On the Rim of a Crater

Friday, September 3, 2005

We stopped at a place overlooking a vast white soda lake called Lake Magadi.

It seemed to shimmer from the middle of a great dust plain under the harsh afternoon light. We are quite high on the rim of a volcanic caldera.

As we stepped down for the truck to photograph the view, we were greeted by two tall young Masaii warriors in traditional clothing and bright beaded jewelry. They were from a nearby village down the hillside.

They grasped our hands with a hearty "Jambo". They were hoping that we would like to take their picture but our guide had told us to please not encourage them. They were charging five dollars for the privilege.

We did decline, but I would have been tempted if I hadn't known we would soon be visiting a Masaii village where we'd be allowed to take pictures. I love to take pictures of people.

Tonight we camped at Simba Campsite, a flat grassy area on the edge of the famousNgorongoro Crater. Unfortunately the surrounding trees made it impossible to see down into the crater's interior.

No, up here we had a view of tents, tents, and more tents. There were overland trucks and safari vehicles everywheretoo. One had to negotiate a sea of laundry lines and cook-fires to get to the bathroom buildings. As I walked through the camp I heard French, German, English and Spanish spoken. It was a busy place.

I took some time to do some laundry and hair-washing in the sinks available, but the showers were horrendously busy and the floor flooded so I tried to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Around the campfire tonight it became horrendously chilly and I was very glad to be wearing my fleece. Who knew a warm fleece would be one of the best things I brought to Africa? I've used it every day for at least a little while in the mornings or evenings. However, it was here, in the cold mountain air, that I became most grateful I'd brought something cozy along.

I noticed Simon was wearing mittens around the fire tonight! Now that's being prepared.

The group stayed up quite late around the fire telling gross and unlikely medical stories and dissecting urban legends, but I was quite tired and retired to our tent before most people had left the fire. I wore my fleece over my night-clothes and snuggled down into my warm sleeping-bag. My nose felt frosty.

The wind flapped at the tent all night, so I did not hear any animal sounds. Although apparently there was wildlife around as we were to discover the next morning....