Waking before dawn to a slight noise outside our tent—the rattle of a teacup on a saucer

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On safari with Karen, continued ~ 

In Grandma’s Letters from Africa, I wrote this in a letter to my granddaughter, Maggie:

In the Maasai Mara, we lived in canvas tents with British Colonial-style safari furnishings, beds draped in mosquito nets, and a modern toilet, sink, and shower.

I’ll long remember waking before dawn the first morning to a slight noise outside our tent—the rattle of a teacup on a saucer.

A Kenyan man spoke in his deep, slow, careful English, “Goood mawning to you. I have brought your tea.”

Your grandpa unzipped the tent flap, and there he stood with a linen-covered tray, a pot of Kenya tea, cups and saucers, spoons, cream, and sugar.

He stepped into our tent, placed the tray on a small table, and disappeared as silently as he had appeared.

The tranquil setting, the cool still morning air, the gracious Kenyan, and the bracing tea created an indelible moment in time, and often I long to live it again.

I didn’t know it then, but that occasion initiated my quest after serenity and simplicity, my pursuit of a calm and gentle lifestyle.

After we eased into the morning in that fashion, we grabbed binoculars, cameras, canteens, toilet tissue, and hats, and set out for the morning’s game drive.

The bold African sun arose from low in the east. For two hours, we drove throughout wide-open savannahs and discovered, with childlike glee, an abundance of game animals. Then we headed back to the lodge for a hearty breakfast buffet.

         

Our driver took us on game drives when the animals are most active, at sunrise and just before sunset.

When we arrived back at the lodge at dusk, the aroma of wood smoke signaled that we could take warm showers.… (from Chapter 5, Grandma’s Letters from Africa)