Time for the long journey home! Land Rover -> bus -> airport shuttle -> plane -> another airport shuttle -> another plane -> Rice shuttle -> car ->-> home!
This started with packing up the safari vehicles and hitting the road. We spotted a huge scorpion at the campsite! On our way out of Olduvai Gorge, we had a ton of car issues, which resulted in a five hour delay as we inched our way to Karatu, the nearest town. We stopped at the Ngorongoro conservation office to get repairs.
*insert border crossing shenanigans*
Driving into Nairobi at night was very stressful because of the chaotic traffic. By the time we sorted out checking into the hotel, I was exhausted and so thankful for the couple hours in a bed. We took the shuttle to the airport at 4am for our first flight to Istanbul.
Our 24 hour layover in Istanbul was so much fun! Kacey and I figured out what the water accompanying Turkish coffee is for (palate cleanser) and we took the metro into the city center. There are cats everywhere in this city. We visited the plaza in front of the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque before sunset, which was so pretty.
Walking through the Grand Bazaar was very hectic because all the vendors yell at you to visit their store. Kacey and I decided to talk to them in Swahili which lessened how much they hassled us. We had an amazing dinner including “Sultan’s Favorite Meat”, some glorious bread, and lots of dips (hummus! tzatziki! baba ghanoush!). After exploring, we piled all 14 of us into a taxi and headed back to the hotel.
While waiting in line for security at the Istanbul airport, I had a major realization. Looking through photos, I started talking about the snake Kacey and I saw at the Olduvai research camp (see mentioned in blog post on 6/23). Looking through the photos, I realized it was indeed a black mamba, one of the most dangerous snakes in the world.
I was so sick that day that I was napping on the porch right by the tree with the black mamba in it. After looking at it with Kacey (not realizing what it was) I went back and slept more. In retrospect, I would’ve freaked out if I knew what it was, and definitely should’ve been more prepared with being able to identify them in case of seeing one. The snake stared at us on its way down to its prey (a large bird on the ground) then turned around and went back up the tree. Kacey and I are both extremely lucky it didn’t attack. Realizing what we had encountered was a big shock to me and I’m so glad we were both safe.
Here’s to making it safely home!!
On the road again,
Carina
*side note: I could be completely wrong in identifying this snake. It’s also possible it could be the boomslang, which is another highly venomous snake of sub-Saharan Africa. I definitely should’ve looked up how to identify these before going, yikes!
