Saturday, March 24, 2018

A Wonderful Trip to Kenya and Tanzania

Tippy and I have been home long enough to be back to our usual sleeping patterns and other routines.  We went to a March for Our LIves rally today and discovered that we both have spent a lot of time working on photos and thinking back over the trip....and realizing just how wonderful it was. We each had expectations of what we would see and how our time would be spent, but it exceeded anything we could have imagined. Our first really moving moment came in Amboseli when we looked over a large plain full of animals - zebras, elephants, wildebeest, baboons, etc. - and it was totally quiet and peaceful! The silence spread to our group. We took photos and then just stood and absorbed it all. It was a peace and a beauty beyond description, and it was the beginning of more magic moments to come. There were parades of elephants passing by at their unhurried pace and almost close enough to touch. There were pools of hippos (70+), playing and lounging. There were groups (Congresses!) of baboons busy grooming, frolicking, and cavorting!  There were the indomitable warthogs, who had more personality than we ever expected and made us smile with delight.There was time at the Giraffe Center where we could feed them, touch them, and feel small in their presence. This center is devoted to saving the Rothschild giraffes, who were almost brought to extinction by Edi Amin, who used them for target practice! 

Each day we usually had one long game drive or two shorter ones  Invariably, at dinner someone would say some version of "this has to be the high point. It can't get much better than this". Then we would go out the next day and be wowed again!  We saw all of the animals you would expect, but we also saw many we had never heard of, as well as many species of colorful birds! As if that isn't enough, one evening we were having dinner and three giraffes come wandering down the hill toward our camp!  It can't get any better than that! In addition to animal viewing, we also spent a morning in a Maasai village. They dressed us in their clothing, We danced with them. We helped cover a house with cow dung - yes, dung! We talked privately with the women and they had very pointed questions! We visited their school and were impressed with their students. We then visited the Hadzabe Bushmen, who are hunters and gathers and live as they did 10,000 years ago. While we were there, a hunter came in with a beautiful, bird on an arrow.  He took the bird off the arrow, bit the bird in the neck (why? I don't know - I thought he was going to bite the head off!!), and threw it in the fire. The bird writhed around, so he took it out of the fire and thwacked it three times on the ground! End of bird! They cooked it and offered us some. Only one person took them up on it. They then showed us how to use the bow and arrow. They played their musical instrument and we joined them in a dance. As we were leaving their camp, we ran into a hunting party and stopped to visit with them.  They were near a huge baobab tree, which they climbed and got done into.....and totally disappeared. They, too, sang a song, which seems to be a welcoming and joyous part of their culture.

Our accommodations were great, as was the food! Each successive lodging was better than the last, and the staff at the Mbugani Camp won our hearts. When we left, they came out and did a wonderful farewell song. One of our fellow travelers recorded it but, when I downloaded it, the audio was missing. I would like to have it as a culminating memory. They were wonderful! Being vegetarian, I though I might be spending the trip eating baked potatoes and salad. Boy, was I wrong! There were usually 2 protein entrees (beef, chicken, fish, lamb) and then 3-4 vegetarian casseroles, plus salads, etc. I had NO problem finding delicious food.

The only unfortunate thing was that I came down with a cold on the second day of our trip. I didn't miss anything during the day, but at the end of the day I was exhausted. I also coughed a lot at night and I know it was a pain for Tippy. I had taken some cold meds with me but I went through them quickly. Members of our group where great to share and help when they could. About 5 or 6 days in, I had a coughing episode at night, finding it difficult to catch my breath. Then I heard a voice from the next tent say....."I have NyQuil!". Lucy brought it over and it got me through the night. That was the breaking point for the cold and I referred to is as the exorcism!! From that point on, I felt better and better.

Both Tippy and I agreed that there is no way we can adequately describe our experience, but I hope my slideshow will convey it in some way. Personally, I feel very fortunate to have taken three trips since last August, with each of them being special in their own way. My trip to the UK for Katie and Adrian's wedding was special because of the many long-time friends I was able to see.  Panama was fun and informative as far as my consideration of leaving the US. And this trip was so very different, positive, inspiring and close to nature. The benefit is best illustrated by my physical! This past Tuesday I went for my physical and my blood pressure was the best it's been in years - 116 over 60! and I thought to myself, "Yep, a three week vacation in Africa (away from the chaos of our life and lifestyle) is the key"!

I hope my slideshow will express some of the delight and pleasure of this trip. I know I will think of other things I should have shared, and I welcome comments or questions.....but it really is difficult to express the wonder of it all. I apologize in advance for the length of the video (15 minutes), but that is one minute for every day we were there.....all we saw and all we did!! I hope you enjoy it.