Randon Thoughts About Our Africa Trip
The air travel was long and grueling. The Delta segment from Detroit to Amsterdam had the most unpleasant flight attendants I have ever encountered. Anyone that asked for a second bag of peanuts was turned down and informed that Delta had snacks for sale.
About 2/3 of the distance across, while most of the passengers were asleep, we observed the flight attendants scurrying toward the rear galley carrying unused meals from the first class section. I had gotten up to use the lavatory facility and to stretch my legs. While waiting for the next vacant lavatory we were chased out of the area. My perception was that they did not want us to see them "living large". It all made us want to fly Delta again, soon!
Cellular telephone coverage appears to be far superior to anything we find in the US. Serengeti National Park is a huge area (Approx. 30,000 sq km) that appears virtually empty of human habitation. In addition it is surrounded by vast areas of nearly vacant lands. I realize that there are numerous lodges scattered throughout the area. I never saw a cell tower, but our guides seemed to be able to make calls no matter where we were.
Whenever a vehicle comes down the road, the kids run out waving excitedly at it. They don't get a lot of company.
A lot of people live in mud houses. For example, the Maasai houses are constructed using a mortar composed of mud and cow dung over wood frames and have thatched roofs. We know this because we actually participated in a repair project. Their villages are protected with piles of brush with intensely wicked thorns. It might be likened to their version of barbed wire. People may have to walk for many miles to get water and the water would never meet our sanitation standards. Their version of prosperity does not remotely compare with what we have in this country, but nowhere did I ever sense of anything that to me indicated poverty. I sense that poverty is attitude.
Game parks: we witnessed the constant struggle for survival, of predators and prey. I don't recall actually witnessing a kill, but we saw many remnants, including at least two instances of lions eating from a buffalo carcass. The dramas we observed told the story. It wasn't just the lions getting their food. Hyenas would try to steal the kill from the lions. At one site we observer 15 or 20 hyenas coming in from miles away to dine from the lions handiwork yet they wizely kept their distance. At the same time storks and vultures were patiently waiting their turn. We had watched as a cheetah downed a gazelle, but a hyena moved in before the cheetah had finished its work and the gazelle hurried off with the hyena in hot pursuit.
We were amazed at how good the accommodations were, even when we slept in tents miles from anything.
About 2/3 of the distance across, while most of the passengers were asleep, we observed the flight attendants scurrying toward the rear galley carrying unused meals from the first class section. I had gotten up to use the lavatory facility and to stretch my legs. While waiting for the next vacant lavatory we were chased out of the area. My perception was that they did not want us to see them "living large". It all made us want to fly Delta again, soon!
Cellular telephone coverage appears to be far superior to anything we find in the US. Serengeti National Park is a huge area (Approx. 30,000 sq km) that appears virtually empty of human habitation. In addition it is surrounded by vast areas of nearly vacant lands. I realize that there are numerous lodges scattered throughout the area. I never saw a cell tower, but our guides seemed to be able to make calls no matter where we were.
Whenever a vehicle comes down the road, the kids run out waving excitedly at it. They don't get a lot of company.
A lot of people live in mud houses. For example, the Maasai houses are constructed using a mortar composed of mud and cow dung over wood frames and have thatched roofs. We know this because we actually participated in a repair project. Their villages are protected with piles of brush with intensely wicked thorns. It might be likened to their version of barbed wire. People may have to walk for many miles to get water and the water would never meet our sanitation standards. Their version of prosperity does not remotely compare with what we have in this country, but nowhere did I ever sense of anything that to me indicated poverty. I sense that poverty is attitude.
Game parks: we witnessed the constant struggle for survival, of predators and prey. I don't recall actually witnessing a kill, but we saw many remnants, including at least two instances of lions eating from a buffalo carcass. The dramas we observed told the story. It wasn't just the lions getting their food. Hyenas would try to steal the kill from the lions. At one site we observer 15 or 20 hyenas coming in from miles away to dine from the lions handiwork yet they wizely kept their distance. At the same time storks and vultures were patiently waiting their turn. We had watched as a cheetah downed a gazelle, but a hyena moved in before the cheetah had finished its work and the gazelle hurried off with the hyena in hot pursuit.
We were amazed at how good the accommodations were, even when we slept in tents miles from anything.
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