Yesterday afternoon I opted to stay at Fairmont Mara Safari Club rather than take the afternoon game drive. My bad! While dreaming about lions and leopards, the rest of the Virtuoso crowd actually saw them---and a herd of elephants, too! Grrrrr! The rainy season seems to have begun a little early. Some background: there are 2 rainy seasons--the long rains are in March and April and the short rains are in November. Apparently, elephants aren't into rain showers and migrate uphill when it's soggy outside. So, although we saw several elephants in November, 2004, we were told that was unusual. Can you believe the elephants and the leopard had the gall to wander around when I wasn't there???
Last night it rained but that didn't stop the Virtuoso bunch from having a good time. David Hanson, Terrie Hanson and Keith Waldon, of Virtuoso fame, decided to play a trick on Alex Sharpe, Regent Cruises. They planted a rubber snake in his tent. There was one teeny, weeny problem---they put the snake in the tent of Sharon and Michael Fake, Travel Experts! When Terrie shared the prank with David Lowy, Renshaw Travel, he told Terrie she was a polysyllabic word that meant a person who enjoys teasing others (can't remember the word-it's from a German word, I think). That made her pause while Elaine looked up the definition on her phone.
This morning we went for a morning game drive, hoping to see the leopard and elephants we missed yesterday. Alas, it was not to be; however, we saw a mama lion and her cubs, some mongooses (Google claims "mongooses" is more common than "mongeese"), an elephant, lots of antelope (again, Google opts for no "s"), ostrich, giraffes, zebras, dik dik, gazelles, wildebeests, impalas, hyena and a stork. It's amazing how quickly we become jaded because I and several others were heard to whine, "Oh, another zebra" or "Just some more impalas" as if we see them every day of our lives!
This morning's treat was a gourmet buffet breakfast in the bush. Only Fairmont and Micato would know that we Virtuoso members are inveterate shoppers---they invited some Maasai to join us and set up a gift boutique on a traditional red and blue plaid Maasai blanket! We spent time visiting with Sean Walwyn, Fairmont Hotels. He's lived in some amazing places. He was born in Jamaica, moved to Barbados, schooled in the UK, worked in Kuwait, Istanbul, Japan, and Canada (to name just a few of his posts).
This afternoon is another game drive and we have one more chance to spot some wildlife tomorrow before we wing our way to Fairmont Mt. Kenya Safari Club for two nights. Chris Cahill, COO of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International will join us there along with Sean, Serge and Leslie, who have escorted us so far.
Okay, enough jabber! It's time for lunch and, God knows, I haven't eaten in at least 3 hours!
Photos from today are at:
Mara Safari Club Day 2-Virtuoso Chairman's Safari. I just checked and I'm having difficulty uploading photos to the Internet. While I'm trying to upload 36 photos, only 6 have uploaded so far and I've been waiting 2 1/2 hours! My laptop's battery is low, so if you don't see all 36, I'll try again tomorrow from Mt. Kenya Safari Club. I can't complain because I'm sitting in the middle of Kenya away from any city and I'm still able to communicate with you. I think I'm beginning to sound like an "Ugly American". Oy!
