Are you ready to search the Indian Ocean for Ray's daily favourites? Day One Today Ray picked the Mantis Shrimp and the Titan Triggerfish. He loved the way the shrimp scooted along the bottom. The Triggerfish is one of the biggest fish Ray has seen in these very, very warm waters (almost 30 C). Day Two Today Ray has three favourites: the sea turtle, the sea urchin, and a school of Eel Catfish. Well, it's always cool to swim with a turtle. Ray likes the spines on the sea urchin. He also likes the way the Eel Catfish group together to make themselves seem stronger to predators. Day Three Ray saw so many interesting fish on day three that he couldn't decide. He put a bunch of their names in the video. Can you help him pick? We are heading home tomorrow. What an adventure. You are always in my Prayers. Love Mom.
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We took a propeller plane from Nairo, Kenya to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania to Stone Town, Zanzibar. Zanzibar is an island in the Indian Ocean. The weather here is very, very hot! We are here so Ray can explore the marine life, but Zanzibar has more than diving. You won’t find huge animals here like elephants or giraffes, but there are a few things that might be on your checklists. If you had bugs on your list—Zanzibar has giant African centipedes! They also have the Red Colobus Monkey that you can add to your tally. These excellent jumpers aren’t found anywhere else in the world. The hot weather here is perfect for growing spices and coffee. You can see the Arab and Indian influence in the building as they have been involved in Zanzibar's trade for centuries. I learned how to roast coffee at the ruins of an Arabian Palace. Ray identified many, many of the spices at a working spice farm. Can you recognize the pepper in the video? We’ve headed north to Nungwi. I’m going to relax and enjoy the view. Maybe do a little snorkelling while Ray explores. Soon we'll have some cool diving videos. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. We've talked about Africa's BIG Five. Did you know Africa also has something they call the UGLY Five? They are hyena, warthog, marabou stork, vulture, and wildebeest. We saw all of them. I don't think they are ugly. I'm going to call them the Fascinating Five. If you watched the Lion King movie, the two you probably know the best are the warthog and the hyena.
Warthogs are as adorable as imagined. They are surprisingly fast. When they were running away from our safari vehicle they would stick their tails straight up in the air. In real life, Pumbaa and Simba wouldn't be friends. Lions eat warthogs. I would agree that spotted hyenas are a bit creepy. I think it is because they crouch down when they walk. It makes them look like they are up to mischief. They are actually very intelligent. A cackle (that is what a group of hyenas is called) cooperates very well to survive. Do you have a favourite in the Fascinating Five? You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. Note: the pictures of the warthog and hyena are mine, but the other three are web photos (I didn't get close) |
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