safari – BoricuasLivingAbroad

This past October I celebrated my birthday (the big 50) and after looking into many alternatives decided to do a big trip to Kenya, interesting enough it would be my 50th country visited. It was clear that Kenya needed to be the destination since the trip would be a celebration of the big 50 in my 50th country with the mission to see the Big 5 (most famous African large animals).

The Big Five captured through my camera lens… what an honor to experience this

There are many operators that do Safari in Africa and they plan with you accordingly to the budget you have, after comparing some of the companies I decided to go with a company called Spirit of Kenya. The service they provided in terms of communication and designing of the trip was very good and more important the 5 days / 4 night safari was top notch delivering high ratings in all aspect from the vehicle, food, lodging, and guide (Derick our guide was awesome, Vanessa our sales consultant great communication).

We combined the safari with a couple of nights at one of the top beaches in Africa called Diani Beach, this is a great plan to do since you can enjoy a different aspect of Kenya but with the benefit that you will continue finding great people. Here we stayed at a small property called Galu 723 , in a beach bungalow that was 10 steps to the beach, I will do a separate post on Diani Beach and will give share our experience in this great destination.

Just a sample of Diani Beach, more in an additional post (Really Impressive Place)

Our safari consisted in visiting 3 important areas of Kenya, where you can get to experience at a close range some of the best wildlife in this country and possibly in the world. Once we landed in Nairobi, we were greeted by the tour operator and arrangements for us to go into the first stop Lake Naivasha a couple of hours outside Nairobi. Our transportation for the trip was a very comfortable safari van, it worked very well for us 2 as we had enough space to move around the game drives and also was very smooth in the open road.

LAKE NAIVASHA / HELL´S GATE

What a great first stop with a different approach to the game drive, this one was on a small boat in the lake. Since it was our first activity in the safari it worked as a great introduction of the following days, a game drive is an activity where you get to admire nature always on the lookout to find animals being themselves in the wild, it is so great to see these beautiful animals roaming through the reserve.

Imaging you on a boat and get to see the Hippo just beside you!!!

In Lake Naivasha we encountered the hippo and got to see the massive size and their ability to swim in the water, impressive to see them in the water protecting from the sun and resting so they can go hunt in the night. Here at the lake, we had also the opportunity to see some birds at close range, even got to see an eagle and some birds fishing out of the lake. The way these birds feed is impressive with a very high level of success on getting fish out of the water. There are local guides that take you in this adventure, he was very knowledgeable and fun making this experience unique.

Water is very calm, you really enjoy the trip

The second part of the adventure here was Hell’s Gate National Park, a small park that provides the opportunity to do some hiking across different cliffs. The hiking was around 60 minutes and take you to some areas where you can see great views of the ravine including some hot springs along the way. This park serves as inspiration for the Lion King movie. Make time to come here and go hiking, it will be a great adventure.

Some Amazing views in the park, clearly you can see the Lion King inspiration

Before going to Maasai Mara, we stayed the night in the Enashipai resort and spa hotel, it is a hotel by the lake and provides great accommodation and food. In all the places we stayed people were great, always welcoming and open to sharing their stories and for this I feel very fortunate to cross path with all this great people. Maybe we stayed less than 12 hours in the property, but the quality made it unforgettable and with some rest to Maasai Mara.

Great hotel and great people in Lake Naivasha

MAASAI MARA

Maasai Mara is one of the most famous and important wildlife conservation and wilderness areas in Africa, world-renowned for its exceptional populations of lions, leopard, cheetah, elephants and is also host to the Great Migration. The reserve is contiguous to the Serengeti National park in Tanzania.

Bring a good camera to the Safari, it is a must (Good Zoom 8X)

Here you can find the Big Five, but due to poaching the Rhino suffered and got to a very low population and today the Maasai Mara is a protected area looking to preserve the black rhino. During our trip we did not encounter any rhino here and was at Lake Nakuru, where we saw both the white and black rhino. The most difficult animal to spot is the Leopard, since they are mostly hidden and not easily seen, we got to see a Leopard during our visit to the Mara and the pictures reflect how beautiful is this animal.

In the Maasai Mara we stayed in a camp inside the reserve for 2 nights, this provided more time to cover different areas of the reserve and admire the beauty of the park and the good number of animals you encounter during the day. As part of the game drives we got to see a couple of crossings used by thousands of animals on a yearly basis in what is called the Great Migration, a time when due to availability of food Gazelles, Wildebeest, Zebras began a roughly 800 kilometers journey. The Great Migration has secured a place in the Seven Natural wonders of Africa and as one of the new wonders of the world.

One of the crossings for the Great Migration

Here in the Mara, you understand the importance of having a great guide for the tour. The job of the guide is to truly make your trip one for the ages, our guide Derick not only had the knowledge of the place but know other guides and the ability of him to communicate with the rest of the guide was fundamental to really enjoy the game drives, being at the right place in the right time to capture some impressive images of this beautiful animals creating memories that will live with us for life.

Some of the great views we had thanks to our Guide interest for showcasing the best of the Mara

The hotel we stayed in the Maasai Mara was Mara Bush Camp a place inside the reserve and one of the unique attractions of this place is a Hippo Pool and river that sits in front of your tent and brings a very close encounter with this impressive animals the hippo. Our camp consisted of only 10 tents, with huge space and a balcony with open view to the hippos, here you can see and hear them from a close distance. The camp is a great property with very nice tents, good restaurant, a very cool bar and lounge plus personalized service that makes you feel secure and at home.

On the third day we said goodbye to the Mara, not after being extremely pleased with all of the attention of the people in the camp and with some out of this world game drives as you can appreciate in some of the photos. Leaving the Mara we were only one short to see the big five and this next day was going to be my birthday, I was looking forward to get a good present from Kenya and get pictures from the rhino so would be able to cross the big five from my list, this would need to come from Lake Nakuru our last stop.

LAKE NAKURU

Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift Valley Lakes, it lies to the south of Nakuru and is protected by Lake Nakuru National Park. Here in the lake, you will find many varieties of birds including thousands of flamingos (smaller to the ones I have seen in America), the park also has expanded to provide a sanctuary for black rhinos and making sure poachers don’t come near them. The park might be small, but the concentration of animals is important with Giraffes, Zebras, Baboons, Antelope and more than 100 Black and White Rhinos in the park.

As we entered the park the black rhino was ready to welcome us in the park and what a beautiful animal it is, I do hope that the actions to preserve them can be enough and not lose the species due to poachers. During the visit we also got to see the white rhino, also impressive size and very elegant roaming in the park, what a great day to finally finish viewing the big five. As the day ended, we had one last place to stay and this one is perched at the top of a 100 meter high rock looking at the lake it called The Cliff. This camp located inside the park provides great views of the Lake and the tents are placed so you can wake up with the sunrise into your tent, one amazing experience to have.

I will be doing additional posts on Kenya and try to fully capture the different stops in our trip, just wanted to share initial thoughts on this amazing destination and get you excited to come and visit Kenya. Thanks for reading the post, please share it and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Just landed from a short trip to Sri Lanka and what a great decision it was… We stayed in the Uga Ulagalla hotel located in Sri Lanka cultural triangle for an escape from the city and connect with nature while exploring the history, food, sights and culture of Sri Lanka.

Some of the views from the cultural triangle. From Left to Right: DAMBULLA Cave / Sigiriya entrance / Minneriya Park

Sri Lanka a relatively young Independent country (1948 independence) is a nation of around 22 million people, similar in size to Lithuania but an island in the Indian Ocean. Their capital is Colombo, where close to 30% of the people; their main religion is Buddhism and Sinhalese is the official language but you can find many people that speak English since is the language to speak with many tourists (Also there is British history influencing).

First time flying flydubai, nice experience. Colombo Airport was fast and easy, check on E-visa for faster time

The Cultural triangle is situated in the center of the Sri Lanka and covers an area which includes the World Heritage cultural sites of the Sacred City of Anuradhapura, the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa, the Ancient City of Sigiriya, the Ancient City of Dambulla and the Sacred City of Kandy. Due to historical events, some of which are thousand years old, these sites are of high tourist value; they are visited by many local and foreign tourists.

Since we had limited time, the decision was to explore Sri Lanka cultural triangle but also stay in the area so we could enjoy more time doing things and less driving between activities; also the plan included a day to enjoy the property since the hotel we booked looked like a great place to enjoy with many activities. We plan for a 5d/4n stay with a mix of external and internal activities that included Sigiriya Lion Rock, Dambulla Caves, Minneriya national and some horseback riding plus archery in the hotel.

Hotel selection was a hit: Uga Ulagalla property

The selection of tours was awesome and the support from the hotel to book and our guide Sakun made it even better, the tours included a picnic that added to the experience and felt like being part of Jurassic Park. Here is brief information on the different places we visited.

Sigiriya Lion Rock

Is an ancient rock fortress, is a site of historical and archeological significance in Sri Lanka that goes back more than 1500 years. The story is that King Kashyapa build the new capital here at the top of this massive granite rock 180 meter high. Is called Lion Rock because at the middle had a getaway build on rock in the form of a lion, today we can see the paws of what was this immense monument. The palace was abandoned after the king death and later used as a Buddhist until 14th century. Today Sigiriya is recognized as a Unesco World Heritage site, it was discovered in 1830’s and Archeological work began in 1890. It is one of the best-preserved example of early urban planning, the aqueduct system still works after more than 1500 years.

Dambulla Caves

It is the largest cave system in Sri Lanka, also known as Golden Temple of Dambulla is a Unesco World Heritage site. This place is more than 2000 years old, with an impressive collection of paintings and statues, we saw 5 caves that had many paintings and Buddha statues all made during different times and kings. The caves are part of a still functional monastery, it is well preserved and more important they continue to be very strict to ensure it remains in good condition. It is quite an impressive place and the vibe you get when you are there is a great one, lots of stories inside those caves for sure.

Each cave has it’s own story… 2,000 year in some cases, impressive

Minneriya National Park

It is a national park and is a feeding ground for the elephant population that lives around the surrounding area. In the park they have sighted 20+ different species of mammals, 150+ species of birds, 20+ species of reptiles but the star of the park is the Sri Lankan Elephant, there are reports of more than 700 elephants in the park in a specific time. The park is an important place for endemic species of Sri Lanka monkeys; you could also find Sri Lankan Leopard, Deer or Sloth Bear. The water reservoir is an important habitat for larger birds, you can easily see them across the park. For us it was a great experience, to see the Sri Lankan Elephant in their habitat, other species like the water buffalo and many different birds. We only hope the population continues to grow for all this species.

Park is big, takes 3 hours to visit, be on the lookout to find different animals. Bring your binoculars

We also had a great time with the activities we did in our hotel and it added to make the experience even better. The Uga Ulagalla hotel is a clear choice if you want to complement the great sights of the cultural triangle, not only the location but the facilities, the food, and their people makes it one of the best hotels we have stayed in the world. One tip is to do one day and enjoy the property; we spent it doing horseback riding, archery, and relaxing time in the both the common pool and our private pool in our villa. Having your own private pool in your villa makes it the best to cool down after a full day of activities.

If you stay at the Uga hotel, spend at least 1 day in the property

The property is situated in a more than 100 year old hacienda, with spacious villas and tons of amenities, a link is included in the previous paragraph. They even have an Elephant conservation project led by Katherina, you can go there and learn more about this and how they are protecting the ecosystem in the area.

Enjoy a bike ride through the property, talk with locals… Very nice days in the cultural triangle

Another tip during the stay is to do the Kamatha dinner: a 32 Sri Lanka dishes feast cooked the way it was done in previous generations with clay pots and cinnamon firewood. It was clear the level of effort and expertise of this great team, is something you will never forget from the beautiful location (Middle of a rice paddy field with an enormous Tree protecting you). Please don’t miss the food prepared by Chef Dulika and Manel supported by the great host Aruna (Secret Ingredient for sure is Love).

Kamatha experience is a must do… Love Sri Lankan food

Great first experience of Sri Lanka: the history, sights, hotel, and the people make this country a must go for any traveler who like adventure. I would like to give a special thanks to the team of Uga Ulagalla, they really made our days memorable, to all employees our most sincere gratitude and all the best in the future.

Thanks for reading the post, please share to your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, and Facebook search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Tag: safari

Kenya safari: Truly a unique experience, wildlife and nature at its best…

Sri Lanka cultural triangle: a natural jewel – great escape from the city…