Our backyard: Nairobi National Park

I've shared photos from our quick trips to Nairobi National Park twice before (1 here & 2 here), but just had to share these from our two recent fast overnights -- Saturday afternoon game drive, camping, then Sunday morning game drive.

Had to start with the iconic Nairobi skyline shots:

Now playing around with multi-subject shots a bit:

So cute to see a mother lion with 5 cubs!

This watering hole was a popular spot on Saturday!

Setting up and enjoying camp!

One of the caretakers at the campground tries to keep us warm, but not toooo warm! 

Spoonbill

The closer the better for now. :-)

Ostrich family!  We counted 12 babies!

This duck seems oblivious to the group hanging out behind him...

And some photos from a trip late in 2016 to the same park:

Fish Eagle

Olympos

MS and I visited the small town of Olympos on the southern coast of Turkey (on the Mediterranean).  It’s got a long history, including an old castle, and old Roman fort ruins, with many buildings fairly intact.

And as always, I try to imagine others who have been here!

There is a mountain near Olympos which has some naturally occurring natural gas vents, which have been burning for hundreds of years.  We made a visit, and had a great time roasting marshmallows, and trying to light any small vents which might have been extinguished:

Siva Afi Samoan fire dance

First full day in Samoa, I went with MS to an ice cream parlor which hosts a weekly "Siva afi" show.  Siva afi is the traditional Samoan dance, and this group trains youngsters once a week; some of the older dancers travel to different countries to dance in competitions!

First, a class is held, where people of different skill levels can get individual coaching.  I took part!  The sticks we're holding have a hooked knife blade on one end, and large wicks for fire on both ends.

After the fire knife class, MS taught a fire hoop class; about 15 young boys and girls were all spinning with hula hoops fashioned from hardware store supplies!  Then the teenage boys got their drums (wood dugout and tin cans) set up for the evenings performance.  After dinner, the show began:

Women danced various Polynesian dances, including Samoan, and the kids had turns to show off their skills, some with fire, some without.

MS was a huge hit with her fire hoop!  

It's awesome to see her spinning to the tribal drum beat!

Then it was time for the guys to do their high-level fire dances!  They didn't spin-off the excess fuel, but that just made the show a bit more enjoyable as the stage got temporary built-in lighting!  See the ground?!

Awesome experience, and highly recommended!