Sunday, March3 Back to Kenya and Homeward Bound

Sunday, March 3

6:30 breakfast this morning and packing for going home.   Breakfast is almost like the staff wasn't expecting us this early.  But we don't go hungry and they get omelets going.

We head for the border about 7:15.  Traffic is kind of light.  At the border, we check out of Tanzania, and back into Kenya.  Everything goes smoothly.  We say good-bye to George and have a new driver named Marcus.  We are swarmed by ladies selling jewelry and beads and they don't take no for an answer.  Finally Beth and Suzy buy some beaded necklaces and then we head for Nairobi.

We stop to pick up some bottled water.  (There is a cooler in each vehicle but this one wasn't stocked.)

Overall, we feel like the GoAhead staff has been excellent.  Sensitive to individual client needs and trying their best to ensure a good time.  They were willing to answer just about any question, from African men's facial hair to local customs, strengths and weaknesses of their countries, marriage customs and more.  Animals and people, we learned a lot about both.

When we near the airport we have to exit the vehicle and everyone goes through a body scan.  Dogs sniff the vehicles.   Then we are taken to Four Point hotel where we are given rooms to relax in until we get a shuttle to the terminal.  We shower and relax a bit, then try to go to the airport super early, but we are told we can't get there more than 3 hours early.  So we chill a bit longer and have dinner with some of the others in our group. 

 When we arrive at the airport we are again scanned along with luggage, We drop our bags and then have another  scan of us with our carry-on luggage.  When we get to our gate, there is yet another "document security scan"!   Whew!

We are flying Air France to Paris, then a 4 hour layover there, and on to Houston.  Glad we have a long layover because Charles DeGaul Airport is very big and confusing.  Both flights are uneventful and on the Paris-Houston flight there are even some empty seats so we are able to spread out a bit.  Neither of us are good at sleeping on planes, so we watch movies, tv, read and  relax.  Beth watches Killers of the Flower Moon ( that's 3 1/2 hours right there!).

We took several thousand photos on our cameras, but I have deleted about half of them.  Still have 1,900 to go through!  Greg took quite a few on his phone, too, to share with friends and family as we traveled.  

What a trip!  

I liked this quote I read about traveling....

Travel isn’t always pretty.  It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body.— Anthony Bourdain

Saturday, March 2 Arusha, Coffee and Shopping

 Saturday, March 2

We can sleep in this morning as we don't leave till 9:15!  But everyone is used to getting up early.

We have passed many partially built houses.  Adam says that some people add what they can each year and it may take up to 10 years to complete a house.  They usually will complete and live in one room while continuing to build.

We go by many farms and continue to see quite a few young children as shepherds.  Schooling is mandatory, but not enforced. Greg says he has seen only a few girls/women in this role.

We arrive at Shanga foundation in Arusha, where handicapped people work on recycling and crafts.  They collect glass from hotels, lodges, etc., separate it by color and recycle it into glasses, sculptures, vases, etc.  The handicapped are often shunned, so this is a very worthwhile facility.  Too bad we can't carry glass in our duffle bags!

The glass blower here is deaf and his assistant is mute. They have their own signage to communicate and work together. 

 There are people doing beadwork, weaving, sewing and other crafts too.

From here we go to Arusha Coffee Lodge for a lovely lunch

 It begins to rain, but we are under cover.  But our tour of the coffee farm is truncated into a pleasant talk about coffee, coffee roasting and sampling coffee. 

 There are quite a lot of fields of plants, which take 8 months to produce ripened beans.  Beans are hand picked, shelled and roasted, then ground into coarse, medium or fine ground.  

From here we go to a Culture Heritage stop, which is really just another large shopping opportunity. But a nice one, without pressure. There is a gallery attached, with some high end carvings, tanzanite and other items.  We are welcomed with music. 

There is a Jane Goodall museum scheduled to open in the Fall, but nothing now except a few photos.  Notice the nice kicks on this gentleman!

Another stop was at this location, where we bought a giraffe carving and some beaded coasters.  I've lot track of when - earlier in the day washroom stop I believe...

Tonight we stay at Kahawa House which has excellent rooms.  Our farewell dinner is another buffet, quite nice .  Did I mention that beer and wine are served with most every dinner?  Now that we are back near civilization there is no more mosquito netting.   Someone passes a sheet to get everyone's email addresses, which is then shared.  Some photos are shared, too. Some very nice people on this trip! 

Tomorrow we will cross back into Kenya and say goodbye to George.    It seems that most all flights  leaving for Europe and the US leave late at night.  Ours will be 11:20PM but we have a day room at a hotel near the Nairobi airport and a shuttle to the terminals.

Friday, March 1, 2024, Goodbye Serengeti, Hello Ngornogoro Crater, Tanzania

 Friday, March 1

Good porridge for breakfast this morning.  Suzy and Cindy feeling better, Dennis and I a little queasy...mostly just sympathy pains on my part, I think.

We go by the hippo loop on the way out and Adam repeats that he doesn't like hippos, because they kill more people than any other animal (except maybe mosquitoes).   People go to bodies of water to collect water and hippos don't like anyone being in THEIR water.

Greg comments that there is very little litter outside of the cities.  We are given glass bottled water many times and plastic bottles a couple of times,  but several of the lodges have purified water in pitchers.   There is a ban on re-usable plastic bags and we were warned not to bring them in our luggage.  When we make a purchase, it is placed in a kind of woven paper bag. Good idea, USA.

This is Simba's Kopje, but no lions here....

But on the next kopje, we spot this young lion surveying the area. George says there are no doubt many others in the area if we had time to sit here for a while.... but

We move on and pass through the zebra and wildebeest herds again.

Just as we leave the park, these three lions get our attention - a mother and two young ones, just chillin'.

We stop at a small UNESCO exhibit that speaks about the area.  Also has clean washrooms.  

Lunch is at a Maasai lodge that has recently opened.  It is reached by a very rough road that winds and climbs into the mountains, past these folks tending animals. 

  Definitely off the beaten path!  We are greeted with warm towels and watermelon juice.  Lunch is nice on an open deck, and the views are grand.

Then we move on toward Ngorongoro Crater National Park.  The crater is about 10 x 15 miles in area, and is referred to by some as the "animal nursery". Here is a view as we begin our descent.

 There are some animals that use the crater walls which are quite lush and heavily treed, but we don't see much till we stop to watch a few large bull elephants near the washrooms on the crater floor.  They are older, George says, maybe 60-65 years and may be looking for softer grass as they lose their molars.

  George soon catches sight of a  distant lion and maneuvers closer. She is relaxing in the sun.  He makes a wildebeest sound and she looks right at us!

 She rolls over and George comments that her nipples are large, so there must be babies. And right on cue three little ones break out of the brush and join mama!  So darn cute!  When there are cubs, the mothers sometimes keep them hidden, away from the pride for the first few weeks, so these are quite young.

They soon move off into taller grass and bushes.

We travel towards the lake and see some more families with babies.  Wildebeests.

Pumba - warthogs.

The young zebras are brownish rather than black.

 Not far away, this hyena is taking a soak.  With another nearby.

And more lions lazing about.

This lioness was fastidious.

So many photo opportunities!  We each have a large window and the top of the vehicle lifts so you can stand and have unobstructed views.  Of course, Beth has to stand on the seat to be able to see well out the top, but it works!

By the lake there are scores of flamingos nibbling away on algae. What gorgeous colors!

These looked like they were tied up in knots!

Other birds included this Egyptian goose (we've seen many of these),

A stork and an African spoonbill (white rather than pink like those at home), and other interesting birds.  This is a popular place for migrating birds, we read.

A few other residents...

We are looking for black rhinos, but only find this one quite far away before it is time to leave. 

  

A few shots as we leave the crater....

We paused at this memorial to Michael and Bernard Grzimek of Frankfurt Zoological Society  who dedicated their lives to working here in the 30's, 40's and 50's.  Michael, the son died in a plane that crashed here when it hit some large birds.

A couple of hours drive to our stop for the night - Acadia Farm Lodge where we are greeted by the staff.

 The farm raises coffee and bananas (that we know of) and the individual cottages are lovely, with large windows. 

 Ours look out on banana trees, complete with huge bunches of fruit and some interesting blossoms.  We have a sitting room, a luggage room, large bedroom and a small screened porch.  The Lodge has some great amenities like a gym, a pool and farm tours... and makes us wish we were spending more time here! 

Dinner is a typical buffet with tasty choices.  We shower and get cleaned up before dinner, so are last to arrive and last to leave at 8:15.