Is pre-jet lag a thing?

As I type, it is 3:43 am, and I am WIDE awake. We leave in two days, so maybe this is pre-jet lag? Actually, I think this insomnia is totally attributable to my stress about leaving Kenya. We've had such an incredible adventure here, and I'm desperately sad to leave. 

A lot of what we've done here is difficult to relay - the subtle cultural differences, the smells, the erratic driving conditions really cannot be described and must be experienced - but everybody's watched enough nature shows to get how excited I was to go on safari on the Maasai Mara last weekend!

The Mara is in the southwest corner of Kenya about a 6 hour drive from Nairobi. The first two hours are smooth sailing, no traffic jam, a gorgeous view of the Rift Valley, well maintained roads, but don't let that lull you into a belief that it is an easy journey! The last 75 km are so rough that it takes 4 hours to navigate them! The road is so rough and treacherous that our secondary driver, Kevin, pretended to be sick so that he didn't have to take us (he confessed to me on Monday that his "heart was filled with fear" at the thought of driving us to the Mara)! It was so rough that my motion sickness medication gave out, as our bodies rattled and quaked and our heads flopped from side to side, but we made it! Apparently, you can fly from Nairobi to the Mara relatively comfortably, but you miss some amazing scenery and the chance to watch some truly incredible driving!

After we arrived and found accommodations (which is a whole other story), we went to bed early to recover from the journey and be ready for our big safari day!

Some really generous friends pulled some strings to waive our $90 per person park entry fee! Again, this is an example of how many people have gone above and beyond to help us have a good experience here. The warmth and generosity of the Kenyan people cannot be overstated! We have been so blessed to make many friends and been so welcomed! I will miss the people so much more than the sunshine, the beautiful countryside, the fulfillment that comes with doing good.

Inside the park, the road improved! We popped the roof of our van up and were immediately greeted by herds of grazing zebra, gazelle and wildabeast! 

We spent all day in the park and saw almost all the important animals. We missed rhinos, cheetahs and leopards, but saw about 15 lions and probably 100 elephants! What a day! What a place! What an experience! We kept looking over at each other and saying "we're in Africa!" It was such a nice way to spend the last weekend of our trip, and it really felt like a reward for all the hard work we've been doing!