Moving On

When you begin counting down.  That is how you know the time to a major event is getting closer. 

5. That is how many more nights I have left to sleep in my house. 

16. The number of years I have lived here. 

28. The number of places I have lived so far.

There is a saying that home is where the heart is. Mine is not here anymore. I fell out of love with my house. When your heart is no longer where you live, that is how you know it is time to move on.

Peace. That is the feeling you have when your heart knows you made the right decision.  Peace is what I feel tonight.

Off Day

High above the Mara River I think I am looking over the border into Kenya.  The winds are picking up, a refreshing breeze blows around me, through me. The clouds give way to sun, then more clouds overtake.  The blue and white skies above the northern Serengeti plains in constant flux. 

The migration has not arrived at Sayari. We are waiting, wondering, when, if.  Those who have not seen it are impatient, leaving early in the morning and frantically driving south to find it. Others that have seen it are contemplating what it would mean to see it again, what if it would pass right in our path once again.

My intentional day off has given me a chance to reflect, regroup, breathe.  Soaking in all that is around me, not wanting to forget, though know these feelings will fade as time passes.  Written words and pictures are sure to evoke memories, snapshots in time.  Treasuring that this trip was shared with a forever friend; knowing that we will relive these moments in days to come. Absolutely sure my first time in Africa will have lasting effects on future directions and decisions in my life.  

Halfway through the Northern Serengeti

Our trip extension to the far north is so different than where we have traveled thus far.  Our group of six, now halved: Jackie, Justin, me.  

At this moment we are in the middle of a wildebeest migration, near Migration Camp. Just as incredible as the zebra migration 4 days ago near the Seronera River. I am overwhelmed and overjoyed as this is one of the reasons we extended the trip, hoping to encounter these tens of thousands of wildebeest as they move north toward the famous Mara River.  Dense masses of wildebeest as far as the eye can see in all directions.  The eerie grunting calls of the leaders, generals, resonating loudly as they command the herd forward.

We leave the migration and head north on the "main" road. A lonely lane of bumpy washboard, red dirt, boulders, small streams, mud.  Only a few side circuits jetting out, their terrain worse, at times even impassable. Second gear, third gear, back to second, first, never engaging fourth. Poly poly, slow.  "Bumping" Justin often calls out in his sing songy voice from the driver's seat. "Hold on and close the windows" as we drive through muddy streams.  "Floor it" Jackie and I cry out in unison as we cross a small river bed, strategizing how to get up the bank.

The  tsetse flies we have for the most part avoided are out in full force. Flying teeth.  There is no weapon known to fight them off, only soothing your bloody battle scars at the end of the day.

A comfortable silence is sharply contrasted by the noise of the road.  An occasional calling out of a sighting: warthog,  impala, topi, ostrich, klipspringer, zebra, water buck. A squeal of delight and immediate command of "stop" from Jackie, aka Mama Tembo,  when we encounter elephant. 

The Serengeti plains seem to go on forever. Light green mark the plains, dark green the trees. Tall grasses grow along the sides of the road, not yet consumed by the impending migration. 

My dream of seeing the wildebeest cross the crocodile infested Mara River into Kenya is soon to become reality.

The Southern Serengeti

Days are measured by sunrise and sunset, not days of the week or numerical dates. Changing landscapes mark time passing.  A peaceful, tranquil state meshing with a heightened sense of awareness.  

The jolting of the LandCruiser over dirt and bush and rock, sand rivers, pools of water and washes.  No hurrying, no worrying as we amble through the endless southern Serengeti plains, noticing all the animals we have already studied in detail.  But today is different, we are looking for the cats: lion, cheetah, leopard; simba, duma, chui. 

Constantly scanning the horizon.  Stop, scan, move ahead. Stop, scan, move toward tall grass.  Stop, look, move.  Searching in umbrella trees, prickly acacias, watering holes, tall grasses. Relying on the skilled eyes, experience, and intuition of Tumaini to guide us through the plains.  

Our usual joking banter is tempered, quiet, serious. 

My light beige hat now covered with layers of dust: sienna, copper, gray.  My exposed skin gritty, like the pages in my journal.  My lips dry and chalky.

A carcass surrounded by both white back and griffin vultures, necks elongated picking through the remains. Maribou storks join them.

The hours pass by...

Then we see them, lions, simba. 5 females, 2 males. Mature, the males full maned. We drive toward them, getting close enough to see with our eyes the details of their large teeth, golden eyes, pink noses and tongues, massive paws, long tails, battle scars.  Briefly I see cubs, buried in the tall grass, basketball sized lumps of golden fur.  Our patience paid off...

On Safari

Well, I have been too busy to write posts to my blog while on safari, but have been posting quick & random thoughts on Twitter @zengirle and Jackie has been writing posts on her blog http://perchja.blogspot.com

Invite me for cocktails or dinner when I return and I will share stories and Jackie's safi "awesome" pictures!

Safi!

Safi is the Swahili word for awesome! It sums up the first day viewing animals. 

Coming into this trip with zero expectations I was blown away the first day on safari at Arusha National Park.  This park is a jumping off point for many Tanzanian safaris because it is not far from the airport and has a wide variety of mammals and birds in a "small" area. Our first sighting was an olive baboon troop. They were all ages from small children to older adults.  Seeing them interact with each other from such a close distance was amazing.  We were only a few feet away. One small baby was crawling up a downed log, trying to reach a female.  It had rained early in the day which made the log slippery.  One step forward, two back, as this little one somehow didn't fall, his tiny hands holding on.  

 

We saw so many animals today including 2 very rare albino baboons. You know the animal is rare when your guides get excited because they have never seen one! We have two guides: Steve Taylor, former director of the Cleveland Zoo, and Tumaini owner of Next African Safaris.  Including them, there are 6 of us on this safari. It is really nice having a small group.

We spent quite a bit of time looking for the colobus monkeys.  These monkeys are black and white with long strands of fur hanging off their arms, like fringe.  They also  have long fluffy tails.  We were so grateful when Tumaini spotted one!  Also,we saw blue monkeys.

Driving through the park, we had no idea what we would see at the next turn. It could be Masai giraffe, zebra, banded mongoose, warthog, Cape buffalo, the list goes on. 

The most impressive site was the lakes full of thousands of lesser flamingos. They boarder the edges like picture frames.  We spent a chunk of time watching them fish, fly, and listening them "talk".  Steve was obsessively looking for a greater flamingo.  They are a little larger, and have a black tip on their beak.  We eventually found them! 

I designated my friend and traveling companion, Jackie, official photographer on this trip so don't expect many pics from me.  She invested in some awesome camera equipment.  Her blog is http://perchja.blogspot.com and she is posting her thoughts and pictures there.  

At the end of the day, driving back to the lodge, I was overwhelmed by what I saw in the park.  I couldn't imagine a better day, and then we had dinner with Derek Lee and Monica Pond...that experience deserves its own post and will be coming soon...

  

We have left Arusha and are driving now through the plains, our destination is Tarangire. The view out the window are the Masai indiginous people driving heards of goats, donkeys, and cows...

Traveling back in time

Traveling to new places is my passion, but recently I have been visiting old places. Mentally transported back through my life.  

A week ago I made the decision to dramatically downsize my living situation. This decision was a long time coming, but I wasn't quite ready until last week.  A series of events, that I am not going to detail here because believe it or not they aren't that important, happened and that was that, the nudge I needed, the sign I was waiting for, my decision was made.  

Since, I have started sorting through all my belongings and deciding which things are most precious to me at this moment in my life. Picking and choosing what to take and what to leave behind.  I think I have it all figured out, then something else appears and I have to decide keep or not or decide later.  Decide later has become an option.  

This process is much more complicated than I ever imagined.  Remembering the past can be fun and heart wrenching in the same minute, an emotional roller-coaster.  At first I thought it would be simple, but am finding out how hard it is to part with these things that evoke memories.  Questions race through my mind...if I get rid of this material thing, will I forget about the person/event/feeling associated with it?  It may not matter now, but will it in a year?  Will I miss this thing? Will I even remember it?  

I am all about living in the moment and taking risks, and this is what is keeping me going through this process, and knowing that in the end it is what I should be doing right now.  My best friend lives out of town and called me yesterday, offering to fly in for a weekend and help me.  I think I may take her up on that and am optimistic that traveling with someone else, especially back in time, will be easier than going there alone.