Even the best planned trips will hit snags.   About a week before I left, the airlines contacted me to let me know that the two smaller airports we were planning to fly into both were still closed.  I was offered a few other options, but all were too pricey or too long.  So, I contacted Serena Resorts and when I say they’re rock stars… they really are…coming through for us by arranging transport.  The Serengeti is not that far away from the Masai Mara.  But, getting there is a challenge.  Mara Serena Lodge arranged for a driver to take us to the Kenya/Tanzania border.   Our driver is not allowed to take us into Tanzania (something about tour guides & drivers being restricted to their original countries – and that this has not always been the case.)  

After our 3 hour drive replete with a lasting glimpse into the lives of the Maasai people, and seeing the vast countryside, we finally arrive at the border crossing.  Our driver helps us get through customs and taking yet another Covid test.  After an hour or so, we meet our next tour guide, Zakariah, who will take us to the Serengeti and also the Ngorongoro Crater.  

It’s another 3 hours from the border to our lodge in the Serengeti.  We chat with our guide, check out views of local life, and I napped.  We are looking forward to a beautiful day on Safari.  The views from this lodge are incredible!

It has been an incredible few days in Africa.  From the bustling, noisy city of Nairobi, the odd juxtaposition of the national park, the short & amazing small plane ride, and now this.  To say this is peaceful and soul-filling does not do this moment justice.  My eyes have filled with tears countless times, and I am not typically a crier.  The sights have taken my breath away and will be with me forever.  I can see now why people come back time and again.  And, most people who know me, know I rarely do the same things over and over.  But for this, I would.  

The weather has been absolutely perfect!  Nights and mornings are cool (glad I bought that purplish Eddie Bauer sweatshirt) and days are warm, but not overly so.  Bugs are nonexistent, so far, which is a pleasant surprise.  

Food – I’ve been able to eat just fine, with our lodge going above and beyond ensuring I have plenty of choices.  They’ve made some unique gluten-free items including a lovely coconut cake topped with tomatoes (it wasn’t sweet and the tomatoes were a nice balance), and a spiced/sweet bread for breakfast.  Breakfast is a massive spread of anything you could possibly imagine.  I stick to the made-to-order omelette, black tea, and GF bread.  Lunch – again a massive spread with anything you can eat.  I haven’t needed lunch because breakfast is so massive, safaris have been early, and I have my trusty Luna bars for snacks.  Also probably why my luggage was overweight… to ensure I have enough food!  Dinner is crazy good…it’s bigger than breakfast, and all kinds of things are labeled as gluten free.   I’ve been eating an inordinate amount of cucumbers as regular greens don’t seem to be prevalent.  Dessert is always amazing too.  

Lodge – Mara Serena the views are incredible, the staff amazing, and the room is perfect.  I highly recommend this place!  Furthermore, every person I worked with prior to the trip was wonderful.  They were all so helpful organizing transportation, tours, guides, activities, and when I needed to add Curtis – it was a breeze!  The resort is half or full board optional, and what you get for the money… I highly recommend full board.  Our room was clean, comfortable, and the balcony provided incredible sunrises and views of animals.  I felt safe the entire trip – even on the night safari.  

I truly would spend more time here!!   

I’m going!  I will be on that plane in a few weeks and crossing several countries off my bucket list!  Even better a good friend is coming with me, and since it’s always been his dream, that will make this even more special.  Everything is planned, booked, and paid for — so it’s happening!  As I sit in my hotel tonight in Hanover, PA, reading over the itinerary, I am so thrilled I can barely sleep.  The culmination of researching, dreaming, and planning — it’s unimaginable to think that it’s actually going to happen.  

We’ll meet in Frankfurt and then fly to Nairobi, Kenya.  After a couple days in Nairobi, we’ll fly to Maasia Mara for a several night stay at an all-inclusive safari lodge.  Then, after a flight, ground transfer, border crossing into Tanzania, and another flight, we’ll arrive in the Serengeti for a couple nights.  From there we’ll travel to the Ngorongoro Crater via land to spend a few nights.  We’ll fly to Zanzibar and spend the reminder of our trip there – soaking in the sun & sand – a well-deserved rest before our long journey home.  

Oh my!  The packing!  One can’t just hop on a plane without the proper gear and careful planning on what to pack.  I figured I had most everything I needed and yikes…I was wrong.  For starters, I can’t take my beloved hard-sided luggage from Away.  Not allowed on the small planes and with 7 flights, that’s a no-go.  Plus, we’re limited to 33 pounds of luggage TOTAL.  My chronic over-packing cannot come on this safari trip.  After many days of research, I chose a wheeled duffel bag and a very fancy backpack.  That backpack is more than I spend on my handbags, which BTW are always purchased on sale.  I cringed as I clicked the “buy now” button… but once it arrives it will feel more real.  For now, I’ve got my list of must-haves on this trip and I’ll stick to not dragging the kitchen sink with me.  

Panama, that’s what.  Day 1 of Panama was blissful – hanging poolside, walking on the beach, catching sunrise and sunset from our balcony overlooking said pool & beach – idyllic.  Then, Day 2 the nightmare of chitra bites began.  For whatever reason my body thinks it needs to overreact to the bites of insects and it really doesn’t like these tiny fly bites.  Instantly I was transported back to my 2004 trip to Costa Rica — same bugs, same bites, same miserable experience.  But I completely forgot about that until Panama.  Despite spraying myself with Deep Woods Off bug spray, wearing citronella bracelets/anklets, and not being on the beach past sundown… those suckers managed to attack my legs and arms.  Luckily the pharmacy had a large bottle of clear calamine and allergy pills to calm my skin.  I also bought 50% DEET spray and fogged the hotel room.  Despite my best efforts, the bug bites & scars have lasted a few weeks post-vacation.  Guess Panama is not where I will be retiring… yikes.

Several friends have reached out to me asking about international travel during Covid.  I read online forums and belong to travel groups on FB… so, I had a good grasp on travel requirements and what to expect.  Here’s how it went down for our trip to get into Panama.  I’ll update how (or if) we got home.

48 hours before arrival into Panama (so that’s Panama time) and no sooner – we had to get a Covid PCR test (antigen tests were not accepted and it did not matter that we were vaccinated.)  So, that’s a bit tricky as my go-to location (local urgent care) was not open nor could they guarantee we’d have results before our flight departed the Denver airport.  So, we found a service that comes to your house, conducts the test, and ensures results within 30 hours (thanks to the United 1K group on FB.)  The nurse arrived at our home at 8PM on Saturday and we had our results by 2PM Sunday – plenty of time before our 5AM flight Monday.  Those were printed out as advised by the Panama travel guidelines.  (As an update, Panama now accepts antigen tests!)

Checking in for our flight – despite the itinerary (DEN –> IAH –> PTY) we could not check-in on the app or online.  We had to check-in at DEN because the agent had to check our Covid test results.  My husband found this confounding as he figured it only mattered for the international portion of our itinerary, but I had researched otherwise, particularly since our bags are checked through to Panama.

At IAH – we had to check-in with the gate agent, who verified our test results and asked for proof that we completed the entry form that Panama requires – we had print outs and screenshots of the entry form, but the gate agent barely glanced at it. 

Upon arrival in Panama, we proceeded to immigration/customs, showed our test results to officials, and then queued up for immigration – which was a breeze (no questions, review of forms, or anything.)

Then we collected our baggage, went through customs, grabbed our rental car and were on our way.       

It’s true… finally 14 months after our last international trip… we are on the plane, on our way to Panama!!!  YAY!!  I cannot wait!

Today is such a happy day – we re-booked our girls trip to Peru!  Well the flights at least…but YAY!  We have 3 options for traveling throughout the country.  So, we’ll select those and start booking hotels and transportation.  This is going to be epic!!!