Diary of the Melancholic Traveller: Mara day 1

Dear Diary,
I am feeling very irritable maybe because of the long drive from Lake Nakuru. We left the hotel at 7 and arrived at Ashnil Mara Camp at around 3.30 p.m. One word - exhaustion.

The drive was ridiculously long. There I was thinking Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge was hidden. Clearly I had no idea. For almost 4 hours we drove on rough murram roads into a plain that seemed to endlessly expand into the horizon. Kind of beautiful but it also does have a way of wearing you out. That and the fact that my phone was dying did not really help.
The Mara is insanely magical. It is just a plain that rolls on and on.. and its been a bit rainy so it is looking very green nothing like what they show in the movies.
It is one of those places you drive on and on until you sort of start to lose your sense of direction.

Now our tented camp... another story. Honestly we are in the bush. Somebody just found a little space in between riverine bushes along the Mara River and brought some tents and a few gourmet chefs and voila... tourist resort. Unlike Lake Nakuru Sopa which was barely into it's 3rd week of operations, Ashnil Mara has been around for a while so it was a welcome change seeing other tourists.
I did not mind our room except for the teeny weeny spiders hiding in the tented wall. That did not amuse me.
The wifi situation is not the best. It is  only available in the lobby and it costs 10 dollars. I could complain but we are in the middle of the wild so infrastructure is very expensive we should even be glad they offer it at all.

Anyway we arrived a little late but after the usual hot hand towels and juice reception, they were still able to offer us a buffet lunch since they had been expecting us.Their food is good. Simple but good not like the gourmet stuff we ate previously at Lake Nakuru.

Afterwards we went for an evening game drive. Here the animals are a bit more scattered but we did see a lot of lions and gazelles.

Dinner soon followed and like lunch, it was a Christmas buffet. I loved it especially the Angels's food cake I had for dessert which just may be the reason my throat is feeling all congested as I type this. They did this whole birthday jig during dinner where the chefs came out singing and dancing carrying cake for one of the guests. That was entertaining and the host told us tomorrow there will be a group of Maasai Dancers.. yaaay!

So far so good. This place is ridiculously cold and my immune system is under siege so I am feeling a little sick but I won't let that get to me. I shall cover myself in layers of sweaters and smile and drink cold juice and eat dessert but wash it down with warm water and beg this cold to go away.

Love,
The melancholic traveller who is hanging in there.