Today dawned with thick dark clouds but I was ready for my bird walk with George. However, precisely as it was to begin it started pouring with rain and the rain lasted until ten. Faced with a day indoors and rain, I went o see what e-books I had on my iPad. I had several, all serious award-winning literature by Turkish, Indian and Pakistani authors. But on the desk were some paper books including one by John Grisham.
Grisham is what I think of as a 711 author. That is, like Danielle Steel (I think), he is one of those authors whose books you always see for sale in 711s, Mac's Milks and grocery stores. They were names I vowed never to read, but today I did. I did little but read a 500 page pot boiler. Empty calories, but fine for an unexpected day indoors. Speke Bay has no amenities other than a bar and a lake you can't enter, so what's a guy to do? Serious literature was just something I was not up for today.
The biggest event of the day was when I was sitting on my deck reading and watching the beautiful little yellow weaver birds and sparrows hopping around my room and deck eating every crumb from my meals. (All my meals today were brought to my room.) Then suddenly, a lot of twigs and leaves tumbled onto the deck and all the birds took off and when I looked up, there was a monitor lizard, about 800 cms long. He walked along my bamboo roof and then down the bougainvillea plant and onto the ground. When I moved, he froze and stared. We played chicken for a while while I held my breath and didn't move. When I did move, I saw how fast monitors can run away.
Tomorrow, back on the road, back into the parks and back to looking at animals. And I am ready! Serengeti, here we come again. Tonight, as I write and enjoy dinner, Christmas carols are playing—the first ones I have heard. Thank God I am here! Bah humbug.
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