Ranthambhore Tiger Day 2

I got up and ready for an early morning game drive. I left Bob sleeping as the rough ride took a toll on him. Those of you who have gone off-roading with us in Arizona can only imagine how rough of a ride our game drive was yesterday if it put Bob out of commission this morning. I was even very sore from yesterday.

I am happy to report that our driver for today was much calmer.

We had a beautiful game drive. The sun was perfect for photography. The tigers proved to be a bit elusive this morning. We were out there for hours just sitting in the jeep waiting to hear warning calls from deer or birds.

We were finally able see both an adult female and two cubs.

What was really fascinating was that while one cub was hiding, two deer were standing at a safe distance vocalizing to warn others. This was wonderful to watch this interaction.

We made it back to the hotel a little after 10. I grabbed a quick breakfast and then dashed to the room to shower and pack.

We met at reception by noon.

We again attempted to use an ATM. Several of us were successful.

On the way to the airport, the bus driver pulled over at a shop, ran in for a couple of minutes and returned. Next thing we know, he is making a U-Turn and driving down a dirt road. He stopped at a roadside stand and purchased some beer as a going away gift.

We arrived at the Jaipur airport only to have a very tearful goodbye to our guide and driver. They were both absolutely wonderful. If anyone is going to India, we have a recommendation for a great guide!

We checked in, made it through security and tried to find a lounge. The Jaipur airport is rudimentary. The lounges were nothing but an area with hard chairs. As a result, we chose to find seats in the food court. As I disinfected our table, there were five pigeons swoop down and feed on left-overs on an adjacent table. Next thing I know, a gentleman came by with a stick to chase the pigeons away. I should give them pointers on getting rid of pigeons.

We departed Jaipur at 7:55 PM on our way to Mumbai.

Upon arriving in Mumbai, we got through immigration quickly as we were in business class and able to be processed through business class line.

The Mumbai airport is very clean and modern. In Mumbai, we were able to go to a very modern business lounge where we waited until 12:25 AM for our next flight to Mauritius.

At the gate, we met a lot of the people from the ship who were all on different independent tours. It was nice to debrief with everyone and get feedback from how their tours went.

Upon boarding the airplane, I was so excited to see that we had seats that made into beds. After a week of not sleeping much, I was pushing my limits.
I grabbed some medicine and a blanket. As proof as to how tired I was, I was able to sleep the entire six hour flight duration.

We had a bit of miscommunication with transportation to our hotel. As a result, we ended up just grabbing a ride from a local driver. He was quite the wealth of information regarding Mauritius.

When we arrived at the hotel, our rooms were ready so we checked in. We met Dale and Jenni for breakfast.

Photos will be added shortly.Read more