Part Deux: Lake Manyara

This morning we were allowed to sleep in and finally managed to board the bus and relax for the next hour and a half to Arusha, the start point for our safari. We spent the day lounging by the pool (well deserved!) and went out for a fantastic Ethiopean dinner (as close to Tanzanian as we could find) by candlelight (mainly because the electricity kept going off, which is a daily occurrence). There would be long stretches of time where we would be sitting in silence with the glow of the candles, listening to the hum of the nightly chanting off in the distance, courtesy of the large Muslim population. At times like these, it really hits you how far from home you are.

When we got back to the hotel, we were welcomed by fire-eating contortionists, performing in the courtyard. I for one do not feel that contorting and fire-eating should be a combined activity.. ever, and frankly, spent most of the performance cringing and preparing myself to leap forward to push them into the pool on a split second's notice. It was not enjoyable.

We arose early the next morning and boarded the safari vehicles to head to Lake Manyara and spent the morning driving through stunning Masai Mara country. The Masai Mara are tall, dark, skeletal men and women dressed in long, vibrant, red and purple cloaks, the men with earlobes looped down to their shoulders, the women decorated from head to toe in elaborately beaded head-dresses and jewelry.  For the next two hours we watched the Masai shepherd their large herds of equally skeletal cattle through the pale, yellow, sun-burnt fields. Every so often, we would pass a cluster of small mud and grass huts where a Masai would live temporarily with his entourage of wives. We were told that the wives have to build the huts for their husband. Not a bad deal, huh? On top of that, they only live in these huts for a short time since they are nomadic and always on the move. I've never seen such strange and fascinating people.  I'm actually embarrassed with the number of photos I have of them. However, while the people in my group may refer to me as "obsessive", I choose to believe myself to be "thorough". Unfortunately, I have irrepressible paparazzic tendencies when confronted with mythical-like creatures. This also happened to me in Asia with monks, as too many of you already know. I'm still not allowed to come within 200 feet of the large majority of Cambodia.

No road trip in Tanzania would be complete without what we dubbed "The Masai Massage", so after at least a half hour of bone rattling dirt road that ground my molars down to mere stubs, we were welcomed into the park by a shriek from the backseat, marking the first giraffe spotting! There they were, right on the side of the road, eating trees! No warning at all! I don't know what I expected. Possibly something reminiscent of the entry gates into Disneyland? Maybe a large twinkling sign with ticket-takers and toddler buggies? Nope, just a herd of giraffes by the side of the road. Welcome to Lake Manyara! It couldn't have been more perfect.