Kristina and I both had 2 suitcases each due to our month long stay in Ghana. We had expected to leave one suitcase behind in Nairobi, but in the end we elected to take them all with us. Daniel managed to find space for all the luggage in the back of the van and off we went!!! Masai Mara here we come!
First stop on the way was the Rift Valley. This was our first real glimpse into the beauty of the Kenyan landscape. It was truly an amazing site.
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| Great Rift Valley |
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| Kristina and I in our safari hats |
Back in the van we continued on our journey. It would be a 6 hour trip today on some of the roughest roads I have ever travelled on. The potholes on the roads were so bad that it was literally impossible for the drivers to drive on the asphalt. Instead, the traffic was forced to drive on the unpaved shoulder, or most of the time, with one wheel on the asphalt and one wheel on the shoulder of the road. This caused the van to ride at an odd angle which, in truth, was hardly noticeable because of the constant bumping up and down motion of the van as the wheels went in and out of the potholes. It was brutal.
When we finally arrived at the resort, shortly after 2:00 PM, Kristina and I were both wondering what we had got ourselves into. However, one look at the resort and all of our uncertainties faded away. I did not really know what to expect when we booked accommodations in a Tent Village on the Masai Mari, but whatever my expectations had been this place far exceed it. The resort was beautiful and just what the doctor ordered after our long and rather arduous journey.
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| Our home at the Sarova Mara |
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| Home sweet home |
After a delicious lunch, which was by far the best food we had had since arriving in Africa, we met back up with Daniel for a visit to a Masai village.
The Masai are pastoral people which means that they primarily depend on the raising of livestock for food and to make a living. Everything in the village seems to revolve around animals - from the circular shape of the village itself to the pens located near the family sleeping quarters for housing baby goats and sheep. The village was designed to maximize the safety of the livestock animals.
At one point of the tour, Kristina reached out and touched one of the nearby homes. At the same time, she asked how they made the "cement-like" building materials that covered the wood in each home. It was dried cow dung - we both refrained from touching anything else after that.
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| Masai women caring for their children |
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| Masai home - "cement" building material is actually dried cow dung |
All around the village were women caring for young children. Turns out the Masai are a polygamist tribe and it is not uncommon for a man to have 8 or 9 wives. Since they do not practice family planning, each wife can have 8 or 9 children each so the families can get quite large. Of course, this is all dependent on how many cows the man owns, as the number of livestock owned signifies a man's wealth.
At one point our tour took us into a family home. The structure was window-less other than a single small opening by the fire pit. The smell of the fire inside the home was so strong it made our eyes water - it was hard to imaging how the family cooked and slept inside the building.
Daniel. our driver and tour guide described the male-dominated Masai culture to us. According to Daniel, the women are expected to do all the work in the village while the men drink alcohol and make babies
Daniel. our driver and tour guide described the male-dominated Masai culture to us. According to Daniel, the women are expected to do all the work in the village while the men drink alcohol and make babies
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| Masai warriors |
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| Joining in the dance |
At the end of our tour, the Masai warriors demonstrated their cultural dance which involves singing, chanting a whole lot of jumping up and down. Next thing we knew, Kristina and I were wrapped in cloth and invited to jump along with them. By this time, both of us just hoped that this was not part of a strange Masai matrimonial ritual because Kristina and I would sure have a lot of work to do to institute change in this place!.
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