Day One — Getting back into the groove

I didn’t get into bed until just before midnight.  I was worried that I wouldn’t fall asleep but since I’d forced myself to stay mostly awake on the flight from Amsterdam (wanting to maximize all the enjoyment possible in Business Class!) that was not a problem.  If only I didn’t have a 5:45 wake up call!

I slept solidly but not nearly long enough.  Nevertheless, I quickly showered, doused myself in sunblock and was ready to roll at 6:30 am.  My flight on SafariLink was supposed to be at 8, and we got to the terminal at 7:05.  I had skipped the included breakfast at the hotel only because I favored sleep over food and figured I could pick something up quickly at Wilson Airport.  I had barely enough time to eat my yogurt and donut and down my Americano coffee before they were calling for boarding!    We were pulling out of the terminal at 7:40 and airborne at 7:42…early!

Flying SafariLink is always funny to me.  Having checked my bag at the ticket counter (where they weigh it to ensure I’m under the 15kg allowance), I then have to identify it again at the steps to the plane, which I guess is good in ensuring my bag will go where I go.  With 12 of us aboard, the pilot and co-pilot, turn around to give us the safety briefing from the “flight deck” which is really just the two seats behind the instruments and in front of the rest of us. 

The flight to Loisaba airstrip was smooth and clear.  We had a nice view of Mt. Kenya just before we landed.

I’ve been this far north before only once, when I went to Ol Pejeta on my first Kenyan safari in 2014.  I didn’t know the geography of anywhere else then, so now I realize how different this is from the Mara, where I usually spend my time here.  It is really rocky.  Up on the plains where it is nothing but flatness as far as you can see, there are lots of smallish boulders, like bowling balls that would take out your vehicle’s undercarriage if hit just so.   

Once we got into Laikipia and closer to camp, it because more dense with low trees, croton bush and lots and lots of cactus.  I talked to the camp manager, Ron, about the cactus because I hadn’t expected to see it.  He said it’s a very invasive plant and they try any natural means possible to kill it, either chopping it down, pulling it up or in one case breeding an insect that will kill it. Obviously you can’t use herbicide here for all the effects it would have on the food chain (baboons eat the prickly pear, for example) so it’s more a matter of managing it.

Just on the drive from the airstrip to here, about 90 minutes, I saw 2 of the Big 5 (elephant and Cape buffalo) and 3 of the Northern 5 (Grevy’s zebra, Besia Oryx and Somali ostrich).  There are plenty of common zebra (the first animal I saw on this trip), impala and Thompson’s gazelle, as well as tons of dik dik (miniature gazelles).  I also saw one springbok, which I mistakenly thought might just been a larger dik dik.

Interestingly, my guide said that Loisaba Conservancy, where I landed and through which we drove to get to camp, is importing rhino from elsewhere in Kenya (Solio he thought).  He wasn’t sure if they are already here or not, but they were due soon and the conservancy had made plans by fencing the  land and implementing security.

Laikipia Wilderness Camp is nestled up over the river, which is now running pretty dry due to the ongoing drought.  There are 6 tents around a common area.  The tents are pretty basic but have a very comfortable day bed on the veranda looking out over the river down below, where I will very willingly spend my day’s siesta.  It’s my first outdoor bathroom though, which should be fun.

Simon was my guide coming in from the airstrip and I think I’ll  have him as my guide the rest of my stay.  I like him, he’s been a guide here for 6 years and when I asked what he likes most about his job he said that he gets to see wildlife everyday and he loves the leopard.  Right answers!

We had an early lunch here, with zucchini and cauliflower with a light teriyaki sauce, a green salad with tomato, tomato and cheese and a really nice focaccia.  Dessert was a fruit salad of watermelon, pineapple, and banana. I’ve already had my first Stony Tangawizi and a cup of coffee to power me through the day.

So I did a thing…

Saturday 11 Feb 2023 

So I did a thing….during my almost-four hour layover at Schiphol, I decided to “just check” the KLM app to see if there were any Business Class seats left open.  I’d bandied about the idea of upgrading several weeks ago in an utter panic over flying this long in tight quarters with other people, but the price tag was pretty outrageous (nearly $5k) and it only got higher and doubled as the travel dates approached.  Well, my travel angel was smiling down on me and I got the upgrade to Business Class for $600.  So it’ll be almost 9 hours to Nairobi not jammed in with everyone else, stretched out, lying flat and maybe arriving not so beat up.  I’m in row 1 on a window.  There is still someone next to me, but about 3 feet away rather than playing a spirited game of armchair wrestling with them the entire flight.  Phew.

It is really cool though, Business Class on KLM has its own entrance to the plane, so coming down the bridge way, there’s rows 1-9 enter here and everyone else, keep on going.  I’m so damn happy.

The layover at Schiphol wasn’t so bad otherwise.  It is a long walk between gates, but with a stop for pancakes and then at the Rijksmuseum’s airport location (nice 19th century landscape exhibition), I killed the time just fine.

The route we followed went south down over Austria and the Alps and then directly down over the eastern coast of the Adriatic, over Croatia, Montenegro, Albania and Greece.  It was bumpy over the Alps and again crossing a jet stream over Egypt.  I dozed as we crossed the Mediterranean but was fighting sleep so I could finish a book.

My first meal here in Business Class was pretty good.  A selection of Dutch cheeses to start.  Then a set of appetizers: bean and pepper salad, a quinoa salad and a green salad with tomato.  The main was a vegetarian stroganoff over rice with beets, onion and something green I surmise may have been chopped peas but I’m not sure.  I skipped dessert in favor of a G&T with Damrak gin.  When in Rome (or a Dutch plane), drink their gin.  I actually liked the gin, will have to try to find it at home.

In the day of endless meals, we had yet another just before landing, a really good vegetarian Marsala samosa and a chocolate pudding cake.  I needed something solid since I started the antimalarial with that meal.

Good thing I deplaned first, since my VIP meet and greet was a bust (they wouldn’t let someone like me into the diplomat line…go figure) so it took close to an hour to get through immigration and another 20 to get my money and get to the hotel.  At least I was among the first in line for immigration, image if I’d been way back!  Bed at midnight and up at 5:45 for an early flight to Laikipia.  Now, Sunday morning (I think) I’m tired but ready to go.

Possibly off the grid now for a few days.  Safari njema!

Halfway there…almost

A worrier by nature, I had a list of things that kept my insomnia in business the last few weeks.  One was weather, which is always dodgy this time of year in Boston.  On the departure day of more than a few of my safaris, I was shoveling snow the morning of.  The next was whether I’d manage to avoid having to check a bag.  Flying with the common folk in main economy on my first flight meant that boarding late may make overheads full before I get there.  Lastly is the worrying about getting sick in transit.

So far, I’m happy to report the weather was a non-issue and I easily got my overhead bin. Phew!

I’m now sitting in a lounge in Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport wondering how I’m going to kill 4 hours.  At some point I will locate some profertjes (Dutch pancakes) and satisfy that craving before finding my next flight.

After a VIP drop off at Logan Airport thanks to my sister, I was surprised to find my usual haunt Vino Volo open for business, so I had a pre-flight flight of rosé wines and cavatappi pasta in a four cheese sauce.  Boarding was quick and easy and I put my new Trtl neck pillow on and suddenly realized we were about to land in Amsterdam.  I was down for the count until the egg and cheese english muffins came around for breakfast.  7 air-hours down, 8 to go.

For those who are curious, virtually no one is masking.  I’ve seen maybe 15 people so far.  I am masking, only to keep myself well for this trip.  I guess the biggest change since before times is that now when you wear a mask no one thinks you’re crazy.

I have Premium Economy on the Nairobi-bound flight, which gets me 4” more of legroom and early boarding.  I have at last 20 hours of tv on my phone to watch, so that should keep me busy.

Ok, off to walk for a while and get some blood flow back into my legs.

Almost departure day!

 How did I get here?  That was the fastest wait for safari ever! Literally, and figuratively!

Since I last posted, lots has been in play.  I had an interesting visit with the travel medicine clinic.  The doc I'd seen since 2011 has retired, so there's a young whippersnapper in place now.  I got my routine boosters (MMR and tetanus) and walked away with a script for oral typhoid vaccine, anti-malarial and antibiotic.  But the larger discussion came around rabies vaccine.  Now, I've never had rabies recommended for me for safari, or even for China, where I was working directly with pandas for a week!  The thought never occurred to me that that might be a thing for safari.  He almost convinced me, until he told me it's never covered by insurance.  "Ok then," I said to him.  "How much is it?"  He replied "$478, per shot.  For two shots."   Ugh.  (He did add that in the UK these shots are only $150 each, but I'll save my diatribe on US pharmaceuticals for another day).  As this safari has already had more than a bit of budget creep plus an unexpected camera rental cost, I used my cybersecurity risk analysis skills and decided to pass on it.  I would still need to get treatment immediately even if I have these shots.  But I was a bit unsettled by his parting words of "no one recovers from rabies....ever."  Ok then, moving along....

I finished my course of oral typhoid vaccine, so that's in order.   I've mostly packed everything I have.  I also got my Delta SkyMiles number added to my flights with the hope that the early boarding granted to Delta Gold AmEx members is a real thing.  I have a very tight turnaround in Nairobi (8 hours from landing to take off for the bush) and going all carry on is going to be critical, so I really need that overhead bin.

We had a brutal cold snap a few days ago, with overnight temps well below zero and windchill "real feel" well below that.  There was actually sea smoke rising off my favorite beach because the ocean is still nearly 50 degrees.  And yet, it's nearly 100 where I'm going this weekend.  Imagine 105 degree swing in a week?  Yeah, that'll be me.

Now I'm just contending with an odd mix of excitement, anxiety (traveling in a still pandemic-ridden world) and pre-emptive homesickness.  As much as I know I'll be fine once I get there, I'm hesitant to leave this little 35 month-long bubble of mine.  I worry about getting sick and what I'll do if I do, but I look at all those people on social media who are there and just having a grand old time.  I will be one of them.  Yes, that's the spirit!

I went to visit Dad Sunday and asked him to watch over me, but then invited him along, knowing that, as the angel on my shoulder, he will finally see why I love this part of the world so much.  Maybe he'll become addicted too and want to go back again.

Boston weather on departure day looks brilliant, a "pick of the week" with highs in the 50s and no precip in sight.  So at least I won't be shoveling my car out on the day I leave, as I have in the past.

The wildlife sightings I've seen at the camps where I'll be staying have just been epic lately.  I always look at those photos and start to hope, but quickly remind myself that only Mother Nature can deal that hand.  Whatever will be, will be.  Usually she's granted me sightings far exceeding anything I could ever conjure up, so I never expect and I never hope and I am always blown away.  And I always remember, even a slow day on safari beats the best day at work.

Safari creeps closer!

I write this now to remind myself on the other end how crazy with anxiety I get.  The wait for this safari has been a roller coaster emotionally.  I vacillate between wanting to be there so badly to almost cancelling because I'm quite honestly afraid to fly during the time of covid.  Literally, last weekend I almost cancelled at least three times. What stops me is scanning photos from my destination camps on Instagram.  I so desperately want to be there.  But the insomnia, anxiety dreams and teeth gnashing...can't stop my brain.  If only there was teleporting.  Post-safari self:  was it really so bad to worry like this?

Preparation continues.  Clothes are in a pile waiting to be laundered.  Luggage and carry-on retrieved from storage. Trail sneakers dusted off.  Packing list drafted.  Cosmetics and toiletries are piling up.  Visa issued. Cat food for a month purchased, cat sitter lined up.  Looks like it's all going well, no?

You'd think so, until my precious Sony RX10 iii bit the dust a few weeks ago.  I got it out to brush up and remember how to use it, and make sure it still worked.  Good thing I did, because it unceremoniously rolled over and died while I was shooting birds in the back yard.  My quick thinking friend Bev suggested that perhaps my camera shop rents gear.  And it does!  So rather than pay to fix the Sony and then worry about it being truly fixed, I've rented the Sony RX10 iv for a month.  I'll learn it over the next couple weeks.  I contemplated taking the Panasonic Lumix TZ200 compact that I'd bought for city travel but it just doesn't have the reach or the clarity of the Sony.  I love that Sony for all it's done over 2 safaris and Peru, but I hate that Sony for letting me down.  It should have had more life in it.  But, turn the page and move on as they say.  So far the rental Sony is no learning curve at all.

The travel clinic contacted me about the anti-malarial prescription I requested and said that I'm also due for typhoid again as well as a tetanus shot.  Makes sense, I suppose since it's been 10 years since I got the typhoid vaccine for my first safari.  So I earned a trip to the clinic in addition to a trip to the pharmacy.

My Facebook memories remind me that there are many coincidences with past safaris that are sort of striking.  I paid for this safari 10 years to the day from when I paid for my very first safari.  And my visa for this trip was issued 7 years to the day from my 2016 safari. I am taking all this as a good sign.

The photos coming out of Samburu, Laikipia and the Mara where I'll be are simply stunning.  I'm not jinxing myself by putting into writing what I'm hoping to see most.  I know Mother Nature and I know she'll deliver what she damn well pleases.  And it's also pretty dang hot over there now, high 90s during the day.  So yeah, my 29 degree run this morning is a vast difference from what awaits me in Kenya.

Onward to Kenya...

Getting back out there

The last almost-three years have not been good for any of us.  For various reasons emotional and mental, it really did a job on me.  I've been somewhat hesitant to rejoin the human race, and if I do so, it's still fully masked and as socially distant as I can be.  But at some point, I have to take the next steps and get back out there.  I have to reclaim my life while at the same time helping myself heal.  I'm desperate to feel normal again.

We lost my Dad in April of last year.  It wasn't directly pandemic-related but was not entirely expected at that point either.  Another emotional reckoning indelibly tied to the pandemic.  More reason to hunker down and lick my wounds.  More justification for not returning to society.  I felt safer at home and just being with those closest to me.  The isolation I wrapped myself in was an enormous emotional security blanket.

Not to say I didn't try.  I dabbled in some domestic travel that felt "safe" to me.  A few trips to Los Angeles where we stayed at our favorite hotel and were doted on by familiar staff, soaking up the rays of southern California poolside and at outdoor restaurants.  A road trip to Brooklyn and Newark to see our favorite crooner on tour.  Each excursion served its purpose, got me packing suitcases and traveling again.  But none scratched the itch.  You know what I'm talking about.

Kenya.

I kicked around Turkey (going so far as to get a custom itinerary) and Jordan.  But for the time I wanted to go and how desperate I am to heal and be healed (self care is not selfish!), all signs pointed to Kenya.  Once I get over the 20+ hours of travel to get there, it's all outdoors.  My camps are all small, no more than 12-15 people if they are full.  I'll be back where I love, doing what I love.

I reached out to Richard at Expert Africa.  He'd put together an itinerary for me in November 2021 that I ultimately could not take.  He has, quite literally, written the book on Kenya safari.  I had done enough vicarious safari-going on social media the last few years that I knew pretty much what I wanted.  On the fifth trip to Kenya, it is time to visit somewhere new, so I chose Lakipia and Samburu in the north.  And I will of course end my time with 5 nights in the Maasai Mara, my favorite place on earth, also staying in camps that are new to me.

What is better about this than safaris past is that I only have to wait 9 weeks from booking to departure, which is practically spur of the moment for me who usually books a year in advance!  I was utterly blessed that Richard could make my dates and camps work.  Hell, I'm already packing...gear out of storage, cosmetic bag packed!

So with airfare, trip insurance and safari all booked and paid for, I'm in for the wait.  Already I've ticked three of those weeks off.  What I am looking forward to most is being taken care of.  Just showing up each day and having others, including Mother Nature, make it happen.  I crave the warmth of a Kenyan summer, the laziness of the midday siestas, the anticipation and surprise that unfolds in every game drive, the vibration of a middle of the night lion roar.  And I want to feel like me again.  Not afraid, not sad, not wary.  I've dreamt of safari these last three years.  I hope Kenya is ready to welcome me back.

2020 - the year that wasn't

 What can I say?  What happened?  What didn't happen? Basically, everything didn't happen.

After a ridiculously blessed 2018 and 2019, I hunkered down prepared to have a somewhat quieter 2020 given that I was spending more money than I'd ever spent on a vacation for my 50th birthday bash in Zambia.  It was a full-on splurge, no holds barred, no expense spared, business class fare on Emirates, elephant hide sleepout.  It was the stuff of dreams.  Until it wasn't.  In March 2020, all of the US went into lockdown due to the damn coronavirus and just like that, my dream milestone bash was snuffed out.

I won't complain because people have lost their lives to this and I've been kept from my Dad and my friends because of this and have spent the last 10 months basically prisoner in my own home.  But it still sucks.

I kept myself busy over the summer contemplating rebooking the whole trip, but with no real idea when this will end I just wanted my money back and to sit quietly in a corner and lick my wounds.  Easier said than done.  While I'd not paid for the entire cost of the trip (they were letting me wait until 30 days out to see what the situation was in Zambia, since Zambia's borders were indeed closed to tourists until early August), I was still out almost $7000 on my deposit.  Yes, you read that right.  The airfare, my business class seat on Emirates, was the easy part.  By flying business class, part of your fare benefit is to get your entire fare back if you cancel.  So that was a no-brainer.  But my trip insurance didn't cover anything related to pandemic-caused cancellations unless I myself caught the virus and couldn't travel.  I had a conversation with the insurance company at one point when the border was still closed and said "surely you don't expect me to fly there knowing the border is closed?" and they said yes, but that they'd "cover the early return home once you arrived and were turned away."  That made absolutely no sense.

Over my birthday while I was still in decision-making mode, my Dad took a turn for the worse and he was placed in hospice care.  I cancelled the trip then and there, obviously, and filed the paperwork that the doctor gave me to get my refund.  It took 4 months but I got it all back, except the $700 that the insurance cost me.  Dad is still with us and still under hospice care, which I'm thankful for, but the long story short is that without that ill turn, I'd be out $7000 in deposits.  No travel insurance policy contemplates anything having to do with this pandemic.  Read your fine print, read it again and then call and talk to an agent with pointed, specific questions before you buy any policy.

At the same time, we had trips planned for two Morrissey shows in NYC in March, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's induction of Depeche Mode in May, Chicago for a Frida Kahlo exhibition in June and Las Vegas for a 5 night residency by Morrissey.  All of those were cancelled.  JetBlue refunded every penny of the airfare and the only thing I was out is one night hotel in Cleveland, which was part of an air-hotel package and not refundable but it is still good this year.  If we get out there again.

All told, I had a very lucky recovery from all this travel that wasn't allowed to happen.

During lockdown, I've started thinking about where I'll go when I can.  We've started to research Israel, Jordan and Turkey.  I also want to support some of the places and people who've been suffering during lockdown that I miss:  my hotels in Paris and Florence, my guides in Kenya.  I also want to tick off more adventures on my bucket list:  chimps in Tanzania.  It's still too early to book now but never too early to dream.