Thanks to Lola and Nana for joining us on a once in a lifetime adventure to East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, and Zanzibar. Thanks to Lola for doing the initial research to find our tour company,
Destination Kenya Tanzania Safari. The last time Lola and I did an Africa trip (to South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana), we had a very not luxury (but still great) camping experience. Niko from Destination Kenya Tanzania Safari did a great job coordinating this tour and wow - our first time glamping!
I was able to do a 6 minute video summary of our trip. To the tune of our fave Lion King songs. Click
here for the video or the link below:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1Yxqo_YmVsH1KtCTJQD3wAacUSaY_MPCh
After a 13 hour direct flight from JFK, we landed in Nairobi. No time for sleeping! We headed to Giraffe Center. I worried we were feeding wild animals but found out that this is a breeding center where they send animals back into the wild as soon as possible.
Let's kick off this blog with a photo of a NOT to do. Like do NOT hold onto the pellet while trying to get your husband to take a photo. Because what happens is that the giraffe does not like it and will (gently but damn it still hurts) bite you until you let go.
I am not in this photo because I am nursing my bruised finger. Bryson smartly lets go of his pellet.
We overnighted at Ibis Nairobi Hotel.
Day 2: After breakfast we headed north to Solio Ranch. This private ranch and rhino sanctuary lies between the Aberdares. It is located on the equator in the British settled town of Nanyuki - which is where I did my project on the Baraka School. Along with fellow Kellogg students (Niraj Zaveri and Angela Chou) as well as HBS student Kevin Wegener, we recommended they reopen the school (it had closed after the US embassy bombing in 2003). Before its closing, the school had helped 120 American boys (those bottom 10% who schools wanted to kick out) who attended there, including success stories
like this one. In fact, the school was such a phenomenon that a movie was made out about it -
here.
We got to Rhino Watch Lodge where I expected to find some tents to crawl into. But we found this. Check out this family tent - including sofas, what?!
We then headed to the Solio Game Reserve. It is home to the only northern white & black rhino remaining in the world. Look how jazzed Scarlet is.
Boom! We hit a pride of lions.
Not too long after, we find rhinos. What does the Bear do? Immediately jump on the roof. (He also later tries to hang outside the window trying to go to the bathroom - what?! Seriously?!)
Egyptian ducks. (Cue music - Walk Like an Egyptian)
Baby!
First giraffe, which Scarlet claims.
Mr. Moustachey. The cape buffalo became known with this nickname henceforth on this trip.
Why is Mr. Moustachey relevant? Well, it started pouring about that time. And we got stuck in a ditch. After our poor driver Charles tried every which way to get us out, we volunteered (smart, hmm??) to get out and push it out. Bryson took some photos to commemorate the event. Here Alex is trying to get a sense of where Mr. Moustachey is. Apparently, they are aggressive and can charge at any moment. So with pouring rain, outside of the van in the mud, trying to push a big ol' van out of a ditch, with the kids howling with laughter, and Moustachey poking around... it was a huge relief when we got that van out of the ditch. Woohoo!
Day 3 - We
head to Lake Naivasha, one of the largest freshwater lake in Kenya. The lake
forms part of Hell’s gate conservation area, which was enacted as a bid to
protect the areas surrounding the lake and its inhabitants. It’s also the scene
of the movie Out of Africa. Giraffes, zebras, impalas, wildebeests and other
animals were left behind after this big Hollywood movie production. What?! On the way, we pass the equator. Here, we see why the toilets flush clockwise just above the equator and counter clockwise just below. Something about magnets :)
I guess we're not sure which way the magnets are pulling us...
Now here is why Destination Kenya Tanzania Safari is cool. Niko saw that we have kiddos and probably would want them to play instead of getting stuck inside a camp where you can't leave (since there are hippos and lions and stuff like that outside). So he switched us to the Lake Navaisha Hotel, where we got access to a playground, pool, and walking around (always a good thing and not to be taken for granted on a safari!)
Now on to Lake Navaisha. I asked our driver Charles, "So, should I put on suits? We brought them - and goggles too." He patiently said, "No, that's not necessary. Your clothes you are wearing now are just fine." Me, clueless, "It's not a problem to change. I'm a fast changer. And I can change the kids fast too." Charles, so patient, "Well, the thing is, there are animals. Like hippos. They're pretty dangerous."
Oh. Got it! A little slow on the intake...
After that talk from Charles, imagine how impressed I was by these guys net and all trying to fish. Among the hippos!
Alex has a long list of animals that we saw. I will call this one - bird.
Another bird. Eagle? Details, details... Our boat driver (is there a name for this?) threw out some fish, and this bad boy (bad eagle?) flew off his perch, dove for the fish, and flew away.
If I come back as an animal, I think hippo is a good one. You might think they are cute and belong in tutus like they are in children't books. But they are vicious. We watched lots of youtube videos of hippos beating up on lions, buffalos (i.e. Mr. Moustachey), and rhinos. Yes, really?!
Pool time (obviously not at Lake Navaisha - I am slow but do learn)
Day 4 - After breakfast, we head to the world famous wildlife arena. Maasai Mara is famous for the big cats and the wildebeest migration, the wildlife jewel of east Africa. (Never mind that my timing is not great and we miss the darn thing by a day!)
But enough of that... We explore the savannah and cross our fingers that we will see all the big five and thousands of herbivores that know this place to be home. It's so great that this animal spectacle is also called the eighth wonder of the world.
But first, art work by Scarlet Q Wolf. (That girl filled a 200 page blank sheet binder full of art work.
Niko stops to give us boxes of fresh vegetables and fruit. (He is pretty great, right?) We are vegetarian and Alex is vegan, so this helps a lot.
We don't eat these guys. Though we run into them a lot in the road.
We get to Enkakenya Migration Camp. It's only the third month of this camp being open. Everything is new, new, new!
Yes, carpet and drapes out in the wild.
And yes, super formal dining (at least for us) in the middle of the wild.
Right next to a favorite hippo hanging out spot. In fact, we need to get an escort everywhere we go. In case a hippo attacks. Or a leopard. Which actually I'd like to see a leopard :)
Bryson again on the roof...
Baby!
Lots of babies! (I know, I'm obsessed, but they are so cute!)
Day 5 - The Maasai Mara National Reserve is Kenya's finest wildlife reserve. Tons of it too. As in 450 species, 57 birds of prey. Plus, the gentle rolling grasslands mean that animals are never out of sight. Great weather and rain that shows up in the late afternoon or night. That means lots of opportunities to see the Big 5, which by the way, I had no idea why that sports store was named this, and now I know. And I also now now what these Big 5 are (named after being the biggest predators when the Europeans arrived) - BERLL. Buffalo, Elephant, Rhino, Leopard, and Lion.
But first, how about waking up at 4am to see the sunrise and go on a balloon safari.
Where did I get the inspiration for a balloon safari? I wish I could say something more sophisticated, but I went to Disneyland (dangerously sliding into what-the... territory here but I'll continue). We were at California's Adventure Theme Park in Los Angeles, and there is a virtual reality ride that begins with you in a hot air balloon whisking past an elephant that stamps its feet and blows its horn (trunk?) Anyway, since then, I have always wanted to do that in real life. So voila, here we go. Thanks Disney!
We got to see the sun peeping out.
Apparently there are different ways to get into the basket. It fits 16 people (we had a group of 14). You can either all get in while the basket is on its side. And then the basket flips up once the balloon has enough air. Or the basket and balloon are upright and then you climb in.
We had the second option, which I think makes things a little easier.
A couple more fires to fill the balloon, and off we go!
Now we can see the sunrise.
Our driver (is that the right word for a balloon driver?) would have us go really low and close to the terrain to check out the animals and then fire up the balloon so that we had a good view of the Masai Mara.
You could almost climb on these guys' backs.
A gentle landing where you crouch and sit on the bench with your feet against the wall in front of you and head forward. And then you are on your backs as you have a couple bumps and then voila. All done!
We had spotted a lion earlier and return to the site to check them out.
Of course you have to have a champagne breakfast.
This has a more technical name, but I call it - Wife Beater Deer. Poor thing.
Kenya is so beautiful, and the people are beautiful too. Always dressed so beautifully in bright and clean clothes even as they are doing laundry, driving around on motorcycles or herding goat. Wow.
This hippo was in the same spot every time we passed him - day, night, next day, night night. I tell you, hippo life is a good life.
Cute, right? But deadly. There are no random potty stops. I had to watch my water consumption because when we were out for a long day (I am a pro now at sitting for 16 hours and watching our own real life version of National Geographic and consuming breakfast, lunch, and dinner without burning any calories, yippee). Anyway back to potty stops. Try squatting here and get chomped by this guy.
We are on the lookout for a river crossing of wildebeests (a peak must-do experience). We spot a river.
Complete with the cute but scary-as-hell hippos. Did you know that hippo mouths measure 2 feet wide (from left to right) when closed? That doesn't sound like a big deal. Except when they open it. And REALLY gets big. As in 150 degrees. Hippos when they open their mouths essentially have a flat line from top to bottom. This is often used to display their teeth to a threat, but it also happens when they yawn. That's why they almost always win against any animal.
We spot some wildebeests. But unfortunately, things are not looking good to cross this river.
In the meantime, we run into Mr. Zebra.
We hurry to follow the wildebeests to see what other spot they will cross the river. But shoot! Somehow we missed them, and they cross to the other side. Darn!
If you had to choose between fighting a hippo or a croc, which would you choose? Hopefully by now, you know - always choose the non-hippo option. Hippos are crazy! Doesn't this croc below look docile by comparison?
Days 6-7 We do a morning game drive leaving at 6:30am. And we
are rewarded with some pretty special stuff. We’re talking a bloody kill, mating,
a cheetah, and a leopard. All in one day!
But first sun rise!
So without further ado, let’s take a look at breakfast. We arrive on the scene with three brothers having taken down a buffalo. Apparently, the buffalo were sad to lose there baby (sad face here). They tried to come back to save him, but another buffalo stopped them from that mistake.
So we’ve got some sad buffalo on one side, and then three happy no longer hungry lions on the other.
This hyena hopes to get into the action.
A cheetah chilling! On the first day, we had seen a
cheetah hunt. So this was our second cheetah. This one wasn’t hunting though.
He was full on taking a nap, a few feet in front of us.
Scarlet and her artwork.
After breakfast, we went to a Masai village to visit. The village
came out to greet us, singing songs. Then they invited us into their village (a
fence of short sticks as their protection against lions and leopards from taking
their cows). They did a jumping sort of song where one guy would come in front
and jump – I swear 3 feet off the ground. Poor Bryson could barely jump a few
inches. Bryson did though take one of their horns (a literal horn made from an
animals antlers to use a horn) and make some noise.
We got to see them start a fire and also visited one of
their homes. They may look small, but this fits 3 rooms plus a room for cattle.
Talk about efficiency. By the way, this village had 3 men, each who had
multiple wives (I think 5 or so).
Afterwards, we did some shopping at their market and bought some
jewelry for Scarlet and a few wooden figures (lion and zebra) for Bryson.
After the Masai Village visit, we did another game drive,
but we got rained out and came back for dinner.
Day 8 – Sad to leave the Enkakenya Camp after 3 nights. There
was only one other couple staying with us at the camp, so lots of private
attention.
Another
early departure as we head to the Kenya & Tanzania border.
We say goodbye
to Charles and meet our new guide, Raymond. He drives us to the Tukaone camp in
Serengeti national park. The Serengeti, whose Maasai name ‘Siringet' means ‘the
endless plains.' The Serengeti is Tanzania's first-established, largest and
most famous park wherein tens of thousands of hoofed animals roam in a constant
and unremitting search for the fresh grasslands upon which their survival
depends.
Pregnant mama. Apparently, she goes off by herself for a few months and then comes back with her cub.
Day 9 - We leave at 8am (late start!) for a full day's game-driving in the park.
Raymond shares the news that we missed the million-plus wildebeest. But this
ends up being a pretty big day. We see a leopard, mating, and a cub!
Yes, that is what you think it is.
Bryson, I'll give you a dollar to cross this hippo infested water.
Oh yes that is a crocodile eating the hippos tail. Lucky for that croc this hippo just died.
Cheetahs - a mom with her 2 kiddos.
Symbiosis between the buffalo and the birds on its back. The buffalo gets a free spa tick treatment. The birds get protection and a sweet perch.
Day 11 – We leave Serengeti and head to Ngorongoro Crater and Conservation Area. This is a pretty exciting journey because a bus ahead of us gets stuck. Of course, this is right next to a cliff and pretty difficult for any vehicle, let alone a huge bus. Somehow it makes it out of there, and we are able to head to Arusha. I am reminded about the last time I was in Arusha. After I graduated from Kellogg, friends and I attempted Kilimanjaro. Somehow I made it up despite the altitude sickness. But that’s another story.
Here are some photos of the animals before we leave the Serengeti.
A Starling.
This is also the location of finding some of the oldest skulls in the world.
At the crater. Luckily, it's not foggy so we have a view.
We check into Farm of Dreams (I wonder if it is a play on Field of Dreams) where we get access to a pool, yay!
Even more exciting... it's Alex's 46th birthday!
Day 12 – We have a full day exploring the Ngorongoro Crater.
7:30am start and we kick off the morning with a serval. According
to our guide Raymond, these are shy cats and rare to find. But our guy, let’s
call him Silvester, the Serval :) He was quite the exhibitionist (does that make us
voyeurs?) and gave us lots of opportunities for photos – back, front, side…
Check out those ears!
What is that green thing on Bryson's forehead? Well, the boy decided to draw a uni-brow. This is what happens when you've been sitting in a plane, then Land Cruiser for 2 weeks with a sister who has a bag full of markers.
Finally, we get to see the wildebeest migrate. Not a million of them, but still counts to see them migrate.
We found out that zebras and wildebeests are buddies during the migration. One of them has better site, the other has better hearing. So they're a team. Like they say, teamwork makes the dream work.
It's hard to focus on the animals with that uni-brow staring at you, eh?
What should we name this wildebeest? How about Willy? Introducing Willy the Wildebeest! By the way, Bryson was desperate for a new book, and without access to internet, I tried to find something suitable on my kindle. I finally, found an Isabel Allende book (Bryson and I have a new Latin Americans Who Inspire Us book coming out in 2023 where we feature Isabel Allende, so Bryson knows her story). Anyway, I hand over my kindle, and about 15 minutes later, Bryson asks, "What's a willy?" I'm racking my brain, Um, uh... finally, "I think that's a nickname for a penis?" Then later, Bryson asks me, "What does vile mean?" I ask what the context is... and Bryson explains, "Well, this man would come into the girl's room at night and then..." I took that kindle away, yikes. No more Isabel Allende books for you, Mr. Bear!
What are these two wildebeests doing? Apparently, they do this for fun!
Check out those ears. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with ears. I liked to bite my younger brother's ears. He didn't like it that much. But I did. Anyway, I'd like to bite these jackal's ears. But I think he'd bite me first. So maybe not.
It's mating season time. This time, we get this lion on a break. So sorry, no action shots to show.
Ok, I'll have to come back with Alex's list of birds. But let's call this one, Check Out My Scaley Neck Bird. Scaley, for short.
I remember the name of this bird. It's the Secretary Bird. (Check out that cool puffy hair do). What's cool about this bird (besides the hair do), is that it finds one mate and stays with it for life. Even after the mate dies, it says single. Talk about loyalty!
How do you get rid of those pesky flies? How about a dirt back rub?
We found out that a tourist from the Leopard Tour company did a bad, bad thing on his safari this week. Apparently, he saw a lion and was so excited that it was so close to him that he... opened his door. What?! Thankfully, the lion didn't chase him down. But that man got a big, big fine courtesy of the Tanzania government.
Which is why it's cool that we got to actually be released from the Land Cruiser 12+ hour daily sits (like a massage for your bottom but not as fun as it would seem). We had about 400 meters to walk around the shore and also strike a pose here.
Now on to another thing on the "Not To Do On a Safari" list Next to this tree below was a group of tourists eating at a rock. Raymond, our guide, had earlier told us, "Just eat in the car and then afterwards you can walk around. If you eat outside, the kite birds will take your food (nice way of saying, they will take their ultra-sharp claws and rip the food from your hand while also ripping your face and eyes).
Dramatic sounding. But 10 minutes later, guess what was happening to this group of tourists eating their lunch outside? Kite birds dropping down gunning for their bread. The tourists finally gave up and ate in their car. Too bad they didn't have Raymond to give them advice before!
There is a special name for this guy. Something about a tool. Let's call it, Hammer Duck.
Bryson really wants to get out of the car (we all kinda do) and head out of the crater. Only to run into almost two dozen elephant. Here's the leader. Check out those tusks.
This guy is trying to decide what to do about us.
Elephants are really smart. All the females live together. When one of them dies, they have an intricate ceremony. And even cry (I kid you not). They also eat lots of different leaves and to make sure they get variety, they don't just focus on one tree, they will eat a little here, then move to another tree and eat a little there.
They got so close to us, I could almost touch it. But I didn't. I don't want a fine. Also not good for the animals!
Thank goodness there isn't any more fog and we can take a photo of the crater.
Raymond gives lots of good advice. Another one he gave us what to close our windows and top. Why? Because he said, "There are aggressive baboons, and they may try to come in." Oh, I thought, that silly Raymond is so conservative, but fine, we'll close the windows. And while we were parked, waiting for Raymond to complete paperwork to leave the crater, another Land Cruise parks next to us. Top is up, and boom, baboons come sailing inside the car! Two of them. They were stuck in there until the guide could get them out. Oops!
We get to the Field of Dreams Hotel and are greeted not just by the fresh towel and fresh juice but also some music!
Of course we get placed in the Monkey Village.
This is our family villa. Check out the thatched roofs.
Here is the roof from the inside.
Bryson convinced us to play baseball with a "bat" (read: stick) and our bouncy ball. We all had to have code names. Mine was Wala Wala, Alex's was Veggie Pizza. Lola's was Sleepy. Scarlet's was Rainbow Sprinkles. Bryson's was, The Best Yankee Player of All Time (kind of aggressive, don't you think?)
Dinner show. Cirque de Soleil style, except on concrete floors.
Bryson joined in with the dancing.
And of course Scarlet too.
Day 13 – Leaving Arusha and heading to Zanzibar, still part of Tanzania. Zanzibar is known for having some of the world's most amazing beaches. Lounge on the sugary white sand, swim in the crystal waters, and dive and snorkel through the stunning coral reefs. Beyond the palm-fringed coastline and clear blue skies, Zanzibar is a historical and cultural gem. It has a mix of African, Arabic, Indian and European influence
We say goodbye to Raymond.
We arrive at the Zanzibar Queen.
Immediately jumping in the pool.
Dinner poolside next to a band.
Day 14 – Resort and Beach Day. After two weeks of the infamous safari massage (i.e. sitting
on your bottom for 12 hours a day), we decide to spend the day relaxing. We are
on Matamwe Beach, which is one of the best beaches for families with kids. The
beach is really clean and the water is gentle, so you can swim safely.
We attempted a 9AM yoga class, where the kids lasted 10
minutes and then decided they were better off going back to the room to play board
games (Zanzibar Queen comes with board games, dart boards, ping pong tables, a
trampoline, volleyball court, basketball court, swings, spa, and salsa lessons…)
After yoga, we headed out to the beach for a sand castle
competition. Which we later changed to an exhibition because who needs more
competition in this dog eat dog world?
Check out this sand castle design by Scarlet and Alex.
It even has flowers!
Then a fancy design by Bryson and Nana.
Lola and I didn’t have the design talent amongst us, but I
came up with an intricate story of three sisters who were villagers trying to
get to the top of the mountain to get the secret treasure from their
grandmother. After two sisters fail (one fell off a bridge and the other almost
drowned), they worked together all of them and hike around the moat and when
they reach the treasure, they learn that it is a message that Love Conquers
All. I know, I know, sappy, but lacking talent in the sand castle business, we’ve
got to come up with some marketing, right?
While Matamwe beach is gorgeous with warm water and gentle waves, it lacks shells. Somehow Scarlet and Nana are able to find these beauties.
We end the night with salsa.
Day 15 – Spice Tour, Stone Town, and Prisoner’s Island
We decide to do a tour of Zanzibar, including a Spice Tour (Zanzibar
is nicknamed the Spice Islands, after all), Stone Town, and then Prison Island.
We were told it was a 9am to 5pm tour. Except we ended up getting back almost
at 8pm. Why did it take so long? Check out this adventure.
First we visit the Full Body Tata Spice Village (seems like
a massage parlor name, hmm?). We learn that most of the spices were not native
to Zanzibar, but the Sultan who used to rule Zanzibar brought spices with him
from different parts of the world. Thanks to the Sultan, Zanzibar’s spice trade
brought riches, the most lucrative spice being saffron followed by vanilla
(because of its complicated way to make vanilla by artificially pollinating the
plant since Zanzibar lacks butterflies to do it naturally.
We try to guess our spices but fall up short. We smelled cardamom,
cinnamon, black pepper, ylang ylang (apparently, this is part of the Chanel 5
formula), turmeric, and even do some fruit tasting too.
Here is Scarlet with natural make-up made by a plant.
Here is that plant here. You can see our guide has it on his forehead and lips too.
Scarlet with a pineapple.
We end the tour with a coconut demonstration. Not just eating and drinking the coconut but climbing the coconut tree too.
Alex gives it a go. He gets about 1 foot off the ground.
After the Spice Tour, we head to Stone Town. Here is the market (after we freak out Alex with the fish market). Nana buys a pack of coffee here.
There is a ton of twisty alleys. I asked our guide if there are names for the alleys, but no such luck.
We visit the East Africa Slave Trade Exhibit and learn that slavery was a Big Business from 1800-1909. This is the central market for all of East Africa, and people all over the world (especially France) would come here to buy slaves.
How did people become slaves? They were kidnapped or were prisoners, often families including kids and women. They were brought into tiny cells like this one and kept there for 3 days without food, water or space to go to the bathroom. If after the 3 days they survived, then they were brought out into the open and whipped. Depending on if they cried from there, their price would go down. Or if they didn't cry, the price would go up.
Check out this room below. This fit 50 people!
This exhibit showed how the slaves were chained together. Except for the slave in back. He learned to survive by tattling on the people he thought were going to run. By doing this, he was saving himself.
Livingston (originally from Ireland) told The English Queen about slavery and got her to write a letter to the Sultan of Zanzibar telling him to stop right away. This happened in the late 1800s. The British army was occupying Zanzibar, so the Sultan decided to acquiesce. Livingston also asked the Sultan for this piece of land to create a Christian church so people could ask for forgiveness. Notice that it is next to a Muslim temple and represents the respect that each religion has for each other.
This door is of Arabic origin. It started out with spikes to protect the door from elephants that would go through the alleys. Later they kept the spikes for their ornate quality.
Alex was psyched when we got to visit the Freddie Mercury home. You might recognize this guy as the singer from Queen. Our group then proceeded to sing Queen songs for the rest of the afternoon, "Mama, just killed a man, put a ...." (quite violent, hmm?)
This fort was built by the Portuguese but then they were kicked out by the Sultan after just a year of the fort's construction.
It's 4pm and we still haven't gone to Prison Island. Here we are on our own boat.
Prison Island is famous for the giant tortoises here. Feeding time ended at 4pm and we cruised in late, but we got to feed them anyway. You'll see later they are all conked out. Apparently 4pm is also bed time.
In addition to tortoises, there are also peacocks. The males were trying lots of mating dances to try to attract the females.
Full fledged peacock dance. The girl is having none of it.
The tortoises even allow you to rub its throat.
We learn that Prisoner's Island was never used as a prison. The government needed it because of a yellow fever and malaria outbreak. Later, they used it for the tortoises (way cooler than a prison, right?)
I promised the kiddos that we would do some snorkeling (we had to practice for the next day). So even though we were way past 5pm and the end of our tour, here we are.
Of course we also had to see the local's play soccer.
Day 16 – Snorkeling and Diving
It has been 4 years since Alex and I scuba dived (Easter Island trip
here) and 5 years since my last dive (Galapagos liveaboard with my brother Rob, blog post is
here). So I felt lucky to be able to have a dive shop right next door. Alex and I went to dive, while the kids and Lola did some snorkeling.
Poor Bryson got stung by a jellyfish, but luckily Scarlet and Lola were ok. This was Scarlet's first time snorkeling, woohoo!
Alex and I dove Mnemba Island, Kichwani and the Small Wall. Poor Alex got really sick, so I ended up doing the second dive solo.
We got to see tons of critters including octopus, snake eel, lion fish, leaf fish (purple and green), grouper, rock fish, stone fish, puffer fish, trumpet fish, unicorn fish (yes, there is actually a thing - it has a horn on its head), and schools of snapper. Awesome dives and highly recommend.
Stone fish
We ended the day with yet another sand castle competition, this time joined by some local boys.
Day 17 – Our last day :(
But luckily our flight isn't until 5pm, so we've got time for the beach, Henna tattoos, and games.
This game is a flashback to Lola's childhood. In the Philippines, they call it sungka. Lola played this with the kiddos for hours and hours.
Of course, we had to have more sand castle building. Check this out. It is a self-filling moat, courtesy of the tide.
We were able to play some kadima. For the record, I was able to beat both Bryson and Alex (a rare feat with anything game related nowadays).
The moat got filled with the tide.
Scarlet got a henna tattoo.
And now it's time to say bon voyage to Zanzibar to head to Nairobi and then our monster 14.5 direct flight to JFK.
Arriving at 7:40am. Right on time to go to Bryson and Scarlet's first day of school.
Here is the standard first day of school photo. I forgot to take Scarlet's. Will do that soon!
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