Africa Day 4

Our next stop was a flight from Tanzania to Kenya. We drove to the Lake Manyara airport, This airport consisted of a small building containing an X-ray machine for luggage, a few chairs, and a restroom. We walked out to our plane, where we were the only passengers to board. We stopped twice, adding nine, then three more passengers. At the last stop, we were put on a bus to cross the Kenyan border. Our yellow fever cards were checked (a bit of kerfuffle when Lucy couldn't find hers), visas collected, and we got on another bus to the next air strip. This time we were the first ones off. There was a driver and vehicle waiting for us, but nothing else!

The planes were small; total of 15 seats.

Our new driver/guide was named Danson. He was very personable and helpful; he was also an excellent photographer. We were now on the Maasai Mara National Reserve, our lodge the Ashnil Mara Camp. It had a lovely main area with a buffet for meals. Our waiter, Boniface (Bony), again learned our names immediately. Our cabin/tent again had three beds and was quite spacious, even if a fairly long walk.

Our first of many water crossings; yes, that is the road ahead.

Warthogs. We saw quite a few, even some babies, but they ran too fast to catch in a photo.

Iconic giraffe at tree

Lazy lions; we found out they sleep 20 hours a day.

Elephants

First sunset on the Masai Mara

We arrived back from our evening game drive in time to have dinner, fall into bed, and plan to be up at 6:15 for our morning drive.

Africa Day 3

We spent two nights at the Ngorongoro Farm House. The morning after Lake Manyara and the Maasai boma we headed up the ridge into the Ngorongoro Crater, the largest unbroken caldera in the world. It is a natural sanctuary for many large animals. The mountainous roads up and down were unpaved and bumpy; this was to be our normal for the next ten days.

We were unable to see large numbers of flamingoes. Formerly, they were at Lake Manyara, but heavy rains made the lake inhospitable for the algae they eat. There were quite a few in a lake in the crater, but more widely spread out.

Our first zebras! It turned out that we saw thousands of them here and later in the Maasai Mara.

Whenever our vehicle approached, the zebras who were standing close the road suddenly decided to cross. We saw this over and over throughout our trip.

The scenery inside the crater was stunning.

This female ostrich was alone, as were the males we saw in another area.

A large group of baboons was on the road -- the only section that was paved.

This pair of gray-crowned cranes posed nicely for us in the middle of the road.

A group of female elephants with their calves crossed in front of us. There were probably 6-8 in all.

Wildebeests and zebras were together. The zebras eat the taller, tougher grass, and the wildebeests prefer the shorter grasses. They also migrate together for safety.

All the food at the Ngorongoro Farm House came from their own gardens. These flowers were between the main buildings and our cabins. We were impressed with the wonderful people working there. As soon as we arrived, they knew our names and used them. We especially enjoyed our waiter, Priska, and the hostess, Rose.

Africa Day 2

After we left Lake Manyara, we stopped at a Maasai village, or boma; really, a family compound. Our guide introduced himself as Dan and took us around. The village was surrounded by a circular fence, and had a circle in the middle where the cattle would spend the night. There were a number of round huts made of mud and wattle, all built by the women.

Dan(iel)

Lucy and Barbara inside the hut; behind them is the sleeping area.

The members of the village family lined up to sing and dance for us. The men took turns stepping out of the line and jumping. I have videos but can't get them to load.

The women and girls

A young boy jump-dancing like the men

They gave us a demonstration of how they build a fire. I didn't have the heart to tell them we learned this method in Girl Scouts many years ago.

After the dancing and singing, we had the opportunity to purchase handicrafts made by the Maasai women. Lots of beautiful beading and other items. I looked around and got a few things, then asked if I could go back to the chairs we had sat in for the dancing. There were several men there chatting and they quickly gave me one of the two chairs. The man in the dark purple clothing spoke some English and began asking me questions. First, how old I was. I said 81, and he scratched the number in the dirt and translated for the other men. Oohs and aahs ensued. He proceeded to ask me about my children and grandchildren and their ages, and he translated each answer for the men, scratching the numbers in the dirt. I felt very privileged to have such an interesting conversation.

Our first lodge was the Ngorongoro Farm House, near the crater, which we visited the following day. Three beds with mosquito nets. (Although we were prepared for them, we saw no mosquitos during the entire trip.)

 

East African Adventure

Just over a year ago my sister Lucy said she was planning a safari in East Africa and was I interested in joining her. It sounded great to me and I said I was in. Our friend Barbara was also interested and we began planning. Lucy found an agent who was very responsive and arranged everything for us. We started in Tanzania then moved on to Kenya. In all we were gone two weeks and had nine days of animal watching and other activities.

We flew via Qatar Airways and had almost nine hours between flights. Our niece Julie and her husband Ross are teaching at the International School in Doha; they picked us up and took us to their home to visit and have a meal. It was great to see them and their twins, Nate and Libby, who are seniors in high school and very active in music and drama activities.

Ross, Libby, Nate, Julie, me, Lucy

We landed at the Mount Kilimanjaro airport near Arusha, Tanzania. Our first day and night were spent at the Rivertrees Country Inn. We walked around the grounds a bit, but mostly spent the day recovering from the 30-plus hours trip.

The next morning our driver/guide, Jackson, met us and we drove through the town of Arusha and into the Lake Manyara National Park.

Many women were walking to church on Sunday morning

The scenes along the road reminded us very much of India.

The Maasai herd cattle across the road.

Our first animals, baboons along the highway. They steal food and cause chaos.

Jackson, our driver/guide, in front of the Land Cruiser.

We ate a pack lunch from Rivertrees in the park.

Hornbill bird

Our first elephant (but not the last!)

Lazy lion with paw on a tree. Our first, but also not the last.

Heading Home

It is Monday morning here in Chiang Mai, a cloudy, cooler day, after a week of warm, sunny days. I will be heading home tomorrow morning, to arrive in a very cold northern Indiana. We have had an unusually quiet time here, just enjoying living day to day. I've been able to get back into my habit of swimming in the early evening as it warmed up. Dan hasn't been playing pickleball due to a painful hip, but a cortisone shot for bursitis has helped.

On my last walk around the neighborhood, I paid particular attention to the buildings.

A nice-looking small hotel.

Not a place we would be likely to stay! Interesting name for a hostel.

Typical laundry drying in the sun along the road

A new house, I think on the property that was the former Blues Bar, a favorite eatery before the pandemic.

Norwegian flag on a property

This was a very nice small hostel, new since 2015, but went under during the pandemic. Maybe someone will rebuild on the property at some point.

A more traditional style Thai home

Landscaping near the wall by the moat

So long until next time!

Around the Neighborhood

As I walk around our neighborhood, heading to a massage or the market, I see many of the same things day after day. Here are a few.

Just down the street from us is the Baan Bakery (baan means home; lots of businesses use it in their names). It used to be a block further away, but moved here a few years ago. (I'm pretty sure the owners live upstairs.) Last year it was closed but this year we were glad to see it is open again, Wednesday through Saturday, from 9:00 until closing. This is the line out front just as it is opening up.

A sampling of the wonderful things they have

I'm not sure exactly what is behind this door, but it is an interesting look!

Below are some of the lovely flowering shrubs.