Exotic Places

I have come as a participant in the first Farm Radio International Learning Tour. Farm Radio is a charity I have donated to for over twenty-five years, liking their purpose and their stated methods. It was begun by George Atkins many years ago when he was the farm broadcaster for CBC. Challenged to make his broadcasts more relevant to the world, he began to work with African farmers to spread their local expertise through the relatively cheap medium of radio. It has been successful enough that it is now expanded, and has received money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

So when they put out a query about whether any of their donors would be interested in coming to Africa to see what they do on the ground, I wanted to do that. These next two weeks will be part education and part tourism: a chance to show off for them, as well a the reality of earning them money, from us.

But first, we had to get here.

Getting to the airport was easy; called the limo, and away we went. My driver was Nick, a man who had come from the former Yugoslavia to Canada and made money in the restaurant business. And he now drives the limo, talks a lot, and is really quite charming. So that was easy. And checking in was not tough, either. I met most of the other travellers at the gate before boarding.

The overnight flight to Amsterdam was uneventful, but also unrestful. I might have slept a half-hour. Fortunately, one my fellow-tourers (Roger) had the seat beside me, and we hit it off easily and immediately. He had worked as an environmental engineer in the push to have more solar power in Canada, and in the world, and is on the Board of a Solar Co=op in Ottawa. He shares my political views on many things. And he is working with a group of people on Senior's Co-housing, also in Ottawa.





I think I have an enduring friendship here.

But one of my goals when I arrived was to find a horizontal place to lie down. We had a three-hour stop-over before getting on the plane to Kilimanjaro. Airports are not know for their comfort, so it was challenge.

There were over 300 people getting on the plane! And I gather there are many flights each week to Tanzania: a lot of folks coming to this place. And most of the passengers on the plane were white; not too many returning home. And it's a long flight. Eight hours of sitting, reading and looking out a window. Food and service were pretty good, but it is long.





Our arrival in Kilimanjaro (isn't that a wonderful name!) was uneventful. The usual lineups to get through customs, and the struggle to find your bags. Then into a bus for the forty-minute trip to the lodge. By the time we arrived, it was night, and fortunately the sky was clear, and the stars magnificent. However, as we were driving, we went through what is locally called a "dust fog", which is as it sounds—suspended dust particles in the air in a cloud formation—and apparently quite common here. We drove a lot on the local highway, lots of trucks, and many lights along the road. Then turned off to the road towards our lodge. The road here turned to dirt and potholes. But we made it, getting to the lodge about 10:30 PM. Some greetings and information, then I was off to bed. The lodge has thoughtfully prepared a supper for us, but I was more tired than hungry, and the thought of eating again was, well, unappetizing.





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Location:Moivaro Coffee Plantation, Arusha, Tanzania