Elephant Crossing

Admittedly we were both a little shaken up by the Great Sandwich Caper of 2007 and we just wanted to go back to our chalet and take a load off. As we started down the path towards the chalet, the lodge manager called softly to us to stop and walk back toward him. We soon saw what he saw: 4 fully grown ellies out for their afternoon stroll and mid-day snack.

The manager just made us wait a few minutes until they had veered enough off the path that we could scamper away to our chalet.

We got back to our chalet to relax (read: freak out over our anxiety at almost being trampled by an elephant. We're nothing if not overdramatic) and wait for dinner. Since dinner is served after dark, they'd be sending a porter to collect us.

There we were, minding our own business, when we heard the know familiar cracking and crunching that signified an elephant with a sweet tooth. This time, though, we could feel it, too. The chalet seemed to be vibrating. It was a little too Jurassic Park for my tastes. We turned off the lights. It was dark outside now and I thought we'd be able to see better. I didn't count on the fact that there is no light outside either, not even the moon. The cracking and crunching was getting so loud. I briefly held the flashlight to the window. There was a tusk the size of my arm just a few inches from that nanometer-thick screen separating Us from Them. There was an ellie right outside chowing down on a tree.

Turns out, these ellies have a schedule. They rarely deviate from it. And if that schedule includes high tea in front our our chalet, so be it.