Africa!

Hi there,

Every night I recorded the events of the day and my thoughts in order to maintain the memories of the trip. I am putting my journal on this blog for others to read, along with selected pictures from our great adventure. I hope you enjoy this tribute to the single most amazing experience of my life.

I will post other (more artistic-better) pictures as a slideshow.

August 1-2, 2007
On August 1 at 8:45 pm we took off towards beautiful London, England. We were lucky enough to fly business class and had wonderful accommodations! The chair was quite cushy and went down to lay almost flat! We were able to sleep for long enough to have some energy when we arrived in London.
We landed at Heathrow International airport at around 2:45 pm on August 2. The weather was overcast and in the low 60s which was nice and comfortable. We took the London Express to Picadilly and then transferred to the Circle Line and then transferred again to the Central Line. When we arrived at Marble Arch we got off of the tube and walked several blocks down Park Street to Grosvenor House (the Marriott). This was interesting as it was very crowded and we had a LOT of luggage to carry. After all of this travel and a shower, it was 5:45 pm. We headed over to Buckingham Palace and around Picadilly to enjoy the sites. We had an amazing meal at Gaucho Grill on Swallow Street. It isn’t the American chain, it’s a real Argentine steakhouse and it was fantastic! After dinner it was around 8:30 and we thought we should head back to the hotel and get some sleep. So, although we had a 10 hour flight, I think we walked about 5 miles today (including carrying our bags up and down all those stairs!). The sun is just now setting at 9 pm and I am ready for some sleep. We would like to get up early tomorrow and see the changing of the guards at 11:30 am. Other than that I think we’ll just walk around and see the sites. I’ll check in tomorrow!

August 3, 2007
Today was…interesting. J We were both wide awake at 3 am. We could not fall asleep and there was nothing to watch on television. We tried to rest until around 6 am, when we were finally lulled back to sleep. Oh, I forgot. The fire alarm started going off at 4:30 am and went on intermittently thereafter. At 7 am, when we were finally asleep, the fire alarm went off again – for awhile! Then the tv turned itself on, which was just wonderful.
We fell back asleep for awhile and when we woke up we decided that we were both too tired to get up at 8 am and thought we would go back to sleep for a little while. We were thinking that we would probably wake up at around 11 am. Well, at 1:00 pm Brian bumped me and told me that it was so late! We woke up and showered and left the hotel.
We walked by St. James Park to hop on the tube and head over to the Tower of London – which was BEAUTIFUL! We took tons of pictures and had lunch in a cute little pub called “The Firehouse”. Then, we proceeded to walk all the way back to the hotel, stopping at all of the sites along the way. We went to St. Paul’s Cathedral, Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham. We enjoyed ourselves as we slowly walked through the sunlit streets, taking in London in all its glory.
When we got back to the hotel we didn’t have much time to change before heading out to the Guinea Grill, a traditional English restaurant. I had the steak and mushroom pie, while Brian had lamb. It was wonderful. Of course we felt that we HAD to try a British dessert, so we had Sticky Toffee Pudding with Coddled cream. It was incredible! Then we walked around the city enjoying the sites for another hour and a half. When we got back to the hotel at 9:30 pm and the sun had not quite set. We’re getting our clothes packed for another 8 hour flight tomorrow…to Nairobi. We’re excited and nervous about what Kenya holds for us, but we’re sure it will be an adventure.

August 4, 2007
Hello! We woke up at 6:30 this morning in order to make it to the airport on time. The front desk talked us into taking a taxi instead of taking the tube and Heathrow Express. Well – that ended up being $120! RIDICULOUS. When we got there, they kept sending us to opposite sides of the terminal, so we went in the First Class line. They took us from there and allowed us to Fast Track through security. That was nice. The plane was awesome – the seats went completely flat into beds and we slept the entire way to Nairobi.

We arrived at around 8:45 pm local time and had a Micato representative meet us at the airport. Then we drove to the hotel and had a little bit of food before settling into our room. The Norfolk hotel has some old world charm and is decently nice for what you would expect to find in Africa. I’m SOOO excited!!

August 5, 2007
Well, we obviously have not adjusted to the time because we both woke up at 3:30 am and could not go back to sleep. I read “Harry Potter” and Brian watched tv until we decided to get up at 7:30, shower and get some breakfast. At breakfast we ran into one of Brian’s ex-girlfriends from Scripps. It was fine, not too awkward but REALLY random. Anyhow, after breakfast we came back to the room to lay down. We were supposed to have a massage at 11 and 12:15 (there is only one masseuse and one bed at the “spa”). We had to postpone the 11 am massage so we could sleep a little bit more.

At 12:07 Brian woke up just in time for his massage. Now THIS was interesting. The bed doesn’t have a head hole so you have to awkwardly prop your head up on a towel while lying on your stomach. The woman didn’t leave the room while he got undressed, so that was clearly very different from in the U.S. Overall, Brian enjoyed the massage though and came back to get me. Then we organized our room and went for lunch before my massage at 3:15. During my massage, I wasn’t sure if the woman was giving me an erotic massage, or if it was just the African style. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable in case that’s just the way they do things here in Kenya. However, I don’t think Brian has massaged my breasts that much in the 6 years we’ve been together! Weird! I almost wanted to tell her to buy me dinner first.

After the massage we lounged around the room some more before heading over to dinner. My stomach has been pretty upset for most of this trip so I didn’t want much to eat. Hopefully tomorrow will bring better weather, as today was overcast and slightly chilly.

Tomorrow we meet our Micato group and have our first day of organized events. That should be fun!

August 6, 2007
Hello! We met our group today! It’s an interesting mix. There’s one couple who is probably in their early 50s from Tampa, FL named Buck and Diane. They lost their luggage on the way here and were very quiet! I hope things improve for them.

There is a family of 7 that seems very nice. The grandparents, Barbara and Ben Dobbin live in Boca Raton, FL and are in their 70s. Their son, Eric, and daughter-in-law, Laura, are very sweet people from Connecticut. Laura seems kind and caring while Eric is very quiet. I wonder if he is waiting to see how a 2 week vacation with his parents is! There are 3 kids: Becky (13), Tory (11), and Jake (8 ½). The 2 girls are sweet, and Jake is well behaved.

This is Rakita, a true Maasai warrior. They practice polygamy, he wants 10 wives and 6 children with each wife!!

Other than that, it was an interesting day. We met the group at 8 am after having breakfast here at the hotel. We went to the Giraffe Conservancy where we were able to feed and pet real giraffes! It was AWESOME! They are such beautiful creatures and it was a pleasure to meet them. Their tongues are blackish and very hard. They made us miss Thor and Nala’s soft tongues. L We wanted to buy some really neat giraffe bookends but their credit card machine was taking forever and everyone was waiting, so we left, promising Brian that we would get him the bookends elsewhere.





After seeing the giraffes we went to a tea plantation. There was tea for miles it seemed. On our way there we drove through such poverty that Brian said it was either similar or worse than that which he saw in Ecuador. It was very sad to see animals on the sides of the streets and people making fires on the streets to cook food and serve their families. It was a slum in every sense of the word and it made me feel very sad for the people who experience this kind of poverty on a daily basis. After smelling the smells and seeing the injured people and animals we found that our appetites were lacking when we arrived at the plantation an hour later. I wish I could express the sadness I felt when looking at the shanties.



We learned a lot about tea when we arrived at the plantation and enjoyed the sweet woman who is a third generation tea farmer. She opened her house to us and served us a wonderful lunch. The quality and cleanliness of the food is not something to write home about, but we were probably being a little bit picky.
We saw the house used in the film "Out of Africa". It was interesting, but I haven't seen the movie so I don't think I fully appreciated it.

Following the tea plantation and Out of Africa house we went into downtown Nairobi which STINKS of pollution. There are no environmental protections in place to guard the country against the pollution, so it’s all there for you to breathe. Yuck! We did, however, go to a fantastic store that sells beautiful fine jewelry and carved wooden goods. Brian has always wanted a tall carved giraffe so we’ll definitely get that for him while we are here. I was hoping for a piece of tanzanite, but the prices seem higher than I was thinking so I might not get anything.

We came back to the hotel for 45 minutes before heading to Jan Pinto’s house for dinner. The food was Indian and it was decent. The house was fascinating, as it contained a TON of African goods. From wooden carvings of giraffes, masks and statues to huge ivory tusks and a real preserved sea turtle, the house had it all. I think I could have studied the objects in her house for hours, pelting Mrs. Pinto with a thousand questions. She was a very kind woman who was happy to have us in her home.

I’m happy that the safari has begun and I’m looking forward to an early morning of heading out to Amboseli. This will be our first “real” day of safari, as we will get to see some animals and experience life in the bush! I’m excited!

August 7
This morning we woke up at 6 am to head for Amboseli National Park. After a quick breakfast we arrived at the “airport” which was tiny and hopped aboard a Canadian Twin Otter 18 seat plane. We flew for 35 minutes before arriving in Amboseli. As we descended, we immediately began seeing wildebeests and zebras! Fantastic! The airstrip (which had to be rid of animals prior to our landing) was small and a dilapidated old building stood there as the “terminal”, although everyone was standing outside on the runway waiting to board the flight.




We immediately set off on safari with only 4 people in our Land Cruiser – Brian, Diane, Buck and me. Diane and Buck warmed up rather quickly and we enjoyed their company. The driver, Jefferson, is a very sweet man who has a keen eye for spotting animals. In fact, we were in the midst of wildebeest and zebras within minutes of departing the airport.







Within an hour, we spotted a lion in a watering hole and we stopped to watch him, he was about 20 feet from our truck! He was an adolescent male who had just begun to grow a mane. Watching his powerful legs and confident strut was inspiring. After we left him, we drove around for awhile longer and then had lunch at our hotel.



The Serena Amboseli Lodge is just beautiful. It looks better in person than it did on the internet, so that was a pleasant surprise! The lodge is decorated in vibrant colors and black and white paintings of animals on the walls. Our room, number 54, was on the opposite side of the resort from everyone else, which allowed us some privacy. Wild monkeys climb all over the place, coming within feet of the unsuspecting guests. Zebras and elephants come right up to the gate to welcome the newcomers and put on a show for those who have been here for a few days.

After lunch we went on a walk with a guide, Daniel, who took us out towards where the Maasai people live and pointed out some birds along the way. Then we watched a Maasai tribe dance in which the men jump to try to impress the women. One of them asked my and Diane to marry him, as you'll notice the picture of me looking slightly embarassed. We learned some interesting practices of the Maasai people, including female genital mutilation and scarification. The only foods they eat are: milk, meat (cow, sheep or goat) and cow blood. The tribe members are very friendly and are appointed throughout the resort so you can stop and talk to them if you would like.




We only had a few minutes following the dance to get our stuff together for another game run at 4 pm. This was a truly incredible run! We saw a LOT of animals who had gathered around watering holes and were clustering together for protection during the night. The most magnificent part of the evening (in my opinion) was the cheetah family we saw! There were 5 in total: a mommy and 4 cubs who were almost full grown (estimates of 12-14 months were given). We watched them as they attempted to hunt gazelles, wildebeests and zebra. The sun set over the Amboseli with a very satisfied car full of tired travelers. This was the most magnificent day! And still many more to come.

Upon arriving home from the game run, there was an entire elephant family greeting us at the gate to the hotel. Brian shot a bunch of pictures of them, especially the tiny little baby elephant! It was so cute. A hot shower and good dinner put us in a happy place before going to watch “Echo the Elephant”, a documentary about an elephant in Amboseli. I passed out in the movie, unable to keep my eyes open for a minute longer and we finally came back to the room at 10:30. Tomorrow we wake up at 6 for a 6:30 am game run, which I am sure will be phenomenal.





Today can be summed up as “perfect”. Diane and Buck are a lot more fun than we expected them to be, the driver is fantastic and the wildlife is abundant. The food is delicious and the accommodations, stellar. This promises to be the best anniversary trip yet!

August 8, 2007
Good evening! Let me tell you about the adventures we had today! This morning we woke up at 6 am and met the group at 6:30 to go for a game run. The weather was quite overcast so we didn’t quite see the sunrise but it was still a beautiful (but cold) morning. We were out searching for animals until around 9:30 am. We saw a pride of lions that had 8-10 lions in it! They were beautiful creatures, but as we got closer they left because someone in a truck was wearing red. The lions are afraid of the color red because they associate it with the Masai people. Later in the morning we saw 2 “rocks” which were really 2 lions (1 male, 1 female) laying on their sides. Brian insisted they were rocks until the male lifted up his big head and stared at us. Then he took some pictures (of course!). The rest of the morning contained giraffes, elephants, zebras, wildebeests and gazelles.

Upon returning to camp we had breakfast and then went on a “nature walk”. Our group consisted of a lot of old birdwatchers. That means that our 1 hour walk actually took 2 ½ hours to go NOWHERE! Ha. It was very boring and Brian was annoyed that we only returned to the hotel at 1:15. After a quick lunch/cheese and crackers we went for massages.

My massage was good, but the woman was 20 minutes late so it was not as long as it should have been. They also had me undress in a main area so anyone could have walked in and seen me, and my bed was in a public area, so people walking by could have seen me. Brian said that the woman required him to keep his underwear on and didn’t leave the room for him to undress. Weird. At least they didn’t massage my boobies!

Following the massage we went out for another game run. It was still overcast and there weren’t a lot of animals meandering in the park. We went to an observation point which was fun because you could look out at the beautiful valley and enjoy the animals soaking in the water. We also saw a Selvra cat hunt and kill a catfish. It was pretty far away, but we watched through binoculars and were able to appreciate the satisfaction the cat must have felt upon finishing its duty. As the cat tried to walk away, it realized that the fish was way too big for its mouth, which reminded me of Thor trying to carry a toy that is too big for him. So cute! After the observation lookout point, Philip and Jefferson had set up a wine and nuts/chip station for us. We were the only safari that had goodies onsite out on the plains. It was fantastic.

We returned to the room tired and ready for dinner. After a quick shower we rejoined the group and had a nice dinner. Now we’re packing for the move tomorrow to Arusha National Park in Tanzania. We will meet a new guide there, as Philip does not cross the border with us. We’re looking forward to seeing what Arusha has to offer!

By the way, Diane and Buck have really grown on us. They are such fun people. She really likes to laugh and is pretty goofy and fun. He is quieter but when he speaks, it’s always important or funny (or both!). I’m glad we get to share our van and our trip with them! They are looking into doing the balloon ride with us over the Masai Mara! That would be very fun.

Some facts that we learned today:
- There are about 35 lions in Amboseli
- There are about 25 Cheetahs
- The lion, cheetah, hyena, and elephant populations are growing within the park
- The giraffes are leaving the park and moving to the Reserve due to a lack of trees
- The elephants knock down the trees to eat the soft branches
- The park is about 380 square kilometers
- The reserve is 3200 square kilometers

P.S. The keys at Serena Amboseli lodge look like penises.

August 9, 2007
Good evening! Today was another wonderful day in the bush! We awoke at 5:55 am because the front desk decided that’s when we were having a wake-up call (we were under the impression it was going to happen at 6:45). We had enough time to call Susan and check on Thor. He is enjoying his time up in Oregon. We tried to check on Nala but 5 Star Doggy Inn was closed, so we couldn’t talk to Olga.

Anyhow, after a quick breakfast we left Amboseli National Park on our way to Arusha. After an hour of very bumpy terrain we reached the border town which was very poor. Upon arriving in Tanzania we welcomed the paved road! We drove for an additional one and a half hour to reach Arusha. We had lunch at the Arusha Hotel, where George Bush had stayed last week. Then we went to a shopping area that was extremely overpriced so we didn’t even entertain buying anything.

I think we are really lucky to have Diane and Buck in our truck with us. They are such sweet, funny people! Anyhow, from Arusha we went on a 10 seater plane (so Eric sat as co-pilot) and enjoyed a 20 minute flight in Tarangire National Park. We landed on a red dirt runway surrounded by Baobab and Acacia trees. Another group, the Heart of Tanzania, met up with us and will be with us for the remainder of the trip.





David, our guide in Tanzania is very nice and welcoming. He made us feel right at home in the Land Cruisers. Our driver, Emmanuel, is absolutely wonderful! He is sweet and has a charming personality. We saw some Dik Dik, which are the smallest animals in the antelope family and a ton of elephants. There are also numerous giraffe in this park. I was informed that I shouldn’t wear blue or black because the Titsi flies are attracted to those colors. These flies are bloodsuckers and will attack in swarms (at least, that’s my understanding) until they have bit you. This was traumatizing to me, as I was wearing all black and quickly put on a gray fleece even though it was quite warm.




Now, Tarangire is world-famous for the elusive Leopards that are in the park and in Ngorongoro. Our guide actually spotted one maybe 200 feet from the road! We were the first to find him and the last to leave. We spent a solid hour watching the cat as he moved around in the big tree, enjoying the shade and his visibly full stomach. He sure was a gorgeous cat and it was a pleasure to watch him. The sun set over the giant trees on Tarangire expelling hot pink and bright orange colors. It was a dynamic sunset which we enjoyed with Buck and Diane’s company. When we checked into Tarangire Sopa Hotel we were all a little bit disappointed. The room appears nicely appointed, but the facilities are not very nice and there are 2 queen beds instead of one king. Dinner was okay, not great, as it was difficult to find something yummy to eat!

I am really enjoying the trip- especially Diane and Buck. She is so funny and goofy, just like me. Pumbavo (silly). We laugh and joke and watch for animals which allows us to quickly pass the time. Anyhow, we leave this lodge in the morning and head for Ngorongoro crater, which is Philip’s favorite park! I know it’s going to be wonderful if Philip (Rono) likes it.

August 10
Jambo, Jambo! We woke up at 5:15 this morning because my stomach was upset. We left the room at around 6:30 am and had a quick breakfast in order to leave at around 7. We left early and had a 5 hour game run until 12. The neatest part of the game run was when an old bull elephant charged our car (not once, but twice). We aren’t sure why he decided to charge us, as we were sitting there taking pictures about 25 feet from him for a few minutes before he came running at us. Emmanuel turned the car on and threw it into gear so quickly that a few of us almost lost our balance. When the elephant calmed down, we backed up to provoke him again. After he charged a second time he appeared defeated and took off in the other direction. Others in the group saw a leopard and one truck even saw a cheetah! Due to the swampy, grassy terrain in Tarangire it is relatively rare to see a cheetah.

After lunch we loaded into the car for a 5 hour drive to Ngorongoro Crater. The drive was pretty uneventful except for Buck and Diane making us laugh the entire time. They are really fun. David and Emmanuel joined in the fun and told us some circumcision stories and we teased them that they were drunk the whole time. Our car is full of fun people. J

The crater is beautiful. We’re staying at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge which is appointed on the edge of the crater. We’re in room 62 and have a view of the crater although it’s pretty foggy tonight so we can’t see much. The sunset was absolutely brilliant – the colors were bright oranges and pinks.






I called my brother tonight because it is the 3 year anniversary of my mom’s passing. After that I was pretty sad and not at all in the mood to be social. Upon arriving in the dining room we found that we were at a separate table from the Dobbins and another family of 3 sat with us. They are from Connecticut and are really sweet. John turned 25 tonight and his sister, Jackie, turns 23 on our anniversary. We agreed that we want separate cakes J. Their mom is a sweet and funny woman as well. We laughed throughout dinner, which lasted almost 2 hours by the time we left. Everyone else was still there, drinking and carrying on, but we went back to our room to sleep. So good night!

August 11
The Ngorongoro crater is probably my favorite park so far. We had a wonderful day taking in all of the different types of trees and terrain – and we saw a LOT of animals. We woke up at 5:45 to get ready for the day. After lying around for awhile we got up and got ready, had breakfast and left at 8 am sharp. It takes about 30 minutes to get down into the crater and the fog was quite thick so we had to go slowly. Once we reached the crater floor is was wide open plains.
Shortly after arriving we saw a gazelle that had died and it had not yet been eaten by the other animals. Then we saw herds of zebra and wildebeests, some elephants and buffalo too. Shortly into the trip we saw 6 lions. They passed within 20 feet of our car! It was so wonderful. The other cars spotted them only after we did so we had the best view of them. However, it was generally overcast and gray so most of the animals had not yet come out to play. We enjoyed the thousands of hot pink flamingoes in Lake Magodi and had lunch at a nice little watering hole containing about 8 hippos.
After lunch we were energized and ready to see animals again! Within minutes of leaving the picnic area we saw a male lion lying on his back with his feet in the air, similar to the way our Nala lays. We miss the puppies! We continued on and we lucky enough to see 2 Black Rhinos. These rhinos are extremely endangered, there are only 18 left in the wild. They were pretty far away, so we didn’t get great pictures, but he completes our hunt for the Big 5! (Leopard, Lion, Elephant, Buffalo and Rhino).
After seeing the rhinos we continued the quest for some big cats because those are my favorite. We saw a cheetah all by himself curled up in the brush. It was a beautiful cat and made me want to take one home as a pet (which I want to do anyways!). By 5 pm we were all pretty tired and the day of game watching was over. As we headed towards the park entrance we checked on the gazelle, which was not merely meat and bones, which a silver jackal and 4 vultures were enjoying thoroughly.
This crater is about 120 square miles and is one of the biggest in the world. The lake is called Lake Magodi meaning “Alkaline Lake” in Maasai. The density of animals was really neat to see. A lot of these animals do not migrate out of the crater because it is so far from everything else. The elephants, leopards and cheetahs do migrate, but everything else pretty much stays where it is.
Philip Rono says that this is his favorite of the parks and I can see why. Tarangire was too heavily forested and it was difficult to see the animals. Amboseli’s landscape was too plain, but you could see a lot of animals. That’s Brian’s favorite park so far, but Serengeti is supposed to be wonderfully amazing. (Me and Diane)
(WIldebeest)

(Hippos)
(Me and Emmanuel- the BEST driver!)
(a sample toilet)
(WIldebeests in the crater) (A pretty lion- part of a pride of 6)
(My least favorite animals - the Spotted Hyena)


I'll keep you posted!

Some Swahili phrases:
Sawa- ready?
Sawa sawa – Let’s go
Simama – Stop!
Jambo- Hello!
Lala Salam- Good night
Kudu- Antelope
Duma- Cheetah
Simba- Lion
Chui- Leopard
Tembo- Elephant
Bibi – Grandmother
Babu- Grandfather
Baba- Dad
Mama- Mom
There will be more to come!

August 12
Hello! Today was a wonderful day. We began at 6:30 am when we woke up and packed, readying ourselves to leave for Serengeti. At 8 am we left beautiful Ngorongoro crater and drove for 4 hours in the direction of Serengeti. We stopped at the Leakey museum to observe human remains and footprints from 3 million years ago. That was both interesting and informative. We learned a lot about Old Dupai Gorge and the plants that accompany it.

After we left Leakey museum we entered Serengeti and then drove around on a game drive. We had a picnic at the entrance gate and climbed a small hill to look out over the vast plains (In Maasai, Serenget means “endless plains”). It is an absolutely beautiful park.

Shortly after arriving in the park we saw a new animal, a type of antelope (Hartebeest) and were looking at it when we realized that 2 male brother cheetahs were on the hill behind us. The cheetahs got up and started looking for lunch (including a short chase of zebras and wildebeests). They got really close to our car as they sauntered about, looking for food. When I realized that 9 cars were following them I got upset and asked that we leave the animals alone. Luckily, our driver agreed and we headed off in search of some other animals. After driving for another hour we encountered a Chui (Leopard) in a tree, with a Reed Buck that he was saving for dinner. That was a neat experience to see as well. The Leopard slowly climbed up higher in the tree so we left in search of other animals. Not 20 minutes after leaving, we stumbled on 2 adult female Simba. They were beautiful and close to the road. What magnificent animals!



(Buck, Diane, Emmanuel, Me and Brian)

(Jackie and WIlbard)
(Buck, Wilbard, Diane, me, David and Brian)

(Kopje - the rocks where animals like to hide) (Below: 3 lions in a tree)

As we finished the game drive, at around 5:30 pm, we realized what a special day it was. We closed in on Serengeti Sopa Lodge, which was quite nice. The hotel is the best we’ve seen so far on this trip. We even have a beautiful view of the plains and all the animals on the plains including: zebra, buffalo and hyena. We can see all of those from out porch!

We had a wonderful cocktail party with a nice fire and enjoyed our time mingling with the other guests. I spoke to Laura and Tori and Becky while the others in my group chatted with Emanuel. I really like Laura, and always knew I would! At around 8 pm we went up to dinner where Caroline and a new Barbara joined us for dinner with Jackie, Sharon, Jon, Kevin, Norma and the Bucks. We enjoyed talking over dinner until Wilbard and David finally joined us. It is now 11:20, I’m waking up at 6:30 and I’m exhausted. I had a glass of wine tonight which always leaves me way too tired and a little drunk, so I’m heading off to bed. What a lightweight I am!

By the way, Buck and Diane are still my favorite people on the safari and I realize on a daily basis how lucky we are to have them. Tomorrow we asked to spend the whole day out, looking for animals, but Willie asked that we don’t do that. Instead we are going to leave early in the afternoon (instead of waiting until 4 pm, we will leave at 2:30).

There is a big joke that Jackie is going to marry Willie tomorrow, which is pretty funny because they are both taking it so seriously. Willie is a sweetheart and any girl would be lucky to have him! Jackie is also a beautiful girl, and she is enjoying the banter of playing with Willie.

Tomorrow is mine and Brian’s 2 year anniversary. I’m very excited to celebrate with him!
For now though I’m off to bed! Good night!

August 13
Jambo Jambo! We had a very fun day today! We woke up early and went on a game drive from 7:30 until 12:45. We didn’t really see many animals (big cats) but it was beautiful terrain so we all enjoyed looking out at the endless plains. When the drive was almost over we saw 3 lions in a tree, which is pretty rare. They were beautiful animals and you could tell they were immensely powerful, even from far away.

We came home from the game run and had some lunch, I took a quick power nap and then we were on our way out again at 2:30. We drove around for quite awhile before Brian spotted a 5-6 year old female lion about 10 feet from the road! She was really close and sleepy, so she didn’t walk away when we got there. They had a “controlled fire” going on in a different part of the park, but we could see it from where we were. We were hoping that a lot of animals would come running our way, but they didn’t. We drove up towards the fire and saw a side-striped jackal, which is evidently pretty rare. Workers were manually putting out the fire, which we thought was really interesting. In the U.S. we would have helicopters pouring a fire retardant on it, or something along those lines.

At around 5:30 we stopped at a picnic area where Micato had set up a cocktail party of wine, beer and chips and nuts. It was really sweet and we enjoyed being out in the middle of the Serengeti as the sun set over the valley. They sang happy birthday to Jackie and Happy Anniversary to us and it was very sweet.

Buck had invited the drivers to join us for dinner which was really fun. Evidently all 5 drivers do not get invited to dinner very often, so it was really nice for them. I sat next to Jimmy and we talked the whole time as he was teaching me Swahili. All of the drivers found it amusing to hear me say naughty words in Swahili so I had them laughing the whole time. Evidently they think I’m a genius because I picked up the language pretty quickly and because I’m getting my Ph.D. It’s really sweet. I love the Tanzanians that we have met thus far. We stayed in the restaurant until they wanted to close it, which was nice because we were all enjoying ourselves so much. Now I’m off to bed. Tomorrow we travel for most of the day. I will be sad to leave all of my new friends here in Tanzania, but they say they’ll never forget us – and I know I’ll never forget them!

(Eric and Jake celebrating - hehe)

August 14
We began our day this morning at 6:30 am. We woke up, packed and began a short game drive to the airstrip (Seronera). On the way to the airport we saw a female lion, a cheetah and a “tree-climbing gazelle”. The tree-climbing gazelle was actually brought into the tree by a leopard that had (presumably) left the tree when the lion appeared. It was a great game drive, especially considering that we were only out for about an hour and a half.
We got on a 14 seater plane (including pilot and co-pilot) and flew to a small town in Tanzania where we cleared customs (Musoma). After that we switched planes to another small plane and flew to Kisumu, to clear Kenya’s customs. Evidently they don’t learn about efficiency here in Africa J. After the flight to Kisumu, and flying over Lake Victoria, we landed in Masai Mara. Lake Victoria is brown and muddy looking with big splashes of green. There is a plant called the Water Hyacinth that is taking over the lake and causing the fish and plants to die because it depletes the oxygen. Anyhow, following the flight to Masai Mara we went to the hotel at around 1:30 and had lunch and relaxed.

We are staying in Kitchwa Tembo (Elephant Head) in the Tented Camp. We are in tent 33 which is the absolute LAST tent! It’s beautiful though. As we drove in we felt like we were in a jungle, weaving our way through a dense forest, until we arrived at the hotel lobby. When we walked to the tent we found a big green “Hemingway Style” tent which has about a 10-15 foot ceiling, a permanent wood floor and stone bathroom. It’s absolutely gorgeous and our favorite place thus far. The food is good too J.

At 4 pm we went on a game drive with James, a Maasai Elder. He seems nice, but drives very slowly and like to point out the plants and animals. We really just want to see big cats, so it’s a little bit frustrating but no one is going to compare to Emmanuel. I think that all of us truly miss Emmanuel and wish we could have taken him with us to the Masai Mara.

On the game drive we are able to drive up to the animals (within a few feet). This was neat when we saw a BIG group of giraffes (probably about 30 of them) and went offroading into the bush to get closer to this huge family. The giraffes here are the reticulated giraffe, as opposed to the Maasai Giraffe we’ve seen everywhere else. We saw the Rothschild giraffes at the Giraffe Center in Nairobi. Those are the 3 main kinds of giraffes.

The weather was overcast and looked pretty rainy, but it made the sky brilliant shades of blues and purples. The contrast of the skies with the grass was magnificent. Anyhow, as we were driving around we spotted a group of cars who saw 4 lions: 2 Simbadique and 2 Simbadume. That means 2 female and 2 male lions. James estimated that the lions were around 4-6 years, so the males had pretty big manes but they weren’t fully grown in yet. It was a great find though, as Brian and Diane REALLY wanted to see male lions with the full mane.

We stayed with the lions until it was time to return to camp at 6:45 pm. We didn’t have enough time to shower before watching another Maasai dance, that Brian and I joined, and then bought him another Maasai Club before dinner. Dinner was nice, we were able to sit by Eric and Buck and Diane, which always keeps dinner light and fun. I am so thankful everyday that we have such great people in our truck.

Right now it’s 9:45 and we’re off to bed because we have to get up to go hot air ballooning at 4:30 am. Brian is showering, and I hope to do so in the morning before we leave. Good night!

The terrain here in Masai Mara is beautiful. It is similar to the Serengeti, in that it has a lot of long golden brown plains. However, “mara” means spotted in Maasai, and it is spotted with trees! So far the 4 of us agree that this is our favorite park. This is the breakdown:
1.) Masai Mara
2.) Serengeti
3.) Ngorongoro Crater
4.) Amboseli
5.) Tarangire (and this is a DEAD last)

August 15
Good evening! Today started out at around 4 am with a loud laughing sound outside, which I later discovered, was hyenas. I listened to the hyenas and the insects for awhile until I heard a wake up call next door. As it turned out, our wake-up call was 20 minutes late at 4:52, which left us exactly 8 minutes to get ready and meet the rest of the group for the hot air balloon ride. As it turned out, everyone’s wakeup call was late, so we didn’t depart until close to 5:30 am.

We arrived at Governor’s Camp to take the balloon at close to 6 and departed by 6:30. It was amazing to watch the colorful balloons fill up with air and take off (with us in them!). I’ve never been on a hot air balloon before and I think that I am now completely spoiled by the experience. It was breathtaking to watch the animals scatter below us as we filled our balloon with more air, causing us to soar higher into the clouds. We saw a lot of animals, but no big cats. I know Brian loved snaking around the Mara river in the balloon as much as I did. Jackie, Jon, Sharon, and the Oregon family were all on the balloon with us, which made it more fun to share the experience.

Upon landing we were instructed to sit down with our heads back and wait until the pilot said we could change positions. The wind was slow, but strong enough to pull our basket over (which was enough to leave us on our backs). We got up and were quickly whisked away to a picnic setting where we were handed champagne and seated for breakfast shortly thereafter. We had a lot of fun talking to Jon, Jackie, Sharon and Aaron (from the Oregon family). Breakfast went very quickly and before we knew it we saw Buck and Diane bouncing towards us in the Land Rover.

We immediately went on a game drive with Buck, Diane, Philip and James. We saw a mommy cheetah with her 3, 12 month old babies. We followed them for awhile until we realized that they wanted to hunt, and then we headed off to find other animals.

We knew that the wildebeest were migrating across the treacherous and muddy Mara River, so we went to watch them. We saw Nile crocodiles and big fat hippos as we waited for about 1500 wildebeest and 15 zebra to cross the river. This took several hours as the wildebeest were easily spooked and would back up from the river with the least amount of noise. A hippo became very possessive of his area and did not want the wildebeest crashing his party. Finally, at around 1:30 the wildebeest crossed the river. It was so interesting because as soon as 1 animal jumped into the river, they all followed. Diane and I were trying to clear our minds of the 2 half-eaten wildebeest carcasses we had seen only a mile away; clear signs of the danger facing these animals. Most of the wildebeest made it across the river, while at least one unlucky one (the one we saw), was nabbed by a crocodile and pulled underwater only to become wildebeest tartare. Some of the animals could not climb the steep hill awaiting them on our side of the river, so they swam BACK across the river, risking their lives again. It was quite a scene as we must have watched about 1000 of these animals swim across the river. The rest chickened out and backed up onto the plains, waiting for another time.

While watching the wildebeest, it was funny/annoying that 2 Japanese tourists and a Nairobi driver pulled up literally IN FRONT of our truck. Our driver politely spoke to him in Swahili, explaining that they were blocking our view. They refused to move, and eventually James moved our car slightly so we were in a better position to see. After the wildebeests had finished migrating (those who were planning on going at the time anyways), we were driving away and the Japanese man had his video camera trained on the river where we were driving. Buck, who is extremely even tempered and easygoing, put up his middle finger and chanted “Japan’s #1, Japan’s #1” until we had driven away. Obviously the guy got Buck on tape and we laughed all the way back to camp.

Upon arriving back at camp we had a late lunch and then went to the Maasai village. It was truly an incredible learning experience. These people seem so happy and they do not want for anything. Meanwhile they do not have running food or water and their huts (made of sticks and cow dung) are about 4 feet tall. Each wife has her own hut and each family has its own entrance to the village. The sheep, goats and baby cows all sleep inside the hut with the partners. The partners sleep next to the fire, which is also used to make food in the kitchen. I had a giant grasshopper (I wish I could explain the size of this thing) jump on my shoulder while the women in the village were singing to me and I flipped out, dancing like Elaine in Seinfeld until it fell off of me. This proceeded to make all of the women laugh so hard that we were unsure they would finish their song. It also made the people in our group laugh at what an idiot I was, and at the fact that this joke prevailed through cultural and language differences. We then bought some wooden sculptures of a hippo, rhino, elephant and lion, for our baby’s room and headed off on a game drive.












They had not spared much time for the game drive, so we made a few circles, looking for chui (leopards) and rhino before heading for a cocktail party in the bush. This was the most magnificent party yet, as we came to a small picnic area with a fire, a bar and about 25 chairs set up on a cliff over the Mara river. We watched the sunset over the Masai Mara, completely in awe of the breathtaking landscaping and amazing scenery. Micato really came through on this one, as it is one of the moments I know that I will remember for the rest of my life. I drank red wine and chatted with Judy and Brian while thinking about the fact that I was actually living a dream. This was the single most awesome experience of my life. Masai Mara is definitely my favorite park!






We had a nice dinner, but it was bittersweet as we know that we will separate from the Heart of Tanzania tour tomorrow. The people were all so much fun that I will miss them (but I do hope to keep in touch!). Sharon, Jackie and Jon bought us a drink which was SO nice of them. I sat and chatted with Aaron until Brian could no longer keep his eyes open and then we said good night (“Lala salama”) to everyone and began our hike back to the tent. Upon arriving we got ready for bed, packed a little bit and Brian showered. The shower here sucks so I am going to shower when we get to Mount Kenya. Sadly, I know that this safari is coming to an end in the near future. I am having so much fun and know that I will definitely come back and I will hopefully keep some of these friends for the rest of my life.

August 16-17
We are at Mount Kenya Safari Club. We woke up on Thursday and flew here from Masai Mara. I felt sad to leave the Mara because it was my favorite park and there was something truly magical about the experience we had there. I knew we wouldn’t have anymore game drives, which was the highlight of our trip, so I knew our vacation was coming to an end.

The Mount Kenya Safari Club is inside of a reserve that was bought by William Holden. The club was built by him and has several famous members. It’s a huge piece of property on Mount Kenya which is the second highest mountain in Africa (second to Kilimanjaro). We’re at 7,000 foot elevation, which makes you winded more easily than normal when walking, but we were happy to get the exercise. We’re on the Likii river, in a suite, because the rest of the hotel is under renovation as the Fairmont just acquired it.

(Our room) (Diane and me)
(Philip Rono - our amazing guide)
(Eric listening to our very deep conversation)

The suite is adorable, with a huge bathroom, wood floors and a wood-burning fireplace. This hotel also provides us with hot water bottles in the bed, which is wonderful.

When we arrived here it was raining, forcing us to relax a little bit. Then we went on a walk, checked email and went over to the animal orphanage where they had all kinds of animals that you can hold. This included monkeys, a baby wildebeest, oryx, ostrich and a 180 year old tortoise! They have 3 Cheetahs that they are going to breed with Cheetahs from another part of the world because their gene pool is so weak. They’re hoping that the Cheetahs can make a full comeback and appear more in the wild because they are endangered.

We had a nice dinner with Buck and Diane. I think there is a lot to be learned from them and we are lucky to travel with them. They are phenomenal people.

On Friday we woke up early and left at 8 am to go to Sweetwater reserve where Jane Goodall has a chimp rescue program. You can read the stories of all 41 chimps there who were somehow abandoned or harmed before being rescued and kept in a new environment. Then we went to pet Morani, the friendly black Rhino. That was a neat experience as the Black Rhino population is dwindling terribly. Poachers kill them for their horn (bembe). Upon returning to the Safari Club we ate lunch, had massages, hung out at the animal orphanage and enjoyed our room. Our last cocktail party had a serious note to it as we discussed politics (U.S. and Kenyan) and September 11. Then we had a fun, light-hearted dinner with the Bucks. I am so sad that our time together is coming to an end. Buck and Diane truly added to our African experience and I know I will never forget them. Luckily, they live in Tampa so I know we will see them again when we go visit my grandparents.

(At Jane Goodall's reserve)



It is Saturday morning and we are packing up for the last time. Today we have breakfast and then head for Nairobi where we can go shopping and explore the town a little bit. We will have our last lunch and dinner as a group and then go to the airport. We leave at around 11 pm Kenya time and get home at 6-7 pm Sunday Los Angeles time. We miss the puppies very, very much and can’t wait to see them! Anjali comes to town on Monday morning which will be fun. On Thursday I’m making a presentation to my lab group about my Specific Aims and then we’re back in full school swing. This was a nice break before returning to life in Los Angeles. I think this vacation definitely changed me for the better. The extreme poverty does not seem to affect these people, they are so resilient and it makes me remember that life is about happiness and love, not material things. I’ve never been a very materialistic person, but living in L.A. it is easy to get caught up in the culture there. I liked taking a step back and thinking about the meaning of it all. Buck and Diane were helpful in that sense. Africa is a magical place and I love it here. I know we will come back before too long.

(The Carnivore restaurant)

Our pictures may look neat, but they don't capture the essence of the Bush. It is an incredible place and I hope that all of you will go there when you have a chance. In the mean time, if you are interested in a professional photographer's pictures, we have found that Tom Mangelsen is the best photographer in the whole world. He is somehow able to capture the spirit of the bush and of the animals. Check out his website: http://www.mangelsen.com/