June 24, 2008 (Tuesday) 5:30 P.M.

Day 2

Hujambo from Tanzania!

We have arrived, we are on the satellite connection, and we have had a long day and an incredible journey thus far.  After arriving at Kilimanjaro airport, we ran into some difficulties with lost equipment.  As a result, our capable video technician will have to cope without a tripod, 40 tapes, and a sleeping bag for a while.

Our luggage was packed onto a vehicle and we began our journey to Arusha.  Miggie, Simon, and Killerai (our Dorobo contacts), took us through winding roads and glistening night skies to our location for the evening. For many, it was the first time sleeping under mosquito netting.

The next day, we rushed through our morning activities and then set off to interview esteemed veterinarian Dr. Titus Mlengeya. He provided remarkable insight on veterinary practices in Tanzania and shed some light on his views of DNA as a Bushmeat identification mechanism:

I think it is a very good and valuable technique and certainly for us. I’d like to encourage it being developed in many countries where Bushmeat is a problem and even other countries where there is Wildlife, because once you have wildlife, the potential for Bushmeat business is there.  So it is better to have that technology in place.  So we encourage you to develop the technique in Tanzania. – Dr. Titus Mlengeya

After our interview, we were off to town to experience the markets and pick up the satellite card that makes this blog possible. Then the real journey began.

Our next destination was supposed to have been a campsite in Oldonyo Sambu.   As we were driving, a car pulled in front of us, crashed into our open top military vehicle and trailer, and pushed our rig into a ditch alongside the road. Our expedition members were a bit shaken but there were no serious injuries. It is quite an experience to crash in a large open top vehicle in Africa.  Crowds of onlookers gathered around the crash site, chattering excitedly in a foreign language. Oddly enough, five minutes after our crash occurred, two other accidents happened within a fifty foot radius. It was like a scene from a movie!  However, because of our fast-acting Dorobo guides, no one was injured and no piece of luggage was lost or stolen.

We made it back to the hotel safely for the night and began searching for another means of transportation as well as an alternative route.  We are determined to continue with our African expedition.  The accident certainly opened our eyes, made us value our purpose, our families, and pointed up the importance of perseverance.  So, on with the journey -- tomorrow, we will camp in the Oldonyo Sambu Wilderness reserve.

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