Well we are back in Arusha safe and sound after a wonderful safari. We started off in Lake Manyara to see the baboons, tons of giraffes, zebra, and all kinds of antelope. The neat part of looking at these animals here is they are all together, the zebras together with the wildebeast?? together with the giraffes. That night we stayed at a tented lodge that was wonderful. The tents are on permanent foundations with proper toilets and showers but the walls and roof are tents. It had the nicest bar and dining room you can imagine. Food was good and we hated to leave. No midnight visitors to our tent that night (of the animal variety) but it was a wonderful stay. The next morning we had a walk with a Maasi guide who took us through the local area and told us how to cure syphilis with the roots of a tree. Good information to have.

Then it was off to the Serengeti after a brief stop at a Massi Village. We had a welcoming dance from the warriors, a dance with the women, a visit to a Massi home and then to their market where we bought all sorts of treasures. The dance was wonderful and we will post our pictures the next time. The dance is where they jump 2-3 feet straight up in the air. They are very colourful and there is much singing and chanting while they dance. We were kind of distracted while they were doing this as there were a whole bunch of little children around and they really stole the show. The children are incredibly dirty and incredibly cute. The Massi home is a sticks and cow dung round structure. There is a firepit inside and the place is incredibly hot and stinky. We don't think we will become Maasi any time soon. Then we visited the kindergarten for another round of financial solicitation. All in all a good visit even if we did leave somewhat poorer.

Then it was off to the Serengeti after a brief stop at Oldavai Gorge. We toured the museum where the Leakeys made their discovery of Lucy, looked at all the old bones and were off. Our first day on the Serengeti was amazing. A plain that stretches for miles & miles, no trees at the start of the Sarengeti, just some outcropping of rocks called kopjie. We saw thousands of wildebeast, zebra, gazelle. These are all on the Serengeti waiting for the time to migrate further north. We did not actually see the migration but got to see all the animals in one place. An awesome sight and one we watched for a long time and will never forget. We also saw giraffe, lion, warthog, hyena, and tons of birds (and the back end of a leopard in a tree). After a full day it was off to our very lavish lodge. Swimming pool, and amazing dining room and the view from every window overlooked the Serengeti. The next day we saw a baby wildebeast being pulled underwater by a hugh crocodile. We didn't stay for the finish but it was kind of sad even if the wildebeast are about the funniest looking animals alive. We are not finished but are going to post this so we don't lose it. More to follow.