August return to Moshi

Seems impossible to believe that we are back in Moshi again. Somehow being in North Carolna seemed less real on this past trip than being back. Perhaps it was the boiling weather and the hurried plans to return. But, here we are back. The weather is a little warmer, and a little dryer—there has been literally no rain since the end of May and that was just a little bit as the long rains were short. The dry weather is forcing trees to bloom that is beautiful even though you know that they are stressed.
Beautiful Flowering trees at the entrance to our compound
We’ve managed to set a hash at the sugar plantation, try to deal with the birds eating all our lettuce and other vegetables (it is so dry they are descending in droves!)
Entrance to the sugar plantation -- TPC
Gates Malaria entrance
Gates Malaria Research Buildings
Weather vane noting when wet weather and more mosquitoes coming
Boys getting water at Aquaduct around TPC, the sugar plantation
Goats also getting water
We scouted the hash the day before we set it, and got totally lost. We thought that this Baobaob set of trees would keep us in line, and I took many pictures none of which were helpful as we wandered farther and farther from our site. We asked very clear (I thought) questions to help us get back to no avail. After wandering through beautiful baobaob trees for about an hour, with John becoming more and more short tempered, we finally found ourselves at the exit gate to TPC which meant that we had at least 4 Kilometers to walk along the hot dusty road back to the entry site of the Gates Malaria center. What a day that was.
John miserable by tree
John annoyed, hot and lost
Crazy driving on road back to Gates Center
We felt like we needed that wheelchair, but neither one of us felt like we had the energy to turn the wheels
Finally, we return to set the hash
At the beginning of the hash, there was a special tree that produces anti nausea fruit. Comes in handy sometimes! We set the hash the next day and used our experience of the previous day to guide us in our plan for the hash. We kept it pretty, simple but with plenty of checks so that people would have to look. The great thing was that the walkers and runners ended about the same time. That means that the checks held and is a sign of a good hash.
John sets the first check


Pretty Rice paddy
All along we had planned to have the majority of the hash in the rice paddy, but when we couldn't even find the rice paddy the day before, we had no idea if we could do it. What was great was to actually get across a very rikkety bridge and get into the paddies where we had a wonderful time wandering up and down the field. We had an opportunity to talk to tons of people about what we were doing so that they wouldn't erase our flour. As soon as one of them said..."Oh" like the Kilimanjaro Marathon" we knew we had struck it rich! And that made explaining easy from then on.
heading back on the hash, goats don't care how many people are around them. They go where they will go.
People live here-and there were probably 15 or 20 houses on the hash that looked exactly the same.These are not the homeless!
Back at home base, time for Kilimanjaro and bites
Elsa Ruth Jellie & Terre
Our hysterical garden at A-5
Can Pauli save the garden?
Both of us have been busy with work, lots of writing to do, CAB assistance, attending the Moshi CAB, and listening to the amazing stories of the saga’s of the effect of power cuts on the labs, and on the materials being sent to the various regulatory agencies. We certainly need this to all come to an end soon!

Dinner at the Crumps
Dr. Mtalo at work at KIWAKKUKI Peter and Steve having a working lunch Steve and Verynice edit another report Theresia on her way to another horrible school event
As we follow the news of Hurricane Irene (thank heavens it seems to be breaking down) we plan with some trepidation a dinner party and movie tonight. The stated power cuts were to be last night and today and then have power return until late tonight, but we had power nearly all night and have had it today. This feels ominous for tonight with the movie. Hope for the best is all I can say!

I have to say that it was wonderful to have two days with Kili out. Though there is a new break in the Glacier, it is still such an amazing site, and reminds me of how much I love being here, and how much I just enjoy the simplicity of the life that we leave.