Caroline on safari

Lion Country Safari? Whoa. Being on safari is way cool!! Unlike anything else. It is amazing how many animals cohabitate on the open plains. The park doesn't even have fences, so on the way there, zebra and giraffes just stroll about, mingling with the Masai people, crossing the dirt road at will. The drive there took about 5 or 6 hours to get there, but the last hour or hour and a half were bumpy dirt roads and nothing but the Masai people wearing their traditional cloths. They look a little like red togas, but tied around their necks so both shoulders are exposed and they adorn themselves with all kinds of beaded jewelry. I'm sure you will see some photos of them on the main blog page. My eyes were going bonkers gazing at all the beads and sparkles! The thing that caught me most by surprise was the fact that they wear their "native" tribal garb all the time. It's not like they are just dressed up for the tourists. That's really how they dress every day. Their homes are made of mud and twigs and in a strange way, at least not having rain has kept their home intact. The last rain they had in that region was in 2006 and they had a few scattered showers in 2007. The Masai people seem to all be shepards. They herd their sheep or cows constantly searching for a few blades of grass to chew. Many of the cows were boney. It is very sad. The landscape is desert, as you can guess, and it is just crazy to me that the wild animals that we only have contained in zoos, strolling about around their homes.
The actual safari was amazine, too. We all got so many really cool pics. The most numerous animals are wildebeest and zebra. There are also a lot of Tom's gazelle and baboons. We saw hippos and an elephant right near our room, and one of the funniest moments was when Maria was on the porch of our tent while I was in the bathroom, and she yelled, "Caroline! A baboon just walked by!" So much urgency in her voice! And no wonder! The baboon was no more than five feet from her and had a baby on her back. Also, a green mambo (one of the most poisonous snakes in all of Africa fell out of the flower bush two feet from our porch and slithered at warp speed into the brush. If it had bit one of us, we would have died within an hour. Nothing like that to induce a peaceful night's sleep! Last night I heard a hippos in the "river" right outside our tent, splashing about in the middle of the night. Thank God my bed was so cozy!
Not too sure what tomorrow will bring for me back at Mercy Care because I contracted a sinus infection and now have laryngitis. Don't worry, I'm on an antibiotic. So I really shouldn't work in the clinic, and I can't really teach anything without a voice!
Dennis, I know you've been trying to reach me. Please be patient. As you can tell, communications are tedious at best. Sending my love to everyone and hope to post again soon!

Carol------