The second week started off similarly to the last week with a few of us still being ill. While the boys stayed home, the rest of us girls proved our strength by carrying buckets full of cement to finish off the foundation of the school building. Once that was done we were allowed to help teach the children. It was an incredible experience to compare schools here to the ones at home. It was lovely to see just how excited the kids were to learn and how greedily they take in everything they are taught.
Saturday, the girls left on a day trip to Tarangire National Park. We spent hours spotting different animals in their natural habitat. Since rhinos are poached in this area, we only got to see four of the “big five”. It was very exciting to not know what animals we were going to see around the next turn of the road. We were able to spot giraffes, zebras, elephants, a lioness, wildebeests, antelopes, ostriches (an enormous animal), warthogs and also a very fast monkey stealing our food. Note to self: don’t leave your muffin unattended!
The sometimes centuries old baobab trees made it feel like the Africa you see in movies. All in all it was a day none of us will ever forget.
Sunday had a very bumpy start with a flat tire on our way to the hot springs. Nevertheless it was worth the prolonged journey, once we got there and saw the picturesque setting of the hot, springs. It felt like a little oasis in the middle of nowhere. Thanks to a very nice Canadian boy, we managed to find a secluded pool where we could see the source of the springs coming out of a crater. We spent the day enjoying the clearest blue water surrounded by palm trees. The view was magnificent. Especially the rope swing we used to jump into the natural pool of water made this day a lot of fun.
As we are getting used to the constant beeps of the public horns and shouts of “Mzungo” everywhere we go it is now time for a change of location. We are off glamping in Lake Manyara for the next week where we are hoping to build a garden for a local orphanage thereby helping them to become more self sufficient and paint some rooms to make the place feel even more homely.
We can’t wait to see what the next week holds for us.
Rosie & Phili xx