the north

i went to the park this weekend! as in the national park. as in i went on a safari! as exciting as that sounds, no i didn't see whole herds of wildebeast or lions attacking zebras or anything like that.
we left saturday morning for a 10 hour bus ride followed by a 1 1/2 hour car trip to the hotel. it really wasn't that bad though. we passed through all these really small villages and the bus stopped in markets. each time we got off there were a dozen or more women standing there trying to get us to buy their products: usually oranges, bread, nuts, etc. so we never really had to go hungry. i, of course, had bought a ton of food beforehand so that even in the 4 days we were gone the 5 of us did not manage to eat it all. some of the restroom facilities left a little to be desired. in most cases, we would just get off and ask the local ppl where we could go and they would lead us to a little shed with hole in the ground. in some cases, there was no hole in the ground and just a hold in the back of the shed so that everyone's mess ran out in a little river from the outhouse. yeah, i didn't mind just finding a nice bush to use instead.
it was amazing to see the change in landscape as we moved furthur and furthur north. the south is green with palm trees and sand everywhere. the north is dry with more hills and dirt instead of sand. the ppl's lifestyle is also clearly entirely different. we saw women washing clothes in the streams and carrying wood to the villages. also, there were a lot more children with distended bellies the furthur north that we got. apparently, the water is fine in cotonou and maybe in other cities too, but certainly not in the streams around the villages.
when we finally got off the bus we were met by someone from the hotel who took us along one of the worst roads i have ever seen to get to the hotel which was 5 mins from the entrance to the park. the hotel was fine. we each had little bungalows which were nice enough, although the electricity went out as it has a tendency to do here. but i was prepared! i had my little flashlight and plenty of batteries. the ppl i went with, 2 ppl that work at the Dutch Embassy, one guy's son, and a woman who works for a German company here, all made fun of me and called me the mother hen of the group for bringing everything one could possibly need. i had the the sunscreen, bugspray, flashlight, batteries, etc. as my gran always says, 'it is better to have and not need than need and not have'. thanks, gran!
the problems came with the car that we rented from the hotel. halfway through the park that morning, it stopped working. yes, we had to stop in the middle of the park with who knows what kind of animals who knows where while our driver, thank goodness, was able to fix the car and get us to the hotel in the park. there we rested for a couple hours during the hottest part of the day while our guide worked on the car some more and we went out that afternoon only to return before dusk, one of the best times to see animals, b/c of car problems. the next day, we were all set to go at 6am only to discover that the car was worse. thankfully, our guide was able to get it going again by 10am and we were able to head out and make it out of the park in one piece.
the most exciting moment was when we saw a mother elephant with her young. we saw them just a little ways off the road and they began to come closer and closer then the mother got really angry b/c we were too close to her young and she started to wave her ears and began to charge the car! we immediately drove off and she calmed down. the mothers get very protective of their young. we also saw another elephant just grazing by himself and he wasn't aggressive at all.
the grand total of sightings for the weekend: countless antelope, some buffalo, wildebeast, impalas, monkeys, babboons, hippos, and many incredibly beautiful birds.
on the way back to town from the park, we stopped by a waterfall. there was a small one, then you climbed up further and saw the big one with an area for swimming. it was absolutely gorgeous. i am working on trying to set up a slideshow or something so maybe someday everyone will get to see my pics. the waterfall was gorgeous with really blue water and tall cliffs on either side with green vegetation everywhere. it was one of those places you wish you could just sit and spend the whole afternoon.
we probably did spend too much time there b/c we were rushing to get into town before dark since it isn't safe to travel between cities after dark. there was only one hotel in the town and unfortunatly a big group got there just before us. so for the 5 of us there was one small bungalow with one bed. we were debating trying to make it to the next town before nightfall, but the hotel management saved us by offering us a tent and an extra bed. so 3 ppl in the room and 2 in the tent. i got the bed which was nice, but it was a really nice night so i wouldn't have minded sleeping outside. we stayed up late looking at the stars talking and listening to music. it was really peaceful and nice. there seemed to be a million stars out that night.
the next day, the whole thing started over again but this time with a nicer bus and a slightly shorter trip back. oh i forgot to say that on the first bus we took heading north, the tire kept catching on fire. that may have contributed to our delay. it really wasn't that bad though. they were able to get it under control eventually. that's all for now!
a bientot!