hello, serengeti

I love how you can feel the morning approach from inside your tent. The darkness slowly fades, the birds begin their busy work, and fellow campers rustle around in their sleeping bags. By 6:00am, you know it's time to unzip and step out into the morning to see the sun poke its head out and begin the day.

Waking up on the rim of the Ngorongoro crater... it's cold and misty, fresh and mystical. We can barely see the sun through the cloud cover, but soon the lake on the floor of the crater lights up and reflects a creamy, metallic orange. We walk laps around the quiet campsite, stretching our legs and keeping our muscles warm until the hot coffee and breakfast are ready. Breathe in the fresh air now: it's going to be a dusty day.

After breakfast, we pack up and hit the road. Driving back down through the jungle-like hills, we soon reach the dry dirt road to Serengeti National Park. We stop for a picnic lunch at Naabi Hill Gate and drive another three hours to the central campsite at Seronera. It has been a full day of "Tanzanian massage" (aka bouncing down a rugged road), and they even threw in a spray tan (aka dust bath). Washing my hands and face has never felt so good. Running water has never been such a pleasant surprise. (It took a few rounds of lather, rinse, repeat before the water finally ran clear.)

After freshening up, we sit on the roof of the Land Cruiser and watch an insane, red African sun glow behind the silhouettes of brambly trees until it slips behind the distant hills. We sip red wine and whiskey and welcome another hot, delicious meal-- spaghetti and meat sauce tonight, our favorite of the trip!

We're in bed before 9:00pm, exhausted, content, and looking forward to an early departure in the morning. The hyenas laugh and howl in the night, and a nearby camper welcomes a new dawn with Eric Clapton on the guitar. We're far, far away. But even out here we're reminded that some things truly have become universal.