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I figured that since I was in Kenya I should go on a safari, and I'm so glad I did! We left early Saturday morning and George, the taxi driver, took me to Nairobi where I met the safari van. We picked up a couple other groups as well. There was a Korean couple living in Australia, three premedical ladies from the University of Arizona, and another woman, Amanda, who is a teacher in the U.S. It was a 6 hour trip to the Maasai Mara but we stopped along the way first at the Great Rift Valley, next to have lunch, and then to the market to get water for the weekend. The drive was beautiful with small villages along the road with many hills along the way.
After arriving we had 15 minutes to get settled into our very cute tents and get back out to the van for an evening game drive. We saw lions, giraffes, gazelles, wildebeests, elephants, and the big sunset over Maasai Mara. We returned for a nice dinner and headed to bed early after the long day. I was in a tent with Amanda and the tents even had a bathroom with warm showers!
The next day we went for a game drive all day and saw so many animals! While waiting at the park gate Maasai women would force so many of their goods (jewelry and carvings) into the van windows. It was hilarious! The Great Migration was also happening, where Wildebeests and Zibras migrate from Tanzania to Kenya over the river for better grazing. There were thousands of wildebeests, it was incredible and we even saw them cross the river. We were very lucky to see that, a few cheetahs, and a leopard.
After a day in the Maasai we went into one of their villages and they sang and danced for us and we got to see inside their homes. Here are some things I learned...
-wives cost 10 cows unless you are the highest jumper in the group, in which case you can have the most wives and get them for 6 cows each...what a bargain
-morning glory leaves are used for toilet paper
-the woman builds the house and the man tends to the cattle
-the men get blood from cows each day by piercing it (without killing it) and have blood and milk for breakfast
-when a man has more than one wife he rotates houses
-the oldest child stays home to care for their siblings and the younger ones are allowed to go to school
-in order to be considered a man you must spend 4 years, I think between the age of 10-14, on the Maasai Mara and kill a lion
-a baby calf stays in each house
-the roof of a house is made of cow dung, dirt, and grass and is waterproof
It was fun to see the way they live and how they live off the land!
The next morning we went at 6:30am to watch the sunrise and to see the animals who are active in the morning. We saw lots of lions! Those were my favorite. We headed back to Nairobi and I wandered around a bit in the city...it was SO busy but really neat to see!
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