A Last Look

Roger figures he made two loops of Tanzania during his six week trip visiting Layne's drill sites. He was impressed by the people, the country and relieved the food was so good.

Hand cart in Morogoro

Forge making chisels for illegal miners

School kids

Reverse circulation drill looking for water -- no luck yet.

Labeling RC samples

"Gold's Gym"

Drilling foam pushed out by RC drill

It's good to have Roger home after chalking up another good experience and another stamp in his passport.

When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.

Thornton Wilder

Still traveling in Tanzania

Roger is still traveling through Tanzania and hasn't had much internet access, but he sent me some pictures this week that gives us all a glimpse into life in this part of Africa.

Huh?  Any tries on how to pronounce this?

Little girl by a typical house

Veggies for sale

Woman at a communal water well

Traveling Salesman

Shoppers

Maasi Herder

Radial tire sandals

The following pictures are disturbing because they show illegal miners digging for gold.  It's not disturbing because they are illegal, but because of the really unsafe practices of using arsenic and other poisons to extract gold.  As you can imagine, there are no masks, gloves or other safety precautions taken.

Illegal miners

Women hard at work

Below:  these illegal miners were taking the gold to a small mill where it is crushed.  They ran mercury through the concentrate with their bare hands so it would pick up the gold. They wouldn't  let Roger take pictures at the mill.  Glad he listened to them.

Gold ore going to a small mill

Roger is scheduled to come back to Calgary on March 31st.  Still waiting to see where he goes, but as the days get warmer and the snow disappears, we know we can always head to Idaho!

Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.        Martha Graham

Tanzanian Treasures

Roger has continued his tour around Tanzania as he checks on various Layne projects.  This week he was near Mount Kilimanjaro, and sent these photos.

Mount Kilimanjaro - 19,341 ft above sea level

Roger said he was lucky to see Mt. Kilimanjaro so clearly as it is often shrouded in clouds.

It was 38C the day he took these pictures but the mountain had lots of snow.

The Maasi people are semi-nomadic and live in northern Tanzania and Kenya.  Roger took these pictures in an area six hours off the beaten track, so as he said, "they weren't dressing up for tourists."

Maasi goat herder

Maasi woman

Roger was in the city of Arusha, and took this picture of a mobile bread truck.

Can't imagine how hard it would be to balance the bike and the bread! I don't think it would end well if I tried to do it.

Thanks for sending the pictures, Roger - keep 'em coming!

I love finding proverbs from different countries and cultures.  Here are a few interesting Maasai proverbs:

"Do not sweep someone else's home while yours is dirty"

"Life has seasons"

"Daylight follows a dark night"

And the last one is a head shaker and I'd sure like to speak to the wise man who came up with this one......

"Do not pinch the heifer's vagina"

Tutaonana
(see you later in Swahili).

Back to Africa

I have been saying all along that it just takes a phone call or email to change our lives.  One day Roger was getting ready to start a job in the Philippines, the next day plans changed and he was preparing to go to Africa.  After connecting on LinkedIn, the president of Layne's Mineral Division called Roger to discuss job opportunities and Roger didn't hesitate to return to Layne and take a six week contract in Tanzania.  Roger and his family have a long history with Layne which is one of the largest drilling companies in the world.

Before leaving Calgary, Roger flew out to Vancouver for three days to see Brad, Anette and the Boat Show.  While our lives tend to be in a constant state of flux, one thing remains: Brad and Roger's love for anything that floats. 

Brad and Anette at Granville Island

Roger has been in Tanzania for about 10 days and sent me some photos to post on the blog.  I don't have a lot of details but he has assured me the food is much better than in Ethiopia, and he is working with some really good people. Security-wise there haven't been any issues and the biggest danger (as in most countries) is traffic accidents.

Layne's office is located in Morogoro and have a dozen drills working throughout the country

Good coffee has followed Roger from Colombia...to Ethiopia...and now to Tanzania. 

Coffee Lodge

Coffee grinders in the background

These are used to test coffee at the plantation lodge

Before Roger's luggage had a chance to catch up to him, he was off on a road trip to a drill operating south of Morogoro.

Ranch hotel

Wood fueled water heater

Horse stable room

Roger saw elephants, monkeys and Cape buffalo, but the giraffes were the ones he was able to get closest to

Giraffes are one of my favorite animals to see in the wild.  They are nicknamed "the models of the plains" because of their graceful walk.

Roger at the drill site --- bet he's happy to see all the safety equipment!

Layne's drill

Roger returned to Morogoro for a couple of days and fortunately most of his luggage was there.  With the weather in the low 30s, I can imagine he's sampled some of the local Tanzanian beers.

This week he is traveling to the north, and said that if the weather is clear, he should be able to see Mount Kilimanjaro.  Safe travels, Roger!

“Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” — Helen Keller