Hi Everyone
Had such a long and sound sleep. Woke up once, but then slept until about 8AM
or roughly twelve hours. A great way to shift over to this time zone. Am currently
eight hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone. Breakfast was so wonderful by just
sitting outside in 75 sunny degrees and enjoying the African coffee.
At about 1PM, we were driven to a small airport to board our bush plane to
Amboseli. There were four passengers on the one engine prop. That means if the
engine goes, you also go. After bouncing around for forty five minutes, we landed
at the Amboseli airstrip. As we were approaching the landing strip, we flew over a
huge flock of flamingos wading in a small lake and I spotted a wildebeest grazing
near the landing strip. Amboseli has very few trees and Mt Kilimanjaro, with its
snow capped peak, stands over the area. Mt Kilimanjaro sits between Tanzania
and Kenya and is the tallest mountain in Africa capping out at around 19,500 feet.
If I was twenty years younger, I would attempt to climb to the top, but those wild
and crazy days are over. Our driver, Jonathan or Jona met us and helped me and
into the open air Land Rover. As we drove by the flamingoes, I asked Jona if I
should take my camera out. He promised to take us back after we checked into
Camp.
The Camp is named “Tortilis”. I have a large tent with a huge bed and private bath.
One of the staff took my luggage to the tent and instructed me on how to unpack
my stuff and where to safely store them. Baboons roam around the Camp and they
frequently break into the tents and cause lots of damage and will carry away
whatever they want.
We are meeting six other people at here and they had not arrived yet. Jona kept
his word and Karen and myself left for an afternoon game drive. By the way,
Karens luggage has not shown up yet. I have not held a camera for over two
months and I felt a portion of my mind turn on that needed to be awoken. Then it
happened. My mind and eyes clicked together and I started to see things that
appeared hidden. This was the Africa that I had come to see. The birds, zebras,
elephants, impalas and wildebeest created a kaleidoscope of shapes and colors. I
focused on what I saw and became absorbed by the raw beauty.
We finally arrived back at the flamingoes. They appeared to be white, but as the
light changed they turned more and more pink. Then the sun started to set over
this spectacle and I clicked away. How I have missed the African sunsets.
We are waking up tomorrow at 5. Have coffee and board the vehicles at 5:45.
What wonders will I see tomorrow?
Love
Larry