We had an "Angelina Jolie" Moment!

Friday, Sept. 25, 2010


Safari at 6:00 a.m. Morning brings out the animals who are looking for food. We saw the African antelope, giraffes, and a prowling LEOPARD! The safari drivers are so funny. They all have cb radios, and when someone spots an animal, the driver announces it to all the other drivers, and all the other safari jeeps race their tourists to that location.

We visited a real tribal village of 260 people. They herd goats and cows. Our driver arranged for us to pay the village elder to get a tour of their enclosed village. They were in traditional dress and they welcomed us with songs and dances. Their houses are about 4 feet tall and about 30 sq. Feet inside. The roofs are made from sticks and old clothing mixed in with mud and cow dung. The walls are also a mixture of mud and ccow dung. Most have 6 or 8 kids who sleep on cow skins. They showed us how to start a fire with two sticks and cow dung. Nothing goes to waste in the tribal villages--not even the cow waste!

I had my "Angelina Jolie" moment when the tribal elder took us to a different part of the camp for the orphaned children who's moms died from aids. They asked for another donation for the children, and how can you say "no" to that? It was very emotional to see little 2-3-4 yr old kids sing songs for you with hand gestures and everything, knowing that their being raised by a teenage girl in the tribe. The kids are also kept in a separate mud house. It was really sad. I also bought a couple of the beaded collar necklaces from the women in the tribe. When you negotiate a price, you negotiate with the whole tribe, and not with just the woman who made the necklace.

After that incredible visit, we went for another safari and found a leopard just hanging on a branch of an acacia tree. It was so beautiful. Then, we saw a HUGE herd of elephants--probably 25-30 of them all together! Their ears were flapping in an effort to cool themselves, and it makes their ears look so huge when they flap them. Two of the baby elephants played by twisting thir trunks around each other and locking their little tusks. It was also heartbreaking to see a huge elephant trying to keep up with the herd while trying to walk on just 3 legs. He held up his one of his back legs and tried to carry all of his weight on the other 3 legs.