Let's Safari
Mood:  bright
"I have hooked up with a group from the Basque country. There are 3 women and 2 men. Maria, Maria Jesus, Amalie, Juan and Alberto. Now I will practice my Spanish and also learn some of the Basque language!

We leave this morning for Lake Manyara (hope to see lots of flamingos). Then two nights in the Serengetti and then on to Ngorogoro Crater. What a dream! This is going to be so wonderful after all the work of bicycling and hiking. Now all i have to do is to sit in a 4-wheel drive vehicle and view animals. There's a swimming pool at our first safari camp! Good grief. This is how the other half lives.

peace and love,
mary"

A sweet couple from Spain (married only one year) joined our group this morning, another Maria and Michel. We have two 4-wheel drive vehicles to transport the 8 of us and a guide for each vehicle. The rigs are jam packed with our tents, cooking gear and food, duffle bags, binoculars, sunscreen and water bottles, oh, and cameras. We drive up to and through the Massai steppes and view banana and coffee plantations along the way. The steppes are arid, dry, flat land with so little grass that it's hard to believe that it supports the healthy looking Massai cattle. There are Massai boys standing along the road with their dark, dark faces elaborately painted with white paint. We are told that these 13 year olds have just been circumcised and are wandering around away from their village for 3 months while they heal and then they will be allowed to return home. Now there's a new idea to deal with our rebelious teenagers in the states! hah. The traditional Massai don't want their pictures taken but we have been warned that the kids will encourage us to take their photos and then try to charge us exhorbitant amounts of money. At Lake Manyara we are treated to the sight of elephant, wildebeast, zebra, baboon, vervet monkeys with their bright lite blue balls, giraffe, and pelicans in profusion all with a back drop of pink flamingos in the distance. The river slowly flowing into the lake is full of hippo lolling in the belly-deep water.

I thought this would be the restful part of the trip, and i'm surprised to discover that it's a challenge staying upright in a 4-wheel drive rig when it's bouncing over rough, pot-holed roads. The tent camping is comfy. They have provided us with foam mats. African drumming entices us over to the bar after a yummy dinner and we enjoy the ending of a gymnastics troup performing to the rythm of the drums. Quite good. There's a swimming pool but i'm too tired to swim and my skinned knees are too fresh to be soaking them in chlorinated water. My brain is tired but happy from straining to understand Spanish and Basque all day. All is well.