We were so relieved that another couple decided to go on safari with us that the possibility of them not being cool was an afterthought.
“What if they suck?” I asked Andrew over tea and toast for breakfast at the hostel.
“Well, then we’ll have someone new to make fun of after the trip is over…” He responded. Or maybe that’s how I responded in my head. I can’t be entirely sure…
Fortunately, they didn’t suck. At all. As we drove out to Lake Manyara (our first stop on our Tanzanian safari), we discovered that they, too, were Americans, on a longer than average trip around the world, and were equally amused at how strange it sometimes is to talk about traveling around the world to someone who is on a two, maybe three week vacation from home. Questions started flying back and forth and the two hour drive out to the lake flew by.
We were so relieved that another couple decided to go on safari with us that the possibility of them not being cool was an afterthought.
“What if they suck?” I asked Andrew over tea and toast for breakfast at the hostel.
“Well, then we’ll have someone new to make fun of after the trip is over…” He responded. Or maybe that’s how I responded in my head. I can’t be entirely sure…
Fortunately, they didn’t suck. At all. As we drove out to Lake Manyara (our first stop on our Tanzanian safari), we discovered that they, too, were Americans, on a longer than average trip around the world, and were equally amused at how strange it sometimes is to talk about traveling around the world to someone who is on a two, maybe three week vacation from home. Questions started flying back and forth and the two hour drive out to the lake flew by.
Not long into our drive, we spotted them. And then one wasn’t afraid standing so close to the road, I could not stop marveling at how beautiful they were. I know, zebra print isn’t a new thing… But on a real zebra it’s simply fascinating. Against the golden and green grasses, they stood out in such a bold way that it was difficult to say “Ok, we can go…” to our patient driver/tour guide, Arnold.
I knew we had more to see, so I tried not to mourn the zebras as we rolled away and soon became equally elated over the many baboons. So many that we had to wait for them to cross the road before we could continue on our drive. And then… “Stop! Elephant!” I yelled, as a huge elephant was ambling out of the brush, towards the road, right where we had stopped. For a minute I wondered if he was going to come up to our jeep. He slowed down a bit only a couple meters away from us, and then continued on his way, to join the other elephants we had passed on the other side of the road, further away, not nearly as close as this giant beauty got to us.
Breathtaking.
Do you remember that feeling of going to the zoo for the first time? Or maybe even that feeling you might get now, when you’re so close to a wild animal you wonder what would happen if there wasn’t a thick layer of glass or a high fence in between you? That’s kinda what going on a safari is like, only times one hundred. We were all transformed, overtaken with childlike excitement over the elephant after the baboons after the zebras…
There were flamingos in the distance, so many that it created a distinct pink line on the horizon, and then a rainbow on the drive home. Which I took as a reassuring sign that going (way) over budget to do this safari was worth it…
A fairly common (and surprising in my opinion) response to how long we’ve been traveling, and how long we plan to travel is “Oh… you must have so many stories!” I never know how to respond to this, and usually end up saying something along the lines of “I suppose… maybe we do…” often simultaneous to wondering if that’s my cue to tell a story right away.
This actually happened in Jerusalem with our couchsurfer host. He outright demanded a story and I responded with an awkward tale that was neither interesting nor funny because I felt so put on the spot to entertain. Andrew and I relate this reaction to our travels to when people at home (friends, family, random people you run into after a few years) react to us when we say we’ve been living in South Korea for several years. “What’s that like?” They ask nine times out of ten. Then, they expect you to sum it up in one sentence without boring them about the nuances and intricacies of living in a foreign country, let alone, when it’s South Korea. For the record: Yes, I like kimchi and No, I wasn’t afraid of North Korea.
With Josh and Leanne, celebrating their year trip-aversary today, there was no awkward response of what it’s like to travel around the world, or one sentence summary of stories from our trip. We laughed about ridiculous fights we found ourselves getting into, annoying travelers we’ve met along the way, and exchanged stories of tuk-tuk drivers who tried to rip us off in India.
We stayed up too late chatting oblivious to what time we had to get up in the morning until we noticed we were the last table in the dining area. Only then, did we say sneak off for a few hours of sleep before heading to the Serengeti in the morning!
