Monkey Mayhem

Yesterday was basically Nick's last day (he's getting on the plane in just a few moments to fly home) and we had a great day cycling through Hell's Gate NP and trekking through the park's central gorge like Tomb Raider (part of it was filmed there). All was great, except the bike seats being not the greatest, and the roads not the smoothest, left our butts a bit sore! When Nick gets home, hopefully he will have the chance to post some pictures. (not of our butts, but from his trip.) :)

After the bike tour, we were relaxing at our camp and decided to get some close ups of the vervet monkeys hanging around. After a while, they got quite accustomed to our presence and were closer and closer, until suddenly, I look and see four or five monkeys all encircling me and moving even closer all at once! They were on a mission for who knows what - perhaps my backpack, I think I had snacks in there - but my reaction was a little (maybe not so little?) shriek and to get the heck outta there. They stalked me for what seemed like forever but was probably only a few seconds. I think they were trying to steal my camera and write my blog - the only plausible explanation, really.

Later, when we sat down on the restaurant patio for dinner, hoping to watch wildlife while we ate, another little vervet monkey was up in an acacia, about 30 meters overhead, shaking branches so leaves were falling on us. We covered our drinks to avoid the falling tree bits, and lucky we did, because next thing I know, I feel what I could only hope were a few raindrops... nope. No such luck. A DAMN MONKEY PEED ON MY HEAD! We moved away from that table quickly, just before the monkey dropped a deuce on the other half of the table.

Today we have parted, each on our own matatu (minibus), me with my giant backpack on my lap for a couple hours. I am heading to Uganda tomorrow, where I will start my volunteering next week, and hope to get a chance to see mountain gorillas and/or chimpanzees!

Kili Recap

I promised a more detailed version of the Kili trek, but rather than bore you with the day to day details, Nick and I came up with a short list of the many things we feel sum up our experience:

• Going up was hard, but going back down was simply painful (lack of additional motivation, complete exhaustion, etc.). They should build a giant victory zip line for those who reach the peak!
• The final ascent image that sticks is a long, dark, steep climb, and the only way you know how long, dark, and steep it actually is, was by looking up at the trail ahead dotted with headlamps.
  
• Long drop dramas and jokes which never get old. Holes too small, floors slanted (or worse), backdrafts, and many unmentionable nasties.
• Pill popping like addicts - diamox, tylenol, malarone, immodium... you name it we probably had to take a pill for it.
• Being woken each morning by our lovely porters "Hello, hello... good morning" with a hot cup of tea delivered to us in our tent.
• "Warm water washing" twice a day.
• "You are welcome" almost always said before we got out a thank you.
• Good and plentiful food, but for a few misfires - 4-day old fried tilapia, blackened bananas, vegetable or mushroom soup with no signs of actual veg or 'shrooms.
• Thinking our guides didn't speak English too well until suddenly they did on day 4 or 5. Previously we thought we could talk about them at will and they wouldn't understand. Oops.
• Nick had some personal space issues with our guides that went unnoticed by the rest of us.
• Getting seriously annoyed at the number of people who asked if Nick was my brother. ummm... no.
  
• Learning the hard way that sleeping bag ratings are crap.

In other news, uploading photos should hopefully happen soon. Faves from Kili, faves from safari, and a few awesome photos from our delightful experience at the Nairobi Giraffe Center yesterday. We had a blast feeding and hanging out up close with the giraffes. They are hilarious animals. Nick almost got headbutted by a hungry old girl named Daisy, but in her defense, he was trying to pet her without providing any treats! We also learned yesterday that crocodile meat is nasty, but ostrich is quite nice. Now, back to plotting our escape from Nairobi, so we can head to one more Kenya site before Nick returns home. Where that will be exactly depends on the available escape routes...

Next Stop: Nairobi

After seeing lions, lions, oh, and more lions in Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, we are headed off to Kenya... I think between Nick and myself we have well over 1000 photos (no exaggeration), so posting merely a picture or two at the moment is not going to happen. Plus, we still have so many stories from Kili to share! It's a lack of quality internet blogger nightmare. ;)