LucyEthel Takes a Trip “Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” Miriam Beard

I’ve had some Internet problems so I wasn’t able to post for a few days. I hope I can remember all that we have done. We did a game ride in Hulhulwe Park where we saw elephant, rhino, zebra, giraffe and a variety of birds. It is a lot of fun to go on the open air rides where I can hear everything and unfortunately smell everything but most of the time the air is so fresh and fragrant, I love it. I have taken many pictures but I’m not sure anyone can enjoy them the way that I do because some animals are hard to see. They blend in so maybe I can get the face or the tail (I have so many ‘moon’ shots, it’s unbelievable!). Day 8, we left Hululwe and headed to Swaziland. We stopped at a roadside market and walked through the many stalls. The items are handmade in the traditional style and I picked up a mask and a cloth painting. The people are very nice and negotiate prices that are probably the real price but they say “you’re killing me. Please, 80 Rand ($10).” The hotel in Swaziland was nice and the food was fine, especially the breakfast. We have all the amenities of any hotel in the States, the beds are comfortable, and there is always tv, with at least 8 sports channels. Day 9 took us back into South Africa. As we crossed the border, we got out of the bus for passport inspection and then walked across to wait for the bus. A patrolman at the gate said he was ‘mad’ for the American national anthem and asked us to sing it. We explained that we DID know the words but it is very hard to sing. He persisted and eventually we gave him a horrible rendition. He said we sang it like it was a sad song and to put some spirit into it sooooo we sang it again, with feeling.  Then he and our guide sang the South African anthem. Very nice. At the gate of Kruger National Park, we split up with some going on an open air game ride and some staying in the bus. Since I didn’t budget for the open air ride, I stayed in the bus but took a front seat. We saw more giraffes (they are becoming my favorite), a huge rhino, many impalas and deer, monkeys, a crocodile, wart hog, horned bill (bird), but the winner was a lion enjoying a lunch provided by a lioness. My picture is going to be good if I can get it enlarged. Obviously, we can’t get out of the jeeps to get a better shot! It started to rain very hard so we got back to the hotel here at Kruger. My room is excellent but it is far away from the main entrance so I got soaked. I was shaking like a leaf when I got into the room (it isn’t hot here) so I got rid of the clothes, made some hot tea, and crawled under the comforter. Later, security came and banged on my door wanting to know if I was coming to dinner. I told him “no” and went back to sleep. I wondered why they just didn’t call me if they wanted to tell me something. I moved my phone a little and saw that it was unplugged. When I got to breakfast at 5:30 a.m. today, everyone asked if I was ok and they worried about me, etc. It was just the stupid phone, which is the third hotel with a phone problem for me. Minor point but I don’t want anyone getting worried about me.