Day 7 - Safari Tarangire to Arusha

Bye bye Tarangire National Park and jambo (hello) to the road to back to Arusha. It's silent in the vehicle for this three hour drive back to Arusha because there is so much to digest in our minds about this amazing experience. Definitely, a Kathmandu jacket was required for this experience because when you wear a Kathmandu jacket you have lots of adventures!. Truly no words can describe this experience because it is an experience. What you take away will always be different for each individual. For me, as a fairly experienced traveller, this is at the top of the list.  I would do it all over again without a blink of an eye. 

Another aspect to this trip has been the realisation that culture in a community such as Tanzania is extremely strong and very difficult to change. I'm coming from the perspective of the roles women play in this circle of life. We joked earlier about the Chief's son having four wives and 11 children, but really that is the life for so many women and their 'purpose' here. I struggle to understand it and definitely don't accept it. In speaking with our guide, Hassan and what we have witnessed, women have drawn the very, very short straw. It makes me uncomfortable that it cannot be changed. The Masai people are nomads moving with the requirements of finding food, water and weather conditions etc. For example, its the role of the women to build a new mud house for shelter when they move, tend to the children , cooking , cleaning , keeping camp, fetching water, weaving baskets, making craft items for sale. Really, where does it end? The men need only to tend to herding the goats & cattle. I think you get my drift and it pains me. 

So back to our road trip to Arusha. The bitumen road was built by the Chinese some 14 years ago, handed over to the Tanzanian Government for its upkeep. Its strange as we travel on a smooth, 'still' road after having had our teeth rattled out of our head on those safari tracks. The villages we pass are a hive of activity, whether its market day or just another ordinary day for the towns people. I've got my camera perched in the open window of the vehcile so I can snap away at any opportunities. The series of photos in this blog are those snaps I managed to get in focus from a moving vehicle. It's the  first day of school and we see plenty of young ones dressed in their uniforms. How they keep a white shirt is beyond comprehension as the main road is bitumen, but the main roads into their village is all dirt tracks.  Many are gathered together chatting away  or lounging which I believe is their favorite pass time. On market days , you will pass people of all ages walking their animals to trade at the market. Sometimes , up to 20kms!

    Motorbikes are aplenty and how they can afford them is up to any one's guess. We pull over for a fuel stop and asked to get out of the vehicle. It's against the law to have passengers in the car when fuelling up. I notice two young girls off to the side of the road and approach them with the intention of taking their photo. We always ask permission before snapping away like crazy tourists.  The girls are nervous and neither smiles. In their eyes I see only sadness, or is it what I believe it to be? You can be the judge when you look at the photos below. 

Andrew on the other hand  has been approach by a dude in a suit, not clean or pressed but a suit none the less. He claims to be a teacher and feels super important about himself.