Painted Birds

Linda Lou Burton posting from Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge, Amboseli National Park, Kenya– It was 6 PM when we arrived, walking zombie-like into our stopping place for the next two nights. Fourteen hours gone since we set our luggage out for pickup at Sarova. Years had passed, it seemed, since our breakfast on that Maasai Mara hill; since we laughed our way through two airport stops, two crowded flights from there to here, this different dusty world with contradictions everywhere.

There were familiars; our gang, assembled once again in a greeting room; Abdi busy at the desk checking us in. The welcome by the staff; new keys; new rooms. Brilliant colors, the Maasai red; lush palms and bright green ferns; vines for real and painted vines; and birds, flying, fluttering; painted on the walls.

Dinner at 7:30 in the dining room, Abdi had advised. Safari cookies at the airport was all I’d had since breakfast, but I could not go. Bone weary, but more than that. I didn’t want to hear another word of gloom. “You go ahead,” I said to Rick; as we dumped belongings in our new room; tiny; twin beds in the corner, mosquito-netted; the corner desk, two bottles of glassed-in water; glass doors to the porch. We’d been instructed about those doors. They must be kept closed or the monkeys will come in and steal our stuff. And never leave anything outside.

Rick washed up, readying for dinner. “Can I bring you anything?” he asked, when he got to the door. “Some soup, and a roll,” I replied. “Doesn’t matter what kind.” Our porch looked out over a swampy spot. I sat there in the quiet till it was dark. Doors closed. 

Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge https://www.serenahotels.com/amboseli

From their website.

Surrounded by the vast and beautiful landscape of Amboseli National Park, Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge provides a full immersion into life in the untamed bush. Each room is housed in a single-story building opening directly onto the grounds, and each reflects a Maasai Manyatta theme with hand-painted wildlife murals, locally inspired furnishings, and the brilliant primary colors symbolic of these fabled warriors. 92 rooms and one suite feature complimentary wireless Internet, 24-hour room service and private balconies.

Our central dining area is reached by a timbered bridge spanning a mountain-fed stream and is flanked by water gardens. The walls feature hand-painted wildlife murals and the décor reflects the culture and heritage of the Maasai people. The spacious lounge and bar feature a broad terrace and a blazing fire-pit where evening cocktails can be enjoyed.