Ruma National Park #Safari
Surprise! Saturday morning, Isaac and I got to go on our very first safari. Special thanks to Professor Khan, Dr. Midega, and icipe for arranging our trip! Matilda (we haven't seen her in over a week -- yay. she's back!), our driver Silas, and a friendly relative of his accompanied us into the great unknown.4:45AM wake-up calls never had such a great purpose, until today. As I rolled out of bed. grabbed my tourist safari hat, and sleepily walked out the door with my protein bar in hand, I was excited for what was to await at the trademark of African culture, the safari.I haven't been to a zoo or anything in a really long time. I remember going to SeaWorld when I was younger and I'm sure my parents or someone has taken me to a zoo before, but I really couldn't tell you if I've seen a lion, giraffe, zebra, or anything before.
Regardless, this wasn't a zoo. We were on their land, in their home..and there was something so refreshing about seeing the natural and free wildlife. It definitely was a stark comparison to the zoos back home and in other countries and I felt a ping of sorrow for the animals that are captivated for our enjoyment. I love the zoo (I think) as much as the next guy, but I know the experience of a safari is something that I will never be able to shake.
Silas and Matilda kept telling us how lucky we were to have the animals "posing" for us and to see as many as we did; I didn't realize the true luck we had until later looking at the photos and reflecting on the bumpy, cultural excursion that occupied my morning hours. "Today you are lucky people" was said to us over and over by our companions and we really were. We saw several giraffes, some just a couple of feet from the road, that all would look at us for photos and wouldn't run away. We even saw some baby giraffes! I've always liked giraffes but they are SO much prettier in person. We saw gazelles, zebra (pronounced zEB-ra here), and a lot of buffalo. Apparently buffalo are feisty creatures...there were some on the road and we had to turn around in fear that they would charge us!
^^^^^^^This photo is 192,483,291 times prettier on my phone. I did a panorama and got the entire landscape as the sun was rising and it was stunning. This is without any filter...look at the change in the sky? This is Africa and it is out-of-this-world beautiful. Rico (Isaac...the other BR intern) and I were talking a few weeks ago about "typical Africa" and how what we've seen so far isn't what was crafted into our minds about Africa or what we had expected. The safari brought out the more traditional aspect of Africa that we were so excited to see, but it's important to note that this isn't all of Africa. Or all Africa has to offer, for that matter. Everywhere I've been, the view outside my room..it is all just as gorgeous and I learn to appreciate it more and more as I realize:
- My trip is coming to an end in exactly one month from today.
- I may never come back here
- This may very well be my only trip to Kenya, ever.
I've been taking photos of my feet every few days, because I think feet tell a story. Weird, I know, but stick it out so I can explain. My feet have done a lot of walking over the past month (.....my Fitbit said I had 18,900 steps the other day and it was all from the bumps on the road..) and while there's no transformation in my physical feet from photo to photo, there is a change in landscape and the ground of which I place my feet on. From my very first "foot photo" where I was covered in some sort of bites that swelled (I think I have a skin condition mom, this happens every time even when I'm home!) to now, where my Chacos are telling the story of a safari. Interesting perspective; it's nice to see the story from another less-photographed point of view.
I get a little sad thinking about that and the idea of never coming back to this beautiful country. You're missing out, folks...Kenya has exceeded all of my expectations. While I hope this is not our last safari, Ruma National Park was such a joy to visit. 4:45AM was well worth it to see the animals that we saw that day and the time we spent with Silas, his sweet relative, and our momma Matilda.