July 7 - We leave safari and are almost kidnapped

This morning when we woke up, we saw the fence that had been broken down by elephants the night before! From right outside our porch, down about thirty feet, the fence was completely dismantled.

The view from our porch of the broken fence (and my feet.)

Breakfast was delicious! A Denver omelet, thick slices of bacon, sausage, currant muffins, fresh fruit salad, toast, orange juice, coffee, and tea. Yum! I haven't had a breakfast like that in ages! We left for our boat safari around 7:45AM and saw crocodiles, elephants, hippos, and lots of birds.  It was a gorgeous morning and I was glad to spend it on the water. 

There's me, and there's an elephant. Typical.

 We had to check out of our room after the safari. I was so sad to leave after such a short stay! I could have stayed for weeks. :) After catching the boat transfer, we got on the bus headed back to Lilongwe.  We kind of got seats this time.  I sat on a sack of potatoes (or maybe corn) right next to the driver. I was nearly sitting on the dashboard. I got a real seat about an hour into the ride, but it was right at the front of the bus by the door, so I got sat on several times as people were trying to get on. Good times...

On the boat transfer to the bus stop

For some reason, the bus stopped a majillion times and we didn't get to Lilongwe until 6PM and it was dark.  It's not safe to be out after dark. Especially when you're four white girls.  The mini-buses had quit running (because it was after dark) and the taxi drivers were hounding us on every side. Some of them had started yelling at us before we even got off of the bus. After texting Daniel to find out what to do, he advised us to take a taxi.  We went with the guy who was most persistent. After following him around to the back of the dark bus station, he led us to his car which already had a driver in the front seat. We thought the guy with us was the driver. He was the one with the license, after all.  We all crammed into the car - Jenna in the front passenger seat, and the rest of us in the back seat - me, Jayme, Annie, AND the guy who we thought was the driver. We told them that we needed to go to Area 47, Sector 5, House 206, and then we were off.  Being in that car was the scariest experience of my life. The gas gauge was on empty, the driver nearly hit oncoming traffic head on a dozen times, and when we stopped at a police road block, the guy in the back seat told us to tell the officer that the car wasn't a taxi if he asked. SKETCHY. Jayme and I were both literally praying the whole time, just that we wouldn't be killed or kidnapped. Finally we got to our street and we yelled at the driver to stop and then we scrambled/leaped/fell out of that car as fast as we could. I almost left without my bag because I was so concerned with getting out and running home. I never want to do that again.

After our terrifying taxi ride, the evening settled down.  We watched the last World Cup game before the final - Spain vs. Germany.  Spain won.  Jayme and I made more amazing kettle corn. I think we've discovered a hidden talent. :)

I talked to Daddy for about 20 minutes this evening! It's the first time I have talked to him in two weeks. It was so good to hear his voice. :)

Jayme and I also made banana bread tonight. The recipe was all in milliliters and we didn't have any measuring utensils, so it was all guess work, but it turned out pretty yummy anyway!