Lazy Day

Today has been a restful day and a chance to catch up on both rest and internet (free) and to just relax and enjoy this lovely camp.  We got up early to go on an early game drive.  This tented camp is right in the corner of the southern part of the serrengeti and is adjacent to the park. This time of the year, the majority of the animals have migrated to the north so there is less to see here this time of year. But there are still animals and it is nice in a different sort of way.  There are dikdiks all over this camp and they are the tinest of the antelopes and are so fast that they are difficult to spot when out on a drive. We have seen a lot on this trip but to walk out the door of the lounge area and see a dikdik standing there looking at you is special! There are also cape buffalo that roam the camp, especially at night and leave evidence of their being here.  The staff heard a lion last night but we didn't-we were sound asleep. 
On our drive, we saw spotted hyenas that Omari drove right up next to and they just looked at us.  I had never seen hyenas before til this trip and today was our closest encounter.  There are so many pretty birds here. My favorite is the Fishers Lovebird that is like a tiny parrot-about the size of paraqueet or smaller. 
We saw elephants, warthogs, zebra, cape buffalo, several giraffe, lots of gazelles-the Thompsons and the Grants, hippos, tons of birds, good sighting of the banded mongoose. So it was a great drive even if the wildlife was more scattered.  We came back to camp and had a nice lunch and have had the afternoon free to rest and recoup.  Cokes are free as well as the internet so that has been nice. On this trip, even the water at the meals has been extra except in a couple of camps.Our vehicle is ancient but we really like it. We take off our shoes and we can stand in the seats to look out the roof when the roof hatches are open on drives.  It has individual seats and we are rotating well.  So even though the vehicle is well worn, we like it and the bumpy rides have not been nearly as bad as we had expected. We had brought inflatable pillows and we do not need them at all.  The dust is the worst part of some of the drives and we brought masks, at the advice of friends (thanks, Lynn, David and Carol!).  I have enough for everyone and we have worn them.  We brought pens to give out to children after we read the book TALES OF TANZANIA and the children on the drives have been so excited. They run to meet our vehicle. Most are Maasai but some are other tribes and they are out tending the goats.  We walked through one village this week and it was so sweet. At one house there was a little brother and sister-about 2 and 3, I would guess.  At first they are very shy but after we visited a while, he asked our guide how we got our white hands!  He asked if we had had our skin taken off to get it so white! He just kept wanting to hold our hands and look at them.  Precious precious children. 
Moving camps every two nights has been more tiring than the trip to Botswana was but we are seeing so much.  Each place has been different.  Laundry is done for $1 a piece except for one of the first camps that charged $2.  We have used it a lot for pants and shirts as that is just so reasonable.  The last lodge was the Tloma lodge and it had the best food for me-most of the time I have had to be very picky. They cook things for me without the garlic and onions but it is not my taste.  Omari has gone out of his way to assure that Jim has power at night. He even says he can get them to hook up a generator in the mobile tented camps. I hope so. He rests so much better with his CPAP.  But we are loving this adventure and can't wait to share photos when the journey is over and I have time on my computer!