It’s another sunny afternoon in Africa following a drizzly gray morning. We are still in the midst of masika (monsoon), but the heavy rains seem to have stopped. I think we have officially hit winter. I wore socks to bed last night–something that I wouldn’t have thought to be possible a month ago when the temps were in the high 90s and I was sweltering under the ceiling fan. Heck, I’m wearing a fleece jacket now–over my sundress. Hehe…
Anyway, I don’t know if it is weather-related or not, but this afternoon something happened that really freaked me out. I had just left the house and was walking up the drive to the gate to start my daily constitutional, listening to music on my headphones, when I heard and felt a loud hum. It started as a faint noise but rapidly grew to a crescendo. It was loud enough to drown out Metallica’s “Holier Than Thou” playing on my headphones. Not an easy feat!
I stopped in my tracks, puzzled. What is that? An airplane? Am I losing my marbles? It sounded like a military C-130–the kind that used to fly over my hometown during the annual air show. (If you don’t know what a C-130 is, go here. I quickly turned down the music and looked up, trying to find an airplane.
Not an airplane.
Bees. A freaking humongous swarm of bees! Probably African Killer Bees, but hey, I’m just speculating.
There was absolutely nothing I could do but stand there and feel completely naked and helpless. Gahhhhh! Fortunately, they were flying high and passed without any incident. If I hadn’t heard/felt them, I wouldn’t have even noticed them.
I walked out the gate and saw my neighbor sitting there. I asked her, “uliwaona nyuki angani?” (Did you see the bees in the sky?) “Eeeeee,” (yes), she said. Hatari sana! Very dangerous!
I met my husband about five minutes later, who had been walking from the bus stop towards home. I asked him if he had heard the bees, and he also said yes! This should give you an idea of the size of the swarm, because he was over five minutes away from me yet he also heard it. Geez Louise. I asked him if it was dangerous, and he casually said, “yeah, but don’t worry. They can’t attack you.” Huh??!? Well, okay. As is always the case when facing any type of danger here in Tanzania, he just shrugs and says, “don’t worry.” This is the same guy who has killed five boomslang and one cobra. Somehow he has none of the fear gene, while I seem to have gotten a few extra helpings.
I wish I had a video or even a photo to share, but alas, I’m not that fast with the camera. (The featured image for the post is a shot of me hiking in Kilimanjaro last September.) Just use your imagination for the bees. I’m just relieved they decided to hold altitude and not strafe the Honey Badger. I had one bee sting this year, and that’s quite enough. Bees bee gone!
– Badger OUT.
