Now for the animals. As I said, I always thought safari was just about the animals. As you can see, there is so much more, but the animals are definitely the show stoppers.
The next three days were pure bliss (as far as bliss in a prison-esq cell can go). We agreed we probably could have tolerated one more night, (as long as we had more snackies of course) but we're grateful we arrived on time. We joined all the locals for traditional meals of nshima (a Zambian staple made from maize flour), relish, and your choice of chicken or beef for lunch and dinner, drank the train dry of Kilimanjaros (local beer) while partying at the bar. I even managed to get pawned off to the bartender for free beers by a local woman who kept telling me, "Marriage, no matter!"
A cheerful yet subtle, "good morning" makes its away out of my peaceful dream and into reality as it's repeated softly outside of our chalet. "Good morning," I repeat, trying to sound as cheerful as possible at 5am. It's our wake up call at Mwaleshi. The chill in the air makes it nearly impossible to step out of the comfort of our warm bed but the excitement of our day overcomes it. I can still see some lingering stars in the changing sky as the sun begins to rise over the Mwaleshi River, alerting us to the start of a new day.