Serengeti: Where the grass meets the sky

The Masai call the Serengeti "the place where the grass meets the sky." It's a brilliant description, as the most striking feature is the vastness of the terrain.

To put it in perspective, check out the size of that solitary elephant walking along the horizon.

Yes, there are animals. We were prepared to spot them.

Not that we needed to look very hard. We were warned our first night in camp not to leave our shoes outside the tent or else the hyenas would run off with them.

Once again, I'll let the animal photos speak for themselves.

Here is yet one more beautiful tree, set against open grassland.

Our guide pointed out the leopard lounging there.

These guys (gals, actually) were easier to spot.

And my personal favorite, the underappreciated warthog.

The Unbelievable Ngorongoro Crater

This is truly one of the most spectacular places I've ever been. I will let the photos speak for themselves (for the most part).

Usually the selfie with the lion earns you a nomination for the Darwin Awards, but CJ pulled it off.

Yeah okay, this part is vacation

I haven't worn shoes in three days. Not anywhere. We made our way to the little town of Nungwi at the northern tip of Zanzibar. Never have I seen such extraordinary shades of blue in the ocean.

That tiny speck in the water is CJ waving his arms.

The really cool part is that you never forget you are in Africa. I particularly like the diversity of attire in the photo below.

Every night around 5:00, when the extreme heat of the day has begun to dissipate, the beach explodes with activity, locals and tourists alike. Sophie has been playing beach volleyball.

Meanwhile, CJ has used every dollar he's ever earned or received as birthday money to scuba dive (nine dives, including a night dive). Leah and I alternated going with him. (The sacrifices we must make.) The diving was spectacular. I'll post some of CJ's underwater photos separately.

Back to Dar es Salaam tomorrow, where we have to go to the Embassy to pick up our new passports. Three of us ran out of pages in the old ones!