Thursday, November 16, 2006

Olé!!

So, if you remember, I went on the “African safari” thing. The entire fun and frolic of traveling on these safaris are the jeeps. These are vehicles, where there are seats only on either side, beside the windows, i.e., the rest of it forms a long aisle. This allows all people freedom of movement and peaceful viewing. Also, the jeeps have the tops neatly scalped off, and set at a higher level, on hinges. This allows excited populace to peer over them, and point to, say, the lions, in thrilled sibilant whispers, while the lions look back dreamily and contemplate “what if I could eat that one?”

Then of course, we have the drivers, who think they are grand prix drivers. Ours, in particular, thought he was Michel Schumacher’s long lost kin. That would have been good, if the roads we traversed, were smooth highways. However, this was through the savannahs, so there were NO roads at all, just a lot of bumpy terrain. So, there we were, tearing through scrub and bush, without a thought for our bones. Rocky Road will never be “just another ice-cream” again, for me.

Our jeep members consisted of mom and myself, and 2 Spanish couples. These two sets were the strangest, and really, the unfriendly-est Spaniards I had ever had the misfortune to encounter. Not only did they not speak to us (they couldn’t, knowing minimal English, and we having as much knowledge of Spanish, as we had of Greek), they didn’t speak to each other as well, if they could help it. Thank god I have some really wonderful Spanish friends, or else I would have been put off that race, for life.

However, one couple, who had come to honeymoon in sun-burnt-lobster like bliss, offered endless amusement to us. The jeep did not allow them to be joined at the hip all the time (they made up for it, whenever we were not in the jeep, though). So, they decided to be joined at the hands, to make up for it. Now, the jeep having that aisle, hubby dearest had to stretch over and hold his wife’s hand. Thus, whenever our driver would swerve to avoid a huge rut on the road, or some not-so-unassuming piece of shrubland, he would fall off his seat with a large bump, and say “OLA!!”

He never learnt from it, though. Up he would get, wincing a bit, and the same thing would commence. For 6 whole days. Hysterical really…

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

But what about the rest of the the African Safari. Were there no other sightings aapart from spanish couples and Fangio-like drivers? Eagerly awaiting experiences of the wilderness.

Scout said...

Hey.. good to see you writing about the African adventure.. and I did remember the Spanish couple :) Still have to say I am favourably disposed towards Spaniards altho I do not know many..