Local guest house: Window above door

 

Beautiful room. But why is there a window above the door?!

One of the strangest building standards here, most notably in hotels, is the practice of placing a transparent window above the door. This could possibly be acceptable if not for the fact that none of the windows ever have a curtain or anything else to prevent the hallway light from coming in. Bright hallway lights or porch lights beam in and illuminate the room even with your interior light off; why in &#^@ sake is this design the standard for guesthouses in Tanzania?!

The most egregious case I've experienced

Recently stayed at this place

Camp during the floods

 

Rufiji River overflowing

 

There has been some unplanned flooding of the river, temporarily flooding around 50m (160 ft) of land just below where we have our camp. This has caused flooding of crops as most of the land around the rivers edge is cultivated. This has also brought in many more hippos and crocodiles, both of which regularly pass through our camp. We can hear hippos throughout the day and night, a rather pleasant chortle is constantly heard in the background. I have luckily not run into them at camp but their trails are impressive and clearly identified by their casual plowing through high grasses and bush.

There have been lions roaring across the river nearly every night as well as the usual shouts of the galago. There is a chorus of frogs and dozens of distinct insect sounds that blend into a flickering soundscape. Unfortunately there are also plenty of mosquitos, caterpillars that cause skin irritation, and spiders with a mean bite. I wrote about the numerous spiders before and that was back in dry season, imagine how many more there are now that the insects they eat are plentiful?! Once the sun sets it is shocking how fast spiders put their webs across the walking paths so you have to be alert or carry a stick to clear the paths.

As we exit the rainy season there are more partly cloudy sunny days than overcast and drizzly ones. The rapid plant growth which was crescendo over the past few months suddenly drops off and the wilting plants, although still green, give a palpable feeling of slow decay. We'll soon enter into the long dry season so I enjoy the rainy season while I can!

Amur Falcon Migration

 

Upper image is a male, lower is a female

One very cool thing about living in Iringa region is that we are on the migration path of the amazing and beautiful Amur Falcon. During migration, the Amur Falcon undertakes the longest regular overwater passage of any raptor (ie birds of prey, ie birds that actively hunt and eat invertebrates), crossing over the Indian Ocean between southwestern India and tropical East Africa. One does not have to be a birdwatcher to appreciate the beauty, strangeness, and power of a mass of birds filing the sky in all directions.

Absolutely insane journey

 

The Amur Falcon's migration is pretty insane and while researching this blog I found another blog post about a sanctuary in India that can receive 140,000 falcons within a 10 day period, likely representing the bulk of the population. I urge you to check out this great blog post and unbelievable photos.

We usually see the falcons in December on their way down to southern Africa and then April on their way back. There is a window of about a week where you can see them but if you miss the large group, which can possibly be only one day, then you'll likely only see a few stragglers. Much like in India, their passage coincides with the rains which in turn bring out the termites. The Amurs take the chance to take in some much needed food. 

It's always a special event when we see them as it requires one to be in the right place at the right time. This years sighting was particularly special as they were feeding on termites after a massive storm. We got to witness them feeding on the termites for an hour or so, zipping close to the ground with their numbers filling the entire visible sky in all directions! It would be impressive to see any creature in such large numbers but the fact that they are falcons makes the situation a bit surreal and imposes a sense of awe while watching them. 

I was not always a birdwatcher but I remember seeing what I now suspect was a huge Barn Swallow migration. I was perplexed at what I saw from my seat on the bus; the sky was stained with BIRDS?! I had never seen so many in the sky in my life and it was a cool moment where I felt humbled and awed by nature. 

Now that my appreciation and knowledge of birds has increased dramatically, I would love to witness one of the great annual migration spots: Veracruz in Mexico or Tarifa in Spain. These two spots are well known for migrations in their respective hemispheres due to the natural features of the earth creating a bottle neck in these spots. Veracruz is a strategic stop over point while Tarifa is located at the southern tip of Spain, where the Strait of Gibraltar narrows, making it the closest point between Europe and Africa. Remember when I wrote that the Amur Falcon is known for the longest overwater migration? Well, most birds do anything they can to avoid crossing large bodies of water for lack of opportunities to feed or rest, hence funneling to the narrowest point. 

While there are plenty of birds that migrate in Tanzania, none excite me as much as the Amur Falcons. You never know when, or if, you will see them so whenever you get the opportunity it's a major treat.

 

Iringa town walks II

 

Looking north

I recently wrote about a beautiful area right behind our house, a convenient and worthwhile trip whenever we are in Iringa town. This time of year is perfect for walks with cloud cover appreciated especially with the area situated at 1700m (5,570 ft). The rainy season also means the grasses and trees are full of green and the lush landscape provides a pretty backdrop.

Even though there was sufficient cloud cover and the weather was cool, the plateau is extremely exposed so we started our trek early. After the initial climb the majority of the walk was rather flat winding through grasslands and rocky outcrops. We occasionally had some peeks of Iringa town but otherwise the views were of the surrounding granite studded hillsides. 

When we reached the northern side of our destination the views were incredible! The trek down was rather moderate and we were lucky enough to pop out in town right next to where a public transport route begins making it an easy trip back to our place. It was a long walk, about 2 1/2 hours, and we were feeling tired for sure. It's a beautiful trek but the elevation not only wears you out quicker because of less oxygen but the effects of the sun's powerful UV rays are amplified as well. One must be relatively fit but also prepared with a hat, sunscreen, and plenty of water!

Grasslands

Valley to the east and north