Day three…Safari…Beyond our wildest dreams…The Big Five…Accomplished in our first 10 hours on safari!

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Up close and personal! We were in a Toyota Land Cruiser with open sides, 25 feet from this lion. Much to our surprise we never felt frightened or at risk at close-range to any of these big animals, including this massive male lion who gave us a great show.  Many more lion photos including a graphic kill and mating shots will follow in posts to come.

Anderson, our guide at the Olonana at the Sanctuary Retreat has far surpassed our hopes and expectations in ensuring that we have a memorable safari experience in our short three days at the camp. 

Had the expense, not been $5000 including air, all-inclusive, we surely would have stayed longer.  Maybe someday we’ll return to the Masai Mara and Olonana.

At this point, we don’t flinch over the cost. There is no amount of money that could have provided us with a more life-changing and valuable experience that which we’ve had thus far; 19 hours on safari in the 49 hours since we arrived on Saturday.

Encountering these creatures from close proximity was Anderson’s goal. In most cases, we were within 25 feet of any of the animals in our photo.  Notice, this older elephant resting his trunk on his tusk. Anderson expected this one to be around 60 years old, close to his life expectancy.

With one more safari remaining tonight, we’ll begin to wind down, pack to return to Diani Beach on the tiny plane, with plans to continue to relive this experience over and over for years to come.  Now we know that safaris will be an integral part of our ongoing travels.

The Big Five…we had few expectations.  Now wanting to be the typical traveler, we made no requirements to Anderson that we accomplish this treasured undertaking that most safari attendees get stuck in their heads.

The Big Five may vary by certain standards.  In Africa, it’s listed as follows:

1.  Elephant
2.  Black Rhino
3.  Cape Buffalo
4.  Leopard
5.  Lion (particularly the male lion)

Leopards are nocturnal and seldom seen during daylight hours. We were so excited to see this leopard to round out the Big Five sightings in the first 10 hours we were on safari. 

There’s so much to tell, I almost don’t know where to begin. With limited time and connectivity, we’ll continue as we have over the past few days, as many photos as we can with less dialogue.

But, there’s a story here from beginning to end that we’re anxious to tell, the rich experience of the gift of nature, the local people who regard it with reverence and, our own discovery of that which has remained inside us that is finally let free.  We’ll never be the same, neither of us.

At this point in time, there are only 30 remaining rhinos in Kenya with 10 in the Masai Mara. So far we’ve seen 5 of these elusive and endangered animals.  Lots more photos of rhinos and babies to follow.

When returning to Diani Beach, we’ll begin that story with many more photos as well as our own personal journey of a life-changing adventure we’ll never forget.

We took these photos posted today of The Big Five in our first 10 hours on safari.  That story is but a small portion of the treasures we beheld day by day as we bounced around over winding rocky uneven road without concern or thought to any discomfort.

This old cape buffalo was covered with flies and mud, huddled close in the hot sun with other family members and friends. Most likely he was what Anderson referred to as the Retired Generals, male buffaloes who was been banned from the herd for life, having lost for dominance in battle with other males. The males hang out together in small groups for safety reasons.

We will highlight many additional photos of The Big Five and the many other amazing animals that we discovered each day on safari. 

By the way, as we write this, we’re sitting in the outdoor restaurant at the lodge, soon to go on our second safari of the day. Across the river, we see giraffes and impalas (photos coming soon) and in the river, playful baby hippos. Ah, this is living!

Please come back as this story continues to unfold. Thanks to all of our readers for their comments and email messages and of course, for following along with us.

Day two, safari…Beyond our wildest dreams….

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After a considerable wait this morning we were able to get these shots of a young lion with his head jutting out of a culvert. The mother and babies were living in the culvert for protection. 
The lions, not all visible due to the narrow size of the culvert, came out to look, one at a time. We were less than 25 feet from this breathtaking event.
This lion kept a watchful eye on us. We didn’t feel any danger in watching them, making no quick movements or loud noises, very important in ensuring safety on safari, although the actual risks are minimal.

Suddenly, the young male lion in the above photo jumped out of the culvert, walked across the road to enter the culvert from the other end.  What an experience for the four of us in our safari vehicle watching this event.  With Anderson at the wheel, we were ensured an exquisite safari.
We can only post 12 to 15 photos a day with the slow Internet connection here in the Masai Mara, far from civilization. Over the next 48 hours, we’ll continue to post every photo we can.  

Hippos, happy, homebodies, hanging around together!

We could sit for hours and watch the antics of the hippos. Their lethargic movement and playful personalities are a pleasure to behold.


A lone hippo arises from his nap to check things out.

 We realize that this gruesome photo may be difficult for some to see. But, it’s a part of the food chain which we decided we would accept on our safaris as a reality of the life cycle. This crocodile was consuming either an impala or gazelle.
For now, with limited time to write more details after a 6-hour safari this morning (Sunday), with an additional 3 hours coming up this afternoon, we’ll continue to use the time to take more and more amazing photos.
The Mara River.  Our tent is located on the shore where sounds of hippos fill the air beginning around 4:00 am as they awaken.
 No swimming in this river!
Need I say…we are in safari heaven.  In the past 24 hours, we’ve been on safari for 10 hours, and it’s not quite 2:00 PM. Exhausted, dirty, suffering from lack of sleep (the delightful hippo sounds kept waking us up!), Tom says I can’t wipe the smile off of my face.  Nor can he! 
This is a Topi only found in the Masai Mara.
 “Please pinch me,” I told Tom. “I must be dreaming!”
We’ll share more photos tomorrow and continue upon returning to Diani Beach. Thanks to every single reader out there as you join us in the adventure of a lifetime!
Back soon with more!
Error correction from yesterday’s post. This photo of Mount Kilimanjaro was lost when uploading due to Internet constraints. 
The windows on the plane were scratched and cracked making it difficult to take clear shots. For some reason, these photos wouldn’t didn’t upload yesterday.

Day one, safari…Beyond our wildest dreams….

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Anderson, our safari guide took us on an unplanned 90-minute safari rather than wait at the airstrip for another couple to arrive on a later flight. This was one of the first photos we took along the Mara River.  Our tent is located on the banks of the river where the hippos will awaken us with their hysterical morning calls. We couldn’t believe our eyes or our ears
Anderson referred to this ostracized male cape buffaloes (one of the Big Five) as Retired Generals. They lost the battle for dominance and are forced out of the herd to fen for themselves for the rest of their lives. Kind of sad.  He gave us a nice pose, hungry not only for vegetation but also for attention.
I love warthogs. They are funny, actually quite friendly. Vegetarians, they amble around for the tiniest morsels. They are delightful to watch.  Please pinch me! I can’t believe we are in the Masai Mara. We missed the Great Migration by one week. We’re not at all disappointed with what we’ve seen on the first day!

As we write and post photos, we make a valiant effort to take our readers through the step by step process of following our journey each step of the way.

After our experiences today, we are tempted to get right to the safari, as we know many of you’d prefer. Our arrival in itself was an adventure all of its own, not a story we could easily forgo.

So, in light of this, today, we’ll tell the story of our arrival at Camp Olonana of Sanctuary Retreats, an over a two-hour flight on a tiny rickety old plane including notes and photos from the flight and to whet your appetite for the treasures of safari a few of our photos from our over first four hours on safari on the first day.

Without a doubt, we’ll be posting photos every day, perhaps twice a day. There’s no Internet connection in our tent. In order to post, we have to sit in the lobby of the main building of the camp.  With six hours a day on safari, the slow connection at the camp (not surprising), we’ll have no choice but to continue to post photos after we return to Diani Beach with a better connection.

In the first 90 minutes, we took almost 100 great photos. This afternoon we took hundreds more.  Bear with us, you’ll see most of them over the next week. As a matter of fact, we can’t wait to share them.

For now, we’re pooped and at 8:02 pm have yet to eat dinner. Soon, we’ll stop for dinner which ends at 9:30 pm. We’ll be going out on safari for a breakfast picnic at 6:30 am. We’ll be back with more photos tomorrow afternoon.

______________________________________________
Traveling to the Masai Mara by plane

Our tiny 19 seat plane. Yes, I know, it could have been smaller.
The plane was fueled by using a hand crank typically used in WW2, according to Tom’s recollection of history.
View from the plane after leveling off.
Yes, that’s Mount Kilimanjaro, as viewed from the tiny single engine plane.
The inside of the plane was so small, it was difficult to get a good shot maneuvering around the other passengers, since we were on the opposite side.
This pristine lake was like a mirror.
Muddy rivers.

I’d never flown on a small plane. Oh, yes, opportunities were presented from time to time. But, I always dismissed them without a moment’s consideration.

Only recently, I’d begun to feel more at ease flying in commercial jumbo jets after the long flights we’ve tackled in this past year. I’ve had no desire to tackle the puddle jumper concept.

This appeared to be some type of horse farm.  Look at the reflection of our plane on the ground! What a sight!  I couldn’t believe we were inside that tiny thing!

When we’d decided to travel the world almost two years ago, I anticipated that it was time to let go of some of my irrational fears. As we planned our itinerary, I contemplating a few of the rational fears realizing it was time to let some of the fears waft away.

More muddy rivers.

With a torn shoulder injury escalating during the planning stages with no desire to have surgery to remedy it, I decided to forgo more physically challenging events and settle for combatting some other fears which included flying in small planes.

After three takes off and three landings, we finally arrived to meet our guide, Anderson who’s lived in the Masai Mara region all of his life. What a guy!  We loved him the moment we met him!

This morning as I sat in my confining worn-out seat which included a number of tears and lumps in the rickety 19 seat plane, I found that I needed a diversion more distracting than reading mindless drivel on my phone.

My knees still a little wobbly from the flights.  I was thrilled to be on the ground, meeting our guide Anderson for our time in Onolana.  At that point, I knew I’d have be less fearful on the return flight.

Instead, I began to write on the “legal pad” app on my smartphone hoping to divert my attention from my usual overthinking, worrying, and speculation.

Tom was engrossed in a book on his phone, oblivious to any concerns, mine or his, occasionally looking my way, thrilled that my nails weren’t digging into his hand.

A person could spend a lifetime trying to analyze why one has such fears and others do not. Never having to combat small plane fear in the past leaves me with little interest or inclination to pursue answers at this point in life. Thinking I could bypass the necessity of facing it, I now knew the time had come in our travels to face a simple fact: either we get there in one piece or we don’t.

This is one situation I cannot control. There’s no going online and researching an answer, resulting in a bullet point list of myriad possibilities to consider, ultimately sharing those in a post.

All I could do is fly on the little plane with a determined attitude, saying a few prayers, while hoping this old beat up prop plane will make it safely to the Maasai Mara and the necessary two additional stops along the way resulting in three “ups and downs” until we arrived.

A half-hour into the two-hour flight, Tom alerted me to stand up to walk to the front of the plane to take a photo of Mount Kilimanjaro. I did. He did.

This, dear readers, is why we do this. The excitement of that which we had an opportunity to behold allayed my fears and I felt at peace. 

We’ll be back with many more amazing photos of our safari, the fabulous resort, the outstanding food, the flawless service, and smemorable experience that fulfills a lifelong dream.

Power outage for over six hours yesterday…Thank goodness its back on…One day until safari…

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Our soft sided bags for the tiny plane.  They said no shaped hard bags.

Yesterday, we were imagining what it would be like getting ready to leave for safari with no power after it went out at 9:45 am, not returning until 4:15 pm. We also wondered how we’d shower and get ready to go out to dinner last night if the power remained off. There would be no hot water.

Our laptop batteries were dead. Our smartphones were charging when the power went out and wouldn’t last through the night enabling us to read our books.

We couldn’t watch movies on the laptop. All the food in the freezer and refrigerator would go bad and we’d have no ice. Plus, the danger of home invasions greatly increases when there’s no power.

There’s always monkey families along this stretch of road.

Need I say that we discussed our options if the power didn’t come back on by 5:00 pm:

1.  Go out to dinner, staying out at late as possible.
2.  Return to the house which may possibly still in the dark.
3.  Go to bed, no reading, a habit that hard to break, one we’ve acquired without having a TV.
Or…
1.  Get a cab, stay in a hotel overnight with AC for a night, free WiFi, dinner, and breakfast the next day (All the resorts have generators), returning on Friday, hopefully with power or,
2.  Pack up all of our safari luggage, get a cab to stay overnight both Thursday and Friday nights, leaving for the airport at 7:00 am Saturday morning.
Or…
1.  Tough it out, stay in for dinner making something easy while its still light, tuna salad on a bed of lettuce with a side of coleslaw. Nuts for dessert.
2.  Play Gin by candlelight until bedtime

This one was more interested in picking at the grass than noticing us stop to take a photo.

What did we actually do?  We played Gin for 6 1/2 hours.  Tom slaughtered me!

At 4:15 pm the power returned. We made the tuna salad anyway. And, when the power came back on, we began charging all of our equipment, had dinner in the outdoor living room, watched a few shows we’d saved on the hard drive, headed to bed at 11:00 pm with no bugs in the mosquito netting. Once again, we were content.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll be heading out. You’ll hear from us by the end of the day on Saturday (depending on where you are in the world) when hopefully, we’ll have arrived in one piece and early enough to take a few photos to post, provided we have the promised good Internet connection in the Masai Mara. 

Last night while getting ready for bed in the bathroom, there was a huge lizard sitting atop the light fixture above the mirror. Tom tried to move him along with a too-small dustpan to no avail.  He took off to return a short while later but finally was gone this morning. It was the biggest lizard we’d seen in Kenya thus far. 

Talk about an “outdoor living room.”

We’ve packed everything except our drying laundry. It was on the clothesline overnight and it rained in buckets. Most likely, Hesborn washed it again this morning and again, hung it to dry. With today’s good breeze with slightly less humidity, we might get lucky. 

We printed our e-tickets for the tiny plane on our portable printer. We’re charging all of our equipment and bringing all required cables, chargers, and adapters. Everything on our list is included.

Again, we reminded ourselves that these roadside shops/homes don’t ever have electricity. 

Tonight, we’ll eat in having leftover tuna salad, fillet mignon, and coleslaw; easy, quick, and delicious. I’ll set the alarm on my phone leaving it under my pillow and by 7:00 am tomorrow morning, we’ll be on our way to the tiny airport down the road. 

If we don’t get to see the Great Migration since it moved on, we are totally accepting of this fact and won’t allow ourselves a moment of disappointment. Once we start taking photos, we’ll be on cloud 9.

They say the drive from the tiny airport in Masai Mara in itself is an adventure!

See you soon from “the bush.”   

Noisy night…Packing for a safari…Two days until safari…

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The noises at night are rather entertaining, sounds we’ve never heard in our lives, hard to pinpoint, persistent, and seemingly unwieldy. They’re not gentle sounds. 

One sound is eerie that I mentioned in a past post. It sounds like the music from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Click here for the scene from the movie with the five-note sound.

We don’t hear it every night, only two or three times a week. No one knows what it is nor do they question it. When I first heard it the second night here, I couldn’t help but wonder what it was. It continued until dawn. 

It began last night it began at dusk, finally stopping when I awoke at 6:00 am. Oddly, at this point, I almost welcome the peculiar familiarity of this sound among the many other sounds of the night.  

Perhaps, these sounds are in preparation for the new (to us) sounds that we’ll be hearing outside our tent beginning on Saturday night.  How exciting!

The packing has begun for our safari. Most would think, throw some khaki pants, shirts and boots in a duffel bag and we’ve got it covered. Not so quick!

There’s more to it for us.  Here’s our list:

  • Epipens for possible bee sting
  • Tylenol PM (just in case)
  • Malaria pills
  • Business cards
  • BugsAway pants, shirt, hats
  • Underwear & tee shirts
  • Pills cases for everyday pills
  • Bug lotion
  • Boots
  • Socks
  • Shoes to wear when not on safari (boots too heavy)
  • Sunglasses
  • 2 cameras + cords
  • 2 laptops
  • Chargers: laptops, cameras, phone, MiFi, Hotspot
  • MiFi and Hotspot
  • Smartphones (for books to read)
  • Toiletries (bare minimum)
  • Clothes to change into at night if dining in the dining room during bad weather.  If dining in the bush, we’ll wear BugsAway clothing
  • Plugs and adapters for 220 (which we use everyday)
  • Binoculars
  • Waterproof parkas
  • Passports, Kenya visa, ID

There isn’t one item on the above list that we can exclude. Plus, it won’t be as if we’re at a hotel where we can buy supplies in the gift shop. We’ll be in a tent with a nearby lodge.

All the above does not fit in our one duffel bag. We’ve added two cloth bags for overflow We were instructed not to bring any suitcase-shaped bags, even if soft sided. In the small plane there’s no overhead compartments and everything needs to be neatly tucked away.

Tomorrow, we’ll take a photo of our packed bags to share here. Hesborn will return our dry laundry tomorrow with a few items to top off the bags. 

At this point, we haven’t decided if we’re going out today or even out to dinner tonight. We have produce to use before we go (waste not, want not) and plenty of steaks on hand if we decide to dine in. I have accounting work to update today and will be content to sit in our outdoor living room, ice tea in hand, my guy only steps away and something exciting to anticipate.

The power just went out again. I’d better hurry and post this or my laptop will run out of juice. That’s life in Kenya.

Pouring rain…What, me worry?…Three days to safari…

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Read below for the significance of this photo of Alfred E. Newman

Last night, the humidity was unbearable. We were sweating profusely as we dined on our cold dinner of low carb, gluten-free “unwich,” a bread-less subway sandwich using lettuce leaves on the outside; turkey, ham, cooked bacon, sliced cheese, mayo, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions on the inside, all tightly wrapped with parchment paper and a rubber band. 

Recently, Hesborn brought us a stand-up fan to use in our outdoor living room. Not only does the breeze help keep us a little cooler, but when close to us, it helps keep some the flying things off of us. 

Lately, I’d given up drinking hot tea at 4:00 pm, my usual ritual.  Drinking the hot beverage only adds to the sweating.  Whoever said drinking a hot beverage on a hot day, keeps one cool, was kidding themselves. That concept is flawed.

After watching a few recorded shows, Homeland and Damages (we’re catching up on prior seasons), I went to bed by 10:30 pm with Tom following shortly thereafter.  The weirdest thing happened when I got into bed, worsening when Tom entered the seemingly securely placed mosquito netting.

A huge number of quarter-inch long beige, tightly winged flying things started attacking us both inside the netting. Where were they coming from? What are they? 

Flailing our arms wildly, we tried to kill them. How would we ever get to sleep? I kept imagining being awake all night dealing with this situation. We considered sleeping in the guest room, but when I got up to look, they were in that bed as well. What was going on?

They looked like a type of moth. When I’d swat one, it was “crunchy.” Oh.

Determined to get some sleep, we both used the light reflecting from our phones to find and kill them, one by one, pushing the dead bodies off the bed and onto the floor beyond the netting. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

Finally, an hour later, we thought we’d had removed the last one.  But, we knew they were continuing to fly all over the room requiring that neither of us gets out of bed during the night and open the netting. We both stayed put.

During the night, the rain pelted on the thatched roof.  Once, I awake to the sound of water dripping in the hallway outside our bedroom door. There was nothing we could do. In the morning there was a puddle on the floor in the hallway. Luckily, our digital equipment was inside the bedroom with us, safe from the rain.

Tom awakened this morning before me. When he ventured outside to our outdoor living room, he moved our “sofa” to avoid the rain soaking it. At that point, a strong wind was blowing the rain into our outdoor living room.

In the realm of things, it wasn’t a big deal. This morning, we’re safe, dry, and healthy. Who’s to complain?  During these events, we both stay calm, although I let out a few yelps when the flying things flew in my face. 

Today, we’d planned to go to Madafoo’s, our new weekly outing. With the on and off rain today, the continuing high humidity, neither of us have any interest in sitting on the beach and dining outdoors while trying to find cover when the rain starts up again. Our plan is to go tomorrow depending upon the weather. 

Most likely the flying things were due to the increased humidity and upcoming rain. Hopefully, this won’t occur again this evening. Sleep is a valuable commodity, especially when the elements are challenging at times.

Soon, we’ll start packing for the safari. Hopefully, our laundry will dry in time before we go. Hopefully, it won’t be raining when we board the little prop plane. Hopefully, it won’t rain when we’re on safari. What, me worry?

Booking for the future…Safari in four days!…

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Views from our upcoming hotel, Club Intrawest Condo Hotel in Vancouver. British Columbia.

Wouldn’t life be simple if we decided to travel to a popular destination and at the last minute we could book reasonable airfare and hotels?

Unfortunately, if one is determined to get “the best, for the least” we’ve found, after almost two years of planning, waiting until the last minute leaves fewer options from which to choose. Sure, there may be a few “bargain basement” or “last-minute” prices. But, when all is said and done, you get exactly what you pay for.

When it comes to hotels we prefer four-star customer ratings with free WiFi in convenient locations where we won’t need a car. We prefer flights, where we don’t have to go to the airport at 5:00 am or earlier. These simple choices cost more which we’re willing to pay. Other travelers have different preferences.

A sleek newer building has a certain appeal after staying in older properties.

Thus, we decided that we’d better get on the ball and begin the search for a hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from September 17 to September 23, 2014, less than a year away. Were we ever right to do this early! 

As we searched several of the major hotel booking resources online, many list how many rooms are left at a particularly lower price than would be posted on the hotel’s website. 

Upon entering the dates we’ll be in Vancouver, many hotels were completely booked and, many had listed only 2 or 3 rooms left at the best pricing. Vancouver must be a popular tourist spot in September.

Although not huge, the condo provides us with all the amenities we prefer when staying in hotels.  This is located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, convenient to restaurants and local attractions. 

Why are we going to Vancouver? As mentioned in prior posts of two weeks ago, we’ll be working our way across the Atlantic Ocean toward the US to spend Christmas with our kids in 2014. To maneuver in that direction, we’ll sail from London to Boston, spending a few days with family, and then fly from Boston to Vancouver to stay for the six nights, after which we’ll board another cruise heading to Hawaii.

We’ll arrive in Hawaii on October 5, 2014, for which we’re now looking for a place to stay until we take our pre-booked house in December on the Big Island until January 15, 2015, when we move to our pre-booked property in Kauai.

We realized that we must book the following over the next few months:
1.  Hotel for three nights in Boston
2.  Flight from Boston to Vancouver (oddly, under $300 each!)
3.  Hotel for six nights in Vancouver
4.  Condo in Hawaii from October 5, 2014, to December 1, 2014
5.  Flight from Honolulu to Big Island on December 1, 2014 (not necessary to book until we’re actually in Hawaii.

So far, after considerable searching, we’ve booked the Vancouver Hotel. However, our criteria was beefed up.  We’d just come across the ocean for 14 days, later spending three days in Boston. A reality we have to deal with is our laundry. 

There’s no way with our limited clothing supply that we can go 14 days without having laundry done. As in the past, it will be necessary to utilize the ship’s laundry service usually costing from $80 to $100 for a 15 to 18 item load. We’ll hand wash the smaller items as we’ve done in the past. 

(A few cruise lines have coin-operated washers and dryers, mostly Carnival, which overall doesn’t fulfill our expectations).

Thus, our goal for Vancouver, having accumulated many days of laundry, was to find a “suite hotel” with coin-operated laundry facilities either in our suite or available in the building. Mission accomplished.

Here’s the hotel we booked for 6 nights in Vancouver, Club Intrawest which is a condo-hotel with amenities that are perfect for us, including free WiFi, laundry facilities, added space, a kitchenette, walking distance to restaurants, and an easy bus ride to many of the renowned sites in the city. The price at US $188 a night plus taxes brought our total to $1300.44. 

We’ll most likely eat dinner out each night, adding approximately another $600 to our expenses, plus an approximate $300 in expenses for entertainment.  Our combined cost per day will be $366.74, comparable to our cost per day while cruising. 

Cruising every day is not economical for us but when added to the great rental rates we’ve been able to book when staying put for 2 to 3 months, it balances out to an acceptable monthly level. Again, it’s all about trade-offs.

This morning, cab driver Alfred drove us to Nakumatt Grocery Store for our weekly errands: grocery shopping, more SIM card date scratch-offs (Tom does this while I shop), and a trip across the street to the ATM for more Kenya Shillings. We don’t carry much cash for security reasons usually getting more every other week as needed. 

When Tom didn’t return to the grocery store as quickly as I’d expected I began to worry.  Usually, he finds me while I’m still shopping. Standing near the front entrance with my grocery cart, a million thoughts ran through my head. 

A little comforting was the fact that we saw numerous armed guards stationed at the intersection and at the entrance to the small strip mall. Our taxi is always inspected when we arrive. For Tom to get to the bank, he only had to cross twice at the intersection to get to the ATM. 

After waiting 15 minutes for him to return, I let out a sigh of relief when I saw him enter the door of the Nakumatt, sweat pouring off of him in today’s’ humid heat. Finding me quickly, he explained that the beefed-up security slowed his time at the Safaricom phone store to purchase more data and at the bank. Plus, the stores were more crowded than we’ve seen.

As we began the checkout grocery checkout process, we were further detained when their computer system was down, unable to read credit card transactions. We waited patiently while they manually processed our total bill of Kenya Shillings $20,568, US $235.39, a typical weekly amount including taxes. 

Today, its really hot and humid, raining off and on, beginning last night. If the rain continues through tomorrow, we’ll have to postpone our planned weekly trip to Madafoo’s for a day of sun, free WiFi, and an early dinner.

We’re excitedly counting the days until we leave for our photo safari in the Masai Mara.

Back at you soon!

Part 1…Le Cafe at Lantana Galu Beach…We’ll be back…

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Last night, our waiter at Le Café at Lantana Galu beach offered to take a photo of us. Gee, we’ve lost our tans.

With a solid recommendation from Hans plus numerous excellent reviews on TripAdviser.com, we decided to try Le Café at Lantana Galu Beach last night for our Saturday dinner date night.

Although only a very short distance, the drive to the property took nearly 10 minutes over the bumpiest road we’ve seen so far in Kenya; unpaved, laden with potholes, definitely not suitable for the queasy.  Heading south on the road outside our property for the first time, we were distracted by the various resorts we’d yet to visit, making the bouncy ride less annoying.

This is the entrance to the main building.  A long walk was required on a poorly lit path in order to reach the restaurant located on the beach. It proved to be well worth the walk.

The excitement of trying a new restaurant each Saturday night creates a refreshing sense of anticipation after a few days of quiet contemplation in our outdoor living room.

With us, there’s always a bit of trepidation of going out. We seldom dined out in our old life. But, this is our new life that includes making the effort to find something to wear and get ourselves out the door.

The waiting area in the lobby of the resort.  Apartments and condos are sold at this resort to later be rented and managed by the company, a similar concept we experienced at LaruBeya where we lived for over two months in Belize.

In every case, once we’re on our way, we smile at each other, thrilled that once again we’ve pushed ourselves to explore, try something new, step further outside the box. We now realize how complacent, we’d become in the past with the comfort of an established routine of staying home.  There’s no room for complacency in our lives now with so much world to see!

As we began the walk outdoors toward the beach, we turned around hoping to capture the main building behind us.
John at the front desk was friendly, welcoming us with much enthusiasm.
As the taxi driver, Chris pulled up to the resort, we were immediately struck by the massive wood security doors opening only after a security guard checked us out, confirmed our reservation and allowing us to enter.  


The long walk through the complex began through this elegant walkway lined with pillars and the most beautiful flowers.  The air was permeated with their intoxicating scent.

The awe-inspiring entrance immediately sets the tone for what we’d anticipated being a special evening. We weren’t disappointed. John, the concierge, pointed us down the flower-covered walkway directing us to follow the long path toward the ocean and the pool where we’d find the restaurant.
What’s with my outfit?  My skirt was wrinkled and misshapen. Do I really have to start ironing again?
Always smiling!  Wrinkled clothes don’t phase him, not his, not mine!
Having seen photos online, we knew if we could find the pool, we’d have reached our destination. After walking for several minutes, we’d begun to wonder if we’d gone the right way. We forged ahead to the sound of the surf which proved to be the perfect guide.
These are the apartment buildings where units are sold to owners for their own use and to rent to tourists, managed by the resort. As we continue on the walk, we passed many smaller buildings with individual condo units. Poorly lit we didn’t want to disturb occupants with our camera flash.
In the US and other countries, there are endless codes and ordinances requiring handrails, lighted walkways, and stable pathways with the intent of reducing injury and accommodating the elderly and/or disabled. 
Le Café is located by this outstanding swimming pool, creatively designed to capture the essence of the subtle Moroccan theme of tranquility and splendor.
In Kenya and many other parts of the world that we’ve visited thus far, no such codes exist or, if they do, they aren’t enforced.  Even the finest establishments are lax in providing ample lighting and stable walking areas when often a long walk is required from the road to the beach.
Notice how the server in this photo was waiting for us. Apparently, John at the front desk had called ahead alerting him to our pending arrival. 
Mindful of this situation, especially after our horrible fall when the steps collapsed beneath us in Belize, we take special precautions when walking on uneven and poorly lit grounds. 
Shortly after we arrived a small group gathered at the far right end of the bar, resulting in lively and animated banter pleasing to hear and see. But the conversation wasn’t lacking at our quiet table for two, with many staff members graciously stopping by to chat and welcome us, as we gushed over our memorable experience.
Both blind, Tom’s mother (sadly lost to us 5 years ago) and brother Jerome resulted in Tom learning to be the perfect guide over rough terrain. Also, after years of working the rough roads in train yards, he’s adept at managing the worst of conditions. Me, the “queen of trip and fall,” always in a hurry until now, paid little mind to what was under my feet.
It was easy to imagine a sunny day lounging in these chairs, dipping in the pool from time to time.
Last night, as we made our way in the dark, my champion at my side, I felt safe and secure that we’d arrive in one piece. Of course, we did, our mouths agape at what we encountered when we arrived at Le Café.
Looking at Tom, as we entered the restaurant, I said, “Even if the food is mediocre, I am happy to be here.” It was that breathtaking! The food was not mediocre!
This footbridge over a portion of the pool was clearly a photo op. I should toss this frumpy shapeless skirt having one less item to pack.
Seated at our table of choice closest to the pool and the beach, the guest’s comfort in this unique establishment was obviously of utmost concern. As we sunk into the exquisite padded chairs we couldn’t help but notice the soft bright white linen tablecloth and the matching napkins, appropriately placed on our laps, as a flurry of discrete activity skittered around us.
Our drink orders filled, the menus delivered at precisely the correct moment, we were greeted by name by the kindly General Manager Gillie, with whom I’d made the reservation online. What a nice touch! Chatting with her for several minutes, we felt welcomed and at home.
These were only two pages of a multiple page menu.
Our waiter, graciously served our needs, answered questions, didn’t bother us too much, somehow knew exactly how we preferred to be served. Later, the restaurant manager stopped by, offering his welcome, asking a few questions about our stay in Kenya, inviting us to return for more lavish care. We will. We absolutely will!
Tomorrow, we’ll post Part 2 (memory issues at this time restrict the number of photos posted at one time) with our menu selections (including the accommodation of my food restrictions) with photos and, the unbelievable pricing for an evening well spent along with the total cost for our evening including taxes, cab fare, and tips.

Writing comments…Please do…

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To the right, is Hesborn’s quarters where he lives until Saturdays at noon, returning early on Monday mornings.He boards the local matatu, a rickety old van bus service in order to visit his family in Mombasa. The 2-hour drive and ferry ride to Mombasa is Kenya Shillings $400, US $4.58 round trip, often breaks down en route. Although Hesborn is gone, we continue to have security on-site around the clock, as is always the case, 7 days a week.  

When we began writing this blog in March 2012, our intent was to keep a diary of our travel experiences to share with our family members and friends.  At any time they could type in our web address: www.worldwidewaftage.com to see what we’re doing today.  Today’s post is #411. We’ve been gone for almost a year!

The locked and guarded gate to ours and Jeri and Hans’ house.

After a few weeks of posting about the process of a retired couple planning to travel the world for years to come and the endless preparations, we discovered much to our surprise, that readers were reading our posts from all over the world, now at almost 100,000 and growing rapidly.

As readership continued to grow worldwide, we added advertisers to offset the continuing costs of maintaining a website and registered Worldwide Waftage as a business, enabling us a few benefits from time to time.  Now, we’ve found we’re able to receive small discounts on occasion as “travel writers.” 

As you can see, we often write reviews for places we’ve stayed, visited, and restaurants.

It makes sense with the tremendous amount of vegetation around us, that mosquitoes are impossible. With intermittent rains, the mosquito population continually thrives.

Only a handful of readers has signed up to receive the automatic email as shown on the right side of the page. These are a few folks who’d prefer to get the most recent post in an email, rather than go to their bookmark each day. Many prefer not to receive an additional email which is entirely up to you. 

Since the most recent post doesn’t usually arrive by email until the day after posting, many prefer not to sign up to receive it. Creating a bookmark is easy, allowing the reader to look for it within a minute of my posting it. Tom and I have tested this and it’s almost instantaneous. Either way you prefer is fine with us.

These pods are fascinating.  They look like pea pods but no one seems to know if they’re edible.  To be safe, we won’t use them in a stir fry.

Never, at any time will we take away the personal nature of our postings. After all, it’s very personal to us, often sharing the most minute details of our daily lives, our thoughts, our difficulties, and our dreams for the future. 

Yesterday, our post held a special meaning for us. Two of our regular readers, both of whom have posted comments at the end of posts in the past, both posted comments yesterday. 

Each of their observations meant so much to us. If you’ll go back to the post from yesterday, September 27th, you can read their much-appreciated comments and our response at the end of the post: Click here please and scroll to the end of that post.

These were often seen in pots in the US.  Here they are almost the size of a tree.

We encourage you to comment.  If you agree or disagree with us, if you have suggestions for us, if you have warnings for us, or if you simply want to say “hi,” share a recipe, share a travel experience or for that matter, share any experience, we’d love to hear from you.

We publish and respond to every comment we receive except those of a pornographic nature, those that may offend others for any reason, or those that are promoting unrelated websites that serve no use to our readers.  This will never be a place where we’ll “hound” our readers to buy something. 

Away from our family and friends, which may prove to be for extended periods, we have few interactions each day except with one another, while living in many remote areas.  Our world is not only that which surrounds us each day, but is also, every one of YOU.

If you don’t travel or can’t think of anything to say, tell us about a new TV show or movie we should download, or the weather where you live, or if nothing else, tell us your mindless drivel as we tell you ours almost each and every day.

We’ll be back tomorrow with photos of our outing tonight.  See you soon!

Our power is out today…

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If it comes back in time before we head out to dinner tonight, we’ll certainly post as planned. If not, we’ll be back tomorrow (hopefully).

This is the fifth time the power has gone out in the past few weeks, usually lasting three to five hours. We shall see what transpires today.

Hope to be back later today!