Uganda & Kenya & Tanzania August 2007

August 8, 2007 - September 2, 2007

	Wednesday, August 8 - Flight Bilbao - Madrid - London - Kampala, Uganda

	Uganda
	Thursday, August 9 - Kampala, Cross the equator, Lake Mburo National Park
	Friday, August 10 - Lake Mburo National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park
	Saturday, August 11 - Queen Elisabeth National Park, Kazinga Channel
	Sunday, August 12 - Kibale Forest National Park
	Monday, August 13 - Kampala
	Tuesday, August 14 - Source of the Nile River, Jinja
	Tuesday, Wednesday, August 15 - Nile River Rafting

	Kenya
	Thursday, August 16 - Travel to Kericho, Kenya
	Friday, August 17 - Masai Mara
	Saturday, August 18 - Masai Mara



	Tanzania
	Sunday, August 19 - Speke Bay
	Monday, August 20 - Serengeti National Park
	Tuesday, August 21 - Serengeti National Park
	Wednesday, August 22 - Ngorongoro Crater
	Thursday, August 23 - Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Eyasi
	Friday, August 24 - Lake Eyasi - Hadzabe & Datoga Tribes
	Saturday, August 25 - Masai Tribe, Moshi - Kilimanjaro
	Sunday, August 26 - Usambara Mountains
	Monday, August 27 - Flight Stonetown, Kendwa Beach
	Tuesday, August 28 - Kendwa Beach
	Wednesday, August 29 - Kendwa Beach
	Thursday, August 30 - Stonetown
	Friday, August 31 - Stonetown
	Saturday, September 1 - Flight Stonetown - Arusha, Bus to Nairobi, Flight Nairobi - London
	Sunday, September 2 - Flight London - Madrid - Bilbao

There are no words to describe the feelings and sensations you have when you travel through Africa. It is a very unique experience; the people, the animals and the landscapes.

This was the first time that we had gone on a trip with a group of people. The group was made up of 1 Spanish guide, 1 driver from South Africa, 1 cook from Tanzania and 19 tourists from all different areas of Spain: Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao, Victoria, etc. We all got along really well during the trip; it was a very nice group to travel with.

We traveled through Africa in an open back semi-truck. We sat in the back where the seats were formed in a U-shape. The two sides of the truck were open windows to allow us to see when we drove through towns or parks. The front area had a fabric-type-roof so that we could pull it back and be able to stand up and look out from the top of the truck. The floors of the back of the truck were hollow so that is where stored our backpacks, tents, mattresses, camp chairs, cooking utensils, food and water.

The majority of the times we camped in the national parks. It's quite a sensation going to sleep in a tent and hearing the animals making noises and walking around at night. We were warned that if we needed to go to the bathroom at night that we needed to take a flashlight and use the buddy system, just in case we came upon an animal in the middle of the night!!!!

The hippo loved to sleep by out tents!!! Hippos are one of the most dangerous animals; we were warned not to come between a hippo and the water because they think you are blocking off their escape route and will attack you. The hippos came out of the water at night and slept in mud holes right next to our tents. They would make noises the whole night. Another time when we were camping at the Ngorongoro Crater our guide warned us that elephants, zebras and warthogs normally passed though the area where we were camped. Needless to say, I did not sleep that night thinking that I was going to be squashed by an elephant!!!!

But, I definitely believe that camping made the Africa experience even better. One morning in the Masai Mara we got up around 6am (like most mornings!) and we were eating breakfast. At that moment an elephant came walking down from a hill and passed right by us on his way to the watering hole. There I was having my morning coffee and an elephant walks right by!!! AMAZING!!!!

When we camped in the Serengeti we stayed at a camp ground that is reserved for the travel agency that we went with. They have permanent tents set up and each of these tents has a personal bathroom and shower (without running water). They were amazing!!!! It was like a mini house in the middle of the Serengeti National Park!!! The shower areas were at the back of the tent and consisted of four cloth walls, no ceiling and a hanging bag of hot water. I took a shower one night and it was quite a sensation. I was showering in the middle of the Serengeti Park, in Tanzania, looking up at all the stars. BEAUTIFUL!!!

The landscapes were AMAZING!!!! The savannas, the vast grasslands and the huge blue sky, of Africa are one of the most beautiful sights. The sky has a color of blue that looks fake.

The people were incredible, especially the kids. As we would drive through towns ALL the kids would come running for the truck just to wave and say hi. There was one time that we were driving

through a small time and as we drove by a house I could hear kids screaming. They came running from the back of their house waving and screaming "Hello Muzungu!!!" (Hello White Person!!!) with big smiles on their faces.

We saw a lot of animals on the safaris:


Impala	Antelope	Gazelle


Topi	Vultures (eating a topi)	Hyena


Hippo	Wildebeest (one of the ugliest animals!!!!)	Ostrich


Baboon	Warthog	Chimpanzee


Crocodile	Zebra	Giraffe


Cheetah

4 of the "Big 5" - lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo. We didn't get to see the rhino, because as were going to try to find one in the Masai Mara, in Keyna, our truck got stuck in water. (We saw from very, very, far the leg of a leopard sleeping in a tree, so I consider this seeing a leopard!!!

	We weren't able to take a pic!!! It was too far!!!
Lion	Leopard	Elephant


Buffalo