Safari Journal Part 8
We have a flat tire. Now on a vehicle as big as this one there, this is a pretty big deal. But we have lots of strong men who can stand around pondering what to do. To my surprise the crew get right on it. They must have encountered this before. They take the spare from underneath the truck and get to work. There aren’t a lot of other vehicles that pass but when they do, they leave behind a red screen to look through. It was as if suddenly your eyes stopped processing the blues and greens and you feel like you’re in hell. It was hot enough and certainly not the best situation. It takes them about an hour and a half to fix. We are on our way again. This long road, which I named the “red road”, takes us into Lake Eyasi. The campsite is beautiful. It’s very unlike the previous one. There are no other campsites here. The baboons and vervet monkeys are using it as a playground as we arrive. There is a natural spring that runs underneath the campground and releases on the North side in a small pool. We put our bia in it to try and keep it cool. As the crew is setting up the shower tent and digging the hole for the toilet I am writing in my journal. I am complaining to myself about my lack of luggage. Of course I do not share these feelings with anyone else. What good would that do? I suddenly get a cool feeling on my sun kissed arms. Somebody is standing beside me blocking out the rays. Like an angel Michaelle Anne is standing there with a care package. She and Ron had gone through their stuff and tried to give me some of what they have extra of. In her arms are a washcloth, contact solution (praise the Lord!), an extra pair of socks and headband that has a flashlight on it. Can you believe how nice they are? I guess it’s true that you get back what you give out. This was probably payback for the time that I didn’t beat my younger brother to a bloody pulp. I stopped as soon as he started crying. I’m so nice.
They asked if there was anything else that I could use. I hated asking for something else but I was in dire need of Maxi Pads. My birth control pills were in my other bag and I had started bleeding like Niagara Falls. I really didn’t think it was likely that Michaelle Anne would have them judging by her age but I had to ask. Wouldn’t you know that they kept some with them in case of an injury? They are my new best friends!
After dinner, everyone sat around the campfire drinking a beer and talking. It was clear that we were all pretty well worn down. One by one we were making our way back to our tents. I wanted to stay awake as long as possible. I knew that it was just about the time for the harvest moon and my life revolves around the moon’s cycles. My mind is toyed with by its emotional pull. Sometimes for good and sometimes for ill, but I manage. After about an hour after everyone else retired, the moon shows itself. It is a beacon of light through the tips of the acacia trees. It was so beautiful and powerful that I could almost feel it shining on me, pushing me towards the earth. I lay there for I guess was an hour and a half, just taking it all in. The only interruption to my tranquility was the sound of the bush babies crying incessantly into the night. Bush babies are very small and not to be feared, but I didn’t know that yet. The sound that they make is probably ten times their actual body size. Like the kid on the plane, they are small but potent.
I go to my tent feeling like I had just witnessed a miracle and ready to dream. I must have put my tent up on a slight incline because I keep sliding down to the bottom. After several adjustments I doze off. In the middle of the night (not the Billy Joel song), I wake up and have to pee. In the dark I reach around for the headband with the flashlight on it. Tomorrow I will make sure it’s in my pocket before I fall asleep. I find only the flashlight and not the headband. I will simply put the flashlight on the ground as I pull down my pants and hold myself above the hole. I make it to the bathroom area. Good so far. I put the flashlight on the ground next to me, not a lot of light but I can still take down my pants. As I try and get a good balance moving my feet around I accidentally kick the flashlight into the hole, the hole with poop and pee in it. Other peoples poop and pee!
I can see it down there, it’s still on, shining brightly on the other peoples poop and pee. I can’t do it. I absolutely cannot force myself to reach down in there. Just standing there thinking about it is making me queasy. I think to myself “Come on Kim its just poop” and “It’s not even your flashlight” and “ This has to be the funniest, most unbelievable thing that has ever happened to you”. I can’t even change a babies diaper without wanting to vomit there is no way I can do this. I zip my pants and head back to my tent. I look back and see a hole whose contents are illuminated by a light that will surely go out before it is rescued. I can’t get back to sleep. I am pondering how I will tell Ron that his gift, that was given so graciously, is down the shithole. Maybe I won’t tell him. I’ll just pretend that I have it and that I forgot to give it back to him at the end of the trip, I’ll send him 20 bucks when I get home and explain it then.Let’s just see how the morning goes. If he slept well, if he had nightmares whatever, I’ll make my decision then.