Leaving Tanzania

After almost three weeks here in Tanzania, we have almost come to the end of our journey. Our last "big" Africa thing to do is go on safari.

Tomorrow morning, we will travel up across Lake Victoria, through Mwanza, and north to the western corridor of the Serengeti. If you are unfamiliar with the Serengeti, here's a bit about it from the official website:

Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park, the Serengeti is famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle. Golden-maned lion prides feast on the abundance of plain grazers. Solitary leopards haunt the acacia trees lining the Seronera River, while a high density of cheetahs prowls the southeastern plains. Almost uniquely, all three African jackal species occur here, alongside the spotted hyena and a host of more elusive small predators, ranging from the insectivorous aardwolf to the beautiful serval cat.

In other words, we are going to see a lot of animals. The great migration may be over by the time we arrive on Saturday, but we are still sure to see elephants, hippos, gazelle, crocodiles, and various types of monkeys. 


We will, of course, take hundreds of pictures during our safari. I can't wait to share those with you after I get home. 


In my reading life, I've still been reading up a storm. I've finished twelve books in the few weeks we've been here. This week, I have read:

• The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue
• Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
• Paradise, Piece by Piece by Molly Peacock

I am currently listening to Lisa Gardner's Love You More, which is entirely creeping me out -- especially since I listen to it before bed each night. I'm also reading my brother's copy of Rob Bell's Love Wins and -- to my surprise -- really enjoying it. Both his writing and his ideas are intriguing. 


I don't generally choose titles from religious or inspirational authors, but my brother was right to press Bell's work into my hands. He has two other books by Bell: Velvet Elvis and Jesus Wants to Save Christians. Wonder if I can manage to finish Love Wins and then also read the other two in the next couple of days...