The next morning Adam was awake before Charlie. He ordered breakfast from room service and made his morning ablutions before waking Charlie. The ring on his finger kept catching the light and his eye as well. It looked good there, a large band of gold with flowers and leaves etched in the center cut-down part. He hadn’t seen it until Charlie put it on his finger yesterday. He took it off to examine it closely and found she’d had the inner surface engraved as well with their names and the date. He placed it back on his finger and swore he would never ever remove it again.
A knock at the door indicated breakfast had arrived. As he went
toward the door, he smacked her bottom and said, “Charlie, wake up. Time to
rise and shine. We’ve got lots to do today and breakfast’s here.”
She moaned as she pulled the pillow over her head. Adam came back
with a cup of coffee which wasn’t going to help at all since it was decaf.
“C’mon, let’s get with it.”
“Nope, not until you tell me about my honeymoon.” Charlie
responded yanking the pillow back.
“Only way you’re going to find out is to get out of that bed, eat
breakfast, get ready and accompany me to the airport. We have to be there by
12:30 pm.”
Charlie didn’t even get to look in her bags because they were
already at the airport to see what had been packed. Her mamma or Sandi had put
clothes in the closet for her to wear that day and would return to pick up the
wedding finery and Adam’s tux later that morning. Of course, she didn’t know
that until Adam told her about the arrangements. She’d felt a bit cranky when
she woke up, but that really increased the crankiness she felt. If there was
one thing Charlie really hated, it was having other people know what was
happening when she didn’t.
So, she wasn’t very warm and nice to Adam or to her mamma and
Sandi when they arrived. “What’s your problem little girl?” her mamma asked.
“You and Adam fighting already?” Sandi asked.
“No, we’re not fighting. He just won’t tell me where I’m honeymooning. You know I hate it when everyone else knows what’s going on. So, just tell me where I’m going.”
“They don’t know either.” Adam
responded. “All they know is the kind of clothes and shoes to pack for you.
That’s it. So quit being bitchy to these lovely ladies, give them what they
came for and let’s head for the airport. The sooner we get there, the sooner
you’ll have your answer.”
Charlie apologized to her mamma and Sandi, gave them big hugs and
professed her undying thanks for all their help with the wedding, before and
after. Once they’d gone, Adam and Charlie headed for the airport and Charlie
finally found out their destination…Kenya.
When they’d checked in and Charlie realized where they were going,
she could barely keep herself from climbing all over Adam and showering him
with hugs and kisses. “How did you know that’s the one place I’ve always wanted
to go?”
“You told me.”
“I did. When did I tell you?”
“It was back in the beginning, before we got really involved. I
think we were sharing a beer on your porch and got to talking about all the
places we’d like to visit one day. You said then that your top three was: Kenya
so you could go on a Safari and see all the animals in their habitats, China
and Costa Rica. You never gave me any reasons for China and Costa Rica, so I
went with Kenya.”
Adam had arranged everything. They flew first class with a
stop-over in Amsterdam and then it was on to Nairobi where they joined a group
of 14 other people, not including the guides. Everyone had dinner together and
there was a lot of joking and kidding once their fellow travelers found out
they were newlyweds. Following dinner, the chief guide and his assistants held
a short seminar where they talked about where in Kenya their clients would be
going as well as what they could expect to see in various places. They were
provided with small booklets that contained additional information about where
they’d be staying during the safari.
Charlie was excited to find out they wouldn’t be hauled around in
a bus, but in three Range Rovers that had open tops so you could stand up, look
about and take photographs. The chief guide, Anthony, would move between the
three Rovers, but each driver was an educated guide as well. Their Rover’s
driver’s name was Daniel and Charlie just knew she was going to be asking him a
gazillion questions as they moved about.
Early the next morning, once they’d had breakfast, the drivers
came with the Rovers, packed in the luggage and off they went. Charlie and Adam
sat together and stared out the windows as the SUV went down what served as a
highway. It was so bumpy the driver drove fast so the SUV skimmed the tops of
the bumps instead of going down in to each and every gully. Charlie glanced at
the speedometer just once and swore not to look again. They were flying at over
70 miles an hour and if something happened out here, it wasn’t like Medic 1 or
a helicopter would be handy to take care of anyone injured.
The hotel had packed box lunches for them, so with the exception
of stopping to use bathrooms and what an experience that was. Charlie wasn’t
sure she could possibly use the one they stopped at in the afternoon but she
somehow managed to keep her shorts out of the muck and not fall into the
disgusting mess in what was supposed to be a toilet. She told Adam later it was
worse than any Sani Kan she’d ever used. Hopefully there wouldn’t be too many
stops like that.
The other thing that was available when they stopped besides
bathrooms were the various little markets that fronted the buildings. A wide
variety of Kenyans were selling a wide variety of items and Charlie bought a
packet of what were supposed to be gift cards. Each card had a piece of
material carefully glued to it and the variety of Kenyan animals had been
batiked on the material. They were works of art as far as she was concerned.
At the end of the day, they arrived at the Mountain Lodge and the
focus here was the waterhole a short distance away. They had a wonderful dinner
and were told when the animals came to the waterhole after dark, they would be
waked so they could get up and watch. Charlie was sound asleep when the knock
on the door came and the resulting watch wasn’t very exciting. It was a bit too
dark to see much and all the animals appeared to get along so they could drink.
She was happy to go back to bed but Adam stayed up and watched for a while.
They next morning after a sumptuous breakfast, they got back into
the rovers and headed out. Their first stop was at the equator where the guides
did a demonstration showing how water went down a funnel clockwise on one side
and counter-clockwise on the other side. Charlie and Adam took photos of each
other standing with one foot north and the other south of the equator and one
of the other guests took photos of them together. They were also each given a
certificate certifying they’d crossed the equator.
Then it was on to Samburu. There, each couple had a cottage in
which to stay and the first game drive of the safari was that afternoon. The
various guides, both with their group as well as other groups, kept in touch
via radio so if one found a good site, others could be advised. Driving around,
they saw impala, zebra and giraffe. Then, the sky opened up and before the
guide and men in the van could get the top closed, the folks inside were fairly
wet. The deluge didn’t last long and then the sun came out and the guide opened
the roof again. They saw dik-dik and even a leopard tortoise which wouldn’t
have appeared if it hadn’t rained.
As the game drive continued, they came across elephants and
Charlie was tickled to see the animals actually hold tails as they move along.
One mother even stopped in the middle of the road so her baby could nurse. They
were treated to the site of gazelles, cape buffalo, bushbucks and even a mother
lion with cubs. Charlie couldn’t wait to share all the photos she’d taken.
At dinner, Charlie finally couldn’t stand it any longer and had to
ask why they were given so many pieces of silverware. She was told it was the
result of the British occupying Kenya for decades. It was the way the Kenyans
were taught to set a table. And here, Charlie thought her mamma had taught her
everything there was to know about proper table setting. She took a photo just
so she would be able to show her mamma.
The following morning, they went on another game drive which ended
at a Samburu Native village. The Samburu Chief met the group and talked about
his village and how his people lived. The meeting was held under their
Parliament Tree where the elders would meet to talk about their people’s needs
and render decisions about any problems that might arise.
Then it was time to visit the village which was surrounded by a
boma, or fence was made of branches with huge thorns. In the evening, the
village’s cattle were brought inside and the gate closed so the wild hunters
couldn’t get inside at either the cattle or the people. The women of the
village performed a welcome dance wearing brightly colored material and
beautifully made necklaces, bracelets and head pieces. The women appeared
joyful and Charlie felt joy as well until one of the elders told her the women
with silver bracelets had been circumcised. She had read about this horrible
practice and had been told not to mention it at all, no matter what so she
didn’t comment. She did, though, feel very bad for those women. It would be
hell to never ever have an orgasm.
The homes of the people weren’t as tall as Adam and made of sticks
and covered with cattle dung. Invited to go inside one, Charlie and Adam
acquiesced. It was pitch dark and Charlie thought they were alone inside until
she took a photo and used her phone’s flash. A mother and child were just
across the firepit from them.
When it was time to move on, Charlie was so hot she thought she
was going to pass out. To reach their vans and water, they had to move through
a gauntlet of village women selling a wide variety of handmade items. All she
cared about was getting to the van and having a nice long drink, so she didn’t
stop to buy but stumbled on to the van. When they got back to the lodge, the
swimming pool was utilized by every single member of their group. The water
felt wonderful.
The next few days were spent going on morning and late afternoon
game drives. She and Adam added crocodiles, leopards, as fish eagle and vervet
monkeys to their animal list. The most interesting drive though involved three lionesses.
Initially, there was only one, but she was soon joined by two others. Across
the river, the bed of which was wide but with little water, were some zebras
that had come down to drink. The zebras were skittish and perhaps saw the one
lioness leave the other two and head upstream. The other two waited and then
went around the van and into a shallow gully water had made. The zebra
continued to drink and then turned to trot and the gallop up the river bank and
into the wood. From the left came the single lioness that had disappeared
first. She was trotting at an angle toward where the zebra had gone. The other
two lioness got up and trotted down the bank and joined her. As the three
vanished into the woods on the other side, the guide told the van’s occupants
that they would eat well tonight, meaning the lionesses.
Their next stop was Lake Nakuru which appeared bright pink from a
distance. That was due to the flamingos that live there. During the day, the
birds flock around the edge of the lake and when night falls, they move to the
center to stay safe from predators. There was also a huge flock of pelicans.
During their transit, they saw wildebeest and white rhinos. The guide said the
rhinos were becoming more and more endangered with very few in the area.
Then it was on to Masai Mara. It was the strangest lodge Charlie
and Adam had ever seen, but it definitely seemed environmentally friendly since
each room or cabin looked as though it had grown right out of the ground, all
gray and smooth. Tenants were encouraged to keep their windows closed so the
local monkeys wouldn’t visit and steal whatever was laying around. There were
more game drives and those who were interested could go on a fishing trip to a
nearby lake. Adam decided he would do that, so Charlie went on the game drive
alone. She almost didn’t, but later was so happy she had because she finally
saw the last of the big five…a cheetah. The big cat chased after a gazelle but
must not have been too terribly hungry because she stopped before bringing it
down, sat and proceeded to groom herself as if to say she didn’t want it
anyway.
Their last day at Masai Mara included a visit to a Masai village.
They went in the early morning so the heat wasn’t horrid. The cattle had just
been allowed out of the boma to graze shortly before their arrival. The inside
of the village was much like the one at Samburu except the ground was covered
in fresh and squishy cowpies. Charlie had to laugh to herself as she wondered
what the natives thought of their visitors trying to tiptoe through all the
crap.
Again, they were greeted by the Chief and the women performed a
welcome dance. Charlie couldn’t believe it when the women each went up to one
of the visitors to get them to join in the dance. Charlie was a good sport and
figured why not even though her sandals would probably never be the same.
At this village the women set up an actual market so the visitors
could meander through and spend time looking at the various offerings. Charlie
bought a bunch of hand-made earrings, several beaded necklaces, a couple of
small woven baskets and some cloth that had to have been hand dyed.
The last game drive that afternoon was rather exciting. The guide
was driving their van along looking for game when he suddenly stopped and
looked through his binoculars. When he put them down, he informed his guests
that they must make haste to leave there. When he was asked why, he said, “When
you see elephant with five legs and wet patches on either side of its face, you
go fast. It is an elephant in musth. These animals are unpredictable and could
easily ram us and knock us over.”
Everyone in the van tried to get a photo of the elephant with five
legs, but only the few with cameras with telephoto lenses might have been lucky
enough to get that photo op. Charlie told them if they were successful, she
would, pretty please, love a copy.
Their farewell dinner was lovely and the chef had prepared the
fish Adam and his fellow fishermen had caught. They were delicious and the wine
flowed freely with everyone talking about their favorite parts of the safari.
When it came to head for their room, Charlie handed out business cards to one
and all in the hope the few fellow travelers she really liked would stay in
touch. Besides, she wanted a copy of that five-legged elephant photograph.
Packed up and in bed Adam asked, “Well, was this everything you
hoped it would be?”
“Yes, yes, yes. I loved seeing all the animals in their natural
habitat and being treated as though I was someone very special. I do feel bad
for the Kenyans though because life has to be so hard. Maybe there’s something
we can do once we get home to provide some form of assistance. What do you
think?”
“I think that’s a lovely and generous idea. I also think I want to
make love to my wife for the last time on the African continent, at least for
this trip.”
Charlie’s laugh was quiet and cut off by Adam’s mouth coming down
on hers.