Woke up & ate breakfast at our vacation lodge. The Naru Moru River Lodge, a perfect kid’s vacation spot in Africa. Fernando felt right at home. A challenge course, all kinds of activities, pretty cheesy.  Little pygmy deer ran around while monkeys sang to accompany our packing. We organized all our gear, got 3 bags ready for porters, and prepared our packs. All the animals kind of made me feel like I’m in a zoo or something. Exotic animals just a few meters away with a soundtrack playing of birds, frogs, and monkeys. But it’s all real, I have to keep reminding myself. We stopped in a small village for kerosene on the way to the park, where when I was guarding the car, more vendors attacked me. “No I don’t want a switchblade, no glasses, no necklaces.” They assured me that they made all the jewelry by hand. Right. Then one man wouldn’t leave me alone. He traded a bracelet for my pencil. It’s funny what people value here. A pencil to us is no big deal at all, but it’s hard to get those things in Africa. When he asked if I had any small things from America, I said no, I didn’t have any American souvenirs. I didn’t think he meant something like a pencil. Just how we view what’s valuable in different parts of the world is crazy. Driving into the park, another regular African event occurred. A family of elephants was crashing through the trees, roadside. No big deal to the porters, but we freaked out, racing to get our cameras and agitated with excitement.