allyson and bryan

Jen said, "I might as well just go home right now!" Twice. After spending just 24 hours in Tanzania and one day at Tanganire National Park, we already:

1. Spotted zebras, giraffes, impalas, water bucks, dik-diks, and a host of wildly beautiful birds.
2. Had our jeep charged by a herd of roaring elephants.
3. Were stopped cold in our path by a pack of screaming baboons.
4. Ate an amazing picnic lunch by a stream in the middle of Africa.
5. Stuck our heads out of the raised Jeep cover to soak in the 75-degree, sunny, breezy African afternoon.
6. Partook in a Maasi dance and song ceremony, during which Bryan was once again the chosen male.
7. Feasted by candlelight on pumpkin soup, sauteed greens and carrots, roasted chicken, braised beef and fig tart for dessert.
8. Sat by the campfire to recap the day's events.
9. Been escorted back to our tented lodge by a warrior-porter armed with a bow and arrow.
10. Lay down to rest in the most beautiful place I've ever slept.

Since then we've listed a total of 41 different types of animal sightings, including the "big five" of lion, rhino, elephant, leopard and buffalo. We visited a Maasi village where we spent an hour touring small mud huts and watching children in a bamboo-roofed schoolhouse recite the alphabet. So far, Africa has been pretty much how you might imagine it: exotic, exciting, beautiful and sometimes otherworldly.

We've learned to love our safari guide, Mr. Pessa, who quietly dispenses knowledge at all the right times and has a genuine and subtle sense of humor. Of course, there's been an abundance of laughter in the jeep each morning and I'm grateful to be sharing this experience with some of the USA's finest lasses.

So that's the good news. The bad news is, the Internet is both slow and expensive in Tanzania, and thus, I can only now share with you a very few select photos. You can just imagine how difficult it was to choose... I hope it gives a little taste of our experience so far. Oh and also in the bad news category: Our Kili gear did not arrive in time so we're using rented stuff (including size 10 men's boots for me), and we just found out that someone's charged $7000 on our MasterCard. Oddly we haven't had the best luck in Africa. But not to fret -- we're working it all out.

Tomorrow morning we meet at the Roy Safaris office for our Mt. Kilimanjaro debriefing at 7:30 a.m. before setting out for the African rainforest. We're all a mix of excited and nervous, checking and rechecking our supplies and our spirits. The next time I update we'll have made it to the top of the highest point in Africa. Positive thinking, right?!

stars, they're just like allyson @ 11:21 AM