Christmas Day – Gombe Stream National Park

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” we sing as we enjoy the tropical warmth. A classic Christmas breakfast is about the only indication that it is really Christmas day. We dine on Cowboy tatters, cheese eggs, fresh fruit, Cocoa Puffs (a small box of which I carried all the way from home for Will as a Christmas Day treat), fresh coffee, French toast. Our ‘Chuthers’. The setting is all that has changed. Will is wistful, however, for tradition. No tree. No snow. No extended family. No pile of presents. It is different. His lament is soon forgotten when a spear gun is discovered in Bill’s loft. To the lake. It’s time to catch Christmas dinner. Wet suit and fins. Living a different dream. Start a new tradition?!



A day on the lake for everyone. Swimming, snorkeling, playing, relaxing. Two freshly butchered chickens are delivered from the village. They look like road runners. Straight into marinades. I replicate a Hawaiian Shoyu chicken recipe (a favorite of Will’s, a recipe from Brian’s mom). Kristin bakes the other chicken in a clay pot with wine and butter. Five small fish are successfully speared and two large Koohey (a local fish) are purchased from a passing fisherman. An afternoon of unrushed cooking and preparation in Bill and Kristin’s semi-outdoor kitchen, screened in to keep out the baboons. Efficient and functional. Fresh squeezed citrus and Konyagi. The fish are grilled to perfection in a fire ring on the beach. We feast on the beach after sundown. Not bothered by the baboons who have all gone to bed.