39 hours

39 hours. That's how long we were in airports or airplanes before getting home. We got to the airport in Zanzibar almost 2 hours before our flight and waited in the domestic departure lounge forever. The flight over to Dar was really short; we never got over 5000ft. Our airline, Coastal Aviation, shuttled us over to the "main" terminal, where we basically repeated our exercise of a couple weeks ago: luggage storage (with the same guy as before, who remembered us); sitting up in the Flamingo Cafe (where we watched Cricket) for 2 hours while waiting for checkin time; then checking in and going up to the departure lounge where we waited another 45 or so minutes before boarding the big plane to Dubai. 5 and a half hours up to Dubai (and I actually slept for a couple hours on the flight despite the dude with really offensive BO sitting right in front of me). 3+ hours in Dubai waiting for our 2:50am flight to New York where Angela and I walked up and down the terminal at least 2 times waiting for our boarding process to start and I changed into my "travel pants" from my shorts. 14+ hours to New York where I don't think I slept much more than 2 or 3 hours. It was kind of cool because we raced the sunrise all the way to New York. We flew over Greenland and its glaciers and ice fields, which was really cool, before setting down at JFK a little late. We took advantage of Michele's Business Class chauffeur perk and had a car drive us over to LaGuardia for the final leg of our flight only to find that it was delayed by an hour. It figured. Finally landed in ATL and picked up by Ike's brother for the final drive back up to the house.

Thankfully, the house was just like we left it. Our 5 Guys dinner tasted so good I can't even say. It's all I can do right now to stay awake. Unfortunately, I have to go to work tomorrow after a chiropractor appointment and returning my rental lens.

And just like that another one of our adventures, this one the most amazing yet, I think, is over and real life starts again. Where are we going next year?

Zanzibar Pizza isn't really pizza

Hamiz came to pick us up right at 9 for our spice tour and we said our goodbyes to Chichi and the gang at the Matemwe Bandas. It took about an hour to get to the spice farm, which was actually more of a "spice vacant lot," a couple acres of land on which was planted various spice and fruit plants and trees. We were met by another guide from DiscoverZanzibar, Ali, who actually guided us through the village owned spice farm. He showed us so many spice plants including turmeric, cardamom, nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon, pepper corns, lemongrass, ginger. Seeing these spices "in the raw" was fascinating. We had a young kid following us weaving various things from palm fronds. After we were finished with our "tour," we sampled some fresh coconut and other tropical fruits and were then given the opportunity to buy some prepared spices from their little "shop," which was actually nothing more than some tables with small bags laid out under a thatched roof. We elected not to buy any of the spices and left for Stone Town.

The drive to Stone Town took about a half hour. It is a bustling, sort of modern city. Our hotel, the Seyyida, is right downtown, not far from the harbor. We agreed to meet back up with Ali for our walking tour at 2:30. Lunch in the rooftop restaurant was OK, but not great. Angela and I had grilled calimari and Michele had some kind of vegetable dish. We're going to find someplace else for dinner, maybe even Forodhani Gardens and its food vendors.

Our walking tour was very nice. Ali took us all over town; into the central market; through the maze-like streets past so many amazing doors; past the Anglican church (which was closed for renovations); into the old fort and down to the harbor and the House of Wonders (which was also closed for renovations). On Ali's recommendation, we decided to have dinner at the Forodhani Gardens night market and the first vendors were just getting set up when we headed back to the hotel, but not before enjoying a few beers at this restaurant right on the water and getting some final shopping done. As if we didn't have enough paintings from this trip, we picked up a very nice trio of small watercolors. We're going to start charging admission to our house/art museum before too long. Angela took her mother on an abbreviated "shopping tour" before dinner and wound up leaving her on a bench in the park before coming back to the hotel to pick me up. They were gone a long time and I was starting to get worried when Angela knocked on the door.

The whole Forodhani Gardens night market vibe is really cool. There are tons of food vendors who set up their tables and grills hawking their skewers of various "frutti di mare" or somosas or shawarmas or "Zanzibar Pizzas." Michele made friends with one of the vendors, Tony the fisherman, while Angela was getting me from the hotel and we wound up getting a number of things from his table while Michele got a shawarma. The food had good flavor, but was over cooked. We also had a beverage made from fresh pressed sugar cane, lime juice and ginger. It was the sweetest thing I think I've ever tasted, but damn if it wasn't good and refreshing. Finally, we had to try the Zanzibar Pizza, not really a pizza at all but more like a crepe (but not even really like a crepe, either). They come in savory and sweet variants and you can get almost any protein or sweet treat in them. They're cooked on a griddle and consist of thinly spread dough filled with a mixture of chopped red onion, carrot, mayonnaise, a raw egg, cheese, and your protein of choice (we chose chicken) for the savory version; or nutella or chocolate or banana or whatever sweet for the sweet version (we chose nutella, peanut butter and coconut). Anyway, once the filling is made and plopped onto the thin dough and the dough sort of wrapped around the filling, the whole assembly is cooked dough-side down on the griddle before being flipped to cook the filling side. Anyway, they were amazing, both the savory and sweet versions.

The night market itself was a hive of activity, and it's not just a tourist thing, either. There were tons of locals enjoying the atmosphere, too, and I'm not talking about all the cats that come out of the woodwork looking for scraps. If the tides are right, local kids will dive off the seawall into the harbor.

Hamiz is picking us up tomorrow at 9:30 to begin our long trip back home. I can't believe this trip that we planned for so long is so close to being over.

The best seafood I've ever eaten

We asked Mkombe to deliver our breakfast to our veranda this morning. It was so windy that it was hard to eat, actually. Angela and I took a walk North up the beach when we woke up and were able to scout out a few very nice properties not far up the beach that might be very good dinner options. This is getting to the very low season on Zanzibar and many of these hotels are almost empty with limited menus that are all very similar to the menu at our own hotel.

We were picked up right at 9:15 by our "guide," James. They loaded a couple of coolers full of waters, cokes, beers, and a bottle of wine into a taxi and took us through town to the north side of town where their boat was waiting for us. Chichi never actually mentioned how our day would work, so we kind of assumed that we'd be on a larger boat with other people, but it was just us, James, and Cassius Clay's doppleganger in a 20ft long fiberglass boat (at least it was covered in the middle) with a 40hp outboard motor heading to Mnemba Island. Because of the tide and the protective reef, we had to go even further up the beach before there was a "cut" through which we could reach the open water. The tide was going out so fast, that I actually had to get out and help shove the boat over the reef.

Mnemba is a couple miles off shore and from the time we got to the boat to when the anchor was down and we were snorkeling it took about an hour or so. The snorkeling was amazing; easily comparable to what we saw in Hawaii. It was good that the tide was out because we were much closer to the reef than we would have been at high tide. We were obviously at the most popular spot because there were a dozen boats all anchored out and probably 50 or so divers and snorkelers.

After exploring the reef for 45 minutes or an hour or whatever, we asked if there were any other snorkeling sites we could get to. There was one other, so we pulled anchor and off we went to the north side of the island (we were on the south side, which was in the lee of the wind that was coming from the north east. The other site was just as impressive, but the waves made it a little harder going, and water would wash into the snorkel so that I occasionally took some nice swallows of seawater. After 30 minutes or so on this reef, James told us that it was time for lunch. There was a large diving boat not far away from us and we all headed in together. I wondered if we would all be sharing this seafood cookout. All told, I was very happy with our snorkeling experience, although I was hoping to swim with dolphins or the elusive Whale Shark.

On the beach, James and Cassius and another guy who was already on the beach spread out a blanket for us under a palm tree and served us the most amazing plate of seafood I'd ever seen: giant prawns, spiny lobster, rock lobster, and under it all a white snapper, with a smattering of potato chunks. It was easily the best seafood I've ever had. We had some cokes and beers in the cooler, and along with the amazing food, it made for one of the better picnics I can remember. We had so much left over that we offered it to James and his crew. I trust that they enjoyed it.

On the way back (we were able to be dropped off right in front of our hotel), all of the fishing boats were coming in with their daily catch to sell at the Matemwe fish market; the largest on Zanzibar. We could see the huge crowd gathered from places all over Tanzania and East Africa.

We spent the afternoon further "decompressing" in the pool or on our verandas and by dinner time rolled around we had no real interest in going off property. Part of the reason for that lack of adventurous spirit, Angela and Michele enjoyed massages "al fresco" up in a tower of sorts that had an amazing view of the beach. They'll serve you dinner up there, if you want, but it's so windy that it would actually be an unpleasant dinner experience. I'm sure it was a nice venue for a massage, though. For dinner, I had those fried noodles with fish while Angela and Michele had the coconut curry that I had the other night. I must say that the noodles were fantastic. Angela and Michele were disappointed in their choices, I think, since the coconut curry wasn't all that "coconutty." Overall, I think I've "won" the Matemwe Bandas restaurant challenge.

After dinner we had a nice chat with Chichi; talking about village life, their culture, his plans for the future, etc. It was a lovely evening.

Tomorrow, Hamiz is coming to get us at 9 to take us to our spice tour and then to our hotel in Stone Town. This beach excursion has been amazing, but I'll be honest and say I'm really ready to get home.

Reefwalking

So, it was a little difficult to get to sleep last night, at least until my body acclimated to the humidity a little. We were up basically with the sun (and it rises right in our faces since we face East). Angela and I took a walk on the beach before breakfast (it was low tide and the tide goes waaayyy out) and the dhows were teetering on the sand we could see sticks sticking out of the water. There's basically nothing on down the beach to the South, at least not for a good ways.

We met our next door neighbors; a German couple in Tanzania on holiday. They came kind of on the cheap (like they took a bus from Dar to Arusha and have been to several places in Zanzibar. Apparently they are avid divers and have really enjoyed the diving off shore. They were having their breakfast served on their veranda when Angela and I got back from our walk.

Breakfast was delicious, but very similar to what we had in the bush: eggs cooked to order, fresh fruit, crepes, and toast. We were approached by one of the hotel staff about our interest in going on a reef walk when the tide was right. "Great," we said. As is so much in Africa, no specific time was agreed on, but it's a small property and he would be able to find us pretty much wherever we were. In keeping with the "decompression theme," we repaired from the breakfast table to the pool and set the lounge chairs in such a way as to be able to see the ocean yet still be in the shade.

At "reef walking time" (which was about 10:30) our new friend came to get us and had a stack of beat up tennis shoes and water shoes for us to try on so we didn't shred our feet on the coral. I'm not sure why I didn't remember I had my keens, but I didn't and so chose one of the pairs that "fit." The reef walk was pretty fun. One of the "industries" here is seaweed farming. The village women will attach seaweed clusters to sticks or to strings that have been strung between two sticks and when the clumps get big enough will pick them, dry them, and then sell them at a market somewhere. Our guide said that you can make $1/kg and they can harvest up to 30kg/mo. There are enough sea urchins in the water off Matemwe beach to keep the entire US sushi industry going for a year. We saw some gorgeous starfish that looked like this and loads of hermit crabs. The tide goes out very far, and we were able to walk out in thigh deep water several hundred yards to an exposed sand bar where our friend started looking for octopus, which are prized catches that bring good money thanks to their popularity in restaurants and the difficulty in finding them. On our way back in, we ran into our German neighbors who were going out past the sandbar to do some snorkeling.

I had pan-fried fish and chips for lunch (the same kind of fish that Michele and Angela had last night), while Angela had some kind of salad and Michele had fried rice noodles with vegetables. After lunch we returned to our lounging and played Backgammon or read or whatever. I've never done "nothing" like this in my adult life, I don't think. Even veg'ing out on the sofa at home involves watching TV of some kind.

The afternoon passed very lazily as we continued our "decompression" by being hypnotized by the wind and surf. Angela and Michele were "entertained" by some local kids playing on the beach in front of our bandas. Michele would chat with whomever came by walking on the beach (the locals appear to use the beach as a sort of road and we've seen guys ride mopeds and bicycles on the firmer sand), and I read and dozed off in the chair on our veranda. It's amazing how fast a day can go even when you're not doing anything.

We ate dinner at the hotel again; maybe tomorrow we'll investigate eating at a different property. I had some skewers of grilled octopus and prawns with rice and vegetables, while Angela had the same noodles that Michele had for lunch and Michele had a tuna steak. We were suprised to hear that they had desserts, including iced cream that they make in house. Michele and I had mango ice cream that was sublime while Angela had plain vanilla. Chichi says that we are getting picked up tomorrow morning at 9:15 for our snorkeling trip.

One adventure ends and another begins

It's hard to believe that the safari portion of our Tanzanian adventure is already over. Eight nights went by so fast.

Our flight from the Seronera airstrip back to Arusha was at 10:30am and John wanted everyone to be loaded up and ready to leave by 8:30 so we might sneak in a little wildlife viewing on the way to the strip. Of course, that didn't happen. First there was the long breakfast; then there was people doing their last minute adjustments to make sure breakable things were secure; then there was the photos with the guides and the whole group; then there was the "goodbyes" with Velia and Naomi who were going to stay back at the camp because their flight from Seronera to Kigali, Rwanda wasn't until later in the afternoon; then finally the big tip ceremonies where we thanked the Southern Serengeti camp staff and our 3 guides; and then, finally, we were off. At 9:15.

The first thing we all noticed is that all of the Wildebeest were gone. The rains last night in the far south of the Serengeti drew them all back down there. It's amazing how one day you can be surrounded by so many animals and the next morning it can seem empty. Of course there are still the antelopes, who don't migrate with the Zebras and Wildebeest, and the predators who are territorial and don't leave their "ranges," and the Elephants, but the zombie horde was gone.

We passed by the lions' killing field from yesterday and saw the now almost completely picked over carcasses of 2 Wildebeest. There were plenty of Vultures and some Maribou Storks picking the bones clean. Absolutely nothing goes to waste here.

We had what amounted to a private charter from Seronera to Arusha and the flight was uneventful. The air was really hazy, so you couldn't see too much, but we could see the tracks in the grass from all of the Wildebeest, and I'm pretty sure we could see down into Ngorongoro off the right side of the plane. On landing in Arusha, and after saying goodbye to our traveling companions, Angela, Michele, and I were given our box lunches and taken to the checkin desk where we waited for our 12:30 flight to Zanzibar. We got a little look from the guy weighing our bags, but between all 3, we were under the 45kg limit. The flight to Zanzibar was an hour and a half and once we got on the ground and through Zanzibar's passport control, we were met by Hamiz, our driver/guide that Thomson arranged for us. He was very friendly and talkative during the hour or so it took to get to our beach hotel in Matemwe. We arranged a spice tour for Sunday morning and a Stone Town walking tour for Sunday afternoon.

Matemwe is nothing like what I expected; but then again, I didn't really know what to expect. In the US, beach communities are usually pretty built up and commercialized. There might be some of that on Zanzibar, but not here. The town isn't too much different than what we saw going up to Ilkiding'a in Arusha: sand/dirt roads, livestock and chickens in the streets, trash almost everywhere you look. Then, we got to Matemwe Bandas and you forget what's outside. It was like a little slice of paradise with white sand like back home in Pensacola; coconut palms; an al fresco bar/restaurant; a crystal clear swimming pool; and the 3 beachfront cottages that directly overlook the beach. We were met by the butler, Mkombe, and shown to our "bandas," which are huge. The breeze/wind coming off the Indian Ocean is fresh enough that you almost forget how hot and humid it actually is (and there is no A/C here). The afternoon was spent literally doing nothing. I sat on the veranda looking at the waves and the dhows bobbing in the surf while Angela and Michele lounged on the beach under a thatched umbrella. A perfect way to wind down after our safari.

Dinner was amazing. Angela and I had grilled octopus salad as a starter, and I had coconut curry fish with rice while Angela and Michele had grilled fish steaks. All the food was very good and fresh. After dinner, Angela and Michele took a walk up the beach to see what there was to see. We met with the owner, Chichi, before dinner and sort of planned out our activities during our stay here. Tomorrow Angela is going to try her hand at kite surfing and Saturday we're going snorkeling out at Mnemba Island and having a seafood lunch on the beach.

Sleeping might be uncomfortable because the airflow in the banda isn't great, but would be overwhelming if we opened the doors all the way (and we feel a little uncomfortable doing that, since there is no access control to the property as a whole.

Checking the tires

The Wildebeest hordes moved back down into the Seronera valley overnight last night. Michele claims that she heard Hyenas outside her tent, but I don't remember hearing anything more than some Zebra.

For our last full day in the bush, we got the band back together and rode in Leonard's jeep with Scott and Karan. It took no time at all before we were witness to the trials of life, Serengeti edition. There was a lioness feeding on a Wildebeest in an open field bordered on one side by the road and on the opposite side by a river; completely disemboweling the carcass; face completely in the abdominal cavity. In the field were at least 12 other lions. One of them had a tracking collar, so I wonder now if she's the same lioness with collar we saw the other day.

Anyway, as the one lion was going to town on her kill, a herd of Wildebeest made its way into the pride's killing field. The collared lioness and her 3 adolescent cubs perked up and stopped the herd in its tracks. There was a bit of a showdown and evidently the lioness was more interested in making sure the cubs didn't get stampeded than shopping for groceries. The herd abruptly turned around and left.

Not 10 minutes later, a Wildebeest calf entered the kill zone (Leonard suspected that maybe the dead Wildebeest was its mother) and despite the presence of fresh meat, the feeding lioness made a run at the calf but it was halfhearted and it got away. Shortly after that, another calf ran the gauntlet through the entire pride and miraculously made it. By now, the feeding lion had had her fill and sauntered over to rest in the shade of one of the jeeps that had parked on the road watching the spectacle. Leonard was repositioning his jeep and we drove right by her. She wasn't more than 5 feet away from me as we passed and I could hear her breathing heavy. As soon as we parked again, another herd of Wildebeest decided that they needed to get through there and stampeded through the killzone. This got all the lions' attention and I really thought I would see a kill, but again it was not to be. Leonard said that the Lions are very careful during these stampedes because it's very easy to get trampled or kicked. While all this was happening on the left side of the jeep, on the right side a single lioness was stalking a smaller herd of Wildebeest. She gave short chase but came away empty. I wonder what their success rate is? (Here it is).

We begrudgingly admitted that the show was over and the plan for the rest of the day was to go out into the plains to look for cheetah. We drove out past the Kopje where we saw the Leopard feeding on the Wildebeest the other day and out past all of the Wildebeest horde to the open grass plains where there was basically only various antelope groups; Thomson's Gazelle, Grant's Gazelle, Topi, Hartebeest, etc. Definitely Cheetah country. One funny thing we noticed is that certain members of the herd will take it upon themselves to act as lookout on top of old termite mounds or small rocks.

As we continued to drive out into the plains, we came across more of these kopjes. One in particular was the home to a pride of lions. There were probably 15 or so that we saw lounging on one rock or another, including one mother with a young cub, and some grizzly looking males with huge beautiful manes.

We packed box lunches for today and ate in the jeeps under the shade of an acacia tree a few hundred yards away from this kopje with all the lions. This was probably the least appetizing lunch I'd had since we arrived in Tanzania. You know what I saw under a tree as we left the kopje? A locked box with a padlock. Leonard said that researchers will place small cameras in these boxes to observe the cats that use these places as dens for having babies or as hides while hunting. That explains the padlock I saw under that other tree the other day.

After lunch, we headed out even further in to the plains; even past all of the kopjes. After a mile or so, all of the jeeps pulled up side by side and Leonard announced that it was time to "check the tires," which is bush speak for relieving ones self. Boys go to the front of the jeeps while girls go to the back. Obviously, the boys have no "pack in, pack out" issues with cleanup, but the girls do. There was discussion amongst the ladies in our jeep about how to contain and dispose of their cleansing materials. It was kind of funny. John warned us that this might happen back when we had our first Safari briefing, but we had gone all this time without needing to check any tires.

Scott and I joked that John, Kumbi and Leonard were taking us out this far into the middle of nowhere to kill us and bury us and almost at the same time we asked Leonard if that was the plan. The emptiness of this part of the Serengeti was amazing. There was nothing out here but us and the antelopes. Being as we were pretty far out and that it would take the better part of an hour or more to get back, we decided that we weren't going to see any cheetah chase any antelopes. As luck would have it, Eagle Eyed Leonard spotted a cheetah in the shade of a small bush. It was being stalked by 2 jeeps who had gone "off road." Apparently the "off road" permits here are very hard to get, and usually only granted to documentarians or researchers so those folks were very fortunate.

The last vignettes of the day were a small baby elephant nursing at its mother's teat and an orphaned or abandoned Wildebeest calf running in front of us down the road. The differences in the 2 scenes was so stark, with the heavily maternal elephants and the completely opposite Wildebeest. The beestie calf was doomed to predation or starvation; probably within a day or two.

We could see storm clouds gathering on the southern horizon on the way back to camp for our last night in the bush and sure enough it started raining while we were eating dinner and continued on pretty hard for an hour or so. It's hard to believe that we've been out here for over a week. It's awesome to know that we still have 4 more days before heading home.

Beesties everywhere

The "envelope ceremony" was especially awkward today because I was the duly appointed delegate for all of the ballooners' tips. I just gave Japhet a huge stack of envelopes and thanked him and the staff on everyone's behalf.

Kumbi took us by another hippo pool this morning hoping to see the hippos in the morning ritual, but they had already all gotten down into the water by the time we got there so we were treated to more grunting and pooping.

We finally saw some cheetahs this morning: a mother and juvenile cub lounging under a tree. They were really hard to spot because the grass was kind of high, but Kumbi has an eagle eye and the jeep stopped on the side of the road was a dead giveaway. I thought I might get to see a chase when a female "warty" and her 4 little piglets wandered into the cheetah's field of view about 200 yards up the road. Heads perked up and things looked promising until the mama warty got wise to the situation and promptly escorted her brood directly away from the threat.

We met up with the rest of the gang at the Serengeti Tourist Center. By all accounts the balloon ride was a hit, although one of the balloons had a better viewing experience than the other. Ballooning is a very random experience; if the wind isn't blowing then you just don't go very far and what you can see is limited.

The visitor center was almost overrun with oversized hamsters called Rock Hyrax. Apparently they're at least a little related to Elephants, but there was a nice little nature walk that talked about the Serengeti ecosystem and the challenges that the animals face.

The rest of the morning was spent looking for more cats down among the watering holes in the Seronera valley. We watched a family of elephants (with very tiny baby) wallow in a mudhole. One of them got sort of stuck and was rocking back and forth trying to get enough momentum to roll upright. That elicited a laugh from Kumbi, which told me that it was something somewhat unique. The family moved on out when a big male came in for some mud time. He had such a good time rolling around, throwing mud all over, digging around with his tusks.

We saw another big croc at a watering hole waiting for some unsuspecting victim, but these animals eat so seldom the odds of actually seeing an attack are pretty rare, especially where there's nothing at the watering hole to eat.

We did come across a lone lioness lounging (as an aside, when are they not lounging?) under a tree. Is it bad that by now a lone lioness is not that impressive any more? They're magnificent animals, no doubt, but just watching them lie around gets boring pretty quick.

The schedule today was a little different than usual. We had a nice sit-down lunch at our new camp which is further south than the camp we just left, and were given a couple hours to relax before an optional afternoon game drive. This last camp is not nearly as picturesque as our previous ones. Kumbi says that a herd of elephants came through last April and snapped tons of trees. There are a whole bunch of beesties close to the camp, though. The herds appear to be gathering around here.

A few people decided to stay at camp for our afternoon drive. At first, the plan was to go even further south to the Moru Kopjes, but John decided that we were going to get in amongst the gathering hordes of Wildebeest. For all intents and purposes, we were right in the middle of the "migration," even though it's not supposed to start for another month or so. We found ourselves surrounded by tens of thousands of Wildebeest all going in different directions searching for any sign that it's time to start the long trek north. It's too early, though, since the babies aren't strong enough to make the trip and their mothers will leave them behind.

Kumbi hates the Beesties, I think, and for good reason. They're very much like zombies just wandering the earth, aimless. On one side of a hill they're all going one way; on the other side they're all going the other way. We saw a whole column 5 deep going one direction and a lone mother and calf going the opposite direction. The dust and noise was incredible. We almost saw another leopard. Amongst the zombie horde was a tree with a wildebeest calf wedged into the branches; legs and head dangling. We couldn't find the leopard responsible, though. My guess is that it was out hunting and stashing more goodies away in another tree for later.

We actually met the folks who have been behind us the last couple days; the ones who climbed Kili. Martha and Marty, and Mary. They're very nice and their stories from Kili are incredible. I'm not sure if they're making Angela more or less excited about maybe hiking the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu.

We might have some Wildebeest in the camp tonight. They are everywhere just below the camp. You can hear their grunts and moans mixed in with some Zebra calls.

Big 5 Baby!

I think we're getting over the jet lag, finally. In the beginning, we were getting up way before "Jambo Jambo," now we're almost to the point of actually needing our daily "Jambo" call to wake up. It was quiet in camp last night, but I did hear Zebras and Hyenas off in the distance.

We rode with Roland and Sharon in John's jeep today. We made a stop at the Retima Hippo Pool, a fairly popular overlook to see hippos in their element: wallowing in their own filthy poop water. The odor was not pleasant. They were mostly just laying there, as though the energy expended getting from their nighttime sleeping spots was just too much and they needed a morning nap. There would be the occasional grunt or spit, but evidently they were too tired or lazy to see any cool aggressive behavior where I might get a shot of a gaping maw. Sharing the pool with the hippos were a couple of small Nile Crocodiles. There was one hippo in particular with a pretty bad gash on its flanks. Not sure if the gash came from another hippo or a croc, but neither of the crocs we saw were big enough to do the damage I saw.

We spent most of the day in the Seronera region looking for big cats, but before we got down there we were treated to a little show from two Defassa Waterbuck males looking to stake their claims to the local females. They spent about 10 minutes feinting then retreating until finally the challenger decided that he didn't have what it took and walked away.

Approaching on watering hole, we saw a pretty big croc; at least 15 feet long. It looked fake it was so still with its mouth open. As we rounded one particular bend in the creek, we were presented with a very interesting site: a dead hippo stiff as a board and resting on its side in the river. Quite the vignette. I assume it was inaccessible to the vultures (or they couldn't tell it was dead since there wasn't any blood for them to site in on) and other scavengers, but eventually the crocs will get to it. I sure don't want to smell it when they finally pop that fetid balloon.

We followed a small chain of watering holes watching the "beesties" and "zeebies" and Giraffes take their fill, no so secretly hoping to watch a crocodile explode from the water to take one unawares. The Giraffes were especially funny as they splayed their legs out so their heads could reach the water. It was an interesting site to be sure. They're so awkward and graceful at the same time.

The "Sausage Tree" is a popular hangout for Leopards because of their low, thick, horizontal branches. Every time we passed close to one, we'd all train our binoculars on it to try to find the telltale signs of the elusive cats: a tail wagging from a branch or the spindly legs of a dead baby "beestie" that had been dragged into the tree for safe keeping. Finally, John spotted something out of place in one particular tree. Turns out that it was a kill hanging from a branch. We approached as close as we could to try to get a better vantage point and after repositioning a few times were rewarded with our first Leopard sighting of the trip. What a magnificent animal. With all due respect to lions and their "King of the Jungle" moniker, Leopards are so much more beautiful and the fact that they hunt solo is way more impressive. With this Leopard, we can say that we've seen the "Big 5" of Africa: Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceros, Elephant and Cape Buffalo. Still no Cheetah, though.

We had another outstanding picnic lunch. This time we had brownies and PB&J to go with our usual fresh fruit and vegetables. The PB&J's were a nice touch and they went pretty fast.

Is it bad that elephants have become somewhat passe'? We see them now basically all the time and we barely even notice any more, unless small babies are involved.

We came across a male and female lion resting in the grass and watched for a while hoping that we would see the mating ritual acted out in full. Again, no such luck. While our eyes were on the lions close by, John spotted a single male lion not far away eyeing some Zebra and Wildebeest. Believe you me that the Zeebies and Beesties were eyeing the lion, too. He decided that it was futile thinking he could take one, and so walked back towards his pridemates, but with a noticeable limp. That answered the question of why he made absolutely no effort to get lunch.

John took us out toward the open plains and one of the many large rock outcroppings here called "kopjes." This one in particular was called the Maasai Kopjes. Lions and Leopards like to use these kopjes as bases of sorts because they offer good vantage points for spotting prey. We drove around the various formations looking for cats but came up empty. After we had moved on to get closer to a large herd of Beesties, John got word on the "Bush Telegraph" that someone had spotted a Leopard feeding on an adult Wildebeest under a large bush where we had just come from. How did we miss it? We high tailed it back to the kopjes to find a dozen rovers all jostling for a spot from which to view this gorgeous male chowing down on a full grown Wildebeest. He either got full or a little spooked and so dragged the carcass deeper under the bush away from the prying eyes of the Vultures before climbing up onto a rock in the shade of a tree. You know was was interesting? There was a brass padlock in the bush.

With all that excitement, we almost lost track of time and it was time to head back to camp. We were treated to one final sight of the day when Nancy in one of the jeeps ahead of us screamed for Leonard to stop because there was a male lion striking a Leopard like pose on a large branch of an Acacia tree. Definitely not something you expect to see.

Back in camp, we met a couple who had just flown out this morning from Arusha. They were on their honeymoon and since their entire group backed out they basically were on a private safari. Apparently, they saw some Cheetah today, so they're out there.

Tomorrow is the hot air balloon flight for the 8 folks that booked it, so Angela and Michele and Bill and Nancy and me will ride with someone in the morning before meeting up with the ballooners at the Serengeti Tourist Center. Jambo Jambo for the ballooners is 4:30 (ouch!), but our wakeup is our usual 6:30.

Velia finally got to see her Maasai village

The "envelope ceremony" this morning was no less awkward than the other day in Tarangire. Just wanted to get that out there.

We rode in Kumbi's rover with Velia and Naomi. Angela and Michele have been chatting them up at dinner the last couple nights and I think they'd been looking forward to riding with them.

John didn't lie, the drive was awful. The roads, such as they are, were horrible: ruts, washboards, dust, etc. We made a short stop for fuel and headed down from the crater on the west side. From the get go, Velia was trying to angle for a visit into one of the Maasai bomas that we saw as we descended into the high plains of the Serengeti; asking Kumbi what it would take and whether it was possible and how it would work.

Our visit to Oldupai Gorge was one of the highlights of the whole trip so far, honestly. Apparently, "Olduvai" is a typo that goes back to the original German colony of Tanganyika and the first researchers there, and the gorge is actually named for the Oldupai cactus that grows there. It's amazing to me that almost every major step in human evolution can be traced back to that place. It's very humbling.

I guess Velia wore Kumbi down, because after we left the museum, he drove us to a village where he knew the chief's eldest son. He said that if he were there, then Velia should be able to get her village visit. Lucky for her he was there, and after some negotiations between him and Kumbi, she was declared our jeep's delegate and was given the royal treatment. Kumbi parked the rover in the shade of a tree and we were able to sort of watch out of the back. They sang for her, did a dance, then led her into the enclosed part of the boma where she met with the villagers and saw their huts and whatnot. After 30 or so minutes, she came out very excited that everyone was now allowed to go in and see the workshop where the women make their beaded crafts. Naomi, Michele, and Angela could not pass up an opportunity to buy more stuff. It was just me in the jeep at that point for 15 or 20 minutes, watching the Maasai men talk about me, while all the women got their shop on.

By this point, we were at least an hour behind the other rovers and Kumbi raced down the road to catch up since our boxed lunches were distributed among all the jeeps and our lunches might not have been in Kumbi's jeep. We caught up to the rest of the group at the Naabi gate at the south end of the Serengeti National Park, but everyone had already eaten and we had to wolf down our lunches. I guess the detour was worth it since Velia got to experience something that she really wanted to and we didn't really miss anything.

Reunited, we entered the Serengeti National Park, which is larger than the state of Connecticut. This part of the park truly lives up to the meaning (the land that flows on forever); short grass plains as far as the eye can see in every direction. We were slightly held up by one of the classic Serengeti scenes: the long single file line of Wildebeest going across our path. They appeared to be treating the road as a river and leaping from the edge of the road into to the river and being somewhat surprised that there wasn't any water. Kumbi laughed a little. I think he doesn't "respect" the "Beesties" very much because they're so stupid. Oddly enough, we had a fairly close lion encounter as we rolled up on 3 lions chilling out under the only tree we could see, which happened to be right next to the road; almost as though it were planted there for our benefit.

We drove north past the Seronera river and into the "central Serengeti, where the wildlife got a little denser. This landscape was more wooded and criscrossed with watering holes and shallow stream valleys. It was obvious how much greener this area was than the extreme southern part. We didn't do too much hardcore viewing since our camp was still an hour away (did I mention that the Serengeti is huge?), but we did see some elephants. Our "Central Serengeti" camp isn't actually in the park; but rather in a game reserve called "Ikorongo." We exited the park at the "Ikoma Gate" and about 30 minutes later we were in the camp. Japhet, our very friendly camp manager, introduced the camp crew and we went through the now familiar welcome ceremony with our wet towels and cold juice and tent assignments. For the third camp in a row, our tent was at the end of the line. Our guards at this camp are from a local village and instead of assault rifles or spears use bows and arrows.

This camp is clearly way more permanent than the other 2 we've stayed at, as the dining, bar, and lounge areas are under a permanent thatched roof with a flagstone floor. I suspect that's because we're not in a national park or conservancy but rather in a private concession so Thomson doesn't have to worry about renewing their campsite on a year to year basis. The tents are still temporary though, and are broken down during the rainy season and taken back to Arusha for maintenance.

I'll tell you; I've been really disappointed with the stars. I came here really excited about getting some pictures of the Milky Way and maybe some star trail photos. There is zero external light pollution here, and we're at over 5000ft ASL, and the air is supposed to be very clear, so perfect conditions. However, the moon has been so bright, and there have been high clouds almost every night blurring the view to boot, that I'm afraid my dreams of that are going to go unfulfilled. Too bad, too, because I am lugging my full size carbon fiber tripod all over Africa for that chance.

Rhinos in the crater

Today was a great day (again). We didn't hear anything romping around the camp last night (except our Maasai protectors, but they don't count). The 5:30 Jambo Jambo came very early, but as we were both already awake it wasn't so bad.

We were the last to leave the camp after breakfast, but the first down to the crater floor (not sure how that happened). We rode in Leonard's jeep again today (since yesterday's transit didn't really count) with Richard and Sylvia from Vancouver. Sadly, Sylvia forgot to bring the right battery pack for her camera and has had to resort to taking pictures with her iPad.

The drive into the crater was spectacular. Even from the overlook yesterday viewing it in all of its splendor, you just can't get a good feel for how huge it is until you get to the floor. You feel like you can see all the way across, even though it's over 10 miles from one side to the other so you can't realistically see anything on the other side.

Our first animal encounter of the day was with a small herd of cape buffalo. They're mean looking. They'll just stare right at you as you drive past like they're daring you to make some sort of move on them. We saw our first hyenas next, and then a small jackal. Leonard spotted more hyena looking very "hunty" a bit off, so we moved to see what they might be interested in. They were harassing another herd of buffalo and what started out as a couple curious hyenas turned into 9 of them looking very interested in trying to pick off a baby or weakling. It was not to be, however, as the herd of buffalo were able to move away fast enough and leave enough of a "rear guard" to dissuade the hyena from making a serious go of it. It turns out that this same pack of hyenas were able to kill and eat a serval kit just before we got to them.

While we were tracking this aborted "hunt," Leonard was keeping tabs on a gathering of jeeps down by small creek. We hear him say "there's a lion over there" and immediately make our way over there. Leonard takes the long way to cross the creek so he can get us a better/closer view of them (since we really haven't had a close lion encounter yet). Leonard's move paid off and we were rewarded with 2 lions just sitting in the middle of a crossroads with not a care in the world. Out of the tall grass popped the heads of 3 other young lions and there were even more in the trees closer to the stream. A veritable pride o' lions! We sat and stared at them doing basically nothing for a good 20 minutes before deciding to move on.

One animal that I really wanted to see in the wild is the Black Rhinoceros. They are very rare and there are about 20-25 resident in the crater. Seeing one at all is not a guarantee, let alone seeing one up close, so when Leonard calmly declared that he saw not one but 2 rhinos laying down, we all got very excited. Forget the Eland that we saw, or our first Zebras, or all of the Thomson's and Grant's Gazelles and wildebeest. There were 2 rhinos laying down 600 yards away! Even through the binoculars they just looked like a giant gray lump. No one else in the crater noticed them, so for the time being we had them all to ourselves; at least until we moved on to watch the mating dance between 2 lions, and see our first hippos!

The hippos were all in a big pool (as they are wont to do in the daytime), but we couldn't get too close. Leonard assured me that we would be able to get close enough to see, hear, and smell them when we got to the Serengeti, so I just watched them through my telephoto lens.

The lion mating ritual was fascinating and boring all at the same time. The female was obviously playing very hard to get and the male was getting frustrated. We saw them tussle a few times, then lay back down (but a little closer together), then separate, then tussle some more. All of this under the watchful eye of the male's brothers; keeping tabs from a safe distance to see if the female would just out and out rebuff the alpha male's advances and give them a chance. After giving them a chance to make whoopie, the ladies among us had to disengage for a visit to the toilet. It's a testament to the size of the crater how long it took us to get to the nearest one.

On the way, we spotted a Zebra that survived a lion attack, but just barely, and her foal. Lions attempt to bring down their prey by grasping with both front paws at their victim's hind quarters and dragging them down before clamping onto the throat and suffocating them; and her hind quarters were shredded and bleeding pretty badly. She must have barely escaped. Leonard didn't think that she would survive very long with those injuries. Not sure what that bodes for the baby, but I'll bet that Zebras aren't as social as Elephants.

After the pit stop, at which we were gently accosted by some Maasai teenagers, we rejoined the pair of lions doing their dance, but this time they were on the other side of the road and had been noticed by seemingly every other guide in the crater. We watched again for another half hour or so to see if they would at least get to third base, but in the end, the female tired of the male's prodding and walked off. No sexy time today.

The rest of the morning was spent driving to our picnic spot. By now the rhinos were up and munching away on the grass, so we were able to actually "see" them. Lunch was another prepared picnic at basically the only picnic spot in the whole crater. There must have been 30 safari vehicles parked on the shore of a large hippo pond. We didn't get a great parking spot, but Leonard, John and Kumbi sort of circled the wagons to give us some privacy. The birds were a trip and there were probably 5 or so incidents of bird-related lunch theft while we ate.

In the afternoon, we drove through the woodland areas in the crater looking for Leopards. No luck, but we did see a whole bunch of baboons. We even saw the little SUV from yesterday that got violated. I'm pretty sure that they had their windows closed this time. We drove through a small herd of Wildebeest, complete with babies, but Leonard asked us to no be too impressed. We saw another rhino, too, from a little closer than the others, but still quite far away. The sighting of the afternoon, however, was a lone hippo sauntering towards a small pool. This, in itself was not noteworthy (except watching an animal so large and ungainly walking out of the water without crushing its legs), but the oxpecker on its front shoulder picking the ticks and other bugs out of its skin made the scene.

With our 5:30 wakeup, it was a very long day in the crater and we were all ready to get back to camp and get cleaned up. Tonight we had what was described as traditional Tanzanian cuisine, but it didn't seem too exotic. Some roasted local root vegetables, like cassava; ugali (which is a polenta like corn-based dish); stewed lamb and beef; and eggplant.

John warned us that the drive to the Serengeti tomorrow will be long and arduous; over unpaved roads the whole way. I am looking forward to our brief stop at Oldupai (not Olduvai as generally thought) Gorge.

Gibb's Farm is really nice

There were elephants in the camp last night. I repeat, there were elephants in the camp last night. Everybody heard them, they were trumpeting and growling and making a general commotion in the back of the camp. Apparently, they were very close to the kitchen and staff tents. I didn't hear any AK47 shots ring out, so they obviously didn't present any sort of real danger, so maybe the staff was able to shoo them away peacefully.

Our departure from the Tarangire camp included a somewhat awkward "tip ceremony" where we all said our "Thank You"s and "Goodbyes" to the camp staff while handing over a bright orange manilla envelope containing our tips for the staff. I understand tipping hotel and service staff for a job well done (and they did their jobs very well), but the very obvious way in which the tips were presented just seemed a little patronizing. Why not have a big jar at the bar where everyone could drop their envelopes? Or maybe just leave them in our tents? Do they not trust the staff enough to bring all the envelopes to the camp manager for distribution? Honestly, I just wish the gratuity had been included in the total price; either implicitly or explicitly on a daily basis like they do on cruises.

Prior to departure, and before the tip ceremony, Michele and Angela got a private "behind the scenes" tour of the camp's service area, including the kitchen, laundry, and other staff-only areas. They came away well and truly impressed with what these guys are able to do with such limited resources.

Since we hadn't ridden in Leonard's jeep yet, we decided to ride with him for the trip up to Ngorongoro. Again, it was the 3 of us and Karan and Scott. I think tomorrow we'll pair up with some other guests when we go down to the crater. We did a short "game drive" on our way out of the crater and came across a large gathering of various animals: impala, baboon (our first glimpse of baboons) and some waterbuck. It was very interesting to see all these different animals just existing so peacefully together. Until today, we had seen groups of animals of the same species together, but not a large group of so many different kinds. The baby baboons were adorable. They were swinging around on the low branches; climbing all over their parents or older siblings, doing what kids like to do. Through my lens, I could see their faces and I swear they were looking at me with the same level of curiosity as I had looking at them.

A quick potty break at the main gate, and we were back on the road to our next camp. The Rift Valley escarpment loomed over us all the way there and as we passed "Mosquito Creek" (nee "Mto wa Mbu") we started up hill. The escarpment is an almost 2000 foot high cliff. Our first stop on the way to Ngorongoro was the "Rift Valley" store; much like the "Cultural Heritage" store in Arusha. Apparently, in order to keep their tour operator status in Tanzania, companies like Thomson have to make at least 2 stops at shops like these. The deals aren't as good as buying direct from the artist, but shops like these are sources of employment for local residents as well as badly needed tax revenue to the country.

We spent the better part of an hour here as the group bought even more stuff. After some deliberating and negotiating, Angela and I wound up buying an ebony carving of a lioness with cubs, a beautiful coptic cross from Ethiopia, and some smaller chotchkys like a mask carving that we'll use as a Christmas ornament and a small ebony elephant carving. I'm not sure we got the best deal possible, but we did get them to come off the "sticker price" on the cross and lion and to throw in the small stuff and waive the credit card processing fee. In all, what we got was cheaper than the whale bone carving we bought in Ketchikan.

John gave us the "mount up" signal so we all loaded up into our respective jeeps and made for lunch at Gibb's Farm. Not 2 minutes down the road, Angela and Michele came to the realization that if they were going to get any Tanzanite, that was probably their last chance. As luck would have it, Leonard has a small tanzanite mine and provides stones to this particular shop and he offered to help broker a sale if they found something they liked. Karan and Scott were OK with going back, so we turned around and headed back. Kumbi was behind us and I could see his puzzled look as we passed him going the other way.

I'm sure the folks in the shop were surprised (and pleased) to see Angela and Michele walk back in, but maybe not as much with Leonard in tow. After about 15 minutes, everyone emerged from the shop (Scott, too. Apparently he pulled the trigger on a warthog carving that caught his eye the first time around) looking very satisfied. I don't know how good the deal is that Leonard got for us, but I do know how much they paid for the Tanzanite they bought and it was definitely not cheap. Angela said that Leonard was able to get them a significant discount. Whatever, you only live once.

Gibb's Farm is amazing! What an oasis here. The grounds are beautiful. We were obviously late for lunch, but there was plenty left, and it was delicious. And the cold beer tasted so good! All the food they serve is grown on their own small farm, including the meats. All the coffee they serve is grown and roasted in house. After lunch we had a brief walking tour of their garden and then a little time to look in their small gift shop. Next stop: Ngorongoro.

We all had to stop at the main gate while John signed us in and paid the group's entry fee. Leonard warned us to not get out of the jeep until he gave the all-clear and to make sure that all windows were shut and latched and that we got out of the jeep on the right-hand side. "Why?" we wondered. We were not standing around for 2 minutes before we got our answer when a large baboon came jumping out of a tree, shot right past me, and into the open window of a small SUV that had parked right next to our jeep! The occupants of the jeep, who had been registering for their entrance into the park, freaked out and were waving and yelling and poking and prodding to try to get the monkey out. After what seemed like a long time, but was probably only like 20 or 30 seconds, they were able to shoo the baboon away, but not before he had wreaked havoc in the back seat of their jeep. I don't think he relieved himself, but he defintely made a mess. All of the professional safari guides admonished quite strongly the owner/guide who allowed his guests to leave their windows down in the parking lot. Drama!

Our first view of the crater floor was from a large scenic overlook. Holy Crap! It was massive, and spectacular. We could see specks of brown on the crater floor that upon closer inspection was a herd of cape buffalo. Kumbi spotted a couple solitary bull elephants. It's 10 miles across, and the rim is completely unbroken. After our requisite ooh'ing and ahh'ing (and bathroom breaks), we loaded back up for the 30 or so minute drive to our home for the next couple nights.

The Ngorongoro camp is nestled under a canopy of "Acacia Lahai" trees and you can feel the extra humidity. I'm not sure we'll have as many animal encounters in the camp as we did in Tarangire, but Leonard said that there are plenty of elephants and lions and leopards (and even rhinos) that live up on the crater rim, so maybe... (fingers crossed). We met the camp staff (including our Maasai warrior protectors) and proceeded to our tents. We're on the end of the line again, so we have some privacy at least on one side.

At dinner John said that "Jambo Jambo" tomorrow is at 5:30 so we can get into the crater before everyone else. It's a good thing that I am up almost every day now at 5:30 anyway. Oh, and there were hot water bottles in our beds when we got back from dinner.

Horses have nothing on elephants.

I'm pretty sure I heard hyenas last night; based on John's rendition of their calls. I might have heard a lion roar, but it could have also been someone snoring in another tent. I'm also pretty sure that I heard elephants trumpeting at some point, too.

We were asleep by 9pm last night. I'm still suffering from some jet lag, and I think our circadian rhythms are changing to adapt to the lack of light and other stimuli out here in the bush. The downside of being asleep so early is that we got up really early, too, like around 5 or 5:30. We got to hear the natural wakeup call with the bugs and birds sensing the arrival of the sunrise and the tent got brighter and brighter. Since our tent is kind of private (we're the 2nd to last tent and have some dense acacia bushes between us and our neighbors), we had all of our flaps open to encourage a nice breeze through the tent.

Unlike dinner, breakfast is buffet-style with a small selection of cereals, porridge, fresh fruit, bacon (I think pork bacon), and crepes. Once we sat down, some of the camp staff came around asking how we would like our eggs. "Cheese omelette, please" I said. There's so much food that I might actually gain weight on this trip.

Today we decided to ride in Kumbi's jeep and Scott and Karan decided the same thing. Eventually we'll ride with some of the other guests, but there's lots of game drives yet to go.

From the get-go, it was apparent that Kumbi has an eagle eye, especially for birds. It has also become apparent that we are already desensitized to certain animals that we see, like the ubiquitous Impala or the slightly less ubiquitous Warthog (or "warty" or "pumba"). How long before we are not impressed by hardly anything?

In general the day was amazing. The first half of the day we spent following the course of the Tarangire river; since eventually every animal in the park will make its way to water and the Tarangire river is the primary source of fresh water here. Kumbi spotted a pair of "dik dik"s resting/hiding in the shade of an acacia bush. They're so small and cute, like you could take one home as a pet. Full grown they're only about 12" high at the shoulder. We spent a few minutes or so watching a couple ostriches. Such weird looking birds. We saw an old elephant carcass; just skin and bleached out bones.

We saw another lion today, too. It was a young male who was resting behind a rock when he was spooked by the arrival of a family of elephants coming down to the river. He headed out back towards the woods Angela was beside herself with this family because there was a very tiny baby in their number. Very tiny as in less than 2 weeks old (according to Kumbi). He or she was so adorable. When the little babies run to catch up their ears flare out and flap and they have to hold their little trunks up to keep from tripping over them. It's so amazing to see the females take so much care of the babies in the family, and not just the baby's mother. In the elephant world, it really is a village raising the children. We followed this family down the river to a wider part of the river where several other families were converging. There might have been 50 or so elephants there.

By this time, we'd been out for a couple hours and it was time to take a bio-break. There was a picnic area up on a ridge overlooking this part of the river, so everyone was able to do their business (in a very nice bathroom, by the way) and we were able to get a nice look at the section of the river where we just came from.

Activity down at the river was increasing as everyone was coming down for a nice refreshing bath in the cool water, so we went back down to get in the middle of the action and maybe have some more close elephant encounters. We saw tons of cool behavior from the elephants. We saw juvenile males fighting a little bit to establish their position in the mating pecking order. We saw two other "ellies" in what looked like sexy-time, but it turned out to be 2 adolescent males "play mating" (not that there's anything wrong with it). That was a strange sight, especially considering that the "receiver" didn't seem to mind too much being mounted and almost violated. For the record, the phrase should officially change to "hung like an elephant."

Sadly, we couldn't stay and watch these elephants interact forever. It was time to head to our picnic spot for lunch. On the way there, and while we were watching a vervet monkey, the monkey started raising the predator alarm. All of the impala in the area took heed, and Kumbi peered into the distance in the direction that the monkey was looking. We waited with bated breath for 10 minutes, all looking downrange for the signs of leopard or lion or cheetah. Nothing; not real sure what the monkey was barking about (maybe it was us?), so we proceeded to our picnic spot overlooking the Tarangire Swamp. What a different landscape this was! No trees; just lush green marsh grass.

Lunch was so much more than a picnic lunch. John, Leonard, and Kumbi brought out the picnic boxes full of real plates and silverware and tins of food that was prepared back at the camp I guess this morning. There was fresh fruit, grilled beef, grilled vegetables like cassava and carrots, and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

We spent the remainder of the day watching the elephants down by the swamp. We (and by "we" I mean just the 5 of us city folk in the jeep, not Kumbi) had a nervous couple minutes when an adolescent male elephant made like he was going to charge the rover a couple times. He would trumpet; growl a little; flare his ears out; and then back down before deciding that he'd rather eat some grass.

One thing we noticed that was funny is how the elephants would scrape off the dried mud after they were through wallowing. They'd find a nice fallen tree or large trunk and just rub against it until they had scraped it all off. They would straddle low limbs to scrape the mud off their bellies; would rub their hind quarters back and forth. Eventually we were able to spot the popular "scratching posts" by looking for tree trunks that had been rubbed smooth.

We had another "Hakuna Matata" celebration at dinner as a new safari group that arrived today was celebrating a birthday in their group. Apparently 3 of them were repeat Thomson guests and there was quite a reunion between them and John and Leonard. Evidently, They were doing a short safari after a Kili trek. One of them didn't make it all the way to the top, and she was clearly disappointed, but the other 4 travelers had all made it up.

Tomorrow we're heading out from Tarangire to the Ngorongoro Crater by way of Gibb's Farm for lunch and some other cooperative gift shop for more shopping. "Jambo Jambo" is at 6:30, breakfast at 7, and departure at 8.

What a great day. Sad that we didn't see more predators, but the elephants were amazing. Karan's "ledger" had us seeing over 40 different species of animals today. It's mostly birds, but damn!

Tse Tse flies are the devil

The day has finally arrived when we set out on our safari. Side note: in Swahili, safari just means "journey," so we've been on our safari since Friday when we left for the airport. Anyway, after another amazing al fresco breakfast, we joined the rest of our safari group at a large table for our safari briefing. John, our head guide whom we met last night, sat at the head of the large table and gave us the general rundown of how the next 8 days would go. He handed out nice maps of northern Tanzania for reference; mentioned the general daily schedule, how the camps worked, how the game drives would work, etc.

We went around the table and everyone introduced themselves: there's Richard and Sylvia from Vancouver, Naomi and Velia (2 old friends) from the Bay area, Roland and Sharon from San Diego, Bill and Nancy from Oklahoma City, Scott and Karan from Houston, and the 3 of us. It turns out that Richard and Sylvia were on their 40th anniversary and the trip was a total surprise for Sylvia. She didn't know anything of where they were going (except to "pack for warm weather") until they got to Amsterdam and were boarding the plane to Kilimanjaro. Bold move, Richard. Bold move. Next stop: Tarangire National Park via the aforementioned Cultural Heritage Center.

For the drive to Tarangire, we rode in John's rover with Scott and Karan. None of what we saw on the way to the cultural center was new to us, since we were just there yesterday, but for Scott and Karan it was eye opening. They spent all day yesterday at the Rivertrees and drove in at night like we did so they hadn't really seen any of what shocked us so much. Seeing the goats and cows tied up along the side of the road grazing; the shanty-towns; etc. I could see their faces and it was exactly like what I imagine my face looked like yesterday.

We didn't really have anything to do at the cultural center since we'd spent a couple hours there yesterday. Of course, Angela and Michele can always find some new trinket to look at, but I was pretty bored. We were there for an hour or so (while the guides took the jeeps back to the Thomson office to offload bags that people wanted to store while we were in the bush) and then got the word to mount up and move out.

The drive to Tarangire was pleasant. As we got out of Arusha we saw less of the shantytowns and more pastoral scenes featuring the boma clusters of the Maasai and young Maasai men and boys watching over their family's herds of goats and cattle as they grazed. We would pass the occasional cluster of more permanent buildings that would bring us back to the reality of daily life here.

We stopped for a picnic lunch at the main gate of Tarangire National Park. The Rivertrees had packed us very nice boxed lunches that we enjoyed in the company of a whole bunch of hungry birds and other groups of safari-goers. John implored us to "deet up" because besides the birds and elephants, Tarangire is known for Tse Tse flies. We could see the fly traps (large sheets of dark blue and black cloth impregnated with insecticide) all over the gate area.

Our drive in to the nyumba camp was our first exposure to "safari." Almost immediately we saw "wildlife" in the form of Impala, Warthogs, a lone Cape Buffalo, Giraffes, and Elephants, some lions (yes lions), and some of the birds for which Tarangire is famous.

The first lion sighting of the safari (we're now at 3/5 of the "big 5," by the way, after only our first half-day in the bush) was while we were watching some elephants on the far side of the Tarangire river. There were 2, one adult female and an adolescent, laying on the river bank licking each other. They were a couple hundred yards away, so not really close and almost too far for a good photograph, but they were there and they were real.

Our elephant encounter was pretty amazing. A family of elephants was grazing along the road (and by "road," I mean dirt track) as we passed by. Of course, we all stopped since this was our first close encounter with these magnificent animals. There was a variety of ages represented; from small babies less than 6 months old to fully mature females. As we were watching them do their thing on the side of the road, the matriarch of the group decided they were going to cross the road right in front of us. Some of these elephants were less than 10 feet away! They just walked right on past like they owned the joint. And they kind of do.

We were all pretty high from our close encounter that we barely noticed all of the flies. As we made our way to camp, the flies got worse and worse. John was flailing at them with both hands. There were some fly swatters in the seat back pockets, so we all got into the act of trying to keep the flies off. John was so violent that we asked him if he was allergic to Tse Tse fly bites. "No," he said, "but these flies are the devil."

We were welcomed at the camp by the entire staff with cold, damp towels and fresh passion fruit juice. John, the camp manager, introduced everyone, including the park ranger/guard and his AK47, to us. All of our duffels were spread out on a tarp and when John gave us our tent assignments, we pointed to our bags and they were taken to our tents. Since this is our first camp, John gave us demonstrations of how the toilets and showers work; how they don't refresh the shower water after dark so we have to take our showers between returning from our drives and dinner; how the dining tent works (we have to wash our hands in a sort of "ceremony" they affectionately call "washy washy"); and how the bar works.

The camp itself is located in the western part of the park nestled in among the Baobab trees. Our tents are very large, with a front "patio" that has 2 chairs and table; a large sleeping room with solar powered LED lighting; and a spacious bathroom/dressing area that's divided from the living area. There is a large vanity with 2 vessel sinks and pitchers with wash water and bottles for drinking water and behind that on the left is the toilet and on the right is the shower with a teak lattice "floor."

We had barely gotten to our tent that we heard from out back "First shower ready!" That was our cue that they had loaded our camp shower with hot water and it was time for someone to get cleaned up. Navy showers, here, folks, since we only have 10 gallons of water with which to get clean. The camp staff must be hanging out behind the tent waiting to hear for signs that you're done, and then they ask "ready for second shower?" When you say "ready" they lower the water tank and refill it and announce "second shower ready!" Angela used most of her allocation, but I had enough to use my leftover water to rinse out our laundry. 10 gallons is apparently a fair amount of water. Not sure how it will work out when Angela washes her hair. She might have to use some of my "second shower" water.

Dinner is at 7 and everyone at the camp eats together and everyone eats the same stuff; unless you've made prior arrangements with Thomson. There was a group finishing up their safari in the lounge tent after I got cleaned up so they shared some of their camp wisdom and the interesting things they'd seen on their way here from the Serengeti. Can I just say that a cold beer in the middle of the bush tastes so much better than that same cold beer in a bar or on your couch?

Dinner was delicious. The camp manager reads off the night's menu once everyone is seated and then guys come around with dishes serving soup (pumpkin), then the main course, then dessert. Tonight's dessert was announced as baobab fruit tart, but when it was time for dessert we were treated to the entire staff singing "hakuna matata" with cakes for Karan and Scott and Richard and Sylvia to celebrate their 30th and 40th anniversaries respectively. Nice touch, guys.

After dinner, John, who was sitting at the end of the table, announced the plans for the next day. Wakeup (or "Jambo Jambo") at 6:30, breakfast at 7, game viewing at 7:45 or so. By this time, we were all pretty beat (and it was only 8:30) so everyone retired to their tents. I am excited about what we might hear tonight; or what might mosey through the camp tonight.

Is getting peed on by a monkey good luck?

Let me get this out there: I will never be able to adequately describe the poverty that I saw today. Pictures can't do it justice, either.

We awoke to perfect weather and monkeys playing around in the trees outside our rooms. Apparently, there are several monkeys that live here on the grounds; some black faced vervet monkeys and some black and white colobus monkeys. They're supposedly not too mischievous, but we were warned last night about leaving shiny things unattended outside our rooms.

Breakfast was delicious; fresh tropical fruits, eggs (with white yolks), fresh breads, bacon and/or sausage (pork bacon and sausage, that is). We ate while watching the colobus monkeys do gymnastics in the branches above us and wondering if they ever get the urge to "bomb" al fresco diners.

Kumbi was waiting for us in the reception area, and I introduced myself (sadly, I forgot what his name was, so I just introduced myself and allowed him to introduce himself. I'm absolutely terrible with names). After getting our box lunches packed up, we loaded onto the jeep and set out. Kumbi told us that he's been working with Thomson for over 20 years. As an aside, this is one reason why I chose Thomson: their lack of turnover in key positions.

Our drive to Ilkiding'a took almost an hour and we got to see some of what we missed last night. The drive started out OK, but as we got closer to Arusha, the signs of poverty began to creep in: shanty-town "neighborhoods;" trash everywhere; emaciated stray dogs; cows and goats grazing on the side of the road. When we pulled off the main road and headed up the slopes of Mt. Meru, it got even worse: the pavement gave way to dirt; people carting their water jugs to the central well to fill up to take back to their homes; even more trash; open sewage ditches on the side of the dirt road to carry rainwater, wastewater, and whatever else downhill.

By the time we got up to the village, I think we were all feeling more than a little out of place: definitely not in Kansas anymore. Here we were: 3 "rich white folks" being driven in a bright white Land Rover Defender through some of the worst poverty any of us had ever seen. Maybe my feelings were unfounded, but I imagined those folks watching us drive by and secretly blaming our existence for their situation. We almost got stranded when we got a flat in our left rear tire going over a particularly sharp rock. Thankfully, Kumbi made it to our destination on the flat tire and was able to change it while we were shown around the village.

Our first stop in the village was a small daycare/kindergarten school room taught by a volunteer who introduced herself to us as "Joyce." Most of the kids in there were orphans and she spent every morning trying to teach them basic numbers, colors, words, parts of the body, etc. in Maasai, Swahili, and English. The kids were all so cute and innocent, and it was heartbreaking to know that they have basically been sentenced to this life.

We met our guide for the day, Eli (his real name is much longer), and he showed us their "guestbook" and their little craft "store" where the women in the village sell their beaded jewelry. The "usual" program of activities involves a light hike through the fields to the other parts of the village, but Michele's balky knee put paid to that idea and Kumbi wound up driving us.

We visited with several people in the village; from women drying corn and beans to a guy who fashions Maasai knives from scrap metal and wood handles; to the little kids all over the village. We were able to go into some of their "boma" huts to see what their living quarters are like. It's a completely different lifestyle, that's for sure; totally subsistence based. I did hear a radio playing something, and some of the huts had a single electric light bulb in the main room, powered by solar cells almost certainly donated and installed by some western charity. Everybody was very friendly, but they're somewhat used to visitors since this village is a sort of living museum.

After visiting with these people and seeing how they live, I hope I never complain about some minor problem in my life; like my satellite TV going out in a rain storm, or my cell phone dropping a call, or even car trouble or my washing machine giving up the ghost. We sat with Eli and had some mint tea and decided that it was time to go. It was almost lunch time, but none of us wanted to eat our nice boxed lunches here and appear to be flaunting our bounty, so we packed up the rover and headed to this place called the Cultural Heritage center where the girls could get their shop on.

The cultural heritage center was very nice. The drive there went deeper into Arusha and we were able to get more of a feel for what African "city life" is like, but I don't think we ever really got into the heart of Arusha, so maybe it's more like a normal city than what we saw. It's hard to tell. There was so much stuff available; all from local villages or artists. Angela and Michele were interested in the tanzanite, and I was looking at the paintings. The tanzanite proved to be way more expensive than we expected. Michele had arrived thinking that there are places where she could get large stones for almost nothing, but the retail prices are very "diamond-esque," even after trying to haggle. We settled for some nice paintings that will make good additions to our home's "gallery" and after Kumbi returned from the Thomson office with a new spare, we mounted up and returned to the Rivertrees for a relaxing afternoon.

Once back, Angela and I decided to sit on the deck down by the river and enjoy a cold Kilimanjaro beer and watch the monkeys play in the trees. We met one of our fellow Thomson travelers, Scott from Houston, and introduced ourselves. He and his wife arrived from Amsterdam last night, but just hung around the Rivertrees all day today. As we were making small talk, I noticed rain drops falling on the deck, only there wasn't really a cloud in the sky. Turns out, one of the resident vervet monkeys had, in fact, targeted Scott's head for a shower. We all got a very good laugh out of that and wondered if getting peed on by a monkey in Africa was good luck like getting pooped on by the pigeons in St. Peter's square in Rome. Needless to say, Scott retired to his room to get cleaned up.

It was then that the commotion started. Rivertrees staff raced from their posts to the river and we could hear shouting in the woods. One of the waiters kindly asked us to repair to the restaurant area because someone had attempted to steal a motorcycle and stabbed the owner and the perp was loose in the woods by the river. We had noticed guys on the other side of the river (one of whom was wearing a motorcycle helmet) before the monkey peeing incident but brushed it off as "normal." Over the next hour or so we heard much shouting and yelling punctuated by 2 shotgun blasts and saw numerous people going down to the river and coming back. Angela had gone over to the small gift shop to look at what was there and was talking to the receptionist about why she didn't want to join in all the fun (discrection is the better part of valor everywhere, it turns out), and while they were chatting saw the perp being dragged out toward the road face down by 4 guys. We were saved!

We wound up having dinner with Scott and his wife, Karan, and chatted with them for a good while. We learned about their 2 boys back in Texas and had a very nice evening getting to know them. If the rest of our group is like them, I think we'll have a very nice time.

Our head guide, John, dropped by the hotel on his way to the airport to pick up the rest of the group who are arriving tonight, and said that we were going to have a briefing tomorrow at 8:30 and then mount up and head out to Tarangire. I'm ready to see some wildlife.

Tanzania, finally

It only took 4 different flights and almost 20hours in airplanes, but we're finally here in Arusha, Tanzania.

Our day started with a chauffeur picking us up from our hotel in Dubai and shuttling us over to the airport. The woman at the Emirates business class checkin desk looked a little perturbed that Angela and I dared to check in with Michele, but she let us do it "just this once." Joke's on her.

Michele repaired to the business class lounge while Angela and I searched for breakfast. Aha! McDonalds! Chicken sausage McMuffins and hash browns. Score!

Our flight from Dubai to Dar es Salaam was uneventful to the point that I don't even remember who sat in our row. We had some kind of Indian-ish lunch that was excellent and 5.5hrs after we took off we landed in Dar es Salaam staring at a 4 hour layover until our Fastjet flight to Kilimanjaro at 7:30.

The airport at DAR was an experience like I've never had before. It's clearly a small airport that's trying to "act" big. We got our visas and luggage within 30 minutes of landing (it was hot as hades in the arrivals lounge), but the airport is such that we couldn't check in to our Kili flight until 6pm. We were approached by a guy offering to store our bags while we went upstairs to the one and only restaurant/bar in the airport (called the Flamingo Cafe) to wait for our appointed checkin time. While I was waiting for him to fill out a claim check/receipt , the red flags immediately began flying for Angela and Michele and they went to seek out an "official" to acknowledge that this guy was legit. Turns out he was, so we went upstairs to enjoy the pitifully inadequate air conditioning and almost cold cokes.

The Fastjet checkin process was less than efficient as I had to have my credit card "verified" at a different desk than the one processing the checked bags. The ticketing/bag check room was completely chaotic. We had to x-ray our bags ourselves; weigh them ourselves; practically tag them ourselves. All was well, however, and we made it up to the departure lounge to wait for our flight.

It was a quick flight up to Kilimanjaro (on a very nice and clean Airbus A320) and after picking up our bags we were met outside by one of our Thomson guides for our safari, Leonard Temba. It was pretty dark, so we couldn't really see anything on our 40 or so minute drive to the Rivertrees, our home for the next 2 nights before we head out to Tarangire, but Leonard did point out where the tanzanite mines are (we could see the lights). I also noticed many people walking alone on the shoulders of these very dark, unlit streets. I wonder how many pedestrian deaths there are here?

The Rivertrees is amazing. I have no idea what Arusha looks like outside of the property (I suspect it's pretty rough around the edges), but this place is amazing. The grounds, even in the dark, are very impressive. We were welcomed by several of the staff and shown to our rooms, which are very nice; if a little rustic. No air conditioning, but it's cool and dry enough that you don't really need it. Can't drink the tap water, but there's a pitcher of filtered water on the sink. The bar and restaurant are all open air with thatched roofs and a very nice outdoor area with a wood-fired oven and grill.

Speaking of the restaurant, we had some amazing wood-fired pizzas for dinner.

Leonard told us that another Thomson guide, Kumbi, would be picking us up at 8:30 or thereabouts for our day's activities: a visit to a Maasai village called Ilkiding'a and some shopping at a local market.

As I type this, Angela has burned one of her 2 toothbrushes by rinsing it out with tap water. Good thing we each brought a backup.

Who's living in all these high rises?

This was a long day. It started out with an amazing breakfast buffet in the hotel. Since our desert safari was cancelled, we had time to enjoy a slower morning. The buffet was very eclectic and varied. With Dubai being an islamic state, there is no pork on offer, so instead of pork bacon, you get veal bacon. Instead of pork sausage, you get chicken sausage. Apparently, in supermarkets there are separate "pork rooms" where westerners can buy that stuff that are isolated from the "genpop" of the rest of the meats.

Fun fact: our room has an arrow on the ceiling that points to Mecca so Muslim guests know which direction to face when it's time to pray. In that same vein, our plane yesterday had a graphic that would pop up showing where Mecca was in relation to the plane's nose.

We hopped in a cab for a ride out to the "Madinat Jumeirah." Holy Crap! Dubai is huge; way bigger than I expected. Even more amazing than how big it is (and it seems to be all situated along one main highway that parallels the coast) is how new it is. Our cabbie allowed as how most of the city is less than 15 years old. They're building like crazy; and we're not talking about small buildings, either. These are 60+ story skyscrapers they're throwing up. I can't even count how many construction cranes there are. The architecture is stunning. Every architecture school in the world should have an extension office here and offer semester fellowships for students wanting to go into commercial building design. The emir has a very high opinion of himself because his face is plastered on posters all over. I wonder how many "takes" it took for him to get his paternal gaze just right?

Madinat Jumeirah is pretty cool. It's a modern take on the "souk" with a little Venice, Italy thrown in in the form of canals that work their way across the property. There are a couple very nice hotels here; tons of small shops (no department stores); loads of restaurants; and even more tourists. However, at its heart, this is really just a mall, and those are the same wherever in the world you are. I chuckled seeing the Cinnabon stand. In fact, on the drive out from our hotel, I even spotted an Olive Garden (no Carrabba's?). Angela and Michele found a place to get some Henna, so they thumbed through the books of designs and found some. I was amazed that the woman in the shop free-handed their tattoos. No stencils for her.

Our appointment for the Burj Khalifa was for 2:30, so we hopped in another cab for the Dubai Mall (the largest in the world, evidently). It was definitely huge, no doubt. But, just a mall, with a food court, a Gap, Pottery Barn, Chili's (yes, a Chili's, with a sign in Arabic), an ice rink the size of a hockey rink, movies, etc. We found the Burj Khalifa office, picked up our tickets, and I had a Fatburger while we waited for our appointed time.

It's so tall. We were barely half way to the top (at the 124th floor) and we towered over every other building in site. The elevator only took a minute to get to the 124th floor. The view was amazing, but a little restricted thanks to all of the dust hanging in the air. The observation deck is 360 degrees, with an outdoor section that looks back towards Dubai Creek and the "old town." There were so many people up there; so much noise; so much chaos with little kids running around and their parents chasing them. It wasn't long before I was ready to get out of there.

It was at this point that Michele hit the wall and decided to take a cab back to the hotel for the rest of the day, while Angela and I decided to get on the metro and head out to the "Palm" to try to get a view of the Burj al Arab looking back at the building from the sea. It was comical how far we had to walk to get to the metro station; at least a mile down this very long jetway like tunnel. Long story short, by the time we got to the monorail that would take us to the Palm from the Dubai marina, it was getting dark and our trip out there was completely wasted. I got a couple of the "stink eye" looks from Angela because she wanted to hit the "Deira" neighborhood for the gold and spice souks and it was already almost 7 and it was going to take at least 45 minutes to get there and we hadn't had dinner yet.

It was in the Deira neighborhood that we got to experience a little of the "real" Dubai. It was a little uncomfortable at times, I must say. We got a number of odd looks since there were hardly any women on the street besides Angela (at least until we got to the gold souk). We were struck by all of the "trading companies" in this neighborhood buying and selling all manner of goods from spices to plastic bowls to blank baseball hats (like you would buy and put your own logo on) to kitchen utensils to tee shirts. You name it and they were "trading" it.

It was on our walk to the gold souk that we heard our first call to prayer from the Muezzins. They blare it out from loudspeakers mounted to the minarets of the mosques so you can't miss it if you're outside. The gold souk was out of control. I can't even describe it. There were so many gold vendors it made the Ponte Vecchio look tiny. I was accosted numerous times by guys wanting to sell me knockoff watches and handbags and every 20 feet was a board with the spot price of gold.

We were starving. There were no restaurants or shawarma stands to be found (despite our guidebook's assurances that there would be plenty to choose from), so we found guy in one of these "trading companies" that told us to go down the street to a Persian restaurant. It was a hole in the wall, but those are usually the best places. This was no different. The food was amazing: saffron rice with chicken, beef, and matan (I think "mutton") kebobs. So much food we couldn't eat it all. More weird looks from the other patrons because Angela was the only woman in this 8 seat restaurant, but the staff were very friendly, and the dinner wound up costing about $25 all in.

So these trading companies get their goods to buy and sell from these wooden cargo boats/ships called dhows that ply the Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean all the way to Malaysia and Thailand. These boats looked so rickety, I can't believe they survive the open ocean. We saw the main "dhow wharf" while waiting for a cab and there were at least 100 of these dhows tied up flotilla style.

Back in the hotel now. Michele didn't really do anything this afternoon, but she missed all the cool stuff in Deira. Her loss. We have two flights tomorrow to get to Arusha: from here to Dar es Salaam and from Dar to Kilimanjaro where we should be met by a Thomson rep to take us to the River Trees hotel. We didn't spend too much time in Dubai and I would have liked to have had another day to explore the Dubai Marina area or the Bur Dubai neighborhood across the Dubai Creek from Deira.

It's hard to put a label on Dubai. It's not a very old place, but the culture here is very old, bordering on ancient. You can see some of that in Deira. It's a huge city that's expanding at a breakneck pace. So fast that I can't imagine that all of these new buildings are even partially full. Like they're all being built on spec; and by the same development company.

I feel like I just skipped Saturday

Whew! We made it. That was fun. It's funny how things have a way of working out. By the time I left the office and got home to wait for our car, the delays into LGA were basically in the red zone to the point that I was not sure we would make our connection. So, when we got to the airport yesterday (I think it was yesterday), I tried to get us on an earlier flight to LGA that might have also been delayed so that we could get there at about the same time as originally planned. The Delta folks were awesome and they actually wound up changing our booking completely to fly direct to JFK (which had no delays, go figure). That obviously relieved all of my stress and I was able to enjoy the start of our long awaited vacation.

The flight to JFK was uneventful and we were able to check into our Emirates flight to Dubai with a couple hours to spare. Plenty of time to find a place to have a bite of dinner. We wound up having some pizza that basically just amounted to a "maintenance meal." After dinner, Michele retired to the business class lounge and we didn't see her until we landed in Dubai (since she had her own jetway).

This was my first time on an A380, and my first on Emirates as well, and the experience was first class. The food was very good (mostly Indian), the plane was roomy and light, the seats were super comfortable, the entertainment system was fantastic, and the crying babies were super annoying.

Angela sat next to a very interesting man named Max who worked for the U.N. and who was going to the Congo to work with the UN peacekeepers there who are attempting to calm down tensions between the Congo and Rwanda. His stories were interesting (although I couldn't really hear him too well because airplanes are just loud); especially the ones that involved RPG's and machine guns.

Arriving in Dubai was pretty painless. I had allowed myself to get a little stressed out over the medications that we were taking, especially the Ambien, since the UAE has very harsh penalties for bringing in certain pharmaceuticals (even if you have a prescription) without a whole bunch of supporting documentation. Well, those fears were completely unfounded since we breezed through customs with nary a sideways glance. I wish we hadn't left all that Ambien at home now. Hopefully the jet lag won't be too bad.

Unfortunately, we've experienced the first downer of the trip: our desert safari was cancelled because of a bad sand storm here the last couple days. We'll have to find something else to do tomorrow morning before our Burj Khalifa experience.

The flight was so long and the time zone difference so great that it feels like we completely skipped today. Usually, our international flights land in the morning and we have all day to do stuff and start working off some of the jet lag. Not so much this time; since it was already 9pm when we got to our hotel. It's basically going to be straight to bed for us. I think we're going to go to the "Madinat Jumeirah," a sort of modern day take on a traditional "souk" experience, in the morning.