Epic Safari!

There are simply too many things to say about our adventures in the Maasai Mara National Park. It is hard to capture in words and the pictures just don't quite do it justice. What I can say is this: it's very rare that you get one perfect day when you're traveling. We had three days that were more perfect than we could have hoped for. And perfect in ways we could never have even dreamed of. Are you getting the sense that we had a good time? It was epic and awesome and hilarious and moving. I have already run out of superlatives and we just started!

There's a lot to talk about so we'll save most of the animal pictures for the second blog post. So if you're just in for the animals, skip this one and go to the next one.

The camp that we stayed at was called Fig Tree Camp. We chose it because it was the cheapest option. We do have a family of five after all. The accommodations were... waaaay beyond what we were expecting. The whole camp is nestled deep in some trees and right on a riverbank. It was rustic in all the ways that you would want it to be. And luxurious in wonderful and unexpected ways as well. Technically we slept in tents. But these tents had hardwood floors and a tiled bathroom. The only tent like thing about it was that you entered and exited with a zipper.

We entered an exited through the camp via a bridge over the water.

 All of the meals were amazing. A huge buffet with so many different choices. And plenty of vegetarian options. A dessert bar that had 10 different options at every single meal made the kids pretty happy. We ate so much pineapple that the staff stopped restocking the pineapple until after they saw us leave. Rigley must have eaten six pineapples at every meal. Oh and the best part? They had Black Currant Fanta which was Jen's drink of choice for 2 years while in the Peace Corps. She got the kids hooked.

Couple more things about the camp. The generator was only on for a few hours a day so you had to be timely to charge your phone if you were going to take pictures. And they heated hot water for showers with a roaring fire in a big stove twice a day. Perfect after a day on the savannah.

We got to know the staff pretty well in just a couple days and they were very kind with the children. 

Guthrie wants you to know that there was a pool. It was freezing! But he got in anyway. 

Ok two more things about the camp and then we'll talk about people. 

There we're cute and playful monkeys right outside our tent. They would play on our front porch when we were watching from inside the tent. 

But Jen's favorite part by far; where we could always find her anytime she disappeared was with... the hippos!

Steps from our front door! All day long about 20 hippos hung out in the river. They spend all day there. And Jen sat watching them any chance she got. Yes, hippos are very dangerous. They kill more humans every year than any other animal on the continent. The bank on our side of the river was steep so they only entered and exited on the other side of the river. And there was a security guard named Jon in the evenings when the hippos left for the night to go eat grass all night only to return to the river just before dawn. Jon, Jen, and Chris would sit and watch to see them all climb up the other bank at precisely 7:30pm every night.

Ok. Before closing this one out, we have to tell you about the people we were with. You'll see them in a lot of pictures, but more importantly, they are wonderful humans that shared with us the adventure of a life time. Melissa is a friend of ours from Fort Collins and CSU. Her friend is Roundtree. Her first name is Christine, but she mostly just goes by Roundtree. And then there's Spencer. Spencer and Melissa work on the ship and Roundtree is a friend of Melissa's but is a back up medical person on the ship.

We all spent much of our time together belly laughing. They were caring (and patient) of our kids and joyful, adventurous travelers. 

We love these women dearly now. They were wonderful supports and models, especially for Rigley, of the kind of people we got our kids become some day.

The last person to know if Julius, our guide. I know everyone says their guide is the best. How could you not? They are responsible for giving you a peak experience. But Julius really was exceptional. He lives just outside the park and has been guiding for 12 years.  He was kind, caring, knowledgeable, patient, funny. He shared openly about his life and family. He felt like an old friend by the time we parted ways. And he let us stand up in the truck while we were hauling ass through the bush.

Spencer did NOT like standing up while the truck was moving. At least one person was thinking about safety. 

Ok, so the next post will be the animals. 

1 spoiler.

We saw every animal we could hope to see.

And a little taste.....

Sunrise

Sunset

Arrival in Kenya

We are struggling with connectivity and wifi access so we are missing a few posts that we'll have to catch up on later. Just dropping a note that we have arrived in Kenya. Mombasa is humid and hot. It's remarkable how uncomfortable it can be. Still the business of Mombasa is nothing compared to Mumbai. This place is practically sleepy. 

Jen can share the story of our first day and meeting some very special people. To tide you over here are a few pics of us flying from Mombasa to Massi Mara Preserve. 

4am wake up. 2.5 hour wait at the airport. Time to board!

It seats 12 people plus the 2 pilots. 

Chris barely fits!

All good on the flight. Rewarded with great views of Mt Kilimanjaro!

Safe and sound on the ground. 

Headed out on Safari!

More soon!

Time in Mumbai!

Alright, let's reflect on Mumbai, India! It is one of the biggest cities in the world and I can say that we got around the city quite a bit and it seemed like it was never ending. Mumbai was HUGE, humid, hot, loud, busy, full of delicious food and wonderfully kind people. 

DAY 1 - Jen had her field class so she was off with students for the day. Chris and the kids were on their own to go explore. One of major sites to see was the Gateway of India, which was built to honor the arrival of King George and Queen Victoria, but more importantly was the exact spot the last British troops left after India won the fight for independence. To get there, we decided to walk...

Cars, buses, scooters were flying by, but the it wasn't just the narrow places to walk right next to traffic (Guthrie did survive this port), it was the noise. Every driver uses their horn as a form of communication. Never in anger, but more as an alert, or a way to say "hi," or maybe "My breakfast was delicious, how was yours?" Who knows what they were saying with all the honking. But they said it A LOT. The picture above is us walking with a few other people from the ship. Rigley is carrying Indy, the sweetest and youngest voyager on the ship. 

Next we ended up at a HUGE park. And the #1thing you do in any open space is... play cricket. There were probably 12 cricket matches going on in this park as we walked by. 

We stuck out wherever we went and the people were not shy about asking to get their pictures taken with us. Whole cricket teams stopped and got a team photo with a bunch of white people. 

Best part of the day by far was when some local kids came up to our kids to ask is they could play soccer together. Our kids were all in. Finally the kids got to run around and be silly and have fun. They all had so much fun talking in the universal language of football.

Day 2 found the Johnson-Leck crew reunited and off to see the caves on Elephanta Island. The Elephanta Caves are a series of cave temples from the 8th and 9th century. It was a good excuse to ride a ferry and get out of the city for a while. The ferries did a significantly less amount of honking.

The caves were pretty great. It was quiet and not crowded so we got to stroll and enjoy ourselves.

And there were lots of monkeys. Some could be pretty aggressive if you had food out. We saw a few eating ice cream cones and bragging about it to their friends. 

Two good days in Mumbai. Great food and a fairly easy time getting around. Days 3 and 4 got a tad bit dicier...

Exploring in and Around Dubai - JJJ

Exploring in and around Dubai

After a day of moving onto and settling ourselves on the ship, Chris and I had two full days of training to get us oriented and ready for our responsibilities once the students arrived (January 5). The kids were basically rogue, although thankfully all three have made friends very quickly and they have enjoyed spending time with them.  I managed to sneak away from the ship twice with the kids to explore a little more of Dubai and the surrounding areas during breaks in my schedule.

Adventure one was a trip to the Arabian desert to explore and play in the sand. The city of Dubai is incredibly modern. Sky scrapers can be seen for miles, traffic is almost always heavy, and people fill the public spaces. Surprisingly, only about 30 minutes from the city center (we headed south east, in the direction of the border with Oman) the urban landscape disappears into nothing but red tinted sand dunes: the stunning Arabian Desert.

We had a blast enjoying the sand. We enjoyed ATV driving (Rig drove Wall and I drove Guth), a camel ride, sandboarding (snowboarding but down sand dunes), and my favorite “dune busting” (basically driving a four-wheel drive vehicle as fast as humanly possible over and around sand dunes). Soooo awesome. 

Adventure two was a tour of the spice, cloth, and gold souks near Dubai Creek, where we got to explore the markets, learn more about the culture and history of the UAE, and take a boat ride on Dubai creek in a traditional Abra style boat. 

Dubai, and UAE, are such unique and interesting places, it would take a lifetime to fully understand the social and political dynamics at play here, but we were grateful for having the chance to scratch the surface.  A few fun facts:

--UAE is made up of seven Emirates, each with its own Emir. The Emir from Abu Dhabi is the President of the UAE and is the most powerful Emir (the Vice President of UAE is always the Emir from Dubai, the second most powerful Emir). 

--Only 8% of the population of the UAE is Emirati. The remaining 92% are from all over the world (the largest populations being from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Emirati are typically very wealthy and enjoy social supports from cradle to grave from the country. Expatriates mostly come to find work as front line laborers (construction, tourism, driving, etc.). Work visas must be renewed every 2 years. (Note: we’ve done a fair amount of traveling and I can say that Dubai is without question the most diverse place I’ve every visited in my life). 

--Gaining citizenship is basically impossible in the UAE. If you are born in UAE but your parents are not Emirati (i.e. your parents are from India) you are considered Indian, not Emirati. It is very possible for generations of families to live in Dubai or UAE and none of them have citizenship. Non-citizens have no social benefits (health care, etc.)

--The Burj Khalifa is currently the tallest building in the world. About halfway through its construction they ran out of money, and the Emir from Abu Dhabi financed the project.  The tower was originally to be called Dubai Tower. Guess what the Emir from Abu Dhabi was named? Yep, you guessed it, President Khalifa. All revenue from the Burj Khalifa is funneled to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and does not benefit the Emirate of Dubai. Dubai is currently working on a design for a new building which will be constructed near Dubai Creek which will surpass the Burj Khalifa in height. Construction is set to be completed in the next 5-10 years.

--Three leading values of the Emirates according to our guide are (in order of importance): 

1) Security/Control. This is a very, very regulated place.  This is probably the safest place I’ve ever visited in my life. Crime is basically nonexistent, largely because there are MANY rules, and the consequences for breaking rules is extremely severe. 

2) Money. The UAE has oil and that has contributed to extraordinary wealth (for a minority). Dubai, however, does not rely on oil for its economy and instead focuses on tourism. 

3) Religion. UAE is a without question a Muslim country. But it’s interesting. Tolerance of other faiths is strictly mandated (it’s against the law to proselytize for ANY religion. This is strictly enforced and you can receive severe fines if you do so). It’s easy to see the influence of Islam everywhere, but value 1 (Security/Control) and value 2 (Money) are more important than religion. 

Adventure three was having the chance to connect with an old Peace Corps friend, Rose, for a brief visit on our last day in Dubai.  Rose and her husband, Robbie, both were in the Gambia with me as PCVs. They married shortly after the completion of our service. They, along with their three kids have lived as expatriates most of their lives – in Egypt, Bangaldesh, Morocco, and now Dubai for the last 3.5 years. It was such a treat to reconnect after all of these years!