Woken up by chortling hippos just outside the tent. 5:30am and just in time to catch the sunrise. As I climbed out of bed, I was reminded of my introduction to that cheeky insect. I couldn’t put any weight on that leg and the toxin had worked its way from my foot up to my knee. It was a sharp stinging numbness which had me limping for the rest of the weekend. It felt like how I would imagine the sting of jellyfish tentacles would feel. At breakfast, I was told that a leopard had walked thru camp last night. I felt relieved that I had the fortune of meeting the insect rather than the cat. (Besides, I was about to meet lots of cats).
At 6:30am, we hopped on the game drive vehicle and headed out onto the floodplain. The scorpian bite was giving me an allergic reaction. My eyes were swollen, red & itchy and I was sneezing every 5 minutes. The timing was terrible. I needed my eyes to work at that moment. Because within the first ten minutes of our drive, we came upon the most memorable birthday gift of my life. My first pride of lions that Ive seen in Africa. Three adult females, two juneviles, and four cubs. It was epic. I sat there in awe, like a little kid at the zoo. Only there were no cages, fences, or glass barriers. No spilled ice cream cones next to signs warning not to feed dangerous animals with fine print below about indemnity. Just a group of cats lying in a circle in the long grass, warming themselves in the early morning sun. We had arrived as they were waking up from a nap. They were stretching, yawning, and grooming each other. It was a spectacular scene. One that I somehow managed to disrupt with my constant sneezing. I felt like I was the focus of an E.F. Hutton commercial, breaking the silence. Everyone on the vehicle (and in the grass) looked at me in annoyance. After a particularly loud one, the adult female (feline, not human) stared straight at me and gave me a wincing look as if to say, “Hey man, do you mind keepin’ it down over there! My kids are trying to sleep. Don’t make me come over there!” We stayed with them for over an hour, watching the cubs chase each other and wrestle. Once in a while, when the antics were getting out of control, the mother would casually get up, walk over to the cubs, and gently swat them with her teeth bared to tell them to pipe down. It was a big lovefest pile, with everyone grooming each other and rolling up on each other’s backs. A lone elephant walked past only about 30 yards away. It elicited only some turned heads but no action. We eventually pulled ourselves away from this little Eden and I felt the thorough satiation that I could only dream about on my couch oceans away while watching these dramas play out on tv documentaries. I had finally been sprinkled with the African magic dust, with no imminent plans to bathe.
Later in the evening, we took a boat cruise to watch the sunset. Among the guests were a Spanish lady and her friend from Norway, both of whom work for the EU and live in East Africa. Then there was the American couple from Chicago. He a lawyer, she an accountant. Both pastey white, probably hadn’t seen the sun since 1987. For years on end, just fluorescent lights of the office and the buzz of computer screens. Dynamic personalities worthy of a spirited conversation with mashed potatoes. And then us, myself & Ursula. The guide dropped the outboard motor into the water and within seconds we were haulin’ grass. Through the tall papyrus and reeds, the channels & lagoons were a perfect slalom course, weaving in and out of water lilly pads and sandbar islands. Above me, the deepening sky was filled with water fowl. Cormorants, Darters, African Jacana, Fish Eagles, Black Egrets, Egyptian Geese, etc. Below me, snouts of lurking croc’s and hippo’s emerged just above the water surface. We found a cool spot to dock on shore and we broke open the cooler. They had packed cold drinks and a spread of appetizers for everyone. I was sippin’ a Campari & OJ on the African grasslands, birdwatching, while the sun painted the sky a ridiculous red.
Ursula seemed to be distancing herself and became unusually quiet. I think she may have brought some expectations with her that weren’t being fulfilled. She’s a slim city girl, all about manicures & makeup. I’m more into thick rural girls, all about wine & wildlife. I discovered that she needed to be pampered and catered to and I was too busy with my quiet solitude & inner reflections of the last 480 moons of my life. I was more than content to sit on our veranda and just listen to the concert of nature enjoying our spectacular 180 degree view of the savannah. She needed conversation. I needed tranquility. I told her, after her frustrations at my lack of attentiveness, cities are for conversations, nature is for inner traveling. She couldn't understand. But we managed to find common ground and enjoyed each others company for the most part.
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