African Safari

Merrily Thorne Prescott (on the right) says this is the way women carry water in an Iraqwi village in Tanzania.

Merrily Thorne Prescott

Some of us have the luxury of traveling, not only to various parts of the United States and Canada, but perhaps to Europe or Asia. But our classmate, Merrily Thorne Prescott, spent 31 days touring Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana and had the adventure of her life! She says that in October, she and a friend, Jayne, were part of an 11-person tour group which “saw so many different animals up close and personal in their natural habitat.” They also visited villages, a ceramic bead factory, a glass factory, and a school. Merrily and Jayne then spent ten days on their own touring South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe, including “magnificent Victoria Falls,” riding an elephant, walking with lions and petting cheetahs! She says “I fell in love with Africa and hope to return to Tanzania or Kenya, perhaps to work at a school or ??? I have new African friends I want to see again. Planning and preparing for Africa was almost a full-time job.”

Merrily is riding an elephant in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

I really liked Merrily’s comment about packing her suitcase: “Limiting ourselves to 33 pounds for 31 days was an almost impossible task but we succeeded.”

In addition to Africa, Merrily also traveled to Chicago, Southern California, and Florida. She will venture off to the Dominican Republic in March and to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

This lion looks awfully close!

Merrily has retired from teaching and is enjoying life in Texas near her daughter, Tracy. She says she has “lost almost twenty five pounds” and “look and feel much better . . . my goal for 2013 is to keep that weight off.”

Magnificent giraffes