Hamjambo!

Today we returned to Maji ya Chai from our last safari camp, near Karatu. We were glad to see familiar faces as we bumped down the dirt road to our dormitory. However, it was hard to say goodbye to Habibu, Douglas, Candy and Joshua, our remarkable safari guides. On the eight-day safari we danced with the Maasai, climbed to the 2500 meter summit of Oldonyo Sambu, listened to National Geographic photographer Karin Muller describe her harrowing escape from Chad just before joining our group, and saw an incredible diversity of wildlife.

Our journey and adventure is drawing to a close. This evening we are celebrating Sarah Davies' birthday with a pizza party. Tomorrow we will travel to Arusha to do some shopping and eat lunch. In the late afternoon we will join our Tanzanian photography students at the UAACC Arts and Education Center near the town of Usa River. The students will each present five of their best photos.

In the evening the Wildlife and Conservation students will present their research to the entire group. Monday will be a whirlwind of goodbyes in the village, packing, cleaning our dorm, and departing for the Kilimanjaro Airport. We'll pass back through Amsterdam on our way to New York.

Our group has seen so many remarkable things in the past 2 1/2 weeks; it would be impossible to describe them all on this blog. However, we know the students will be eager to share all their stories (and photos!) with you when they return.

Until then,

Mike, Hope, and Megan