A Fond Farewell...

There were a lot of mixed emotions on the last night at Sayari. Honestly, I don't remember much about dinner except that the parties sat at separate tables this night rather than at a large communal table. I prefer the latter - the stories and sharing that accompany breaking bread with your campmates brings much to the experience. Nonetheless, we enjoyed another fine dinner with David and made plans for our departure in the morning. Our plane didn't leave until 9ish, so an early call was not necessary - we needed to be on the road about an hour or so early for the half hour ride to the Kogatende airstrip, and needed to allow just a short time for breakfast.

We mentioned to Sally (the manager) before dinner that over the last couple of evenings there had been a persistent scrabbling at the south wall of the tent in the area of the eaves. She had Wariobi take a look at it and it turned out to be fruit bats nesting between the tent and the fly - not a problem, just an annoyance. Wariobi somehow got rid of them before we returned from dinner, so we had a pleasant and peaceful night of sleep.

We woke with the sun in the morning, and puttered around packing until Wariobi arrived to ensure we had everything we needed. We said our goodbyes to him and then spent some time on the deck enjoying our last moments in the Serengeti. Malaki soon showed up with the truck, loaded our luggage, and drove us up to the dining tent where we met David for breakfast: scrambled eggs, sausage, fruit, tea, and coffee.

There was a little bit of a mixup at our departure - we were waiting for our ride on one side of the compound while Malaki and David were with the truck on the other. Sally soon came looking for us, though, and got everything straight. We said our goodbyes to Maggie (the assistant manager) and Sally, and piled in, heading out of camp for the last time.

The drive to the airstrip was uneventful. We weren't game driving - not enough time - but we did see a few things; this is, of course, just another zebra.

Wait. Did I say that? Just another zebra? When did this beautiful, exotic creature become part of my personal landscape? Did I become blase so quickly? No, it is just that humans are incredibly adaptable. The unusual becomes commonplace. The uncomfortable is accomodated. The strange becomes normal. If we are open to new experiences, they become a part of us. Expanding our sense of the everyday makes room for even more new things. Yes, this is "just another zebra", but it is also an icon - an entrypoint to memories and experiences that will last a lifetime.

Our flight from Kogatende to Arusha was on time, and we bounced down the runway in a sold out Cessna Caravan. In terms of comfort and space, this was roughly the same as sitting in a kindergartener's desk. In any case, we were soon looking down at the endless plains, wondering if we might ever return. The rest of the flight was uneventful, though, and Arusha just a short hop away.

We deplaned in Arusha and wandered into the transit lounge to wait out the short layover before our next flight. There we found Ranjit and Danuta, who had departed camp an hour ahead of us, still waiting for their connection. Apparently things were not running smoothly in Arusha, but that wasn't a big surprise. This is Africa, after all. We sat and chatted with them until their flight was finally called, then waited with David for our own. We would part company with David here - he was headed back to the Children's Village to spend some time with India, while we went on to Stonetown. We had his local contact number, though, as well as Steve Chumbley's, in case we needed help.

After a few minutes our flight was called and we said goodbye to David; we wouldn't see him again until he got back to Seattle about a month later. If you want to get to know someone, travel with them. You will either wind up hating them or becoming good friends. We consider David a good friend now, and will always be grateful for everything he brought to our adventure in Africa.

Next stop: Zanzibar!