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| Glenn's Journal for 10-23-02 - Bogoria/Baringo Today we are off to Lake Bogoria and Lake Baringo. We went to Lake Bogoria first as it was the farthest away. On the way there we stopped at the equator for pictures (and of course the shop). At the equator stop we met Kevin, just briefly, from Johannesburg. He was also travelling with a couple of young ladies from Cape Town, our next destination. Shopping!!! One of the things that you put up with on less expensive safari is the fact that the drivers are required to stop at certain shops, as rest breaks, so the shopkeepers can try and sell you something. The whole time you are in the shop they are telling you to please look and touch as that is free, "hakuna matata" (no worries), and that they will not bother you, but the whole time they are at your side picking up every little piece you look at to see if you will buy it. They are more than ready to barter. They ask questions about where you are from and must assume that all Americans have more than their fair share of money. They jack the price up hoping that some poor fool will pay the full fare. Once you ask about a price of a piece then the bartering begins. They remind you that the original price is only a starting point and that they expect to barter. They also say that they will not be insulted by any offer, but I definitely insulted a few sellers. Some items I would ask about as much out of curiosity as anything else but then they would move you to a smaller piece of the same item if you could not afford the large one. If I felt really interested then I would offer usually 10% of the original asking price (Now you know why I offended a few sellers). They would look at me like I was crazy and then counteroffer. If we weren't really close on price and I didn't care either way if I got it I would say thanks but no thanks. Other times I would just walk away having offered my final price and sometimes they would agree and sometimes they would let me walk. Again, "Hakuna Matata" - no worries. Erin would let me barter at first but once we returned to Nairobi I let her have some action. My motto is always if you buy a piece for what you felt it what worth then it was worth it!!! O.K. Back to the Lakes. At Lake Bogoria we were taken on a 1 hour boat ride on the lake where we were shown some of the local bird life along with paddling by a family of hippos and near some of the local crocodiles. At one point there were 5 boats surrounding two crocodiles that started to fight. Exciting!!! It even got more exciting as the loser was trying to get away, got caught up against one of the boats, and thrashed its way along the boat almost tipping it over and definitely getting most in the boat a little wet. I am not sure Erin would have enjoyed that if it had been our boat. After the boat ride we took off for Lake Bogoria where we had lunch before entering the park area. Our agenda was to walk, yes, walk our way along the main road checking out the animals along the lake and in the park. The day was scorching hot (30+ degrees C) but we managed to walk for about an hour and a half on our way to the hot springs. The lake was beautiful as we ran across more birds and smaller animals during our walk. Along the way we ran into the van carrying Kevin and the young ladies from Cape Town. This time we had a little more time to chat and Kevin introduced us to Renate. We mentioned that we would be in Cape Town next and what suggestions did she have. We also learned that she was born and raised in Cape Town and her and Kevin both worked for Lufthansa. At this point Richard showed up and we drove off towards the hot springs. We had the luck to run into Kevin and Renate again where we shared e-mail addresses and told them both that we would see them in the weeks to come. We were really hoping to meet Renate in Cape Town to learn more about the locals. After the hot springs we returned back to camp where we showered, had dinner, and watched a little television before calling it a night. Tomorrow we are off to Samburu and our first night at a lodge. |
| The oryx has horns that make a lion very wary when approaching! |
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| We passed the equator in 2 different spots - this one was en route to the hot, dry area around Bogoria and Baringo |