Zanzibar Respite

The next morning, we were up for breakfast, and then met by our driver and Mussa for our tour of Zanzibar. We started off by going to the Jozani Forest, which is where we found red colobus monkeys, an endemic species to Zanzibar.












We hiked through the forest, then went on a boardwalk through the mangrove. After our tour of the forest, we went to a spice plantation and were shown around and had to guess what spices we were looking at based on smell and what they looked like. After the tour, we were given three different types of tea: lemongrass, masala, and ginger. All were made fresh from spices picked that day, and all were delicious!



After our spice tour, we headed to Stone Town for our tour of the city. We had lunch at the Serena hotel and had a beautiful view of the ocean and outlying islands, and the dhow ships sailing their passengers who hoped to catch some delicious fish.


After lunch, we headed out for our tour of the town, which used to have one of the largest slave markets in East Africa.


















After a long day of touring, we headed back to the hotel for dinner, and the bed! It sure is nice to have a room in the villa to myself so I don't have to listen to Mom snore!

The next morning was a free day to enjoy the beach, and was my day to go diving. We had breakfast, and then I went to an adjacent hotel (where the dive shop was located) and got prepared for my dives. We had two dives, and they were very nice. I saw tons of fish, eels, and an octopus! After my dives, I headed back to the hotel and we spent the afternoon on the beach (having it almost all to ourselves!). It was a glorious day of doing nothing, which was much needed after our safari and all that traveling. We had massages and then dinner by the pool.

The following day, we had until 3pm to enjoy the beach and our resort, until we had to say a sad goodbye to Zanzibar. We were taken to the airport, checked in for our flight to Nairobi, went through customs, and then waited for our flight to arrive. Two hours before we were scheduled to depart, we were called to go to the gate, so we went through security and sat in a small room with an uncomfortable amount of people. Our flight ended up being delayed by about twenty minutes, but we eventually got boarded, crammed tight like sardines in the back of the plane in a tiny seat crammed against the window, and then were off for Amsterdam! So long Africa, can't wait until we meet again!

We arrived in Amsterdam safe and sound about fifteen minutes late (arriving just before 6am). This was the first time at Schiphol that we have been met at the plane by immigration people checking our passports, and the result was a bottleneck to get out of the little chute that connects the airport to the airplane. We eventually got through there, through actual immigration, picked up our bags which were all ready on the belt, cleared customs, hopped in a cab, and got back to my apartment at about 7am. We got our bags upstairs and took a little nap (or at least Mom did) until a little past 9am. We got ready for a day of Amsterdam sightseeing, and were off! We went to the Anne Frank House, then to the Pancake Bakery (one of my favorite places to eat in Amsterdam) for lunch. We walked around the Jordaan, with its gorgeous canals and canal houses all covered in flowers for the summer. We window shopped down the Haarlemerstraat, on the way back to my apartment. Mom took another nap as I got caught up on my blog. This afternoon we plan on taking a canal cruise and then having some bitteballen while people watching on the Dam, followed by an early dinner. We did not sleep much on the plane and will be taking it easy this evening in order to hopefully catch up on our sleep!


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Location:Zanzibar, Tanzania

Nairobi to Zanzibar

We said goodbye to the Mt. Kenya Safari Club, and hopped the 35 minute flight to Nairobi. Back to the whistle and bustle of the big city! Nairobi has a population of over four million, and many of these people live in slums. We went to one such slum and visited a community that an organization called Amerishare was helping. They are sponsored by our safari company and give washable maxi pads for girls so they can go to school during their monthly cycle. For each person Micato takes on safari, they sponsor one child and pay for their school uniform and school supplies. They also have a community center where kids come to study when they are not in school, and generally give kids a safe place to be that's not on the street.

After our visit to the slum, we went to a gift shop and then checked into our hotel (the Fairmont Norfolk Hotel, the same hotel where there was the chocolate bar debacle when we checked out last time). We got checked in, and this time, they wanted to charge me for Internet. I told them I didn't have to pay last time and didn't understand why I had to this time. Eventually we got that settled, without my paying, and then we had a farewell drink with Blake and Megan (our co-travelers!) and then dinner. We said our goodbyes to one another, and then went to bed, because we had to be up the next morning at 4:30 to catch our 8am flight to Zanzibar. When we got back to the room, we noticed we hadn't had turn-down service and there were no bottles of water for us to brush our teeth with (the tap water is contaminated).

We were up at the crack of dawn, had our breakfast, and ordered a bottle of water with breakfast so we would have water to drink and brush our teeth went. We then checked out and upon check-out, I was given a bill for $10 for the bottle of water, which apparently was not included with our breakfast... Long story short: the Fairmont is a shitty hotel that will nickel-and-dime you for every little bit they can get. I will be writing a strongly-worded letter when I get home...

At any rate, we got checked out, taken to the airport, said goodbye to Dennis, waited for what seemed like an eternity in line to check in, then another eternity to get through immigration. It took even longer than it should have because people who were "late" for their flights kept getting to jump ahead of us in line. I finally said that I wouldn't let anyone come in front of me because I was being punished for getting to the airport on time, and they were being rewarded for coming at the last minute.

We finally made it through customs and had about ten minutes before our flight boarded. I can see why they made us get to the airport as early as they did as everything moved "pole pole" (Swahili for slowly). Our flight to Zanzibar took an hour and twenty minutes. We went through the cluster that was Tanzanian immigration, then waited for our bags, then met our driver and guide in Zanzibar (Mussa) who took us to our hotel for the next three nights (the Baraza Resort and Spa). The drive took an hour, but was well worth the wait. The place was beautiful and there were hardly any other guests. It was like having an island paradise all to ourselves!






Our villa was a two-bedroom apartment, with two bathrooms, a patio overlooking the garden and with the ocean in the distance, and we even and our own private plunge pool!











We had lunch, then a tour of the grounds, then I signed up for a dive and then we spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach or on our private patio next to the plunge pool. Then we had dinner and called it a nit, since we had been up since 4:30am and we are getting picked up in the morning at 9am for our tour of Zanzibar.


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Location:Zanzibar, Tanzania

From the Masai Mara to Mt. Kenya Safari Club

After our downtime, we piled into our vehicle for one final game drive in the Masai Mara. We were on a mission to see rhinos, since we had only seen them from a distance at this point and wanted to try to get some better shots of them. We headed out to the places where the rhinos are normally found, but didn't see any. We did see a giraffe that was about two or three days old, though. Dennis, our guide, said that he was able to see the umbilical cord drying up. I couldn't see it, but the giraffe was tiny!


The driver then heard something over the radio, and we took off like a bat out of hell. This was down really bad roads, and we were bumping all over the place! Eventually we saw what we were looking for: a solitary black rhino. We also saw a lilac-crested roller, which was really pretty.





Further ahead, we saw another rhino, so we got closer to it, and low and behold, that rhino had a baby with it!!!


We watched them for awhile, and then headed off towards the Mara River, where the Micato staff had set up a cocktail party for us as the sun set.





In the water were hippos! And before too long a fight had broken out between two of them!





Eventually it got dark and we headed back to the camp, but not before we had "spotted" one last leopard!


We got back to camp, had dinner, and went to bed. The next morning we got up, packed, had breakfast, and then caught our flight to the Mt. Kenya Safari Club. We got there just in time for lunch, so we checked in, had lunch, and then the rest of the day was at our leisure. The Safari Club is just a really nice hotel, but what's neat about it, is that the hotel is cut in half by the Equator! Our room is in the Southern hemisphere, and the dining room is in the Northern hemisphere! At any rate, we enjoyed an afternoon lounging about (it rained), and were just happy that we weren't jostling around in the back if a safari vehicle! Eventually we had a lovely dinner and called it a night. The next morning, we were up for breakfast at 7. I wasn't feeling 100% and was still tired, so I didn't end up going, but mom went on the horseback ride to a champagne breakfast in the bush. They had two armed guards escort them just in case they ran into trouble! When the got back, I joined them for a trip to a chimpanzee orphanage where they have over 40 orphaned chimps, but we only got to see 3 or 4 of them (the others were shy!). We then came back to the Safari Club and had the rest of the day to enjoy the hotel. We had lunch, lounged around all day (Mom had a pedicure), and then had dinner. Now we are getting ready for bed because we have to be up and packed tomorrow to head back to Nairobi. We will be sad to leave this place, because it is very nice and is a great place to relax after being on safari for two weeks!

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Location:Kenya

Masai Mara Nature Reserve Morning (Hot Air Ballooning!)

This morning we were up before 5am to be up and ready by 5:30 to go hot air ballooning at sunrise! We were picked up and driven to the take-off point. They had tea, coffee, and some cookies there as they started blowing up our balloons!





Before you knew it, we were up in the air and drifting over the African plain as the sun began to rise. It was so quiet and peaceful. There weren't many animals about, but the countryside was gorgeous!





The animals we did see, seemed scared to death of us, the poor things!





Like all good things, our hot air balloon ride came to an end, and we were greeted with a champagne breakfast in the middle of the bush!





I had the bacon waffles, that's right, bacon waffles and they were delicious. After breakfast, we had another game drive on our way back to the lodge. We stopped by the Mara River where the wildebeest are expected to make their crossing in the next couple of weeks, in hopes of seeing some early arrivers, but only saw Nile crocodiles and hippos...





We then continued driving, making our way back to the camp, and saw a few more animals on the way!!!





We made it back to the camp around noon, had a leisurely lunch under the trees watching the warthogs galavanting on the manicured lawn, and then had some downtime before our next game drive this afternoon! I can't wait to see what's next, as this is one of our last drives!

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Location:Kenya

Travel Day: From the Serengeti to the Masai Mara

This morning, we got to sleep "late", waking up at 8:15 to have breakfast and get packed up in time to leave the lodge at 10 for our flight to Kilimanjaro. The Serengeti "International" Airport, was nothing more than an open air hut and a dirt strip. The plane landed and we boarded and took the hour and fifteen minute flight to Kilimanjaro. I don't know why we flew there, or why it's called Kilimanjaro because when we arrived, the mountain was no where in sight. We deplaned, walked into the domestic arrival door, walked out of the airport, down the sidewalk and into the international departures door. We said goodbye to Gus, then entered the airport, got our boarding passes (which were nothing more than laminated bookmark-looking things), went through immigration, and then boarded our flight to Nairobi. We said goodbye (for now) to Tanzania, and flew the fifty minute flight to Nairobi, where we went through immigration, then walked to our plane to the Masai Mara. We saw Dennis, who is joining us for the rest of the trip in Kenya. We boarded our third plane of the day, and flew forty-five minutes to the Masai Mara National Reserve.





Our housing for the next two nights is the Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp. That's right, tents! We had a game drive on the way to our tents, and there were surprisingly few animals out and about, especially when compared to the other parks we have visited. We did see some lions on the way. One was being bothered by flies and was batting them away with her paw. So cute!





We got our the camp just before the sun went down and got checked in. We headed to our tent for the next two nights. It has a little patio area with a table and chairs, as well as an en suite bathroom, which includes a flushable toilet, sink, and a shower!









We then headed to the lodge for dinner and were surprised with a Masai Mara culture show, which featured dancing and singing. Mom danced with them, and I cursed not having brought my camera! We then ate a scrumptious meal and then went back to the tent and went to bed because we have a very early morning tommorrow!

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Serengeti National Park (Day of Rare Sightings)

This morning we were up for our 7:30 game drive. Shortly after getting started, we saw a very rare sight: a mother caracal and her baby.


Our guide, Gus, said that it had been five years since he's seen one, and that he's never seen a baby. A good start to the day! As we kept driving we came upon two cheetahs hunting. This, also, was a rare sight because cheetahs are normally a solitary animal, and we were told that they were likely mother and cub or siblings. Since they were about the same size, our guide said that he guessed they were siblings. They were gorgeous: so sleek and graceful!








Another highlight of the morning, and another rare sight, was a leopard with its kill dragged into a tree! The dead, dangling thing is a Thompson's gazelle carcass.


We stopped at a little hill for a bathroom break, and took in the amazing views of the Serengeti.


Continuing on, we saw some more lions and a raft (group) of hippos.





We headed back to the lodge for a late lunch, had some downtime, and then headed back out for an afternoon game drive at 4. Mom decided not to go because she was feeling tired. We were on a mission to see rhinos, but were unsuccessful in finding them. We did see thousands of gazelles, though... We eventually made our way to a large kopje where we climbed for a view at the top. When we came back down, the drivers (our drivers name was Jeremiah - he's the one on the far right; Gus, our guide, is on the far left) had set up a little "bar" for us to have a couple of drinks as we watched the sunset on the Serengeti.


We headed back to the lodge, had a quick shower, had dinner, and then it was time for bed!


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Location:Tanzania