Tanzania 2012-2013 - Days 11 & 12

I have travelled a lot in my life and last december, I was in Tanzania with my father and sister for a safari trip. For 12 days, we would see mountains, plains, lakes and forests full of wildlife.

Day 11 - Arusha National Park

We are now on our last day of the actual safari and we will end it in the Arusha National Park. We have booked a guide for a few hours walking in the park since there are no predators. We will get closer to nature and animals than we ever had the chance.

This is the closest I've come to see the Kilimanjaro. We can barely distinguish the snowy top in the clouds, but it's there! Maybe one day I will hike up the legendary mountain.

This is Mount Meru, another popular destination for hikers.

Rêves

Chaque matin, je me réveille, la tête remplie d'images hétéroclites. Je vois des endroits merveilleux que j'ai imaginés, des personnages loufoques, des aventures incroyables. Chaque matin, je me réveille avec les restes d'une nuit mouvementée, les restes de rêves qui m'ont accompagné. Pour un temps seulement, je suis encore heureux, m'imaginant roi, pirate ou chevalier. Je suis invincible, une jolie princesse à mes côtés. Pendant quelques secondes, je ne suis plus moi, je suis un héros, un prince. Et lorsque je me réveille, je ne désire que me rendormir afin de retrouver ces univers qui m'appellent constamment.

Une douche, un café. L'eau chaude qui coule sur ma peau, éveillant mes sens, la boisson chaude qui coule en moi, éveillant mon esprit. Je suis là. Je suis moi. La journée a commencé et mes rêves, déjà oubliés. Je suis à nouveau ordinaire, un simple étudiant qui cherche encore sa voie dans le monde. Où est ma place? Je l'ignore. J'avance à pas tremblants sur le chemin sur lequel on m'a poussé. Je pourrais être artiste, je me dis tous les matins en mangeant mes céréales. Puis, je lis le journal. Je feuillette les actualités et je me rends compte à quel point ce serait stupide. Le monde n'a pas besoin d'artistes. Des ingénieurs, des médecins, des infirmières, des enseignants, des compatbles, des architectes, des avocats, des policiers, voilà ce qu'il faut à notre société. Des hommes utiles, voilà ce que nous devons devenir. C'est là le but ultime de notre cheminement scolaire. Nous devons tous posséder une formation suffisante qui permet d'élever notre civilisation à un niveau supérieur. Alors être artiste, faut pas rêver!

Update - March 18th, 2013

Hi all,

So I added a new box on the left side of the blog. It's called Albums and series. I will list there all my photo albums and my short story series so you can find all the relevant posts easily. Eventually, I might put them all in one huge post. We will see!

For now, enjoy :)

Annabel

Tanzania 2012-2013 - Day 10

I have travelled a lot in my life and last december, I was in Tanzania with my father and sister for a safari trip. For 12 days, we would see mountains, plains, lakes and forests full of wildlife.

Day 10 - Back to Arusha

The trip is drawing to the end and we head back to the Arusha area. Tonight, we will be sleeping at the Arusha National Park campsite. Before that, we will make a stop to see the Snake Park and the Maasai Museum. I think you can also ride a camel, but we skipped that one.

This is the eastern green mamba. It's venom is deadly and it's one of the most dangerous snakes of Tanzania, along with the black mamba.

The Dagger of Exion - Part 3

It took me so many days to get to Heilam, I lost count. I was by foot and the road was long. Every morning, I would wake up with the sun, and every night, I would sleep under the stars. Once in a while, I would stop at a village to replenish my supplies. I never ran out of gold, as I could work different jobs to earn it back when in need. I took it slowly, one day at the time. I wasn’t in a hurry. All I needed was to get to the royal city and I was going to get there eventually.

To be honest, I was really grateful for Silva. I met some people every now and then, but most of the time, it was only the wolf and me. It could be a little lonely, but the cub was full of energy and life. He was growing too, and fast. Soon, he wasn’t so defenseless and he bit me by accident. I grounded him so hard he never dared doing it again, but he knew how to use his natural weapons for hunt. We ate well, and enough, though it wasn’t high gastronomy. I talked to him, though I hadn’t have much to say about myself. I think he understood me, most of the times. He had this way to look at me, with his shiny eyes. He was smart.

Update - March 12th, 2013

Hi all,

First thing, a new section is  now up so I can keep you up to date about what's going on on the blog! This is where I will communicate any changes, updates and news with you.

Also, I wanted to say that I made a mistake in Tanzania 2012-2013 - Day 7. I had to add an extra day since I kinda mixed two days into only one. I thought we went directly from Ngorongoro to Lake Natron, but I was short on my day count. So I double-checked my journal and realized we spent a night in between days 7 and 8 at Kudu Camp in Karatu. Therefore, Tanzania 2012-2013 - Day 8 becomes Tanzania 2012-2013 - Days 8 & 9. I apologize for the confusion

Annabel

Tanzania 2012-2013 - Days 8 & 9

I have travelled a lot in my life and last december, I was in Tanzania with my father and sister for a safari trip. For 12 days, we would see mountains, plains, lakes and forests full of wildlife.

Day 8 - To Lake Natron

Today is a driving day, so no stress. We stop to eat lunch in front of the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano and arrive early to the campsite to take advantage of the nice weather.

The Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano. Tonight, my sister will hike up the active volcano with a Maasai guide of the area. I don't dare!

We've seen a lot of goat herds and here is a little group hanging out there.

Le plus beau des fantômes

J’aime mon mari, j’aime mes enfants. Je suis satisfaite de ma vie, je n’ai pas à me plaindre. Je suis heureuse. Seulement, de temps à autres, il y a ce fantôme qui revient me hanter, une personne de mon passé que je croyais avoir oubliée. Alors, je m’enferme dans une bulle jusqu’à ce qu’elle reparte et que je l’oublie à nouveau. Jusqu’à la prochaine visite.

Elle s’appelait Joëlle. Elle n’est pas morte, non, mais je la vois encore comme elle l’était alors, lorsque nous avions 16 ans. Nous étions alors meilleures amies et nous croyions que jamais rien n’allait nous séparer. Comme nous avions tort! Il y a des choses que même l’amitié ne peut supporter. Distance, silence… amour.