Up at 6:00 am and out for a morning drive! It was a nice drive but still no rhinos. Back at camp, we packed up and headed for Tsavo East. Upon arrival, we set up camp, showered, and went on an afternoon game drive where we spotted a new type of guinea fowl, an angry 65 year old (or more) bull elephant who was not impressed with us at all, and a vast herd of buffalo at a watering hole. Red dusted elephants frolicked in another water hole; and at yet another wate...

We broke camp, ate breakfast, and picked up an armed escort all before 9:30 am. The armed escort? Oh, well, in the 80s and 90s, bandits used to attack tourists traveling in the Chyulu Hills between Amboseli and Tsavo West. Finally, the military disguised themselves as tourists, got attacked and killed 9 bandits. Ever since then, tourists have an armed escort to the gates of Tsavo West. As we left Amboseli, we were once again met by multiple Maasai salespeople, s...

It rained all night and morning came, decidedly cool and cloudy. We have seen people here with parkas on, which makes us laugh because it certainly isn't that cold! It turned out that the safari would be just the four of us, a driver/guide, and a cook. We didn't know whether to be sad or glad; sad, because it's nice to be with other people; or glad, because then we'd get more input into each day's activities. We left Nairobi at about 9:45 am and headed toward...

The morning dawned cool and slightly cloudy - a delightful change after 3 weeks of Middle East heat! We chowed down on breakfast at the hotel restaurant and then headed to the Gametrackers Office for our 3 day safari to Maasai Mara! By 9:45 am, 5 of us (ourselves and Meghan, a woman from Baltimore) were on our way through Nairobi, passing through a bustling, modern metropolis to rundown neighbourhoods and finally leaving city limits through a series of shantytown...

Tides are turning! First off, last night at the airport, we met a fun couple from Australia, who helped make the 3 hour wait more enjoyable. We visited and then played cards in the airport. Once we got on board, we discovered that Kenyan Air is a brilliant airline that makes economy class people feel like they are first class (warm towels before the meal, a hot, delicious meal, free wine and a very professional atmosphere). When we arrived at 6:30 am (7:30 am, th...