Tueaday July 31

Tuesday, July 31

My alarm did not go off at 6 AM because my phone was on NY time.
It is Tuesday evening.  I am trying to call home but the phone in my room is broken.  I called maintenance and they said they will fix it tomorrow.  So....tomorrow it is!
Today was pretty amazing.   After a fun evening at Mountain View Lodge near Arusha and the airport, we had time for breakfast (even after oversleeping) and got into our stretch Land Rover with one of our tour leaders and a local guide.  We drove through the city and markets then on to the countryside where the Masai herd cattle and sell goods at markets.   Young men lined the sides of the road at some places, covered in white painted masks and decorated with ostrich feathers.  They had just gone through a ceremony for manhood which includes circumcision at an age between 12 and 20, and they spend 6 weeks away from their home.  They wanted money for us to take a picture, but we didn’t stop.  Poor guys.... The Masai are cattle farmers and they were bringing their animals to market today.  Everyone walks everywhere.
On to the Great African Rift Valley and up the escarpment – a ridge of land high up overlooking the valley.  This is where our hotel is for tonight.  The rift valley is where Africa is splitting apart....and hot volcanic material is erupting occasionally.  But I think we are safe for now.
Today we saw many birds – some pretty unusual.
We also saw a lot of baboons – lots of tiny babies and adults.  I saw my first ZEBRA and typically, the zebras were hanging out with wildebeest.  We saw Impala (antelope with very long curved horns), blue and vervet monkeys.  It was a great introduction in the Lake Manyara National Park. 
After the tour, we returned to our hotel to relax....then a rekaxubg outdoor dining experience on the porch of our beautiful lodge.  Food is good – lots on the buffet, and entrees to order.  We are told we can eat anything fresh at the lodges without fear of getting ill.  I sincerely hope they are right.
Tomorrow we head out to Ngorongoro Crater Lodge (lunch) and Olduvai Gorge where some of the oldest human fossils have been found.  We will spend the next 3 days at Ndutu Lodge and there is very limited internet and no phones in the room.  I do not know about cell phones.  The lodge does have a main phone though. It is on the side of a mountainous escarpment overlooking the rift
Today some saw a giraffe (even in my car but I did not see it) and others saw elephants in the park.    We spent a lot of time looking at birds and baboons so we may have missed the larger mammals.
Some photos are attached.