Sleeping by mosquito river and Lake Manyara 10/4/18
Last night wasn’t as a rowdy as I expected. We both fell asleep with our clothes on because it was way too warm to get out sleeping bags. I got a little chilly at night but it was nice to sleep then. Our tent is much bigger than the one we carry, with heavy canvas to protect from the outside elements. There are a couple of windows and a door that you can see out of and that lets a nice breeze in. Andy got up to use the bathroom so I just stayed awake to make sure he wasn’t even during the night. We ate breakfast at 6:30 just outside our tent on a picnic table. We had a full breakfast of eggs, hot dogs, fruit, pancakes with the sunrise. When we were done with breakfast but still sitting there, a velvet monkey came out of nowhere jumped on our table and grab two pieces of bread. He wasn't phased but us at all.
We went out into the park for several hours. The park was quiet in the morning so we did a lot of birdwatching. We saw several types of eagles and a falcon, beehives, beautiful landscapes of Boa Bab trees. The highlight of the morning was going down to the river, only flowing water we’ve seen in this park, where a wildebeest had died and the vultures are feasting and fighting. Vultures were sticking their heads and longnecks into the wildebeest skin.
The tetse flies come out late in the morning before it gets hot and evening. Not sure if this is the same in the ground but this is when I was attacked in the car. Good thing it wasn’t too hot so I could wear my protective rain jacket so I was going to go fucking insane. They aren’t easy to kill either. There were some blue and black “traps” up but it just looked like fabric and no trap. Bastards need to die.
We headed for Manyara over an hour away, through the villages (on the nice newly paved road) and dirt devils. Andy asked about all the churches in the Maasai villages. Robert told us about how the Massai turned to other religions when their gods weren’t delivering on rain and their wishes. We also learned that the Katogo tribe lives around the parks and they are responsible for a lot of the ivory poaching.
We are staying on Mosquito (Mbu) River tonight. Yay. This area used to be a swamp but global warming took care of that. They grow 25 different kinds of bananas around here (are there that many varieties?).
We reached Manyara Lake National Park at 2. It sits at the bottom of the western wall of the Great Rift Valley. Upon entering the park, we drove through miles of trees. A great difference than the plains we were on earlier today. Some of the trees were blooming fragrant flowers. We came across a group of monkeys walking along the road. They got out of our way and didn’t pay as much attention. It was a bit concerning to me initially, I considered what if one decides to jump into the open roof truck. I guess they’re used to all the trucks that come through the park just like the other animals. We’ve been reached one of the marsh areas of the park. First, we saw all kinds of beautiful birds and pelicans. Then as we got closer I saw what looked like piles of mud moving. Those were Hippos. Some of the hippos were eating greens in the marsh, others were rolling around in the mud down to cool down. They were huge and fascinating. We saw a duck build bird frantically looking for food while these other black birds did an odd movement where they spread their wings in a circle around their head and laying down. It was incredibly odd to see.
Last night wasn’t as a rowdy as I expected. We both fell asleep with our clothes on because it was way too warm to get out sleeping bags. I got a little chilly at night but it was nice to sleep then. Our tent is much bigger than the one we carry, with heavy canvas to protect from the outside elements. There are a couple of windows and a door that you can see out of and that lets a nice breeze in. Andy got up to use the bathroom so I just stayed awake to make sure he wasn’t even during the night. We ate breakfast at 6:30 just outside our tent on a picnic table. We had a full breakfast of eggs, hot dogs, fruit, pancakes with the sunrise. When we were done with breakfast but still sitting there, a velvet monkey came out of nowhere jumped on our table and grab two pieces of bread. He wasn't phased but us at all.
We went out into the park for several hours. The park was quiet in the morning so we did a lot of birdwatching. We saw several types of eagles and a falcon, beehives, beautiful landscapes of Boa Bab trees. The highlight of the morning was going down to the river, only flowing water we’ve seen in this park, where a wildebeest had died and the vultures are feasting and fighting. Vultures were sticking their heads and longnecks into the wildebeest skin. 
The tetse flies come out late in the morning before it gets hot and evening. Not sure if this is the same in the ground but this is when I was attacked in the car. Good thing it wasn’t too hot so I could wear my protective rain jacket so I was going to go fucking insane. They aren’t easy to kill either. There were some blue and black “traps” up but it just looked like fabric and no trap. Bastards need to die. 
We headed for Manyara over an hour away, through the villages (on the nice newly paved road) and dirt devils. Andy asked about all the churches in the Maasai villages. Robert told us about how the Massai turned to other religions when their gods weren’t delivering on rain and their wishes. We also learned that the Katogo tribe lives around the parks and they are responsible for a lot of the ivory poaching. 
We are staying on Mosquito (Mbu) River tonight. Yay. This area used to be a swamp but global warming took care of that. They grow 25 different kinds of bananas around here (are there that many varieties?). 
We reached Manyara Lake National Park at 2. It sits at the bottom of the western wall of the Great Rift Valley. Upon entering the park, we drove through miles of trees. A great difference than the plains we were on earlier today. Some of the trees were blooming fragrant flowers. We came across a group of monkeys walking along the road. They got out of our way and didn’t pay as much attention. It was a bit concerning to me initially, I considered what if one decides to jump into the open roof truck. I guess they’re used to all the trucks that come through the park just like the other animals. We’ve been reached one of the marsh areas of the park. First, we saw all kinds of beautiful birds and pelicans. Then as we got closer I saw what looked like piles of mud moving. Those were Hippos. Some of the hippos were eating greens in the marsh, others were rolling around in the mud down to cool down. They were huge and fascinating. We saw a duck build bird frantically looking for food while these other black birds did an odd movement where they spread their wings in a circle around their head and laying down. It was incredibly odd to see.