Big 5- Check!

Upon leaving beautiful, vibrant Zanzibar, I hopped a 10-seat plane (yes, you could see the pilot and out the front window) to Arusha, Tanzania to start my 6-night safari to the Northern Parks: the famous Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire National Park and Lake Manyara.

I joined a group with Bob and Daniele, a father and daughter from the Upper East Side (small world!) and a fun couple from Birmingham, England, Jane and John. Tack on a few Kiwi friends we made from another jeep guided by Geoffrey, our guide's best man, and we had a lovely time.

I fear the safari may have spoiled me a bit since the lodges were quite nice, with good service (and okay singing), great showers (ah, water pressure!), stunning views and plentiful food (of varying tastiness). My fellow safari goers thought it was quite amusing that I was critiquing the rooms by the end, knowing I would be back to backpacker accommodations within days- oh well!

I guess if I had thought about it I would have figured that safari is not an activity for the young--- must be what the retired do after cruising to Alaska. Suppose not a surprise since all you do is sit, sit and sit some more while driving hundreds of kilometers in search of animals.

Search we did, and thanks to Robert (our incredibly knowledgeable and patient guide) and Jane (who had a good eye for lions and rocks), animals are what we found.

We saw the 'Big 5'- leopard, lion, buffalo, rhino and elephant, plus a whole lot more: hyena, wildebeest, flamingo, cheetah, zebra, gazelles, impala, warthog, monkey, baboon, elan, jackal, lots of birds, giraffe, hippo, zebra, zebra and more zebra, to name a few.

Sure, there were times we got a little bored and jaded of zebra and wildebeest-- so we just drove Robert crazy with requests for random animals we hadn't yet seen (damn, that bat eared fox eluded us!) and babbled on about random topics including a lot of football talk with John.

The Serengeti is HUGE, so it sometimes took hours of driving the expanse to see wildlife; however, we were fortunate to see the beginnings of the Great Migration, when all the Wildebeest congregate and head up to the Masa Mara in Kenya. There were thousands grazing as far as the eye could see, with their friend the Zebra (apparently they complement each other).

We were also lucky enough to see a Leopard (the most elusive of the Big 5) dozing in a tree right above our land cruiser thanks to some clever (aka pushy/bold/speedy) driving by Robert.

The Crater was animal-rific since they are roaming a fairly small area (101 sq miles), in the world's largest unbroken volcanic caldera created 2-3 million years ago. Here we spotted our first rhino with baby (there were a lot of baby sightings from every animal) and cheetah right next to us (again, thanks to some aggressive driving by Robert that maybe pissed off the other jeeps- oops!). In all the parks, it was pretty amazing how close you could get to the animals- just don't get out of the jeep (Robert explained pretty convincingly how I would be stepped on by an elephant).

The highlight however was the Serval cat mother and baby! We watched forever as mom became increasingly frustrated with a baby that simply refused to walk back to their den--- she'd yell at him, pick him up and carry him in her mouth for a few steps and drop him in the middle of the road, just to have him run back into the bush to nap. This was repeated over and over again to the point that we were all frustrated for poor mom and thought maybe this might be the kill we had been expecting. ;-)

Oh, and the monkey jumping in our jeep, opening a lunch box, taking a samosa and politely closing the box, all within seconds, was another bit of amusement (right in front of the "Don't feed animals" sign, nonetheless!)

On the way to Tarangire National Park, home to the hugest elephants ever, we stopped at Olduvai Gorge, the archaeological site where the earliest traces of man were discovered (this did not ring a bell with me, but perhaps those with a good elementary school education recall?)

Next stop, a quick visit to a Masai village where we were given a tour of their huts, plus a demonstration of number counting by the kids and traditional singing and dancing by the adults. It was interesting, but tours of native villages always make me a bit uncomfortable. It was cool to be able to determine who was married and single based on the color of their clothes- perhaps we should bring this tradition back to NYC?? Robert, being a Masai himself, was great about filling us in on all their customs.

Tarangire, our cool down as Robert referred to it, was chock full of elephants and a little relaxation since we were coming to the end of our safari.

It was a lovely time, and with the exception of some rather obscure animals, we managed to see just about everything in Frommer's wildlife section. If you see a Bush Baby or Genet let me know.

Jambo! Mambo!

As mom used to say, "What, am I speaking Swahili?"

After the last 4 days in Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania known for the spice and slave trades, I may just be. All the locals (aka Frank, my new teen friend who I oddly often ran into on the street) certainly want to teach you. (I would like to thank Asante Samuel for helping me remember the word for thank you!) Their first question- where are you from? Instant reply- Obama! So far I have seen an Obama hologram belt buckle, a kids backpack and a cat named Obama. Pretty funny (and so nice to travel and not be embarrassed of our President!)

It is not the only odd thing about Zanzibar-- although I had pre booked a flight from Dar Es Salaam, guys on the street outside the domestic terminal were very aggressive about selling me a cheap seat on a flight leaving in 20 minutes. I am not a big fan of bargaining for anything on the street, much less air transport! I prefer my brand name airlines, thanks!

I am posting now from the most beautiful beach, Jambiani, with powder white sand, aqua water and no people (it is low season, for what reason I am unclear). It is so peaceful sitting by the Indian Ocean (which is VERY salty, btw), in this small, weathered, fishing village.

Since arriving at the beach I have snorkeled in the 'fish tank', an odd spot in the ocean housing a ton of brightly colored fish, and swam with dolphins.

The dolphin swim was a bit bazaaro-- it was more of a dolphin hunt with boats wandering around in search and then chasing the dolphins so tourists can hop in the water and quickly swim with them. The water was really rough, so I was more focused on the horizon line (so as not to vomit) than the dolphins. After hours they were spotted, and while it was kinda cool having them swim by you, it made me feel really guilty since they were obviously stressed and trying to get away.

The other highlight of that boat ride, besides me successfully fighting off sea sickness (it was very touch and go), was the catching of barracuda as we sailed; however, it was quickly followed by a look of shock as they clubbed the fish once on board. All in all, maybe it would have been better to stay in bed at 530am.

Before arriving in Jambiani, I was in Stonetown for two days. Being Muslim, the island takes on a different feel than the other places I have been in Africa, from the calls to prayer to the weathered, Islamic architecture and general vibe of the city (felt much safer). It was really interesting to wander the narrow alleyways to see the ornate doors for which Zanzibar is known. The city has a frenetic energy, with very friendly locals echoing a constant stream of "jambo" as I walked down the street (still an odd feeling not being able to blend in).

Since Zanzibar is know as the spice island, it seems a requirement to go on a spice tour, which was surprisingly interesting. I learned that Iodine comes from a tree, pineapples don't grow on trees (who knew?) and peppercorn (5 kinds from 1 tree) is a ton of work. We also saw cloves, nutmeg, palmetto, cinnamon, vanilla, etc.

While on the tour I made another local friend who made me all sorts of accessories out of palm, including: ring, bracelet, necklace, glasses and a basket to store it all. He even demonstrated the one fruit that is used to make cosmetics (notice his red cheeks). It was really very sweet, unlike the Jackfruit which was way sour.

Well, that is about all from Zanzibar since I may now need to take a nap on the beach -- I know, it's a tough life! ;-)

Reminder: only 5 weeks left of fundraising for my Nepal trek. See link to the right. All support is greatly appreciated! Sorry, wish I could offer a dollar-for-dollar match like NPR :-) Thanks again to those that already donated!