Their reflections in the water against a dark background made for a very pretty sight.
Our overnight this evening was at the most famous lodge in Tanzania… the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. You can learn more about the Lodge at www.andbeyondafrica.com. It is located on the rim overlooking the crater 2000 feet below. It is an elegant place. We had decided, since this was the last night of the safari, to designate this evening as the official celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary. What a memorable evening it turned out to be! Our travel agent in New York did us well. Our several room suite was an elegant place… a sizable tree house perched on the side of the crater rim at the very top. We enjoyed a fireplace (it was a cool evening at 7200 feet), a sitting area that overlooked the crater, a luxurious bathroom with shower, tub and two sinks, and a large and very comfortable bed. The room was decorated with beautiful antiques, an assortment of candles, and several dozen roses. And, best of all, George was our full time butler! There was nothing that he wouldn’t do for us. Including setting up a powerful telescope so we could see several rhinos ambling across the crater’s grasslands five miles away. We wish we could have stayed for a week. The Lodge has six tree houses (and 24 other suites) and a magnificent common area in a “main house” a short ways below/in front of our tree house where we could view the Crater in all its glory , relax and read, and enjoy our meals.
Talking about meals… as we were finishing dinner, out of nowhere materialized a ten person group of dancers, instrumentalists, and singers who had come to wish us a happy 40th anniversary! They sang spirited Tanzanian folk songs accompanied by beating drums and stringed instruments, and danced their way around the dining room. Finally they circled our table and began to sing “Happy Anniversary” in English. This is when we caught on! They presented us with a beautiful and tasty cake, offered their enthused congratulations, and gave Babu and Mama Jean great big hugs. We were pleased that Margie and Hank Clark were present to enjoy this very special moment with us. Clearly this was an anniversary celebration that we will never, ever forget.
The next morning (Saturday, February 26), as the sun came up over the Crater, we gradually awakened to a most gorgeous land and skyscape. We slowly and reluctantly began moving as we prepared for our final day of the safari. After a leisurely breakfast and several final views of the stunning Ngorongoro Crater, we said good-by to George and the others, bought a few souvenirs from three Maasai women, loaded the Land Rover, and headed back to Arusha where we will catch a plane tomorrow for Ethiopia (the Clarks will return to Louisville).
On the way to Arusha, our guide/driver Chilli
was kind enough to take us to meet his parents (his Dad is 67, as I am, and has two wives… Chilli’s mother and another wife who lives near Mt. Kilimanjaro) and other family members. A few minutes later we went to Chilli’s home and met his wife Rosie,
and their daughter and son. A third child is at college in Moshi. This is a wonderful family and we were very pleased to meet Chilli’s loved ones and see the very nice house where they live. Chilli then drove us to the Serena Mountain Village Lodge where we and the Clarks will stay overnight until it is time to go to the airport tomorrow afternoon.
At our final evening meal in Tanzania, Jean wore the African dress and head wrap that were made for her in Moshi. Her attire is very striking and set off a huge commotion in the dining room as many Tanzanian staff members came to our table to admire the dress and express their pleasure. They were very pleased to see an American woman in Tanzanian attire.
This concludes a very enriching, enjoyable, and memorable week of the most amazing sights and experiences. We are so sad that it is coming to an end. Tomorrow over breakfast, we and the Clarks will develop a list of the safari’s “Ten Most Memorable Sights and Experiences.” They will be included in a future posting.
So it is off to Ethiopia. Future postings from Addis Ababa and Lalibela will describe our goings-on there. Internet access has been extremely unreliable, and will probably continue to be so. We write daily postings for the blog, but do not have very many opportunities to upload them to the internet. And, perhaps I have not said this before… the electricity is off for many hours on most days. Thank you for being patient with the circumstances and thank you even more for sharing this trip with us by reading our daily descriptions and ramblings.
We love you very much and think of you all the time…
Babu Kirk and Mama Jean
No comments:
Post a Comment