Vacations are for recuperation.
Tourism is for entertainment
Travel is for experiences that inform and illuminate life.
It is long past time to wrap up this narrative. The Idiots have asked themselves frequently why it has taken over three months to complete the description of a one month long trip. This last episode, in particular, has been difficult to write.
It’s really no mystery where this “writer’s block” comes from - finishing the episodes means that the trip is really over. And the Idiots don’t want it to end. They don’t want to lose touch with the beauty, intensity, challenge and inspiration they experienced in Africa.
So though the story is complete, the Idiots know that Africa has a permanent place in their hearts.
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The group gathered for one final dinner at the Malaika Clinic* in Nyamuswa. Gifts included clothing made for the guests by the local tailor.
(* Editor's note: Since their visit, the clinic has started providing medical services to the people of Nyamuswa. Though still woefully short of supplies and equipment, a doctor has started regular hours at the clinic.)
The group departed early from the guesthouse in Bunda. They had some distance to cover… down the highway to the Ndabaka Gate of the Serengeti, then a drive through “The Western Corridor” to the Grumeti airstrip to catch a small plane back to Arusha.
The short time available didn’t lend itself to leisurely game viewing, but they did see large herds of wildebeest, including many youngsters. Certainly the most exciting sighting of the morning was a mother cheetah with four healthy youngsters. She must be a very good mother to have kept all four healthy and well-fed!
Crossing the Grumeti River near the airstrip gave the group one last chance to photograph an attractive crocodile, some hippos, and a pretty impressive lizard called a Nile Monitor.
One last animal portrait that represents the age and power of the Serengeti…
The small plane made several short hops, picking up and dropping passengers at various safari stops – lots of opportunities for animal sightings. The co-pilot appeared a bit inattentive. The final leg was through towering cumulus clouds over Ngorongoro Crater and the lush farmlands on its eastern slope.
Michelle and the Idiots were picked up by their friend David and he graciously took them for some end-of-trip souvenir shopping at the Masai Market in Arusha.
Back at Ahadi Lodge…
An early morning pick-up brought the Idiots to their connection with the Riverside Shuttle back to Nairobi. Idiot She grabbed a good seat near the front and held it against all comers…
The trip to Nairobi was uneventful. The Idiots saw the bandits that had tried to rob them on their first border crossing, but the ringleader just smiled defiantly at them as they passed.
Throughout the journey, the Idiots took pictures of the buses and matatu – the ubiquitous and often colorful private vans that serve as cheap public transportation. Rather than blurry photos of the landscape taken from the shuttle window, the Idiots will substitute a few examples. When possible, they have included translations.
Love the bananas and precariously-perched luggage on top of this bus…
The Idiots enduring image of Nairobi is traffic jams…
But the Idiots don’t want to end their travelogue with a picture of a traffic jam. They spent their last night and day in Nairobi back at their haven, Miti Mingi Guesthouse. Their flight wasn’t until late in the evening, but their hosts graciously allowed them to spend a peaceful day in the garden…
