Life on the Maasai Mara
It wasn't long after leaving the hilly area where the orphanage was located that the land flattened out and the air warmed up. Soon we turned off the main road to Nairobi and headed through the Great Rift Valley. As the road became rougher, the villages became more primitive.
Once we got to the Mara, we stayed just outside of the small town of Talek. As you can see, it's in a bit of a state of disrepair.
Talek on market day.
Here's the little hut I stayed in just along side the river
This was the lovely surprise I got half-way through washing my face one evening. Pretty much looked like it came straight from the river outside. Probably did.
The roads after a heavy rain
This was the daily Talek "car wash"
Nearby, there was a Maasai village that I had the opportunity to visit. One of the warriors, Jonathon, got his warrior-friends together to dance for me and showed me around. It was neat to see how the Maasai people live.
Maasai Welcome Dance
Jonathon, showing me the mane of a lion that he helped kill when he was 17. Lion hunting used to be a rite of passage for young Maasai warriors, but since lions are now endangered, they are no longer allowed to hunt them. However, if a lion attacks them first, they are allowed to kill in self-defense, which was the case with this lion. He who makes the first strike keeps the mane.
Here, the warriors did one of their traditional jumping dances, which is typically used when choosing mates. He who jumps the highest gets to take his pick of the women......
.....looks like I got picked! (He actually had quite a tight grip on me for a while!)
Next, they took me inside the village to show me around. The middle is a large open area where they keep the cattle at night. It's ankle deep with a mixture of mud and manure. (.....I was wearing flip flops!)
The women came out to do a traditional dance/song for me as well. The song was a prayer for many babies.
Here, Jonathon is showing me the little room at the front of the houses where the calves are kept at night to protect them from being stolen from hyenas.
This is the inside of their small huts. The walls are made of many layers of mud & manure that is baked in the sun. It is quite small and dark with a pungent odour (from all the manure, of course).
I was sitting on the wife's bed, made from calf skin. Firm!
One of the Maasai women was adding another layer to her hut as we walked by.
After, Jonathon showed me around their craft market. Here, he's showing me a stick beaded with the Kenyan colours and explain the significance of each. Green - nature, white - peace, red - blood, and black - the colour of their skin.
A young mother and her beautiful baby
Notice, the males all wear red. Somehow, the colour red isn't detected or is neutral for lions, so when the men are out in the wild they smell like nature (they don't bathe or use any sort of scented products), thus the lions can't smell them, and because of the red, the lions don't see them, so they can live unbothered in the wild with the other animals.
About to bid farewell to my new-found warrior friends, Nkoyo (Jonathon) & Kipilosh (Joel)
A Maasai warrior headed off on a mission
Part of each day that I was on the Mara was spent on safari. The Mara stretches for miles in every direction, open and almost completely untarnished. The animals are free to roam, paying no heed to the safari vehicles that come along. It was incredible to watch how the animals all interact with each other and their environment, observing the natural realities of life on the Mara.
Beautiful terrain
I was there during the wildebeest migration, thus the landscape was dotted with hundreds upon thousands of wildebeest!
They're interesting...... kinda ugly, kinda cute, kinda goat-like.... I'm not really sure what to think of them!
Warthogs ('pumba' in Swahili)
We found these cheetahs shortly after they had made this kill
Warning: graphic content!
Elegant lioness
Her and her honey
The third wheel. Scar from Lion King?
Early morning sunrise on the Mara
(Those balloons are each filled with 16 people who each paid $400 for the ride!!!)
We arose early in hopes of catching a river crossing during the wildebeest migration. We were just that lucky! Such a spectacular sight to witness!
The lioness watching, in hopes of breakfast, but she waited too long and missed her chance.
Pandemonium! Listen to all the racket they make!!
They are quite the jumpers!
False alarm - they were about to cross, but something spooked them and they turned back.
Finally on the other side.... well, at least the ones that made it safely.
Another cheetah sighting. This time, with a young mischievous one!
For a while, we hadn't spotted any elephants. They don't like all the commotion caused by the wildebeest migration so they find other hangouts while the wildebeest are around, but we found this old male elephant all by himself. The guide figured that he must have been banished from herd for some reason.
We later found this family. The migration was almost over, so they were slowly making their way back.
Peek-a-boo! I see you!
...and then basking in the afternoon sun on a full stomach.
My ultra-favourite find!! Mr. Leopard :)
(If I were an animal, I'd be a leopard.)
This was the only road leading to where we found the leopard.
Hyenas were the last on my list to see and I found a pair right before I left! They're downright ugly and mangy!!
Water buffalo - these guys can be dangerous!
Hippos are SO cool!! Especially when there's a whole bunch of them!!
Hippo jaws are big!!
I got to visit a few projects that are being sponsored by A Better World. The first was a school that, when first found barely had a roof over their heads. Now there are several classrooms, a lunchroom, staff housing, and well-water. The kids are very respectful and studious.
Irbaan School then:
Irbaan School now:
Recess
Diligent students
When the principal learned that I was a teacher, he insisted that I teach. So I quickly put together an impromptu math lesson. It was fun!
A girls' dorm is being built, in hopes of keeping girls in school longer giving them a better chance at a bright future rather than getting married off at such a young age. The dorm will house about 100 girls.
The next project that I toured was the Talek Community Health Centre. This is the only picture I took because I didn't want to invade the privacy of those awaiting medical treatment.
The third project was also a school - Loigero Primary School (aka "Jacob's School") - that once met under this tree. They now have their own property with classrooms, a lunchroom, staff housing and well water just like the Irbaan school. The children of the Maasai village (shown above) attend this school.
These students were writing an exam, so I didn't get to visit with them.
On my lasts afternoon on the Mara, this Maasai warrior (I forget his name), took me on a safari walk. He showed me some interesting things that couldn't be seen from the confines of a vehicle and taught me all sorts of interesting facts about the Maasai people. It was quite exciting to think that, if we encountered an animal, he only had his spear to protect us!
This is a warthog hole
By the river, we saw the tracks of where the wildebeest had crossed during one part of their migration.
Teaching me how to throw the spear
Pretending like I know how to use the spear!
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