Kenya Day 02, Thursday, 3/28/2024

A Wake Up Call today at our Thatch Hut gets us up at 5 AM. We pack up out bag and go up for breakfast at Simba Lodge. The same hoard of bugs greet us as they did last night. So the challenge is to eat before the bugs do! There is an omelette chef there and I take advantage of him.

With breakfast in us, the sun rises as the safari vans roll in. Once loaded, we head out on the Kenyan Savannah to see what we can find. It isn’t long before we come across elephants. It is interesting that in South Africa, elephants are grey. But here in Kenya, elephants are reddish brown. It might have something to do with the color of the ground here. In South Africa, the ground is normal brown colored sand. Here the ground reminds me of Red Georgia Clay. And after last nights rain, the air is fresh and clean and you can, ‘smell’ Africa. It is not an unpleasant smell at all!

We proceed and come across sleeping lions, Reeboks (a type of antelope) that the guide calls ‘Water Bucks’. Our guide, Ali, is a very good driver and he moves us throughout the savannah effortlessly. We find more elephants, Water Buffalo off in the distance, and a Congress of Baboons. Yes, a group of baboons is called a ‘Congress’! Does that tell you anything?

Moving on, we end the safari and then it is 2.5 hours back to Mombasa. We stop for restrooms and trinkets in a large store. We see spiders in the trees and their bodies are almost 3 inches long! The owner of the Tour Company shows up and wants final payment. We all tell him we will pay when we get back to the ship, a normal procedure for tours. He has no choice but let us do that. When in a foreign country, that is the procedure. Never pay the guide until you are delivered back!

Many sights assault our camera lenses on the return, sights of sheer poverty. It is another eye opener as to how some people in the world live. We finally arrive back to the ship after being delayed by a traffic accident involving a tractor trailer jackknifed in the highway. We pay Ali and give him a generous tip and hobble back to the ship on tired legs.

Immediate showers are in order and we feel quite refreshed! A cold drink in the pub and all is well! A Mango Colada for me!