Alas, our adventure in the bush has come to its conclusion. 6 days. 6 people. 1 semi-shot Toyota Land Cruiser. 90 Mosquito bites on Marvin’s legs. 1 Mosquito bite on my leg. 50 Elephants. 20 lions. 3 different kinds of animals engaged in passionate love making. 80 giraffes. 2 leopard. 40 warthogs. 1.2 million Wildebeest. 1.2 jillion types of Antelopes. 1 sleepy cheetah. 9 toilets in the form of “holes in the ground”. 2 very tall guys sleeping together in one tiny tent. etc. etc. etc.
The Safari was outstanding. This trip is breaking the bank a bit, but, what the hell. In total, we shelled out just under $1200 bucks for our experience traipsing through the bush. It was worth every single, solitary penny.
The Safari experience is something that I would like to share with the children that I will have sometime in the extremely distant future. To get so close to such enormous, fascinating, brilliant wild animals is one of my favorite things to do.
I would put this experience right next to Antarctica, which until now was the best place I have ever visited. The Pampas tour in the Bolivian Amazon was great and so was the Galapagos. But, with Africa you really have it all. In the wide world of wildlife viewing, I am firm believer in the “bigger the better”. It does not get any bigger than in Africa.
We lucked out with our group. Marvin and I spent much of our downtime talking about the differences in the culture between ours and that of our new Danish friends, Julie and Stine. We learned quite a bit about Denmark and I think they got a different perspective about America. For 20 year old girls, their working knowledge of the world is very impressive. I guess the 65% income tax that the Danish pay produces quite the formitable education system. Attending University in the pseudo-socialist society is completely free. Well, free after the massive taxes but you get the point.
Yesterday as we were driving back from town, a street tout trying to sell us African art told us he would give us the “Obama” discount after learning we were American. Everyone we have encountered, from all over the world are talking about the coming end of the Bush era and this guy named Barack Obama. He is all over the Swahili news here and in the minds of the Europeans we have met.
It seems to me that people around the world are sharing the same “hope” that is electrifying America right now. Regardless, I do not think many of the people we have met realize that Barack still has to get through two extremely powerful machines in the form of the Clintons and the Republicans.
I guess I just threw my mantra of not discussing politics right out the window.
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