Babies of Masai Mara

This is baby time in the East African game parks.  We have seen countless babies, all adorable, from lion cubs to tiny elephants less than 3 weeks old, to warthog piglets(?--that's what they look like), to a mound of a baby black rhino in the grass below its mother's snout.  See their photos below.

At Kichwa Tembo, one of our tent camps in Masai Mara, just outside the famous Mara Triangle swarming with animals, a large family of warthhogs inhabits the grassy spaces between the lodge and the savannah.  Yesterday, I saw 4 baby warthogs nursing at the rear of their mother, squealing happily as they slurped their evening meal.

Lion cubs abound.  The lionesses in the pride will babysit another lioness' cubs while she goes off to hunt with the rest of the pride.  We watched as 4 cubs wrestled with one another before following behind one lioness, mother of 2 cubs, to meet up with the returning mother of the other 2 cubs.  They walked right down the middle of the road as we sat in our Land Cruisers and watched them amble by, cubs romping all the while.

It is rare to see a black rhino.  They have not only been hunted to near extinction, but are also loners who tend to get lost in the tall bushes they like to eat.  Luckily, we saw one 2 nights ago, watching over her baby, just a dark lump in the high grass.  We have seen 2 elephant babies less than 3 or 4 weeks old.  The entire family protects them.  Often they walk under their enormous mothers or aunts who watch over them with tender care.

Amazing Gazelle Baby

What is it about babies of any species that melts the heart?  Beautiful or not, they all charm us.  Yesterday was a particularly enchanting encounter with a tiny Thompson Gazelle baby, born just minutes before we happened upon it, lying in the grass just below its mother.

Gazelle babies must be able to run within 30 minutes or so of birth or they, or their mothers, are likely to fall victim to predators.  We watched as this tiny newborn responded to its deep instincts, struggled to get onto its skinny little legs, and take off after its nervous mother with the single-minded goal of getting its first meal.

The photos below show the the baby "Tommy" in the grass, then its mother licking it all over to encourage it to struggle up, next the baby toppling over in its first efforts to rise (it toppled dozens of times before finally making it upright), and, finally, actually toddling, then running after its mom.
What a wonder!

Masai Mara

We've just finished a third wonderful day in Masai Mara, the beautiful Kenyan game reserve that borders Tanzania's huge Serengeti on the north.  I'll do a later blog about our time in Nairobi during the terrible mall attack and the Samburu conservancy in the north of Kenya.

The number of animals is staggering, as Kenya has had lots of rain, so the grass is quite lush and definitely feeding countless grazing animals and their large cat predators.  We have seen tens of thousands of wildebeest and many thousands of their symbiotic partners, zebra.  The wildebeest aren't terribly bright and are easy prey for lions.  The zebra seem to understand that and stay close to the wildebeest so that the lions will ignore the zebra in favor of the much more plentiful wildebeest.

Both species move back and forth, following the rains and grass, between Kenya and Tanzania.  They should be on their way back to Tanzania but have come back into Kenya because of the excellent grazing.  On the way, many cross the Mara and other rivers, with the zebra making it easily because they are good swimmers and the wildebeest drowning by the hundreds (see photo below) because they crash down cliffs to get to the river, sometimes breaking legs, and swim very poorly, if at all.

The lions in Masai Mara look plump and happy.  We have seen dozens of fat lions and their beautiful cubs, along with sleek cheetahs, but no cheetah cubs as yet.  One pair of lions was snoozing peacefully in a tree, which is quite rare (also below).  I'll write more about the habits of the animals in later blogs, but wanted to share a few photos of the magnificent wildlife that populates this park.

Fernando Botero

Fernando Botero is the most renowned modern Colombian artist.  He no longer lives in Colombia, but is revered there.  Both Bogota and Medellin have museums for his extensive work as well as the art he collected and gave to his native Colombia. 

Botero created large, rotund people and creatures in both his paintings and sculpture.  He wanted to show volume and sensuality as well as the culture and problems of his time in Colombia.  We loved his art, particularly after spending time with our guides learning more about how Botero saw and painted the world.

    

Bomb blast in Medellin (drug wars)



lady with ice cream

a car bomb explodes

the thief

 

And there's still more I loved about Colombia

See photos below:
Grilled mushrooms at Arvi, at the top of one of the Medellin public transit gondolas
The colonial buildings in Bogota, Medellin, Santa Fe de Antioquia and Cartagena
Fernando Botero, the most prominent modern Colombian artist (I'll do a separate page of some photos of his works)
Bean, rice, cheese and chicken stew at Rosarita's, near the Medellin airport (and Rosarita's beautiful gardens)
The excellent guides at the Medellin Aquarium
Walking on Cartagena's city wall
The commitment to education and the large number of universities everywhere
The courtyards you could peek at through wrought iron gates
That everything in our hotel room in Santa Fe de Antioquia was for sale, tagged with the price, including the chandeliers
The demonstrations in Bogota
Beronica, our guide in Bogota
The courtyard at the Hotel Santa Clara in Cartagena
How clean all the places we visited were
How strong and independent the women are
The cultural/racial mix of people


plaza in Cartagena

garden at Rosarita's near Medellin

colonial church, Santa Fe de Antioquia

Cartagena's colonial wall

 

armored personnel carrier, Plaza, Bogota, during demonstrations

   

painted house in old Bogota



More things I loved about Colombia

Candelaria, the old center of Bogota

Candelaria at night

 

the beautiful mountains surrounding Bogota and Medellin

 

Medellin metro--especially the gondolas   

 

 

Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena

Casa San Augustin, our hotel in Cartagena

the steaks at Club Colombia in Bogota

music pouring out of every doorway

Ignacio's family (see earlier post)

Gold Museums in Bogota and Cartagena (see earlier post)

Talking to the police in Bogota before they fired tear gas 

        (see earlier posts)

the lady police colonel outside the presidential palace (ditto)

the demonstrations in Bogota

the campesinos and protestors in the plaza in Bogota

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





view of Candelaria

 

Some of what I loved about Colombia--much more to come

First, the people, who are gracious, welcoming and ever so cordial.

Fruit vendors in Bogota

Ignacio and his family

Even the riot police were friendly

La Iglesia del Carmen Church, Bogota

La Iglesia del Carmen

Moorish arches in La Iglesia del Carmen

La Iglesia del Carmen window of roses



Black bean, rice, tomato, cheese and chicken soup

 

tropical fruits, particularly granadilla and pidaya 





La Iglesia del Carmen window of flowers



 

Bogota, Colombia Gold Museum photos

This is just a wonderful museum.  If you visit Bogota, plan on spending a couple of hours, even if you don't usually enjoy museums.  It is remarkable.

Cartagena--a trip back in time

University of Fine Arts and Sciences, Cartegena

House in historic Cartegena

This morning we walked throughout the historic center of Cartegena, a World Heritage Site.  The Spanish founded the city in 1533 and it rapidly became the center for shipping tons of gold and emeralds from the interior of what is now Colombia to Spain.  Later it was a major slave trading center.  Its history is built on the misery of countless thousands of indigenous people and Africans whose complete exploitation filled the coffers of Conquistador greed.  Today's population is a mix of all those who came before, from Indian to African to Spanish.

Cartegena is a lovely city, built originally on a tranquil bay protected by coral reefs and a narrow entrance that the Spanish fortified to protect it from pirates.  Nonetheless, it was sacked 11 times by pirates lured here by the rich stores of gold, silver and gems awaiting the Spanish galleons that arrived on the trade winds 4 times a year.  Today, the old houses and convents (closed by fleeing Spanish nuns and priests when Colombia gained its independence in 1811) are schools, universities and hotels, often painted in rich colors (and repainted every December to fend off the ravages of the blowing salt air).  Many buildings still await renovation, but are very expensive to buy and restore.  Huge trees grow in their old gardens with the roots gradually stripping the colorful plaster off the walls.  Rosebushes pop out of windows, adding their flowers to the mix of color.  And large vines, covered with purple flowers, often extend for a whole block and cool the faces of the buildings.

When the Spanish arrived in the bay, they rode their horses ashore, leading the local tribes to believe they were gods.  In proper form, then, the chiefs brought gold and emeralds to the new gods, who carted them off to their ships and came back, century after century, for more.  Meanwhile, local tribes, unable to fend off the fearsome European diseases, mostly died out, requiring the Spanish overlords to look to African slaves to do their work of mining, processing, hauling and much more.

Lost in the process was the exquisite gold work of the native tribes.  More photos of this work is on the photo page blog coming up. 

More on Santa Fe de Antioquia

Hotel Mariscal Robledo, Santa Fe de Antioquia

a local truck delivering potatoes and rice

Our hotel was the best in Santa Fe de Antioquia, according to Trip Advisor, and was a beautiful old colonial building with lots of charm.  The downside was the lack of hot water--the shower head had a button to move towards caliente, but only produced tepid water.  The sink had no hot water at all.  Despite being the "best" hotel, it was very basic, with no amenities.  But, we enjoyed the location, the large room, and the charm.  Nonetheless, given the very limited sightseeing and tourist infrastructure--only a couple of restaurants besides very basic, no shops, but bicycling and horseback riding is available--we will not add Santa Fe de Antioquia to our itinerary when we take a group to Colombia.

It's a great place to visit if you want to relax around a pool, enjoy an old colonial town with colonial architecture and not much more, or ride a bike or a horse.  It's about 1 1/2 hours from Medellin in a beautiful valley.  But, then, Medellin itself is in a beautiful mountain valley.  Santa Fe de Antioquia also has a religious art museum if that interests you.  We had planned to spend 2 days in Villa de Leyva, a colonial town outside Bogota, but were stopped by the roads that had been closed to all traffic for days because of protesters.

There was a large police and army presence all along the highway from Medellin to Santa Fe de Antioquia.  The government had ordered that all roads be kept open, so ordered (reportedly) 50,000 troops to make sure that happened.  We saw lots of soldiers, lots of landslides, a few protesters, but no roadblocks.

Santa Fe de Antioquia, Colombia

                                           Santa Fe de Antioquia's famous bridge

La Iglesia de Santa Barbara, Santa Fe de Antioquia

Santa Fe de Antioquia is the old Spanish colonial capital of the province of Antioquia (the province where Medellin is the current capital), a title it held for 200 years.  It's a lovely colonial town in a hot and humid mountain valley about 2 hours from Medellin, and a favorite weekend visit for Medellin families looking for warm weather and a peaceful family time basking by the many swimming pools at the area resorts.

One of the main attractions is the bridge in the photo above, designed by an engineer who had worked as a laborer on the Brooklyn Bridge.  He took his inspiration from the Brooklyn Bridge, using the same system of cables to support the structure.  Today, the bridge is an historic landmark in Colombia.  It has a main auto track, single lane, of crosswise wooden slats, much like the Royal Gorge bridge in Canon City, Colorado.  On either side of the car track are pedestrian walkways which today are missing most of their wooden slats, so no walking on them.  But, the government hopes to both restore this 100+ year old bridge and build a new one.  The bridge crosses the Cauco River and provides the only means across this river for 50 miles.

Santa Fe de Antioquia is a charming town of whitewashed buildings with tile roofs and several pretty plazas and churches.  But, surprisingly, it has virtually no tourist economy.  You can see the town in an hour, from one end to the other.  After that, there isn't much to do except relax beside the many swimming pools.  

Our hotel was on an old plaza with a colonial church, closed until a funeral occupied the building, spilling out into the plaza, and lasting for over 2 hours.  Then all the mourners (half the town, I'd guess) followed the casket and the dead person's family down the main street of the town in a large and sad procession, with a band playing in front.  

Medellin's remarkable metro--and where it goes

Grilling mushrooms at the top of the gondola

                                       

                                                    

                                                                      fruit merchant at base of gondola
I know a metro system sounds pretty dull, but Medellin has such an amazing system that so clearly meets the needs of all its citizens that I just have to describe it.

First, during the worst years of the drug cartels' violence, tens of thousands of people moved from the countryside to the cities, including Medellin, site of its own horrific cartel violence.  With no money and no jobs, they built shacks up the steep mountainsides surrounding Medellin, the poorest of all being higher up where there were no services, including no sanitation or water or electricity or roads. These people used footpaths to get to their jobs in Medellin, often muddy and slippery.  The entire area is very prone to big landslides because it is to steep.

As the violence in Medellin died down, the government began to provide basic services to the slum dwellers up the mountainsides.  A key one was public transportation.  The city now has a very good, clean, high performing metro rail system that goes N to S and E to W.  But what is remarkable is the way they service the tumbledown piles (literally--the houses are built one on top of the other as high as they can go) of homes on the mountainsides.  The city built a system of gondolas with stations at various places on the way up the slopes so that most people can connect to public transportation relatively near their homes.

Yesterday morning, we took the train to the northern part of Medellin and then the gondola to the crest of the mountains, to the northern reaches of Santa Elena, where we had been the day before to see the flower production.  The gondola ride took about 40 minutes, rising 2500 feet, taking us from the city center to a forest reserve at the top.  This is a big outing for families on week-ends.  At the top of this particular gondola, there is an array of vendors selling food, fruit, drinks and, recently, grilled fresh mushrooms, which are delicious.

From this point, public buses take people throughout the Santa Elena region.  When we return with a group, we will do a loop, taking the metro to the gondola (also metro), picking up our van at the top of the gondola, then driving south to the major flower production region for a tour and lunch before heading back to the city.  With a stop at the top for grilled mushrooms, of course.