was I know that we are all better off for the experience and many of the moments we have had in the last 4 weeks will remain with until the sad day when we depart this world! So, what has happened to Lisa Connolley, Natasha Edwards and Yours Truly. Well....13 hour bus ride was horrendous. Lisa was ill (a local food made with 2 day old milk, plantain and maize put pay to her stomach), but she fought hard through the journey and managed to survive unscathed. The roads were bumpy and dusty...the bus was often filled with too much dust to breath properly. My camera and Washbag were pilfered, annoying, but such is life. I have popped to the police, called the insurance and will work out a new camera in Kampala. Got to keep upbeat, outside of my unfortunate Imodium incident (taking imodium for a week instead of my malaria tablets) its the first mishap on the trip for me, so chin up! 13 hours is a pretty long time and our buttocks were well and truly pummelled. We got to Mwanza only to find we had misread the ferry and bus times...so we are still in Mwanza. We went and watched the sun set over Lake Victoria - a truly wonderful sight, the colour of the sun was unlike anything we have seen before and we felt blessed to be there. We catch a ferry at 9pm tonight across Victoria to Bukoba where we will pop on a bus to Kampala. It has been a slow start, but we have had warm showers so why complain?! That's all for now, will update when we get to Kampala. Hope you are all well. Best Wishes Nick

:-)

BBQ at Leo's!

Fish Pie!

Home sweet home

Everything is done, team A and B are home safe and sound! Nick thanks for organising! :-) Pete

A Mini Adventure

The other day, a group of us were in Arusha in order to pop to the Masaai market to pick up various pieces of tat for you relatives back home. A chap started talking to us, nothing unusual here, Tanzanian chaps often talk to you and 9 times out of 10 they say they are artists and you quickly move on. This chap was different. His name was Max and he wanted to practice his, already very good English. He dreams of being a safari guide and wants to work hard to get there. He took us to the market, haggled for us, then took us to a good local place for lunch and invited us to spend the afternoon with him. The boys had football coaching but Lisa was very keen to and I figured someone needed to escort her. So I did. He took us to his adult education college where he taught his English class. We were thrust to the front introduced ourselves then they practiced their english by asking us all manner of questions. They were really very sweet and lovely people and we both found it really quite cute I suppose. Then Max took us to his house. It was a small room just outside the city centre and we sat there for an hour or so listening to his stories. From being beaten by the police as a 15 year old after he tried to speak to the Prime Minister (we found out today he spent three months in hospital because of it) to his dreams for the rest of his life. It was moving as well as fun and we agreed to meet with him again today, he wanted us to meet his mother. So off we tottered on a dalla dalla way out of the city. We got off in a small village and walk for about 45minutes through the local area, with some people amazed at seeing a Mzungu (white man) in their area, not having seen it before. His mothers house was very basic and small but yet welcoming and cosy. He had a cow, a few chickens, a tiny kitten and a tiny puppy. On their land they grow bananas, coffee beans and avocados. His mother spoke no English but made us feel at home, feeding us a local dish and bringing us some bananas. It was amazing just to be out of the city and away from other Mzungus, all by chance and I am so pleased that we have now spent a couple of days with this great man. He asks nothing of us but to talk to him. Hopefully on Saturday we will have another mini-adventure to visit his grandmother. That's all for now folks. Love you Nick

Team A Depart

A subdued feeling this morning. The 9 Team A volunteers here with us in Arusha plus our very own Team B-er Stephanie Golightly had to head home today. There have been plenty of times on this trip where I have been quietly looking forward to the big group becoming smaller, but when faced with the reality of this situation it is a decidedly unhappy affair. The last 12months of my life have been dominated by this expedition, to see it end is like saying goodbye to a little baby really. To say goodbye to people I have become close to not only on the trip but also through the year is a very sad thing to do. What fills me with joy is that each and everyone of the 10 who departed today are sad to be leaving. Sometimes people feel ready to leave, and that is fine, but sometimes, after 4 weeks in a country you really do start to feel at home. It has been awesome to see people grow throughout this trip and learn to become part of Tanzanian culture. This trip can be another holiday, or it can be a chance to really push yourself outside your comfort zone and learn a massive amount about yourself in the process. No one epitomises this more than Steph Golightly. I have had so many emails from her this year worrying about this that and the other. Having never embarked on a trip like this and never done anything like climbing a somewhat large mountain, Steph was very nervous and wanted to know every last detail - she definitely kept me on my toes. Throughout the trip we have seen Steph really relax in this country and from being once very nervous about travelling she stood there this morning in tears as she simply did not want to go home. Nothing shows this more than last night as she fought with a DallaDalla driver who was trying to rip the team off telling him very very firmly that he was not to refer to her as 'baby'. She really exemplifies the idea that you get out of these trips what you put in and I am very proud of her from a leadership position, but more importantly a friend as well. She will be missed in the next three days. That's all for now folks. 3 more days before the rest of Team B depart and just Lisa, Tash and myself are left to take on the rest of E. Africa alone. Saturday will be a sad day indeed, On a good not,. I have booked a gorilla tracking permit for 21st August. Seeing gorillas in the wild is my no.1 thing to do before I die, so its pretty exciting. I know my Grandma would be so proud of this! Best Wishes Nick