Holidays 1978-1

Africa has always attracted me since I was little; I dreamed of the deserts, the animals I only saw at the zoo, the forests seen in Tarzan films, its people and their customs. Finally, having the means, I spent this year's holidays making my dream come true. Armed with my trusty camera, I set off on a trip organised by an agency; the group, formed in Rome, was made up of friendly, warm people and I soon made friends with them. In Dar es Salaam, at the airport, the agency representative and the guide were there to welcome us; the vehicles were two VW-type minibuses with open roofs, so that we could stand up and take photos without getting out — in certain places it would have been very dangerous.

At the sight of the first animals, the cameras began firing dozens of photos; the guide himself advised us to wait, because later we would be able to see and photograph a greater number of animals. At the end of the tour I counted 11 rolls of film, which unfortunately were damaged by the customs inspection equipment; the least damaged ones are the ones published here. It was a very beautiful and spectacular trip, tiring but very instructive; we slept in tented camps and small hotels where, before going to bed, we had to sweep away little creatures that had crept between the sheets; some hardly slept at all and dozed during the day.

There were no dangers, only once in a forest on a path, after a bend, we came upon a group of elephants standing about ten metres away; at that moment the driver immediately stopped and asked us to stay still and silent; however, when a large elephant, flapping its ears, was approaching, he immediately put it in reverse and, risking running over the minibus following us, we moved off to a safe distance, and here we photographed them in all their beauty and majesty. In the end: tired but happy, we took a very ramshackle plane that took us to the Seychelles for a well-deserved rest.