The Kenya Journals, Ch. 34: Homeward Bound

Chapter 34:

Homeward Bound

The sun is setting in Kenya, and it’s time for me and my new friends to begin our long journeys homeward.   Four of us, anyway.  Marg and Barbara are off on another safari In Kenya.

Jimmy, Greg’s friend and expediter who has helped make this safari run well, escorts us to a restaurant and joins us.    It’s not yet six o’clock, which means the dinner menu isn’t available.   That’s fine with us and we opt for a light meal off the hors d’oeuvres menu.

Greg reaches across the table and takes my point and shoot camera.   He captures a photo of me that perfectly evokes everything I’m feeling—happy, relaxed, and content.   It’s been a great trip.   

I've changed out of the light blue sun shirt that a mischievous little elephant had splashed with the muddy red water at the ellie orphanage, and donned a green one.

The abundance of animals and birds, the opportunities to observe animal behavior, perfect weather, good companions?   What more could anyone ask?

I felt like this little lion cub, watching the wonders of the world.

Jimmy makes sure we get to the airport and then we are on our own.   There’s a little concern that the airline might weigh carry-on baggage, and Greg starts stuffing various heavy lenses and camera gear in his vest pockets.

I’m fine.   My carry-on is well within weight allowances, as is my small suitcase.

I love traveling light.

We board the plane for Frankfurt.   I sit back and daydream about all the things I’ve seen and done.

A new one for me.   This fellow is using his phone to place his order at McDonalds.

Traveling with photographers—the kind who take their craft seriously—has been an educational experience.   The photographers I’ve been around are always willing to answer questions and give advice.   It’s helped me immensely.   I have a lot of wrinkles to iron out, but with day after day of constant shooting, the mysteries of ISO, aperture, and shutter speed are revealing their symbiotic nature.

 Add to that the ability to instantly see the results of my settings via digital photography, rather than wait a couple weeks after I’m home and had film photos developed, I can make corrections in the field and get the shots.

In Frankfurt, I board Iceland Air, bound for Reykjavik, over Greenland, to Seattle, where I overnight.   This practice of mine allows not only a break from the long hours in steerage, but means I can arrange to arrive in Anchorage during daylight hours.

When I board the Alaska Airlines jet the next day, I feel like I’m home already.  Just a little more than three hours and I land in Anchorage.   Less than two hours later, I’m home.

 

In Anchorage.

Now to download these memory cards, plus one more to make it an even twenty.

This has been one of the more rewarding trips I’ve made, and when Marg mentions going back in 2018, I’m in.   We plan on three different camps in South Africa, and then back to the northern part of the Masai Mara in Kenya.

I have my new memory cards all ready.


 

I miss my bed in my tent at Governor's Camp.   At home, I have to make my own tea--and get out of bed to do it.  No cookies, either.