Serengeti Serenade

It is a gorgeous, sunny morning, our last day at the Serengeti camp, and I've chosen to stay in camp, foregoing the day's drive to the forest. The silence is glorious! Well, the birds are terribly frisky and swoop from tree to tree, serenading the camp. This is the first time in two weeks I've been alone and I've needed this thinking time. I'm sitting in a comfortable chair on our tent porch, facing the mess tent and acacia trees and the plains beyond. Zebra and Wildebeest graze nearby. Ben said he heard lions, hyenas and jackals in camp last night. Ben assures us animals will not enter our tents. The lions mainly like to walk and roar to show how mighty they are, especially after a kill.

As the day heats up, I request a shower and enjoy the view of the sky while bathing. Drying my hair in the sun, I read a novel, "The Name Sake," written by Jhumpa Lahiri, an Indian woman. I cherish this quiet day. Everyone returns at 5 p.m. after nine hours of game viewing. Whew! They saw a pride of lions and not much else. At dinner, we pop another bottle of Champagne and toast the end of a very successful trip. Tomorrow we drive back to Arusha and tomorrow night we all fly home. I'll be back in this region soon, though, ready to live and learn and build a life in Kenya.