Basking in the Afterglow

Jambo, one last time from the western suburbs of Chicago.

Here I am, just about a month after my previous post, and I'm finally trying to wrap it all up. I've spent the day today mostly just organizing the hundreds of photos and videos I took, setting up a Shutterfly site to publish them (jaysafricatrip.shutterfly.com),  deciding which ones to post and which to delete. Doing all this takes a lot of time and effort and may just have been the most difficult aspect of the entire trip. Heck, it's very easy to take all those shots, not quite so easy to decide which get published and which do not.

But the reward has been, as I go through all these photo memories, that I have been able to re-live my trip today, remembering the fabulous beauty of the savannah and that breath-taking ride into the crater, the excitement of seeing that first lion, that one and only leopard, or watching in awe as two giraffes duke it out to see which will lead the herd. I have been remembering the friends I made, the Jambo song we sang together, the many laughs we had, and the sadness of leaving when it seemed like it had just started. That's part of what creates this ongoing afterglow from the journey.

The trip home was just a bear, departing Amboseli early in the morning with a four-hour drive to Nairobi (what a busy place!) Airport, so we could wait 4 hours to catch a 6:30 pm flight to Addis Ababa, so that we could wait two more hours to board the overnight flight to Rome for refueling and then on to Washington to wait two more hours to catch the two hour flight back to Chicago. Elapsed time, door to door? Just about thirty six hours. Ugh!

Ethiopian Airlines did a great job of transporting us, but gave us more than a few extra gray hairs when the paperwork at both O'Hare and Nairobi airports didn't match up with their computers. All was worked out, though, and deep breaths of relief were finally taken. The service, food, and entertainment on those EA 787 Dreamliners is hard to beat. I would not hesitate to fly them again.

How has the trip changed our lives, changed my life? I'd like to think that I can keep that hakuna matata thing going, to not get so revved up about things that aren't really worth worrying about. I have a sticker with that famous phrase affixed to the inside of my car to remind me about that when I'm driving, as that may be the time I have been at my worst. I have decided to push forward with my volunteer activities at the zoo, to put the effort into studying to becoming a docent, so I can be qualified to talk with guests about our animals and about how important it is for us to preserve them for future generations. I have been in touch with Robert about what his needs are for the web page for his orphanage, and my willingness to help with that project. And after visiting my friends who were staying in Moshi and teaching at the Mailisita School and Orphanage, and reading their daily reports, I think there's a very good chance that if they return for another tour of duty, that I may go with them.

Mostly, though, I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to go on this journey, to witness the life style of people who live so differently than we do, to be exposed to the beauty of their culture, to feel their sincere pleasure when we uttered the few words that we had learned in Swahili, or sang the Jambo song for them as a group.

At Amboseli, my last day on safari

If I go back and go on safari, it will be in a very different style. As comfortable and luxurious as those Serena hotels are, and believe me, except for some spotty Wi-Fi service, they were outstanding, I would plan a much simpler safari. Maybe a small party in one car, with driver/guide and cook, setting up a tent each night in a campground, hearing more of the sounds of Africa, eating more authentic local foods. I was very happy with the time of year I went, so I'd probably do the same again.

It's not only been a great adventure for me, but I have truly enjoyed sharing my experiences and impressions with those of you who have followed along via this blog. Thanks for your willingness to read all this volume of words, and for your emails of encouragement and support.

Kwa Heri for now,

Jay
jaylyons@aol.com

My Other Travel Blogs

2022 Paris and Rhone River Tour

2023 Egypt, Land of the Pharaohs

2024 Safari in Southern Africa

2025 Morocco Tour

2025 Mediterranean Discovery Cruise

2025 The Italian Riviera and The Dolomiti (coming soon)

 Argentina, Patagonia, Chile  (Coming in 2026)

Elephants, Monkeys and Lyons, Oh My!

Jambo once more from charming Kenya.

After a frustrating couple of days at Tsavo,  we have finally arrived at Amboselli NP,  about a 3 hour drive west of where we were at Kiliguni. The frustration came from the futility of our game drives, and had nothing to do with the beautiful lodge where we stayed, which was my favorite so far. The open air dining room, bar, and patio overlooking the water hole, great service by the staff, and a room with a water hole view all added up to a great place to stay.

We just returned from our Wednesday morning game drive, followed by a late breakfast in the lovely dining room here. We departed the lodge at 6:30 hoping to find our first Kenyan lions out on the marsh. We were finally successful this

morning, spotting a pride of six lions. They were all sleeping when we first got there, but soon they awoke and started to move. They came right past all the assembled Jeeps, quite a morning parade. They had been in the open,  but were now heading back into the cooler marsh to relax during the day.

As I write this morning, I am sitting on the beautiful open air patio here at the Serena Amboselli,  another location to which I would be more than willing to return.
As I write, the resident vervet monkeys keep coming by to check me out and see if I have any food they can steal. After I  saw how quickly one stole a piece of bread from another guest this morning, I even put my phone in my pocket, rather than on the table,  just to make sure that a monkey wouldn't mistake it for food, and steal it.

Our drive over here yesterday from Tsavo was interesting because we had a convoy. Or at least we were supposed to have one. Apparently there are bandits who prey on safari vehicles going from one park to the other. There have been enough occurances over the last few years that the government provides an armed escort, but the vehicles have to travel in a convoy. For some reason, our paramilitary guards failed to appear, so we headed down the road without them. Needless to say, we were all a little nervous about this, but our guides seemed relaxed. And, of course, the entire drive went without incident. Hakuna Matata. :-)

This NP is known for its abundance of elephants and beautiful views of Mount Kilimanjaro. So far, Kilimanjaro has mostly stayed hidden by the clouds, but we have seen lots and lots of elephants. And they are really interesting to watch. Every day, they spend the daylight hours in the green grass areas, each one putting away hundreds of pounds of food. At night, because it gets so cold in the marsh, they move miles away to where there are trees that can help shelter them from the cold. So each morning long lines of elephants are seen heading toward the green areas, while in the evening, their paths are reversed. Our driver,  Koikai, says they are just like people, going to work in the morning and returning home at night.  It is quite a spectacle. Imagine a circus parade with hundreds of elephants of all sizes, from the oldest,  biggest bulls to tiny nursing infants,  all heading to one place,  and you might come close to what we have been seeing.

There are lots of other animals here in Amboselli, too. We have seen gazelles, and giraffes, hyena, impalas, zebra, jackals, monkeys, cape buffalo, a male cheetah, a long-necked (giraffe) gazelle,

Cape Buffalo

crested cranes,  an eagle owl,  warthogs, hippos, an African fish eagle,  numerous other beautiful African birds,  agnd the ever-present wildebeest,  but that's nothing gnu.

We now are down to one last dinner,  one last game drive,  one last night sleeping with the sounds of the savannah. In the morning, we start our safari  home, via Nairobi, Rome, and Washington D. C. after more than two weeks on African soil. We have learned to care about this land and its people, in addition to the wonderful animals and birds that have entertained and enthralled us. In talking to other members of the group, I think many of us have felt some personal changes , whether major or minor,  and cannot help but feel influenced by the African/Swahili culture and its friendly citizens.

This may be an ending,  but for many it has also been a beginning,  if not for a significant impact in how lives are led,  then at least in levels of awareness of places and people that are more "next-door" to us than they ever used to be.

I hope to be in touch soon with a final round-up of experiences, thoughts, and feelings. As always, Asante Sana, for letting me share this experience with you.

Kwa heri for now.

Regards,

Jay

I've added a video below of our resident entertainer here at Serena Amboselli singing  Jambo Bwana,  the song that became our theme song for our group while we were in both Tanzania and Kenya. I hope it plays on your viewer.

And on to Tsavo West, Kenya

Jambo,  Jambo! 

My apologies for not getting this written and published earlier,  but we were without internet service (this IS Africa, "TIA") for quite a while last night and this morning.

I'm on the beautiful open air porch at the Serena Kilaguni Lodge inside Tsavo West National Park in east Kenya. We arrived here in time for lunch Sunday and were pleased to see the stunning views to the west and Mt. Kilimanjaro.  About a hundred yards off the porch is a small pond,  a watering hole,  apparently from a natural spring.

As we ate our lunch, a family of four gorgeous, red (the color of the dirt here) elephants were using the water hole here at the lodge to drink, bathe, and in which to generally frolic.

Click to see full panorama 

This lodge is wonderfully situated,  but our game drives have been somewhat less than what we might have expected. I'm not sure whether, after several days in the Serengeti,  we are so spoiled,  or, as our drivers and guide say,  that this NP its so big, so spread out, that it's difficult to track down our quarries. They say there are plenty of animals,  but because the rainy season has been so recent, and the rains so abundant,  the animals can get water almost everywhere,  and don't need to congregate in just certain places. For us, also, spotting is more difficult as the brush here is higher, blocking our view to some extent, and creating great cover for the animals. Seems like this would be a great place to be a lion.

We have seen, in two game drives,  evening and morning, a few elephants, several ostrich,  plenty of impala,  a couple of giraffes, one or two hartebeest,  and from a considerable distance,  Bill Zeigler’a favorite, a small group of lesser kudu. Zebras and baboon are plentiful,  but remember, a few days ago,  we were in the middle of the migration in the incredible Serengeti.

We were able to squeeze in a couple more game drives before we left Kirawira. Friday night's highlights included being able to leave the vehicles and stand on a high bank overlooking a large group of hippos bathing in the Grumeti, getting lots of good pictures,  and coming across a large group of elephants in a hurry to get somewhere. We kept trying to get in front of them, but the road kept curving (you are not allowed to go off-road in the NP), and they were really moving, so we had to settle for some side views.

Our BZ Trip Group Photo at Kirawira

Our plane back to Arusha Saturday was late so we were able to get a bonus game drive in.  We were again able to find the pride of lions from the failed zebra hunt the day before, but in addition, the pride male was spotted beneath a distant tree, and were able to easily approach and visit for a few minutes, as he and his guest lioness were apparently between trysts.

The Honeymooners 

The plane trip went smoothly with some great views of places we had explored, and soon we were back in the hustle and bustle of Arusha. A quick stop was made at the cultural center for some last minute shopping for those leaving (the place did have a lot of cool things from which to choose), and then on to the Mountain Village hotel for our final meal together.  Among a few tears and lots of "See you in July’s " (our trip reunion), my driver arrived to take me to meet my friends who had arrived in Moshi, about an hour's drive to the east.

Maureen and Joanne and I were soon reunited and we spent the rest of the day at Stella Maris, exploring the school and meeting staff members, sharing tales of travels past and present, having a few laughs (and a couple of tears,  for that matter) over remembrances of former common colleagues, sharing a meal together and looking at mySafari photos.  We headed off, finally, to get some rest, as I had to be up early to meet the bus of my safari-mates as we headed on to the Kenyan border.

We met Edwin Ongori, our naturalist/guide, and our drivers, Koikai (say "coy-kigh") and Peter at the border at Taveta, and

Peter, Edwin, and Koikai

they led us through all the customs and immigration details that come with leaving one country and entering another. Soon we we heading down the Kenyan "super-highway," according to Koikai, towards our newest home-away-from-home here at the fabulous Kilaguni Lodge.




Asante Sana for your continued patience and your emails.

 Jay

Tsavo Sunset Near Mt. Kilimanjaro

The Endless Plains

Jambo again from the beautiful Serengeti, which, in Swahili, means the "endless plains."

Before I left home,  I would have guessed that the highlight of this trip would have been our visit to the crater of Ngorongoro, which was absolutely wonderful.

I was just not prepared to be as awed as I have been by both the beauty of the landscape and the abundance of the animal life of the Serengeti.

At any point as we travel along,  chewing the brown dust from the road and enduring the ongoing "African massage," I've found that if I just look out my back window of our Land Cruiser and watch the passing herds of antelope and take in the majesty of the distant volcanic peaks,  I can't help but embrace the contentment of Hakuna Matata, a Swahili philosophy of no worries.

Those who know me pretty well would say that I am not known as one to be very philosophical or to dwell on introspection,  but I have to admit that I had one of those days  Thursday. As we worked our way west through the herds of thousands and thousands of wildebeest and zebra,  I couldn't help but think, with some surprisingly emotional depth,  of the series of circumstances that combined to bring me to such an amazing place.

I thought of my late dad, Angelo, who used to love to watch any kind of nature program on his television, and how I learned to appreciate the beauty of the out of doors through him, and to respect the creatures that live in places like the beautiful country of Tanzania. He never got an opportunity to visit the wilds that he loved from afar, so my reflections took me to a place that made me feel as if I was his representative here. I feel very blessed and honored.

So what, you ask, took me to such an emotional place?

Saw Lion Pride on the Hunt

The Serengeti is a place that is truly almost beyond description with mere words.  I can tell you that it is a place where the savanna grasslands continue limitless all the way to the horizon.  Or I can try to describe the noisy chaos of the migration,  with zebra braying and uncountable wildebeest gnuing at noise levels that fill the senses. Or I can attempt to put into words the thrill of watching a pride of a dozen lions put themselves into position to stalk an unsuspecting, but always wary, herd of zebra, only to have the plan sabotaged  by an overeager juvenile male who pulled the trigger just moments before the lead lioness could launch her well-planned attack. But nothing can replace the actuality of being here,  seeing it,  feeling it deep inside you. After a week here,  many of us are grasping our own insignificance in a world larger and more beautiful then one can ever realize without leaving the comfort and safety of their home environment.

(There has been an attempt to insert a short video below of wildebeests crossing in front of our vehicle,  but it doesn't work on my player.  Maybe it will on yours. )
 


As we have said and heard said so many times this week, even the multitudes of photographs that we have taken on our trek cannot begin to do justice, or give more than a mere token idea, to  what our eyes are actually seeing, to I what our brains are trying to grasp.  It is a wonderful experience, but as hard as I try, I cannot transmit to you the fullness, the depth,  of what we have gone through on this wonderful adventure, led by our intrepid guide and our eagle-eyed drivers.

Yesterday, as we transited from Serengeti Serena to our final refuge at Kira Wira in the western Serengeti, we experienced a myriad of sights and sounds. We continued  to witness the ongoing insistent forces of the migration, animals driven to greener pastures and fresh sources of water by ancient urges that even they can't begin to understand.

Elephants Enjoying the Mud

We have watched as families of elephants bathed and fed, and as groups of  giraffes consumed the leaves of tall trees, while young males from the same group sought dominance over one another by bashing head against neck so loudly that it could be heard from fifty yards away.

Today, as we relax by the pool at Kirawira,  overlooking these aforementioned endless plains, we have moved from the savanna grasslands to the savanna woodlands. The sunshine and blue sky, decorated by high thin clouds,  have warmed the air temperature enough to make one want to cool off in the  splashing water.

Our day, however, had started off in the brisk air of morning with a 5:15 wake-up call to our tents so that we would  be ready for our only early morning game drive, leaving the lodge at 6:00. We headed down the road in the pre-dawn stillness and watched the sun come up over the scrublands.

A Nile Crocodile Swallowing his Meal

At the spot where the road reaches the Grumeti River, the upside-down carcass of a crocodile bitten in half by a hippopotamus floated,  resting against the concrete dam created to provide a crossing for our vehicles. A still-living croc  was feeding on his former mate, biting and spinning to tear off the chunks of flesh while ten yards away, a pair of large hippos conjoined in the age-old tradition of creating more hippos. One could hardly ask for a more vivid representation of an African ecosystem to microcosm, life and death, all within a short space of both distance and time.

Hippos at the crossing

My final post from Tanzania should be published no later than Saturday evening, as we say goodbye to our new friends, both from home and from Tanzania. I wish more of our friends from home had decided to join us on the short extension into Kenya, and we will surely miss our drivers, Prosper, Davis, and Filbert, and our master guide Robert Marks Moshi. Robert has assured us, however, that he knows, Eddie, our guide in Kenya, well, and that we will be in good hands.



Thursday's Sunset from the Porch at Kirawira

Off to the Serengeti

Jambo,  again.

We left the cool Tuesday morning of the Ngorongoro rim at 7,000 feet,  and headed west toward the Serengeti. Half an hour into the trip, coming off the mountain, we saw our first giraffes,  feeding a little way off the road,  then stopped to see some Maasai camels being herded by a man who turned

Maasai Talking Stick

out to be a cousin of Robert, our guide. Robert explained the purpose of the Maasai talking sticks they were trying to sell us,  and soon almost all of us had to have one. Yes, even me.

We continued our trek west,  visiting the dig site of the Leakeys at Olduvai to see the birthplace of one of the very early modern man. Turning off the main road at Nduto to try and track down the elusive cheetah,  our three cars spread out across the savannah, thinking that surely one or another would come across one of the solitary cats.  But the radio stayed silent. No cheetah reports to share. As we searched we came to a low,  marshy area,  and started to cross to see if our luck would be any better on the other side.


Before we knew what happened, our car was stuck in the mud of the marsh. We tried to push it out, no way. The other vehicles came to rescue us, and one of them  promptly got stuck, too. The third car attempted to pull out our second car,  but the cable broke and the car went in even deeper. Our drivers are very experienced,  and it paid off for us.  They were able to jack the cars up,  fill the hole with some big stones, and finally pull out our car.  Then they did the same to car number two and got it out.  We re-loaded all our gear back into the cars and headed off to lunch in the middle of the savannah, and then on to the main entrance to Serengeti National Park.

Lionesses on Duty

During that time we stumbled across two groups of plump lionesses relaxing in the afternoon, digesting their kill from the night before.

Pride Rock

We entered the Serengeti NP and soon came to Pride Rock,  you know,  from the Lion King. And sure enough,  there was a pride of lions sleeping up high on the rock.  The rock is a great example of a  kopje (sounds like "copy"), a special rock formation unique to this area;  they are scattered throughout the Serengeti, and they are absolutely wonderful.

We continued our game drive on into the park, getting our first idea of what the Great Migration must look like.  There are zebra and wildebeest everywhere,  thousands and thousands of them.  They are noisy and chaotic. And these are just a small portion of what has separated from the main herd.

I have to tell you a little bit about our lodge here, the Serena Serengeti. Each building is again styled after an African hut, and the view from the room is a vast panorama. It is so secluded and so much in the middle of wild lands that, after dark,  if we want to go from our rooms to the restaurant or vice versa,  we are to call reception and request an escort, an armed escort.  We were told last night that there were both a hyena and a lion on the property.  I just counted over thirty elephants from my balcony.

Two lions sleeping in a tree

Wednesday’s game drives continued the amazing sights from the day before. We are still seeing herds of elephants, various antelope species, more zebras and wildebeests,  lions enjoying their rests and others a short honeymoon,  and then stalking the nearby zebra herd.

Cheetah with Prize

But the most jaw-dropping part of the day was finally seeing our first cheetah. And not only did we see it,  but we were able to witness first-hand its blinding speed and ability to focus on the task at hand.  Despite the distraction of quite a few safari vehicles, she ran down a small Thompson’s  gazelle to share with her cubs. As many times as I have watched this scene play out on my television screen at home, I could never have imagined the speed and grace and drama involved in the chase and the capture when seen in real life.  What an experience!  What an awesome day!


And the day wasn't over yet. After I thought I was done with today's entry,  we headed for the restaurant for dinner, only to be told that we were going out for a supper in the bush. It was unbelievably cool to be out under the brilliant blanket of stars here, eating a barbecue dinner served on linen with all the trimmings. We were serenaded by the Maasai music group by a roaring campfire. And were watched over the whole time by guards with guns to make sure we weren't disturbed by any local creatures.

Tomorrow we leave the east/central Serengeti and head to the west,  to maybe catch the larger part of the migration, maybe a river crossing, we'll see.

Our final lodge in Tanzania is at a Serena camp known as Kirawira Luxury Tented Camp.  We've been told that it's the greatest of the Serena properties.  Can't wait to see it.

Asante Sana again for checking the blog. I’m hoping to have an update for you Friday.

Jay


Thursday AM postscript: I was awakened slightly early this morning by an angry elephant somewhere nearby,  roaring and trumpeting.  Pretty cool!

No, not charging, just eating.

My Day in Ngorongoro Crater

Let's start by saying it was an awesome, exhausting day.

All the animals in the crater came out to greet us,  probably because everyone in our car, guides and all, has been singing the Jambo Bwana song before and during each game drive. We've had two game drives, and have easily seen the "Big Five" and then some. We saw a leopard the other day, and on this drive added the rest: lion, cape buffalo,  elephant,  and,  yes,  (6) rhino.  Today was just a great day for seeing wildlife in Ngorongoro; we are, in the words of our guide,  Robert Marks Moshi,  "blessed. "

I have to tell you about the one most amazing aspect: A lioness, asleep by the side of the road. Vehicles were pulling up right next to her,  I mean, two feet next to her, people were taking pictures and talking quietly, and she never budged. She opened one eye once,  lifted her head two inches to see what was going on, and promptly went back to sleep. UNBELIEVABLE!

The Lion Sleeps Today

Rather than go on and on about the day, and because I'm really tired, I'm just going to share a few pictures:

Green Mamba along the road

Our First (of many) Zebra

The beautiful valley west of the crater

Panoramic View of the crater from the entrance gate

Our "crew" singing for us at lunch

Puumba sings, "When I was a young warthog"

Cape Buffalo

A black-backed jackel looking for some action

Three juvenile male lions

Asante Sana again for checking.  Tomorrow we head west, to Olduvai to see the excavation site of some of the earliest human life, then to Nduto, hoping to see some cheetah, and then into the Serengeti for the first of four nights. I know it will be amazing, but today is sure going to be hard to beat.

Jay

On The Rim

O    M    G  !!!!!

After all I had read about this place,  after all the videos and TV shows I had watched about it,  I thought that I would be pretty well prepared for my first view of the crater at Ngorongoro. Boy, was I wrong!  As we climbed the road towards the rim,  we were told that there was a viewing area,  but that it was often in the clouds so that there was no view. We came around a bend and there it was, clear as you could possibly ask for. Most people think they're ready to see the Grand Canyon for the first time,  but they're not. This is like that.  It's far bigger,  far more grand than you think it's going to be. It's absolutely incredible.

First view of the crater

But I'm getting ahead of myself.......

Relaxing at Gibbs Farm

We left Lake Manyara and headed west at a leisurely pace. After one more souvenir store stop, we headed to a little paradise called Gibbs Farm in Karatu for a quick tour of the coffee plantation, followed by another excellent lunch. There was time after to relax on the lawn with a beautiful valley below and the western mountains stretching off into the distance.

The wedding party

After lunch,  we stopped for another cultural encounter. After learning about the Maasai yesterday, it was time to learn about a different tribe, the Wairaqw,  who were actually ancient enemies of the Maasai , who were always trying to steal their cattle. We learned,  in a rather odd progression,  how they make beer, how the women learn to carry a calabash on the heads (including attempts by a couple of our ladies who did quite well), dressing the Wairaqw bride and members of the wedding party,  and a tour of the hut used by the family.  It was very interesting, and a great break in our traveling.

Let's head up the mountain

Finally we arrived at the entrance to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area where we had a quick orientation, arranged our entry into the park, and headed up the hill. We came to the viewing area that I started to describe above, and it took my breath away. Huge! Impressive!  Fabulous!  I grabbed the binoculars and immediately spotted a herd of elephants in the crater far below, in addition to more herds of buffalo and wildebeest.


They eventually forced me to leave the viewing platform and get in the car so we could get to the Serena Ngorongoro Hotel,  where my room awaited with still another incredible view of the crater floor from the balcony.

As we await the call to supper, I'm sitting in the bar writing this while we are being entertained by a group of acrobats accompanied by African drum music. The bar is packed, everyone is having a great time, and the acrobats are really talented.

We descend into the crater in the morning.

I'm sure I will be awake early.

Full report tomorrow evening...

Great First Game Drive

Jambo, again, Rafiki (Friend)!

Davis' Land Cruiser

So we have had an interesting two days.  We left our hotel in Arusha in a van driven by our driver for the week, whose name is Davis. Our group is in three Toyota Land Cruisers provided by Ranger Safaris. They are very comfortable,  and need to be,  as we will be spending a lot of time in them.

Robert’s Tribal Colors 

Our first stop was at a place to see a demonstration of how Tanzanite is mined and produced, and, of course, to sell us some. A couple of our group bought some but it was a bit rich for what was left of my budget (rarer than diamonds), so we moved on.

We headed west and south from Arusha on a road that had miles under construction and had quite a few "diversions" on to what was supposed to be a graded parallel. The road was dusty and REALLY bumpy. Davis told us it was our first (of many) "African massages." Not very comfortable,  and a bit tough on the back,  but many of the roads we will be on this trip are not paved,  so hakuna matata,  I guess.

We had a great picnic lunch under the shade in a banana plantation at Mto Wa Mbu ("Mosquito River"), moved on to climb the escarpment of the Great Rift Valley,  overlooking Lake Manyara National Park . The damage from the floods from last month is still very evident, but there have been enough repairs to let traffic through,  albeit at a snail’s pace. And there was where we saw our first "wild" animal, a baboon,  of course.  Then there were five baboons,  then ten,  and so on.

That first baboon 

We arrived at our latest home away from home, the Lake Manyara Serena hotel, another great spot in a stunning setting at  the top of the grade.  Each room, again, is designed in a truly African style.  The decor for this one is baskets:  basket ceilings,  light fixtures, etc.  Very cool.

And they have the most amazing infinity pool.  Because this lodge is built on the edge of a huge cliff, the escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, and the pool is right on the edge,  the pool truly disappears into the horizon. So we arrive at the hotel,  check in, and then Robert takes us on a nature walk around the grounds, accompanied by a couple of guards, just in case the wrong animal wanders by. We have had a bushbuck (antelope) visit while we were at the pool, and a family of baboons descend upon the lawn during breakfast.

Our Leopard,  Courtesy of Jan Spooner

After breakfast,  we load up the vehicles and head out on our first game drive,  several hours at Lake Manyara NP.  During our incredible drive today we saw more baboons,  blue-back monkeys,  warthogs,  flamingos, hippos, wildebeest, impala, glimpses of each of two different elephants, and the highlight of our day,  a beautiful leopard, sleeping in a tree, spotted by our eagle-eyed driver, Davis the Great.

What a day!  Many visitors never see a leopard, and we see it on our first game drive!!

Back to the hotel for a quick lunch (I'm done raving about the food.  Suffice it to say that each meal is terrific!),  and then Robert , who is himself a Maasai chieftain, took us to visit the nearby village of a Maasai friend.

We were treated to a Maasai welcome song and dance, the famous warriors' dance that includes a leaping contest straight up into the air, a lesson about how the women construct their huts from mud, cow dung, and water, and finally a tour of the chief’'s hut, where the fire pit inside both warms and provides smoke to keep the mosquitoes away. We bought some hand-made souvenirs at outrageous prices (just consider it a donation), and listened while the village pre-schoolers demonstrated their mastery of the ABC song.

As we headed back up the escarpment one last time,  we felt satisfaction that we had had a very rewarding day.

Sunday morning brings check out here and a drive to the rim of the world famous Ngorongoro Crater, which should be one of the true highlights of the week.

Asante Sana, again, for putting up with all these words. I hope I am giving you a true picture of how awesome this experience is. Hope all is well with you all.

Jay

Arrived Safely

Jambo, again.

Here I am in Tanzania, hard to believe I'm actually here.

It all started at O'Hare. Waited in line to check in at United, only to panic when they told me that I had no reservation. Turned out to be just be a wrong code entered by our travel agent, but, wow, what a scary start.

Got to DC with no further issues, and checked in Wednesday morning at Ethiopian Air for our long flight to Addis Ababa. Lovely flight with all the great new features on the Dreamliner, except for the guy in front of me who thought it was his responsibility to test the reclining abilities of his seat. I swear he was up and down at least 150 times, spilled  the water on my tray three times.  Then the cute little six year old Ethiopian girl that was sitting right behind started kicking my seat every time  I started to doze off. Aaaaaagh! So I read some of my Kindle books and watched two movies. The food theu served on the flight was really good, what a contrast from our United cattle car flight. Flight totals: 2 hours from ORD to Dulles, 12.5 to Addis, and another 3 to JRO, a total of almost 7000 miles. (The time here is 8 hoursr later than Chicago. So, as I sit here typing this AM it's 8:00 Friday, and some of you are just going to bed at midnight  Thursday.)

Arriving at JRO, Mt. Kilimanjaro Int'l.

Anyway, the bottom line is we arrived at Mt. Kilimanjaro Airport on time (the mountain was mostly obscured by some high clouds, darn it), flew through the visa and customs process, I saw my first African sunrise over the Red Sea from the plane . I am south of the equator for the first time in my life. And last evening, I saw the Southern Cross for the first time, lotsa firsts, huh?

Arriving at Arusha Mt. Village

Our guide, Robert Marks Moshi, met us at the airport and gave us our safari orientation on the lawn at our hotel, Serena Mountain Village in Arusha. This place is stunning. All the rooms are done in the style of a Masai village, little huts, as you can see in the photo. The food at dinner was fabulous and our breakfast buffet this morning had more choices than a person could make. The coffee is great, strong and flavorful, grown nearby.

Our day today will be a relatively short one, as many are still adjusting to the time change. On this gorgeous morning, we are going to go to a place to learn about tanzanite, a gem found only here in Tanzania, then on to a real Maasai village cultural stop, an outdoor lunch at a local farm, then on to the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge. No animals today, just an easy, relaxed time, then an early game drive on Saturday in Lake Manyara National Park.

Asante Sana again for checking my blog.