Cradle of Mankind

Baboon family in Serengeti, Tanzania. Photo by Anastasiya Pantsialei

When I told people that I was traveling to Africa, they get worried.

“Have you been vaccinated?”

“Do you need to quarantine afterward?”

“How much money are you taking?”

I was worried about it, too. In the media, Africa is portrayed as a poor and dangerous continent: aggressive wildlife, poachers, failed states, hunger, drought, water pollution, extreme heat, AIDS, and, of course, malaria. When you travel to Africa, you prepare anti-mosquito drugs, cash in all possible currencies, books to survive the lack of Internet, and lots of sun cream.

I was surprised to see that I don’t need half of the stuff.

Zebras resting their heads in Serengeti, Tanzania. Photo by Anastasiya Pantsialei

Flamingos in Ngorongoro, Tanzania. Photo by Anastasiya Pantsialei

I was thinking of Africa as a homogenous continent despite it consisting of 3000 ethnicities speaking 2000 languages. I traveled only to some parts of Tanzania, one of the richest and most stable countries on the continent.

Tanzania had been colonized by both Arabs and the British, so the population is prevalently Muslim and English-speaking. It is a country with one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, Nungwi. It is also the place where the biggest wildlife migration in the world happens with thousands of zebras, lions, antelopes, and other animals traveling together in search of seasonal rains. Tanzania is not hot: at night, we needed a chimney to warm up. The country has electricity, medium-quality water, and the Internet. You cannot have a Zoom call in HD, but you can definitely send videos.

Lion pride in Serengeti, Tanzania. Photo by Anastasiya Pantsialei

In terms of resources, Tanzania is really rich. I have met many people from Africa, but none of them were from Tanzania. The locals literally don’t migrate: they love it here. They profit from tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, and even IT.

The biggest treasure Tanzania has, though, is its nature. I got lucky to observe hundreds of trees, fishes, birds, and animals here. Each one was fascinating, starting from a transparent lizard to a gigantic elephant, especially because I saw all of them in wildlife.

Antelope in Serengeti, Tanzania. Photo by Anastasiya Pantsialei

Single male elephants in Ngorongoro, Tanzania. Photo by Anastasiya Pantsialei

If you have ever been to the zoo, you know what it’s like: sad smelly animals, small cages, and lots of screaming kids. Here, we were the ones confined in a jeep, and the animals were around us: beautiful, full of energy, and free. They often looked at me with disrespect after my camera clicked and then turned back toward the horizon. The world was theirs, and I was just a guest.

Leopard in Serengeti, Tanzania. Photo by Anastasiya Pantsialei

Egyptian goose in Serengeti, Tanzania. Photo by Anastasiya Pantsialei

Buffalos in Serengeti, Tanzania. Photo by Anastasiya Pantsialei

Giraffe in Serengeti, Tanzania. Photo by Anastasiya Pantsialei

Lioness snacking on a buffalo in Serengeti, Tanzania. Photo by Anastasiya Pantsialei

Tanzania weirdly felt like home, and not in a national sense. Hot sun, warm water, fresh fruits, and an abundance of wildlife around me awoke something inside of me, something ancient. It all felt really natural and familiar. I could feel that the human circle of life started here, that some of my roots come from here. I wanted to explore more, to see more places, swim farther, walk behind that mountain, behind that lake…

And then it all ended.

Now, my heart has an empty place called Africa, and I have 60 years to fill it in.

Oh, and yes, there were no mosquitos.

Lioness has recently learned to climb trees in Serengeti, Tanzania. Photo by Anastasiya Pantsialei

Hippos in Serengeti, Tanzania. Photo by Anastasiya Pantsialei