Day 62

Tonight is out last night in Iringa and I have to admit, I’m not exactly ready to go. This afternoon, we packed up our artifacts and suitcases to send ahead to Dar es Salaam with Pastory and our second car. I only have to throw my few remaining effects into my backpack, which I’m sure I’ll do in a mad panic at the last minute tomorrow morning. Pam, Katie, Jenn, Killindo, Philliminus, and I also intend to leave tomorrow, but we plan to take 2 days to reach Dar es Salaam and spend a night in the national park. That way we can arrive during office hours on Friday, when we can hopefully kick start our application for export. Naturally, the director of the National Museum plans to leave for Iringa tomorrow just as we leave to see him in the capital. We’ll probably even pass one another on the highway, like star-crossed lovers destined never to embrace. I’m starting to believe that our quest to see the artifacts stored at the museum is cursed. Then again, this field season wouldn’t be half as interesting without one final obstacle to conquer. In the meantime, I’m really excited about finally going on safari in Mikumi. Although we’re driven through the park 3 times now, we’ve only seen the animals apathetic enough to loiter by the road. Tomorrow we’ll have the chance to actually drive into the park and see all the animals that have hitherto eluded us. I hope there’s a hippo or two in my future.

We managed to spend a very relaxing final day in our study area. This morning we reported our findings to the municipal, district, and regional authorities. Continuing the trend of the past few days, our work didn’t seem to take very long at all. By 10:30, we were free and ready to shop for last minute souvenirs. We spent a few hours walking around the market and shops, and even managed to squeeze in another pot of magical coffee. Last week when we were still in the midst of excavating, I felt more than ready to pack up and ship home. Now that the moment has come, I’m not so sure. I’m sure all of you already predicted as much, but I’m really going to miss this town.