Karatu

It is nearly time to leave Karatu, and so I have been trying to commit its details to memory. It is a town on a highway, like a tangled knot on a long string. The streets trail off the highway like frayed threads, and having been here awhile now we've had the chance to walk many of them without getting lost. The buildings are long and low, made of red brick or concrete, and painted in what can only be described as ice-cream colours muted by layers of blown red dirt. Some are shops, guest houses, or restaurants with wobbly red plastic patio sets and cases of bottled pop, chip fryers, or choma (barbeque) grills. All the drinking glasses appear dingy and smudged. In fact, the whole of Karatu has a smudged look, as though it were a greasy, dust-covered photograph someone made a half-concerted effort to wipe clear. It is a fascinating place. It is a hotbed of differing religious beliefs, styles, and people - Masai in their famously red plaid shukas, school kids in uniform, farmers in from their fields, women in kengas, and of course many in jeans and t-shirts. Conspicuously absent are the tourists. Though this highway drives straight into the Ngorongoro Crater, one of the most popular safari destinations in the world, most tourists pass through, stay one night, or just long enough to get off the bus and buy some generic African souvenirs.

Speaking of safaris, we too got the chance to drive into the crater. And I must admit to feeling the urge to don a faded blue ralph lauren button-up, a pocketed khaki vest, some binoculars and a tilly hat, and to use phrases such as "tally-ho!" and "by jove there's a lion!" But, in all seriousness, the crater is one of the most wildly beautiful places on earth. Picture miles of tawny earth, golden in the sun, traversed by so many herds of animals. I felt entirely priveleged.

Over the past few days, we've also had the chance to talk a little, about how we feel about Cpar and about what we've learned, which i'll leave for next blog ... For now it is time for our wrap-up party.. toasts, drinks, and dancing.