The Arrival

Three movies, six mediocre plane meals, and two 7-hour flights later, I am in Nairobi, Kenya. I am staying at the Great Ridge Valley Lodge. Morning comes with songs from birds I’ve never heard sing, and night falls with a relaxing breeze. So far, it has not been easy to sleep. I’ve spent the majority of my two days here at the Lodge nestled up on a white-sheet bed, surrounded by a curtain of mosquito nets, in a white linen robe I found in the closet of my room. Naps are the cozy answer for adjusting to the time difference. However, I have made time to leave the crevices of my sheets to spot several large and tiny crawling animals benefiting from the labor of the gardeners who tend the plants they eat. I have seen an adult gazelle with a stoic and gentle stance. I infer that she was a female; however, I have no evidence to support that inference. It was just that stance of hers that reminded me of a mother. It was the stance of a mama bear who was observant in her surroundings but still focused on the task at hand – gathering food for herself and her little ones. Later, behind the bushes, one of her little ones made an appearance that was so cute and fragile-like she’d made glass look gold. Once she saw my sister and me, she quickly stopped in her path and froze. She looked at us like we were headlights and she was Bambi. Looking back, I’m wondering why she stopped to look at us. She could have used those little legs of hers to run faster than the sun, but she stayed and gave us a perplexing look, mixed with fear and bits of curiosity. I also saw the back of a warthog, which I have to say, I’m glad I saw without my glasses, because the sight wasn’t very cute compared to the baby gazelle. Anyway I will see plenty more animal butts starting tomorrow. I am waking up at the crack ass of dawn (6 am) to get ready to hitch a ride with a big old safari jeep. This marks the beginning of my ten-day safari. The Jeep drive is promised to have more animal butt sightings, for sure. My sister said that there's a guaranteed chance we'll see the Big Five tomorrow while on safari. That is five possible animal butts to see. For those of you wondering, the big five refers to the big five animals of Africa: the elephant, the buffalo, the lion, the rhino, and the leopard. Tomorrow holds much in store. So enough animal butt talking, I will save the rest of that for tomorrow after my safari.

Three hours in a jeep large enough to fit six, and I’m completely burnt out. I saw all of Africa today. The valleys that sweep over the terrain, the tiny cities inundated with people and their small shops, and the little shepherd boys who hold their sticks like scepters, move the sheep and cows with magical ease. The tiny villages are filled with color. Patterned cloth is worn like skin, all the shops are painted vibrantly, and the plants flower in an assortment of green shades. Motorcycles line the streets along with tires that the kids will pick up and race. With big, toothy smiles, the African children will wave at you once you pass by them. Their enthusiasm is palpable. You can tell they are excited by the knowledge that people have come to visit their country and see how they live. Or perhaps the excitement stems from understanding that there's a world outside their own. A world where poverty doesn’t underlie everything you see. A place where women work and choose who they love. After passing by several bright-eyed children eager to wave, we had arrived at our first camp of the safari: the Zebra Plains Mara Camp.