SANDPAPER KISSES and WARRIOR ESCORTS

Arrived in Nairobi today and really learned what Africa time was all about…there is a saying here that things move according to Africa time, which they do, and which means that people are never where they say they will be and that nothing at all happens on time. Thus far it has been a standard 10-15 minutes tardy but today, well, it seemed to get stretched a little bit more. Our taxi driver, who was to be back in 20 minutes, showed up about an hour later and when we called to inquire where he might be, he informed us that he had ‘stopped quickly in the store’ and was just 300 meters away - as if that was quite normal. I think it was the longest 300 meters ever as it still took him another ½ hour to arrive. We spent the day playing around going to the elephant orphanage, the giraffe sanctuary and the market. The baby elephants in the orphanage were absolutely adorable. The ran right out up to their bottles, downed three of them each, chased the keepers around begging and screaming for more then proceeded to roll in and dump each other in the mud, slip, slide and fall and execute head stands in the muddy pools as they learned how their feet worked and how to stand up. Just like little children playing in the sand box. After that, we went over to the giraffe sanctuary where we fed, petted and kissed the giraffes. They have the most amazingly long, disgusting black tongues that they stick out as they try to grab the little food pellet out of your mouth. It feels like someone has taken a wet piece of sandpaper and run it across your lips. Oh boy, how nice would a giraffe French kiss be? Think I have come as close to that as I want to. In addition, and for good measure, they leave behind a bit of gooey antiseptic saliva on your face. It is actually so that they can get by eating off the nasty thorn infested Acacia tree but apparently they feel the need to share the wealth elsewhere..

On our way to Nairobi we went through the Maasai Mara National Park. Amazing! The Maasai tribe is still very much around and available to sell you whatever trinket you might like as you enter the park. They are drenched with beads and bracelets and blankets and are ready to strip off any of it to make a buck. Our truck was swarmed. They are known for being quite the savvy business people as well though and take us foreigners with the deep pockets for everything we have got. There are still many of them our herding their cattle though, and they can be recognized by the bright red plaid or striped blankets wrapped around their chests and their spears. It is a beautiful site to see them dotting the land as you drive by, their long legs stretching out as they run after, or stroll in many a case, their cattle. Several of them guarded our camp at night ‘just in case’, which made us feel oh so comfortable (hah! Hmmm, guess that means lions are around) and, of course, inspired the need in the middle of the night to go for a pee. This meant leaning out of the tent with the torch, flagging down one of the warriors, who promptly appeared torch in one hand and spear in the other to escort you to the bathroom. He then patiently waited a discreet distance away and walked you back. Very odd feeling at 3:00 in the morning to be walking next to a man whose body melted into the night sky wearing a red robe and carrying a lion spear. Did make me wonder that if in fact a lion did appear, would he actually be able to use the spear and kill it or would he use those nice strong, long legs to leave me for kitty food.

The park was great and we saw almost everything we wanted to – still missing the leopard, cheetah and rhino but think I will probably have a pretty good shot at the leopard and rhino in the next couple of weeks. We will see. We had numerous lion sightings with them in various activities. Saw them stalking and attempting to catch a wildebeest, playing in a little oasis next to a stream, sleeping all over and anywhere and guarding their most recent kill. Also saw plenty of giraffe, elephants, zebra, wildebeest, topi, and impala - the usual suspects. The highlight for me though was the balloon sunrise ride over the Mara. It was incredible to see the animals from above and watch the wildebeest stream across the plains in their migration. Watched a pack of hyenas finish their kill and then go on the hunt again and finished off our ‘float’ with a pack of lions. It didn’t hurt that we had a beautiful sunrise, incredibly clear day, a full hour and 20 minutes in the balloon and a delicious champagne breakfast at the end. The party was almost crashed by a stray wildebeest, who apparently was quite excited about the yummy smells. However, he was quickly headed off by a much larger beast, a Land Rover. So, after that, we headed to Nairobi, which is where I am now. Tomorrow morning it is off to Lake Naivasha (sp) where we will apparently be surrounded by hippos and other animals (in the camp that is). In a previous trip to this camp, a hippo tripped over one of the tent pegs and fell onto a girl in the tent. She was OK but quite heavily bruised. Hope one of those guys doesn’t feel the need to come share my tent!