Just back from the Masai Mara

I thought I would just put up an email I wrote to Pedro last night---I really have been very busy going here and there, and experiencing very cool things, but just never seem to find the time to sit down and blog about it!----so here are a few reflections on my safari--

the overriding feeling I had was that it was REALLY AMAZING to see all of these beautiful animals that I've only seen in zoos, without that sad, guilty feeling that they really should all be out in the wild, because they ARE really out in the wild----anyway, here's the email----

Hi there, babe!--I'm back from my trip to the Masai Mara----LOTS of riding around in cars!!!! the roads in Kenya are terrible--and when they decide to fix a stretch of road, it gets even worse---that's when they just direct the traffic off of the road into the bush where you drive alongside until they direct you back up---and in true Kenyan fashion, they don't slow down for all of this---just slam on the brakes every now and then when the ruts and ditches become too deep to navigate at full speed----I think every bone in my body is rattled!!---the Mara was amazing, tho'--and I have lots and lots of pics---of lots and lots of animals---

elephants are very big, and lions are big, too--and hippos are big and very fat------

I like all the little antelopes, myself---and no matter how many zebra i see, they still look amazing to me--I slept in a tent in a campground guarded by Masai guys wrapped up in their red blankets--they really do walk around like that, it's not a tourist thing---it makes for some really striking images---the immense gold and blue of the savannah and sky, with a herd of cows in all shades of brown and the herdsman striding along in his red blanket-----too bad I never did get any shots of it!!!--you'll just have to imagine

here's some added narrative:---this was a little bit of animal adventure---we were about 10 feet or so from this lioness, who was relaxing while one of the males in the pride took a turn at the buffalo buffet---

soon, a hyena appeared, slowly making his way to the kill, obviously hoping to score some breakfast--

the lioness jumped right up, fixed that poor hyena with a stare that clearly said, "dream on, buddy, ---and while you're at it, do your dreaming somewhere else!"--the hyena made an attempt at circling around, to approach the kill from the other direction, but at that the lioness began to move in his direction--not willing to risk a confrontation, he disappeared....