10-5 Up, up and away...or not

10-5

We decided to go for the balloon ride so set the alarm for 3:30 in order to make the 4:00 van. The wind picked up and was playing havoc with the tent, blowing the flaps all over, whipping the panels in and out; it was so noisy I couldn’t get to sleep. Add to that the fact that the cough I had developed had turned into full-blown bronchitis. The good noises, however, were the occasional roar of something. The security guard said they get a lot of lions on the property, so I’m calling the roar lion, cause that’s so cool! Anyway the wind died down a bit and I finally got to sleep, only to be awakened by the sudden inability to catch my breath. I felt like I was drowning. I sat up, coughed my head off, waking Bruce in the process. I didn’t want to lie down again, so propped myself up on all the available pillows and tried to get a bit more rest. About 45 minutes later the alarm went off. We discussed the merits of ballooning vs not ballooning and not ballooning won. Disappointing, but sensible on the whole, I think, given that I was still wheezing and having trouble breathing. Plus I’m sure the other people on the balloon would not have been overjoyed to have the bronchial version of typhoid Mary with them. Bruce went up to the lodge to tell the driver we weren’t going. I tried to get a bit more rest, but then the wind picked up again and the tent cacophony resumed. We were finally up at 6:30 to go to breakfast at 7:00. The lovely people in the restaurant made me some ginger tea with honey and lemon, which was very sweet.

So after checking out, off we went toward the Ngorogoro Crater, via Serengeti National

Park. Cosmos picked up the pace a bit, we stopped for photos of the wildebeests and zebras,

passed some impalas, then had to stop for a pack of wildebeests crossing the road. A short while later, Cosmos followed a couple of other cruisers off road (!!!) and there in a clearing was a cheetah and her three cubs. Suddenly, up she sprang, having seen something in the distance. She started trotting away, her three adorable babies trotting after her. I got the feeling the off-road bit was illegal, because all three cars declined to pursue her and headed back to the road.

Our next treat was spotting a pride of lionesses resting on some big rocks.

Again, the Serengeti being as vast as it is, the lionesses were quite far away, but we could see them with the binoculars. Just to the right of the pride a herd of elephants came into view.

Again, far away, but elephant are elephants & wasn’t going to complain. Cosmos pointed out a bull elephant a few hundred yards away. He said, "You can tell he's the bull because of the fifth leg."

As we made our way toward the southwestern exit of Serengeti National Park, we found another pride of lionesses. The alpha lioness had a tracking collar.

Along the way I kept seeing these blue and black banners hanging from the trees. I asked Cosmos what they were. He said that they’re treated with a kind of chemical that causes sterility in tse tse flies. Black and dark blue are colors that attract them; that’s why tourists are advised to wear tan and light colors while on safari.

We flew down the road (apparently Cosmos can go fast when he’s in the mood) and suddenly he slowed and backed up. He pulled up alongside a tree g

rowing right next to the road and under it were two lions. We were 5 feet away from them.

We got some great photos and sat there for awhile just watching them. Sadly, on the other side of the road a bit further down was a hyena who was dying. Cosmos said he had probably been hit by a car. It was very sad to see. We made it to the exit of the park and stopped in the picnic area for lunch. Today we were treated to a flock of Hildebrand’s starlings. They were trolling for treats, though there are signs posted everywhere telling you not to feed them. We had another hot lunch packed by the hotel: rice, peas in tomato sauce and a chicken stew, and an apple for dessert. When Cosmos went to hand in our paperwork to exit the park, we sat at the table and waited. A starling immediately swooped down and started gobbling up the bits of rice that were on Cosmos’ plate. We did not shoo them away. They were joined by what looked like sparrows. Feast!

When Cosmos came back to pack up the lunch things we went to the gift shop & I bought another Shuka. We then started the endless trip from Serengeti Natl Park to the Ngorongoro Crater and our next hotel. Once again, no paving at all, just 4 hours of bone rattling rutted dirt roads. The worst part was the noise. The windows are plexiglass panels that make a terrible racket when you go over a bump, you know, like every half second.

We passed a memorial sculpture meant to mark the area where Mary Leakey discovered the Zinjanthropus skull at Olduvai Gorge.

At long last we reached the Ngorongoro and we stopped in the little village (which Cosmos had described as a big city – perspective, I guess). I tried to get an expectorant like Mucinex or something to help with my bronchitis but I ended up with a Tanzanian cough syrup. Couldn’t hurt, I thought. Hmmm.

On the way to the lodge, we stopped at the Ngorongoro Crater overlook. Back on the road, we had to stop for two elephants crossing the road. So cool!

Our new digs, the Hhando Coffee Lodge is, as its name implies, is on a coffee plantation.

The rooms are quirky little round cement huts, but at least they have wifi. I unpacked while Bruce went across the road to the bar and ordered us the cocktail of the day, the Blue Monkey.

Surprisingly good. I took some of my new cough medicine and rested in the room while Bruce almost took a dip in the pool, except that it was so cold, he could only dip his fee in. I had been lying on the bed and sat up then started shaking. We changed for dinner and headed to the restaurant. By this time I felt like I was vibrating. All I could think of was that the combination of about 2 hours sleep, plus the cough medicine, plus the Blue Monkey was just too much for my body to handle. So to the buffet to get something in my stomach. This place continued the trend of the food getting worse and worse at each new lodge. There were several unidentifiable stews and pasta with what looked like a sauce of Birdseye mixed vegetables. I wasn’t really hungry anyway. The waitress asked if our driver was joining us, so we said, ummm, I guess. They found him and he reluctantly joined us, then proceeded to spend the entire meal on his cell phone. After shoveling in his dinner he said he was going to bed and left. What a charmer! We followed suit and headed for the room, where I made up a kind of slanted pile of pillows so I wouldn’t have to lie prone. Fingers crossed it works.