I’m so jet lagged that I won’t be putting in pictures tonight. I’ll load them soon.
On Aug. 1, we were so blessed to have the help of Elizabeth and David with our extra luggage. David dropped of our 4 rolling duffel bags stored at the Nature’s Gift Safaris office. We had a good chat about Tanzanian politics before he had to depart. It is presidential election soon, and the big news is that one of the candidates, Lowassa, was on the short-list of candidates for CCM, the ruling party, but when he wasn’t the finalist, he flipped over to the opposing party, Chadema, and vying for their presidential nominee!
Then Elizabeth picked me up, and we went to pick up the 1 rolling duffel bag I left at the Serengeti Select Safaris office. Serengeti Select and Emanyani Beach Lodge are owned by the Simonsons, so they are the experts on Emanyani, and they were kind to store the extra clothes that we didn’t need on the beach. Fortunately, their office is right next to our lunch spot where we meet Sarah, her husband, and three daughters for lunch. Anya was again “auntie” to the girls, especially the youngest.
We heard harrowing stories of a friend who went camping in Ruaha National Park with her 4 kids and another friend with her kids. Lions clawed through two tents, but they managed to all get into a car before anyone was hurt.
After lunch, I repacked the bags, and used my travel scale to get clost to 50 pounds each. I remembered to get all the liquids out of carryons, except for our 1 quart/litre plastic zip bag. However, I forgot about the knives. I had a Gerber multipurpose tool and a small Leatherman in my carryons. They both made it through TWO X-ray screenings in the Kilimanjaro International Airport, but they were caught right away when we had to go through security again at the Amsterdam airport. Now I know why they make you go through security again in Amsterdam.
On the drive to the airport, we typically stop at the game sanctuary and have a bit to eat off their lunch menu while we watch ostrich, other birds, zebra, and often eland. This place is famous for their black colobus monkeys in the trees right by the outdoor dining. However, in the 20+ times I’ve been there, I’ve never seen them. (I did see one at Pangani.) On Saturday, they showed up to send me off!
Our flight to Amsterdam was uneventful (a good thing), with one of the smoothest landings I can remember. Anya and I each watch 3 movies and got some sleep; Anya got more than I did.
It was a comfortable lay over in Amsterdam, with enough time to shop for some duty-free chocolate and go through the extra profile check/interview now required for entrance into the USA.
The flight to Seattle was again wonderfully uneventful. I got in 3 movies, and Anya succeeded in watching 4 in the 8 hour and 44 minute flight. My favorite of my 3 was Age of Adeline, about a woman who is incapable of growing older and stays at a beautiful 29 while her daughter eventually ages to look like her grandmother.
Customs went smoothly with the new touch screen kiosks instead of filling out a paper form. Jean and Marv picked us up and brought us home. HOME! It has been 6.25 months since we’ve been home.
We spent most of the afternoon unpacking and starting laundry. We did go to Chipotle for Anya’s favorite and dearly missed Mexican food and pick up a few groceries. I had emailed on Friday to have my comprehensive auto insurance reinstated for today. So, I was good to go, and the fuel additive and trickle battery charger worked perfectly. The car started right up. How slick! I did have to put a little air in one tire, but I expected that. I will get new tires for the fall, so I let a very slow leak go. The tire was low, but amazingly, not flat.
Well I’m soon to turn into a pumpkin, so I’m off to sleep. Thanks for all the prayers for this amazing journey.
With blessings,
Beth