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This pretty girl was close enough to touch if
I had been foolish to reach out of our jeep window |
Hello blog friends. Several of you have asked about our trip, so I thought I'd share with the blogosphere our little trip to AFRICA. Yes, you read that right, we went to Africa. East Africa and specifically to Kenya and Tanzania.
This was absolutely a trip of a lifetime that I went on with my mother-in-law, hubby and eleven-year old son for 14 days. It was so amazing that I sometimes have trouble even describing the experience well. But as my son said in a school presentation recently, "I went for the animals, but it was the people and the land that was truly amazing!" Enjoy the following quick snaps and stories.
These little black-faced monkeys were really abundant in the Kilimanjaro area of Kenya. They may look adorable but they are incredibly sneaky. They actually broke into our room at a lodge, opened and ate sugar packets, and absconded with handfuls of granola bars. Another guest at our lodge had her backpack swiped and carried up a tree where the little monkeys rifled her bag, spilling an expensive camera, wallet and more to the ground in their search for food stuff. Beware, they are not to be trusted!
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| A new friend at the base of Kilimanjaro |
I love elephants.! Seeing elephants was BIG on my bucket list. And not only did we visit a baby elephant orphanage just outside Nairobi where they rescue babies from poachers or just natural peril, but we saw large herds while out on the safari preserves. The largest herd we saw was just at the base of Kilimanjaro on our third day in the country. We counted well over 160 in the group. They were amazing and came within five feet of our open jeep. So close you could see the small hairs among their wrinkled skin. They are so much larger than expected, some of the large bulls bigger than our eight person jeep. They were amazing! And it was clear they were family. The big moms protecting the 6 week old calves, keeping them tucked under legs and on opposite side of the jeep. Sad and shocking to me that poacher are killing them for the ivory trade.
While we were in Nairobi we actually had the opportunity over lunch to meet with Richard Leakey, son of Louis and Mary Leakey. Mr. Leakey, a paleontologist like his parents (of Olduvai and "Lucy" fame), is also an influential politician and activist fighting against the poaching trade. It was an amazing moment to visit so briefly with someone who is working to preserve the history, heritage, and wildlife of Africa.
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Leopard sightings are rare on the Serengeti.
We woke this guy from a nap on a very hot, sunny afternoon. |
In the Serengeti we had a chance to take an early morning hot air balloon ride over the land to witness the beginning of the "great migration." The migration is the circular movement of over 1.7 million wildebeest, zebra, gazelles and other large animals through the Serengeti. It was an amazing experience to see so many animals in one place, living in relative peace. I captured this zebra below off on his own - - unusual as the zebra and wildebeest typically clump together for protection.
As mentioned prior, it was the land and people that made some of the biggest impressions. Even in this personally tumultuous year, my problems are small and very "first-world" in comparison to the hardships that is the norm for many in East Africa. We had the privileged to meet and visit with many people across Kenya and Tanzania. This day, we visited a village of over 3,000 people whose village edged Lake Victoria. According to Wikipedia, Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, world's largest tropical lake and the world's second largest fresh water lake by surface area of approximately 26,600 square miles. And this large village, who had no running water or electricity, absolutely relied on the resources it could gain from it. They fished for food and trade, watered their animals, pulled their own drinking water from it, washed their clothes and bodies and the children played it. It was their life stream. The poverty in this place was beyond moving, the need great. But despite their hardship, the people were kind and welcoming. The impression is lasting.
Another fascinating group of people we visited was the very popular Maasi tribe. Found throughout both Kenya and Tanzania, they are a nomadic, polygamous tribe that subsist solely on small crops, cow herding and from a small portion of hand-made art they sell to tourist. They are well know for their colorful and beaded dress/wraps, and their music. Our visit to a small village of mud domed-shaped homes and stick-crafted school hut was begun with an amazing song and dance that is the traditional welcome.
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We saw five different large prides of lions in the
Ngonrongoro crater. This big male had just up a
meal that the females had caught earlier in the morning. |
Water buffalo and lions were just some of the many species we encountered in the Ngorongoro Crater. Apparently there are over 25,000 animals and birds that make the crater their home. The crater was formed 2-3 million years ago when a volcano blew itself to bits. The area is now a fertile valley filled with a massive salt lake including the rare black rhino. The crater is the world's largest, inactive and intact unfilled volcanic basin and is over 2000 feet deep and covers more than 260 square miles. The area was named by the Maasi peoples and means the Gift of Life.
And our visit to Africa was just that, a gift of life. and one our family will never forget.
Yea, pretty mild as addictions go. But you have to understand that not only do I have the place setting for 16 of everyday china, and the "good" china from when we got married, but I have dishes for most major holidays. Oh and non-holidays too. See there are dishes for spring in a pretty pink floral. There are two sets of a blue willow type pattern, one of which has castles on it to remind me of a trip to Europe. The Halloween plates are favorites and match these really cute cauldron mugs. And there are all the wonderful fall leaf plates. Oh and the four different patterns of Christmas china that will start gracing the table tonight. And then the Thanksgiving plates. 
