Saturday, I spent a bit of time just reading a novel on the Kindle. That night we went out with some friends to Glacier, an outdoor bar, for a drink...only to find an exorbitant cover price on the door. We were assured an amazing Ugandan dance troupe was performing tonight and it would well worth our time and pesa. Once we got inside what we found was a near deserted amphitheatre, a pregnant half starved dog and a crude stage with some bedsheets as a back drop. We were the only wazungu at a local talent contest proudly put on by 'Empire Records'...no Ugandans in sight.
We were 'entertained' by some horrifically poor-even for the developing world-hopefuls including out of tune crooning love singers, break dancing that looked like the result of needing to go to the bathroom really badly and Eminiem rapper wannabes. Maybe it was the fact we were lied to to elicit our cover charge that made me a little bitter. At least Franatee got applause doing some impromptu moves coming back to our seats from a visit to the bathroom.
As I went down to the river to pray
Much better singing at the local church the next morning. One of the things I will miss most when I leave here is the churches packed with young people and the amazing singing of the congregation (to the tribal drums!) that accompanies the service. Bliss.
Brains.....Brains!!!
It drizzled on Sunday-no epic runs sadly-so stayed indoors and read (by read I mean played my Nintendo DS all day).
Had a doctor friend over for dinner that night...It was a relaxed night EXCEPT I really wish we had not discussed cerebral oedema at length (at my continual prompting). If a person ascending Kilimanjaro does not make an effort to take it slow and acclimatize to the lack of oxygen at thousands of feet above sea level,one of the risks they face is their brain swelling. Basically, if you start getting signs that this condition is happening (constant vomiting, disorientation-please no drinking jokes)you either descend rapidly or you die pretty quick. Or maybe just get paralysed from hernias to your spinal chord if you are lucky.
I thought the daily physical exhaustion, lack of air to my lungs, temperatures that can be anything between 1 degree below to 25 degrees below near the top (with wind chill) would have been enough to worry about without my brain re-enacting the scene from 'The Running Man' with the exploding neck collars..
Two final creature related updates
-Saturday I heard word on the street a 2 metre croc was seen in or near the hot spring Franatee and I swam in a month or do ago. Crikey.
Finally, I head in Sunday's Paper that local authorities in the Manyara region are pleading with locals not to succumb to hysteria and blame the actions of a group of rogue hyena on sorcery. The hyena have attacked/mauled a few villagers recently. Yes, it must be witchcraft, not the fact of humans encroaching ever increasingly on the habitat of the established wildlife. That's just crazy talk.
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