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January 13, 2002

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Rain pelted us all night, water soaked through our tent’s canvas and left everything damp. Winged ants, responding to the wet weather, emerged from the ground and flew in giant clouds, mating and trying to establish new colonies. The ants covered us, crawling over our clothes, faces, and hair. At least they didn’t bite. We kept our mouths closed too. The rain turned the road into a quagmire. We dug our truck out of numerous mud holes as we sloshed our way to our next destination, Lake Manyara. By afternoon we reached a lodge that sat on a Rift Valley ridge and offered a good view of the lake. We didn’t see any tree- sitting lions, peculiar behavior demonstrated by lions in the Manyara game park, but Ed saw his first elephants, giraffes, and buffaloes grazing in the grasses by the lake.
Storm clouds gather. From miles away you can see the rain approach.
This little tyke didn't enjoy a bath, but we sure needed one.
Besides circumcision without anesthesia, Masai men also enjoy masochistic earlobe stretches.
Mighty warrior in training.
We had a rough time on the roads after the rains. Bogged. Eventually we made it to Mto Wa Mbu (great village names around here) and then to our camp near Lake Manyara at Karatu.