Ben Wilhelmi

Flying Medical Service mobile clinics

at some clinics, about 100 kids can be vaccinated, polio, measles, diphteria… that’s 100 cries but luckily not all at once!!

 

this time on this airstrip, Habere in Sonjo Valley, I got a puncture from an acacia thorn. It took me more than 2 hours to fix it. It spoilt a bit my time here but hey, that’s part of bush flying.

 

that kid got a nasty scar on his forehead.

is he now carrying a bow to avoid a repeat or was the bow responsible for the situation where he got the scar?

 

vast expanse of savannah, miles and miles of walking for some people to meet us…

 

   

a medical hut entrance.

 

tons of jewels, but no diamonds nor gems, only plastic beads luckily for the husband…

 

 

this young girl is either more reasonable in term of jewels or only starting her collection or the husband is not into it.

a few things in Tanzania…

 

local cops try to make you pay/bribe by pretending you took the wrong direction on a one-way street. When challenged, these cops would show you the back of some unrelated road signs to prove their point. It might work with new comers in the country who are still scared to discuss with cops…on one occasion one cop jumped in my car and told me to speed away to save my life she said from angry locals! true they were angry because I was blocking a bus. On that one she might have been right.

one reader in the world famous “Arusha Times” once wrote that in Europe Middle Ages, road thrives were tortured, put in jail hanged and so on. Nowadays they are given white uniforms and salaries (obviously not enough the reader wisely concluded). I guess the cops didn’t appreciate that comment at all.

2 guys were riding a fancy brand new motorbike when some thieves waiting in ambush threw a bicycle on their path. They crashed unfortunately as planned by these criminals who didn’t even steal the motorbike when they realised it would be of no use here. A rare big KTM is hard to get rid of even in spare parts and even the clumsiest cop might do some zeal…it would have been a regular dirt Honda 250 like mine…luckily the bikers were not that wounded and managed to put the KTM in a pick up and go home and hospital. Nice lack of respect for life is the moral of the story.

the same guys, bad karma lately, were in a taxi that got involved in a road accident. Local people got pumped up for whatever reason, got crazy and decided to attack the 2 guys who had absolutely nothing to do with the accident. But somebody has to pay, right? Just anybody will do, especially supposedly rich white expats or tourists. The guys had to run away, hide in a corn field and throw stones at the morons to keep them away…

an apparently funnier story but equally horrible in the end: Flying Medical Service had an airstrip near Ngorongoro that was finally closed down because the local witchdoctor managed to convince the local tribe that we, and the aircraft, were in fact cursed and bringing diseases. So people preferred to believe that criminal and didn’t receive any treatment nor vaccination. And they kept on dying while trying to get cured by the criminal. Good business for him and him only. Witchcraft, or “juju”,is unfortunately still very big in Tanzania. Dug up dead bodies, skinned bodies found behind a bush, albino killings, amputations…

having said that, I used that medieval belief (though not long ago in Europe countryside for instance…) to get my way out of some trouble with an obnoxious official (a pleonasm I know) by telling him I’d pay a witch doctor a hefty fee to curse him. A hefty fee so that he couldn’t afford a counter curse and the scared official let me go, heehee.

another time was with a mechanic who kept promising that the airplane was fine but nevertheless the engine kept on stopping while airborne. On the 4th time, I got annoyed and told him that if I died because his bloody promises, my ghost would haunt his nights for the rest of his life. He turned green and went to recheck something. The engine still stopped a few more times though…

it might look awful to live in those conditions but there are many positive life aspects here to compensate. And life would be so boring in Belgium for me…it’s a bit like old people who hated to be drafted in the military service but they keep on reminding memories and talk endlessly about them…

just back from a 3 day tour of mobile clinics, and loved it again

back from Loliondo region and lake Natron.

 

Sonjo pregnant woman received her vaccination.

 

a sleepy village, the main tree used to be the place for us to treat and vaccinate people but…

 

…the hut has been recently built for that medical purpose. One of the nicest huts we’ve got…Years back I was a bit suspicious at the hygiene of such a place. But what to do, if no funding nor western building skills are available, you can’t expect people to build anything else if themselves live in straw and mud huts. White people have a bit exaggerated the notion of hygiene in some cases anyway. This village has got a cool name: Oljoro, near the Gol mountains.

 

  

weighing kids is a must. A good indicator on their health and growth progress.

 

kids…as soon as they can, they start to collect weapons, here a club. A deadly weapon when used and built correctly. The ball should be more off line and bigger. Then it is kind of used with a boomerang effect, except that the point is not to get it back: throw the stick, the ball will make it spin real quick, gain a lot of energy and hurt badly the enemy. With a bit of luck the pointed side will go through the body. Pat Patten, Flying Medical Service director and also pilot, once flew a Maasai warrior with such a club through his chest. The thrower had been good because the club point was sticking out on the back of the body while the ball side had been stopped by the rib cage near the heart. The man survived. It seems they mostly do even, specially with the most spectacular wounds.

 

2 Maasai women with typical jewels and extended ears.

 

another one but ears are intact. Once in a while it happens…

 

a serious infection on this arm. The man admits he has been like that for one year! So obviously not a gangrene case, and there was no smell indeed. But he pretends to be broke, tries to put the pressure on us for free care otherwise his arm would have to be cut off etc. But, though once in a while free flights are provided in selected cases (lonely women, orphans etc) we are in no position to decide for the independent hospital admission fees. This man doesn’t seem that poor, he had all the time in one year to collect some money by selling a coupla cows for instance or his cell phone( notice the leather pouch?) or walk by himself to that hospital. Except that bad arm, he is healthy and fit. Chicken game…

Flying Medical Service, operating in lake Natron area

posted before I left for 3 days of outreach clinics in Loliondo and around.

while you’re reading this, I’m busy flying the exact same area today but I bet the colors and patterns of the lake will be different due to evaporation after 2 weeks of hot and dry weather.

western ridge of the Rift valley.

near the shoreline

looking south. If not for the dusty haze, the volcano Lengai would be visible on the horizon.

a drier part of the salt lake Natron where all colors have gone

 

 

some flamingoes are leaving footprints in the mud while running for take off.

river splitting and carving its way through salt.

a funny salt line.

salt crust drying on the left, still wet and colorful on the right side.

Shombole, an extinct volcano on the Kenyan border, Kenya is on the left. We took off from Olorbelin on the other side of the volcano and flew west to Habere in the Sonjo valley, leaving the lake behind.

out flying mobile clinics again

while you’re reading this I should be on my way to Flying Medical Service mobile clinics, or outreach clinics. From Loliondo near northern Serengeti, the doctor nurses and I will fly and visit villages on the edge of Serengeti, others in the Gol mountains and many more around lake Natron. I should be dropping TJ, a colleague pilot, and Ezra, a previous colleague pilot, in one airstrip and pick them up at another some days later. They’ll be trekking in southern Natron area. Oh I forgot to mention that Erza will carry along his toddler.

there is also the wonderful volcano Lengai on the way to Loliondo. Great feeling to see it again, even if at rest. Except the rotten eggs smell, there is nothing to remind it is still active, and potentially dangerous as the year long eruptions reminded us some years back. Since an engine died on me after ash intake (in clear air as I never crossed any plume or smoke of course), and since 2 other companies also lost engines, I can understand why the European authorities had shut down their airspaces after the what’s-its-name Icelander volcano erupted. Maybe too cautious? We’ll never know.

the new crater edge is holding quite well. Just small portions here and there have partially collapsed

some aerials near Loliondo.

 

and Wasso hospital hidden in the trees. Very peaceful location of course.

 

in my days in 1999-2002 its size has more than doubled.

mobile clinics, people, jewels

 

Loliondo village, kids are always intrigued by white people.

 

Maasai warriors shopping. Notice their beautifully painted legs. I suspect they’re doing an extra effort to look shiny and colorful because the place is (unfortunately?) opening up to tourism…pictures equal money. Beautiful pictures equal more money.

 

Maasai lady watching life go by. We have the same curious people in the West, true.

 

and back to the clinics the next day, here in Monik on lake Natron western shoreline.

 

various Maasai bead jewels, usually in the white color range, at least in Tanzania.

 

 

that was a novelty to me, ouch. It must be a nuisance to get your ear pulled and attached backwards like that?

but she was laughing for the picture…

 

but far away from lake Natron, Olaika is a bit unique, to my little knowledge, for colorful bead jewels. I don’t know why it is so different here, west of Loliondo, on the edge of Serengeti and Kenyan border, but I had already noticed that feature in 1999.

one late afternoon in Loliondo village between mobile clinics

we usually spend 2 nights in one of the bush hospitals Flying Medical Service works with. In this case I stayed in Wasso hospital in Loliondo. Beautiful late light that day, I went for a short walk in the village. As opposed to Arusha for instance, the house or shop walls are sometimes painted in bright colors, without large advertisement. A relief for the eye…

  

 

2 enthusiast Maasay warriors on their way to greet an elder.

 

common scenery, even on the busy roadside(!), grain is spread out for drying in the harsh sun.

 

2 Maasai shopping, I bet something for their cows…

 

 

and one can always rely on kids to bring half decent pictures.

this kid in red had the funniest face of the bunch and was proud to show off his wealth, a 200 shilling coin, about 20 euro cents. Notice his painted nails…

 

funny that he prefers a fake gun over a real bow and arrows or a spear. I’d have died for real weapons when I was a (nasty) child…a Swiss army knife was the closest I ever got.

aerial pictures while flying between mobile clinics

Tanzania is really a land of diversity: lakes, salt lakes, mountains, volcanoes, ocean, savannah, craters… and by the way, Flying Medical Service has booked me for the same tour of mobile clinics next Thursday! So coool. That lake is so ever changing on a quick pace, curious to see what will be on show.

some trees near the shoreline of salt lake Natron. Notice the “parallel” curves (I know my math teachers would stroke at this statement) but they clearly show the various water marks left by evaporation. Except the curve very near the brown ground: tyre tracks used by the really rare travellers out there. The black part is deeper water.

 

at some point near the end of the dry season, nearly the whole lake looks abstract like this with many combinations of colors and patterns. Red or blue or yellow or black…, white salt islands or giant oyster shapes, even galaxy or marble patterns…endless really.

 

this part is totally dried up. Animal footprints, from wildebeests, zebras or ostriches…

 

near a delta, it looks like water flowing though mud and algae.

another part of the delta, where water is carving its way through salt.

 

Shombole, an extinct volcano on the Kenyan border.

 

lake Natron is the main breeding place for flamingoes in east Africa. But they can be spotted on a few other lakes too in the Rift valley.

 

flamingoes taking off and leaving shiny footprints in the very shallow waters.

Flying Medical Service, some thoughts and pictures

 

I remember somebody asking me if I considered myself as a sort of saint for being a volunteer pilot during those years between 1999 and 2002. Certainly not, I was more than happy to help out, and that’s why I’m flying again for Flying Medical Service right now, but not at all costs. Let’s face it, I would not go and work in an hospital or orphanage for instance. I don’t have the necessary (social) skills for that and would not see any fun in doing it. While flying the bush at the same time, the real bush with flying rules that are a bit far from the books some times, no problem. I felt I could attain a nice balance between personal needs and give something back to people. So another Saint Ben is not born yet…

that person was right to ask because she personally knew some nurses or doctors who went 6 months somewhere remote to work for Doctors Without Borders for instance and think they deserve a medal and utmost respect for life from coworkers, friends and family. Spot on, as I’ve met a bunch of these shiny knight-volunteers here too, who think their participation, modest or not, has changed Africa, that Africa wouldn’t have survived without them or that they’ve left an indestructible prints on local people’s mind. Well sorry to crush these hopes but whatever one usually performs on a personal level on humanitarian ground is a drop in the ocean. Mother Teresas are rare and hard to imitate…

on a similar ranting mode, I can’t stand the writers or expats like Karen Blixen and Kuki Gallmann and Emma McClune who think so high of themselves or had smoked whatever to make them feel as some sort of local queen or empress, who changed Africa…Gallmann is such a good “queen” by the way that she has been badly attacked by the same people who are said to revere her (or so she thought…).

As for me, I’m more than happy to know that there is for instance one little Maasai boy named Ben after me, running the savannah near lake Natron, this because I flew his dying pregnant mother to hospital to deliver him safely and recover… One billion Africans…a drop in the ocean as I said earlier.

some pictures below at Olemilei, a tiny Maasai village stuck in the Gol mountains. Nothing special to it except landings and take offs which are quite a feat at altitude and in surrounding hills and cliffs.

  

the doctor listening to a Maasai patient.

 

view from aircraft top. Real savannah isn’t it?

 

 

and 2 below 2 aerial pictures of Maasai hamlets near Loliondo. Notice the metal roofing which is spreading around. Too bad for thatched roofs which look much better…

portraits in Sonjo valley, northern Tanzania

 

 

 

an elder Maasai woman with extended ears and a natural toothbrush.

 

 

shaven eyebrows but tattoos instead.

 

 

 

 

 

more of the Sonjo people

these beautiful eyes belong to the woman above. Notice the tiny scars above the eyebrows, typical of the Sonjo women.

 

the kids, in school uniforms, had a blast with the shooting session: to pose for a portrait and instantly see the result on the back of the camera is like science fiction. Apparently some kids had to be convinced that they were indeed the ones on the camera screen! Obviously mirrors are not common items around…

 

young Sonjo warrior with weapons proudly posing on his request in front of the aircraft. As opposed to Maasai, their clothes tend to be made of plain cloth, one or two colors.

 

the clinics are sometimes assisted by a local man, usually a teacher, here the guy in blue clothes. Very useful to keep some sense of order in busy clinics like this one in Habere, Sonjo valley.

 

 

 

this young girl is a bit of a mystery to me. By courtesy, not willing to bring up a maybe taboo subject, I didn’t ask anything but I really wonder who’s responsible for these green eyes. I could feel she knows there is something special about her colorful eyes because she was looking at my blue eyes quite a lot (not that I have anything to do in the matter OK?), maybe she is old enough to figure out she is unusual and is looking for answers…

 

other type of scars and jewels, maybe a Mangati woman. I heard too late that they were around and I didn’t pay attention while I was shooting, too late for proper information and details…next time.

 

portraits of Sonjo people, northern Tanzania

 

Flying Medical Service doesn’t focus on Maasai people only, they just happen to be very numerous in northern Tanzania where we operate. There are other tribes too like the Sonjo located in the aptly named Sonjo valley, between Loliondo and lake Natron.

 

here we are, after landing in Habere.

and starting the clinic. The doctor chooses the hut usually, when there is one, for privacy, well kind of as people tend to consider treatments as part of show time and gossip.

 

 

these 2 women were really funny to watch, 2 clowns at work having a great time imitating someone they know.

 

here is tall clown happily posing for me. I took 5 pictures of her, each one has a different expression. She’d be a cool model to work with.

but short clown had potential too.

 

  

but my favorite model of the day would be this one, a bit shy but what a photogenic face, striking features.

 

kid weighing is part of the clinic.

 

 

the 2 clowns again, always hanging together apparently.

aerial pictures of lake Natron

ever beautiful lake Natron, anytime of the year, though some seasons are better than others.

western shoreline, called here Oldoinyo Sambu. Imagine some people live at the foot of this cliff. If they can’t afford to wait for the bimonthly Flying Medical Service mobile clinics, they have to climb up the cliff to get to Wasso hospital and still face about a day of hard terrain walk…Imagine a mother with a sick kid or an elder…

the doctors on board treated 84 patients in 3 days, the nurses gave vaccinations to more than 100 kids and pregnant women. A drop in the ocean of the 35 million Tanzanians, most of them living far from any medical facility.

anyway back to the beauty of that artful lake.

 

the lake is very shallow and that explains why any variation of water level due to evaporation can dramatically change its pattern from one day to the next. Below is a dry area coming just next to the wet one.

and some rare animals enjoy that dryness to walk on the crust, with some risks as it can be fragile. I did once walk on some crust when I noticed that the wildebeest footprints (un gnou) suddenly stopped as if the thing had taken off or most likely sunk in. Also remembering that a scientist had spent 2 weeks in hospital to treat his burns after falling through, I carefully went back. It’s like walking on egg shells and I could hear the crack noise going away from my feet. There is also an aircraft at the bottom of the lake: the pilot landed for a lunch with his onboard friends and they never managed to prevent the sinking of the aircraft…

 

 

 

this is Shombole, an extinct volcano on the Kenyan border, northern part of the lake. Border that Maasai people don’t give a crap about of course. They think more global than that. We’re here going from Njurlan, located on the left side of Shombole, to Olorbelin on the right side. Less than 10 minutes of flight.

 

flamingoes taking off. Very few at this time of the year.

  

overflying abstract lake Natron while en route to mobile clinics

Flying Medical Service has set its bush airstrips in some of the most remote places, and in turn incredible landscapes are often on offer. Here is lake Natron, a salt lake high on various colors and abstract patterns. It was not at its best this month, not dried up enough but there were some interesting patches of art near the western and northern shorelines just below our flying path, very convenient.

 

aiming the camera (with a polarizer filter) down and one wonders if a LSD trip renders the same diversity in dreamy visions.

when the salt crust has dried up too much, it turns grey or white with interesting tones still.

 

just after take off from Pininyi (western shore), looking north towards Kenya: an extinct volcano named Shombole is reflecting. One airstrip to visit on each side.

 

part of the Rift Valley, flying north between Pininyi and Njurlan.

 

more of the salt crust being cracked by the underlying reddish or black water.

nearly the same picture within a second of flying. Below I edited the picture in B/W, all I had to do was to remove the orange and yellow tones, nothing else. Pretty unusual I guess to have a color picture made of so few tones.

 

 

some B/W Maasai portraits while on mobile clinics, lake Natron

Olorbelin, straight on the Kenyan border, northern lake Natron, middle of the day, crappiest light under the sun, and even under the skinny tree, it didn’t get really great either, so I forgot about colors and chose B/W results.

 

 

 

this one was a serious little clown, I never managed to get a straight face.

 

or he kept his face hidden.

 

 

 

 

various Maasai portraits while on mobile clinics on lake Natron

Pininyi, on the western shore of lake Natron is a busy village, though one wouldn’t guess from the air. I had seriously enjoyed flying down and through a sinuous narrow gorge just before landing. 2 of my medical passengers enjoyed that rock’n’roll flight and one even thanked me (that only would have made my day!). Another one was initially scared and hit my shoulder with his head while opposing the bank in a steep turn, haha. But he admitted had been an enjoyable new experience after all. Newly converted.

 

the place is so dry, so hot and still some mothers wrapped their kids in blanket or with woolen hats. A bit puzzling. Having said that, I’ve spotted some adult males with woolen hats too. Well men are said to be big boys…

 

 

 

 

 

Maasai warrior passing by. The cliff behind shows we are here located at the bottom of the Rift Valley.

 

mothers are all the same everywhere, like toying with any babies around.

 

checking her strength.

 

just back from a Flying Medical Service clinic.

just throwing some random pictures after 3 days away in the Loliondo area, between northern Serengeti and lake Natron. Wonderful time! More text in the following days.

 

same lady but different light around noon. The importance of judging the effect on an African sun…contrasts can be really harsh between 10am and 4pm so shooting in the shade can be an option for portraits.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

some portraits, Maasai and others

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

volcano Lengai, lighting variations, on film

shot again on Rolleiflex medium format.

seen from Ngaresero village.

 

 

  

same place, different light.

 

 

 

Kerimasi mountain, Lengai far right.

near lake Natron, on films

shot with Rolleiflex and Fuji Velvia 100F

some random shots from that long weekend in Ngaresero, lake Natron, Dec 2009. The only flaw was that we had unknowingly chosen a crappy place to stay, sold as a good place from a reputable source though…things happen. Next time we’ll try Lake Natron Camp which we visited briefly and which looked muuuuuch better for roughly the same price.

 

 

the main waterfall on the secondary trail in Ngaresero gorge.

 

a small secondary waterfall with our Maasai guide, Raphael. Not his real name but missionaries made him change. Too bad he bowed to that. Does it say in the Bible that one has to pick a Mary or Joseph name to be a good christian?

 

we drove north a bit, past the village Ngaresero. This is the volcano Oldoinyo Lengai shrouded by clouds. Bits of lake Natron on the left.

 

kids on the way, always curious and hoping for some gifts. Such a sad annoying change since last time I went there. Tourism curse…teachers must teach English with “give me money” and sentences like that because that was about all they could say. Notice how the landscape is barren, made of rocks and gravel. Rain doesn’t make a big difference here except nearby rivers.

 

 

nearby Gelai mountain under different weather patterns.

 

 

a kid with his holy volcano behind, early morning.

near lake Natron, B/W film

 

on a trip to lake Natron, shot with a Rolleiflex loaded with Ilford FP4, December 2009

 

our Maasai guide in Ngaresero gorge, reaching the waterfall.

 

 

 

 

 

from Ngaresero, looking east towards Gelai mountain.

 

Kerimasi and Lengai, partially hidden behind.

 

Gelai under the rain.

various stuff with Flying Medical Service

 

Flying Medical Service unusual airtrips…here Engoveroni and its rough slope. Once in a while the aeroplane would bounce and porpoise a bit, and even stop on its tail if the weight in the back was a bit too much, like 2 big mamas. Always funny to see the tail sitting on the tail and the nose wheel free in the air. Luckily there was a tail protection.

dormant volcano Kerimasi in the distance.

 

baby weighing.

 

people in the bush like to pose in front of the aircraft, either for fun or to prove they had been travelling in it like this lady going home after treatment. Something to brag about of course.

 

Mpopong’i near Serengeti, mobile clinic.

 

crap picture but this was an interesting case: the patient had cut off half of his thumb with a machete. He had been patiently waiting for us for 12 days instead of going to the nearest hospital (OK 4 days of bush walking but that’s peanuts for a Maasai). In the meantime he had been peeing on his wound everyday to keep off the infection. The doctor is a Sonjo, historic enemies of the Maasai. So while the doctor was cleaning the wound with a hard brush, without being too gentle, the patient made a point to stay composed, not flinching once. Did you notice the cigarette?

 

Andries Put, a pilot, giving a vaccination.

 

WARNING!! gross pictures below!

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

baby with a biiiig boil. The thing was really hot to touch.

 

just a razor blade was enough to cut it open and then about a cup of pus was removed. Needless to say, the kid was screaming.

 

I flew this kid (his leg here) to the the hospital for a skin graft after being gored and tossed in the air by a buffalo. Impressive bit of skin missing anyway.

 

this one, I forgot what it was about but it was cured on the spot.

pleasant (and potentially unpleasant) surprise after the rains

 

more pictures of my early days with Flying Medical Service 

 

close call in Narakawo, southern Maasai steppe. It could have ended in an unpleasant way. The airstrip got soaked and I didn’t see that from the air. Mother Nature can be vicious sometimes. Once on the ground, I realised I wouldn’t stop before the end of the extremely slippery muddy strip, black cotton is like black ice, and because the airstrip length is minimal, I couldn’t take off neither. So I remembered a tip from Pat Patten, though few pilots have tried that “U turn and stop” feat apparently, but here it is: while skidding fast towards the end you apply braking on one wheel, play a bit with the power and rudder to stay centerline, then apply braking on the other wheel and finally give full power to stop the aeroplane backwards. Easier said than done. Obviously I didn’t do a perfect job here as the plane stopped 150° and not 180°because of a little pothole. But better hit a little pothole and not the ditch at the end. My 2nd attempt at another airstrip was much better and closer to 180°, and better for my ego…

 

 

following yesterday pictures in Pininyi, western shore of lake Natron.

just white flowers, nothing special one could say, except that after 11 years here, I started to notice and like flowers since there are reasonably rare, or let’s say, less common than in Europe for instance.

 

from a very very early age, boys tend herds of goats and cows (while girls equally young go and fetch water)

 

 

 

Pininyi is one the driest place I know in Tanzania but this is where I’ve seen the highest concentration of these white flowers (nothing scientific of course, just a feeling)

 

here in Olbalbal, with a lake nearby, outside Ngorongoro Crater, thick grass but less flowers.

 

yep, this is an airstrip! Straight and nicely paved, isn’t it? The ladies take shelter from the rain under the aircraft tail.

pleasant surprise after the rains around lake Natron.

 

lake Natron is one of the driest and hottest and most inhospitable places in the Rift valley of Tanzania. A few pockets here and there do better than others because there is a waterfall and a river nearby like here, Pininyi on the western shore of lake Natron.  The lake is salted so even the rivers are only useful near the waterfalls before they get mixed with salt. So usually this area is characterized by mostly yellow or brown tones around, due to heat, dryness, dust, sand, brown leaves…but after a good rainy season, one can be surprised by appearance of new plants and colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

life will be quite different for a very short time before the sun dries up most of these plants and grass. In the meantime, goats and cows make the most of it.

 

the slopes of the Rift got some colors too.

the streets of Arusha, pushing carts

 

these carts are to be seen all across Tanzania, and beyond. Funny enough, local drivers who tend to be bad and impatient show some consideration to these hard working cart pushers. Maybe many of these drivers learn how to drive by pushing carts…

 

 

loads can impressive sometimes.

and by the way, many buildings along the main street have been repainted lately, mostly yellow. Much better than the old Stalinist dirty concrete grey.

bicycles can be used too as a beast of burden.

 

 

awful public transport minibuses, aka daladala here, or matatus in Kenya. A plague on the roads as the drivers are the worst ever produced. I used to travel in them when I was still a volunteer. Main problem is the van is equipped with let’s say 12 seats, designed on tiny Japanese morphology. 12…but more than 12 passengers will board. Add the chickens, a goat once, and various big bags like seen on the picture, big mamas , worse: big sweaty mamas with kids…an experience that I didn’t need to repeat in a lifetime but I did nevertheless.

 

on Sundays, when shops are closed, other “entrepreneurs” will squat the sidewalks and walls and closed windows to sell stuff.

 

trailers with food, here chicken (kuku). That’s quite a new thing around.

 

 

crossing at the disused railway near home. Shame on the government for that feat, with so little railway lines in the country, 3 basically, how is it possible to discard one? Anyway, people open business there because the speed humps haven’t been removed so cars keep on slowing down and can stop easily. Mamas selling fruit or grilled corn, one guy offering his services for gardening with his own grass mower, bicycle repair…