Every time I return to Africa, I vow to take it more slowly, to remember every moment, to write down every sensation, every smell, to photograph every wonder. Hold that my eyes are mesmerized by the rich golds and browns of the landscape and the intricate patterns unbroken by macadam and concrete.
How to capture forever the sounds of the night, the dawn waking of the bush, the hum of the warm afternoons, the lyrical, patient voices of the people? My answer -- to begin slowly, deliberately, to ensnare it all in my memory.
But with every return, fresh experiences crowd my visit. I see new plants, places and animals. New antics and behaviors. An unfamiliar scent mingles with my memories – the new smell? Acacias are in bloom this year, I’ve never smelled their bright yellow blossoms.
Slashes of red mark the green and catch my eye as we speed past another plant I overlooked on my last visit. Vultures circle overhead in the distance. We reach a dry riverbed with steep banks and I take the measure of our driver as he begins the descent at what seems at least a 90 degree angle. Safely to the other side it is only minutes until he slows at movement in the bush. Lions mate. We haven’t even reached camp yet.
Before I sleep, zebra, buffalo and elephant will stare at my passage; a pair of honey badgers will lumber through the underbrush oblivious to the lights of the land rover.
With only the look in their eyes, giraffe will register my presence.
We’ll find the giant eagle owl that we hear calling; a little creature called an elephant shrew will dive from the beams of our headlights.
I will meet the staff at the camp and marvel at their fortune at working in this paradise. Over dinner, tales of the day’s adventures shared by fellow travelers will captivate me and I'll wish my arrival had been a day earlier. The warmth of the fire in the boma will envelope me and I'll grow sleepy to the sounds of the hippos in the river. Surely I’ll remember it all and have time to write it down tomorrow night.
I resolve, this year, to write more, to take it in more slowly, to absorb it all. Yet the fact that I know I will break this resolution is what brings me back year after year.
This year's adventure is Tanzania especially cherished as we had almost given up on finding a workable itinerary off the beaten path and to the places we wanted to visit. Yet, as I am excited to visit someplace new, I will miss not returning to the places I have grown to love -- Botswana, Zambia, South Africa and Namibia.
It seems I just can't spend enough time in Africa.
