Tanzania: Ngorogoro Crater

Ngorogoro Crater feels like a contrived Disney safari, which makes it all the more amazing that it is actually natural. Traveling west from Arusha, one slowly starts to climb escarpment into the rift valley, and the magic begins. Ngorogoro is a crater that is basically a giant bowl full of wildlife. Here is our guide John and his son on the rim of the crater, with the opposing rim visible across the back.

Buffalo: ornery. Check one of the big five.

Lion cruising through the crate. 

A wild pig innocently grazed about 100 meters from the lion, and the lion set its eyes on it. Tourist vehicles watched with baited breath for some Nat Geo action, but the lion decided against.

A pod of hippos frolicked in the pond.

And then gets up to cross into another pond. Spectacular.

Hyena

Then a beautiful drive through the countryside to our hotel.

Tanzania: Endallah

After our initiation in Tarangire, we did a two day visit to a local village in Tanzania called Endallah. The town, in partnership with some Belgian entrepreneurs, offers village activities and safaris. The scenery was stunning here, and we got a small taste of village life in Tanzania.
First, look how blue the sky is! Coming from New Delhi, I couldn't get over this. I think Maki probably tired of hearing "its soooooo bluuuue." But it was.

We did three hikes throughout our time there. This was was up a valley to Lambo Hill.

We stayed in a local house in the village. People in Endallah were super friendly.

The river that runs through town. We visited soon after the short rains, but you could tell that this stream becomes a torrent during the long rains in the spring.

A local school.

and the local library.

The shop, where we enjoyed a room temperature beer.

And a hilltop view of Lake Manyara, where we had a "bush dinner" - see below.

Forested valley with banana plantation.

Guard of the banana plantation who keeps the elephants (nighttime) and baboons (daytime) at bay.

and another river.

Tanzania: Tarangire

Jambo - here are some highlights from our honeymoon in Tanzania. It was truly the trip of a lifetime - as my students would say, it was totally HD! Our first stop was Tarangire game park. Beautiful, centered around a river with baobab trees everywhere.
Friendly neighborhood giraffes.

The park is known for elephants, and we saw hundreds. So beautiful and inspiring.

Here's the view from outside our room of the Tarangire River. The accomodations here, as well as two other places, were out of this world! Open lodges with amazing views of the wilderness.

We spent a lot of time like this throughout the week.

Riverscape.

and a giraffe / selfie.

Journey to Varanasi

Varanasi is the holiest city in the Hindu religions. The Ganga (Ganges) River flows through the city, and many come here for their final resting spot. We arrived on Saturday afternoon to see work crews blasting away the sand deposits from the high river during monsoon.

Traveled a lot by boat along the ghats.

Attended a Hindu ceremony on the river at night.

People to come from near and far to bathe in the sacred river.

We spent hours wandering the endless, winding alleys of Varanasi - little shops, animals, and worshipers around every corner. Even some seasoned India vets find Varanasi overwhelming, but we thought it was so interesting.

Here's the crew: Maki's mom and bro, Isaac and Becky from AES, and Maki and I. Great group to travel with.

Neemrana, Round 2

 Maki and I went on the faculty retreat with lots of fine faculty friends. It was to Neemrana Fort, an enchanting hotel a few hours outside Delhi. Its so fun just wandering around all the nooks and stairwells.

Trekking in Nepal

Went on a nine day hike to Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal with my friend Iggy. Here's a link to his pictures.

Family History Tour: PA

Towards the end of my summer, my Dad and I took a trip up;to the Pottsville area to check out some family history. He is very passionate and knowledgeable about several generations before mine, so it was interesting to hear about their lives and how things came to be. I've been a history teacher, but haven't thought much about the personal confluences that shape who I am - Ireland (and a little bit of Italy and Wales), Philadelphia, and coal country in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Here is the house in Pottsville where my grandfather, Francis J. Murphy, grew up.

It is a few blocks away from the original Yuengling Factory! The author John O'Hara (Appointment in Samara) grew up on the same street, and wrote many books with a Pottsville-like town called "Gibbsville." Also, according to my Dad, "Also on Mahantango St directly across from 215 was Reading Anthracite, a major coal company in the 1800’s. The president of that company pursued the Molly Maguires, hiring a detective to infiltrate the group, which resulted in several Mollies being hanged.  The Molly Maguires were a secret group of Irish coal miners who took revenge on mine owners for intolerable working conditions."

Later that day in Tremont, we visited the house where my grandfather's grandfather, TJ Murphy lived. He owned the general store in the town.