So much to write and so little time to do so, so here are the highlights:
We'll start with calamities:
1. A lizard just pooped on Tamar's dinner from the ceiling. Yum!
2. I passed out on the plane yesterday...I've never passed out before. Kind of scary. Why did I pass out? Well, I ate something that made me feel sick, I'm taking malaria meds (which make lots of people queasy and dizzy), and I got on two, successive propeller planes with little ventilation. Sigh. I saw the nurse first thing at the hotel in the Masai Mara and am fully recovered, but it was a bit of a scare. (Don't worry mom!)
3. To recover from my fainting spell, Tamar suffered from nausea and vertigo....what can I say. She loves me. She feels my pain. Hope we don't repeat this cycle.
4. Our driver, Oramat, is a bit of a dare-devil...or speed demon. Regardless, he's a little out of control. So strange to fly past elephants as if we're about to miss the opening of the day after Thanksgiving Day sale at Penny's. Yesterday we were first stuck in the mud while elephants trumpeted and huffed their displeasure around us, and then, while racing to see a lion and her cubs (which was AMAZING), were almost thrown from the vehicle when we hit what appeared to be a small hippo pool in the road. (Don't worry mom). He's a bit keen to drive off-road, which brings us much closer to the animals, but much closer to calamity as well.
Lion cubs, et al.
1. LION CUBS PLAYING WITH THEIR MOM!! Just about the cutest thing I've ever seen (save for my sweet whoodle at home). It was slightly frightening as Oramat decided to park between the mother and her cubs, thereby forcing her to prowl very close to the car to get to them. I keep telling myself that we aren't people to them, just these big, rumbling metal beasts that are sometimes all up in their grills. They seem mostly okay with this.
2. A surprise breakfast on the bank of a river, complete with hot towels, a tented flush toilet, sparkling grape juice (or champagne, if we had so chosen), full buffet breakfast, Masai warrior who led us on a 'nature walk' (this walk took about three minutes and forty steps), hippos and crocodiles. Exciting! And hilarious. They kept it a secret, dropped us off and we were met by the warrior who led us into the bush where we first encountered a steaming tray of hot towels. This made us both giggle.
3. GIRAFFES! So strange and beautiful. Like dinosaurs with fur. They look so out of place in this world, lurking gracefully around tree tops, looking like they could topple over at any moment. So amazing.
4. Near zebra crossing. We spent over an hour waiting for a zebra river crossing that didn't end up happening, but the drama was intense! At one point, I counted eleven crocodiles in the water and the opposite bank, while a herd of something like 50-75 zebras made their way to the water's edge before turning back, over and over again. Across the river, another set of zebras, four or five of them, called their hiccup of a call to rally the troops across, but they couldn't get up the nerve. Oramat said earlier that morning another driver and gang had been there during a crossing and four zebras had been killed by the crocs. So, I'm kind of glad I didn't see it, but disappointed, too. It would have been something else to see.
Other fun facts: We had a lovely fruit cocktail down at the pool today. Tamar's getting a lovely tan (and I am covered in 50 SPF and hiding out under the palm trees). We have to keep our sliding glass door closed to keep the baboons out...you know, like you have to do at all the Red Roof Inns in the US. We can see giraffes while we eat (like you can at the Big Boys in the US). There are no TVs. Last night we ordered room service: ginger ale, white rice, and two white rolls, which we ate in our mosquito-netted bed).
On a final note I'll just say that the Mara is much different from Amboseli. It's rained here, so the grasses are tall and everything is lush and green. We've seen loads of hippos both in and out of the water. But no wildebeast, which were everywhere in Amboseli.
I wanted to finish my last post about the nature walk and the marriage proposals, but it seems ages ago now and the time draws to an end. More later...hopefully with pictures once we're back in Nairobi. We head back to Pat's tomorrow afternoon.
Until next time...
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