Well, I finally have the computer to myself. Admittedly, I haven't tried too hard to wrestle it away from Froody. But now I can bring you up to speed on our Cairo stay.
Whatever you opinion on Egypt Air, I will say that their flight attendants worked to get everyone seated and the plane off on time. I think it's the first time I've been on a plane that left when my ticket said it would. Could be that we were the first flight of the day, too, but those stewards do run a tight ship! We got here at 9am on Sept 17, which meant leaving Kenya at 5am. Cairo is an interesting city. It is a sprawling metropolis overflowing on both banks of the Nile. "Downtown" Cairo is on the east bank and that is where all the charm is: ancient mosques, giant bazaars, Coptic and Islamic Cairo are all here. The west bank is a bit more upscale (according to our guidebook) and home to many embassies. We spent our first night in Zamalek, a more Western neighborhood on an island in the Nile.
The next morning we called a family of friends of my sister Dre. She said they would offer to put us up for a bit and, sure enough, they did and have let us stay here ever since. They've even asked us to join them on their holiday to Hurghada on the Red Sea coast and we said yes and are paying for half our stay, thank goodness! When we told them our plan to stay for two months and rent an apartment they were quite vocal and couldn't understand why we would even think of renting a place "for a short time" instead of staying with them. I don't think we every convinced them that it is just our way was Americans. They really are nice and Amani is a good cook, but we had to tell them that when we returned from Hurghada we'd be ready for a place of our own.
Say It With Pictures!
*Our room while we stay with Morad and his family.
*Their daughter Merna, teaching me Arabic and showing off her English. Somehow, we manage to communicate just fine. Once, when I couldn't understand the housekeeper she stepped in to translate, which just sounded exactly the same to me.
*Posing at the juice stand. Morad is back there buying sugar cane juice for us to try. If you're good (or six years old) sugar cane juice will give you a nice moustache!
*Wife and mother Amani with their dog, Nini (well, that's what we say). She loves animals, even allowing herself to be adopted by a street cat.
*Egyptian salesmen are very smooth, much cleverer than the ones we found in Kenya and Tanzania. He did have the best flower essence shop we've been to (took us a while to learn the M.O.).
*Yes, almost all of the women we've seen follow the muslim code of covering themselves up, but that doesn't mean they don't have any fashion sense!
*Al-Azhar Mosque and a bit of the huge Khan al-Khalili bazaar. During Ramadan, Cairo comes alive at night and stays that way until after 2 am. We've even started going to bed "early" at about 1 am and sleeping in until 11 am!
*Only sad thing about Ramadan is that none of the small, local restaurants and food stalls are open during the day. Us non-fasting tourists must find other breakfast alternatives.
*I really love islamic architecture. That was a mosque and this is the ceiling of a house built by a rich man 100 years ago.
*Of course. we had to try sheesha. Neither of us liked it. Yes, mom, it was only flavored tobacco.
*This isn't how you expect to see the pyramids, but it is your fist view of them. It seemed a bit more real than when you are really there. I did finally get to ride a camel! The pyramids are cooler up close and personal.
*At last! Froody gets to buy some street food.
*View from our family's living room window and another from the balcony of the room we're in.
*Oh, I forgot that we went to this giant western-type mall in Nasar city (a suburb of Cairo). Froody took advantage of the air conditioning and free wifi, along with a giant smoothie- taller than his compy!
*Drugs! are cheap abroad. What cost us $50 in America was about 40 LE here, about $8.
*A peek into our new diggs.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Walk Like an Egyptian
Yes, I know, bad pun, but I couldn't help myself! I'm not going to blog a whole lot even though we've been in Egypt for a week now because it's hot, the compy is hot, and I'd rather be sitting in front of the open window. (According to BBC WorldNews, Cairo had a high of 38C today!)
I do want you all to know that Froody and I are not kidnapped and have not been dragged into Sudan or Libya. Instead, we are staying with friends of my sister. They are the epitome of egyptian hospitality. We haven't been allowed to pay for anything and are encouraged to make their home our home. It is now Ramadan, a holy month of fasting with the main meal, iftar, after sunset. They've taken us out a few times in the evening to see the city and we have learned that is really the way to go (see temperature above).
Next time I will tell you about our visit to the Egyptian Museum and the pyramids of Giza, about Merna, their 6 year-old daughter/translator, and about everyone having a cousin/brother in America. Right now I want to invite you to our flat in Cairo, as we have decided to stay and learn arabic for two months!
I do want you all to know that Froody and I are not kidnapped and have not been dragged into Sudan or Libya. Instead, we are staying with friends of my sister. They are the epitome of egyptian hospitality. We haven't been allowed to pay for anything and are encouraged to make their home our home. It is now Ramadan, a holy month of fasting with the main meal, iftar, after sunset. They've taken us out a few times in the evening to see the city and we have learned that is really the way to go (see temperature above).
Next time I will tell you about our visit to the Egyptian Museum and the pyramids of Giza, about Merna, their 6 year-old daughter/translator, and about everyone having a cousin/brother in America. Right now I want to invite you to our flat in Cairo, as we have decided to stay and learn arabic for two months!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Some Thoughts on East Africa
1. Matatus and dalla dallas don't leave until they are full. Most of them also try to cram as many people as they can into them. I guess it's due to the cost of fuel, but can get very uncomfortable especially on bad roads.
2. Eating in a restaurant takes even longer than in Europe. I think they really wait until your order comes in to start from scratch.
3. Not all the places have napkins. Instead, they have somewhere for you to wash your hands before and after the meal or a woman comes to you with a basin and pitcher of water.
4. For a malarial area they are pretty lax when it comes to mosquitoes. Yes, there are mosquito nets but no screens on the windows or doors.
5. Very few cash registers. I think I've only been to 4 places that had them and they were large supermarkets. One coffee shop had one, but it wasn't plugged in. Everything is handwritten in a book with carbon paper.
6. Cash only! No credit cards!!
7. If you buy something and need change it could take another 10-15 min waiting for someone to go "next door" to make change.
8. All babies are bundled up in hats, jackets, and blankets even though it's over 75F and sunny.
9. No one has any washing machines. We've seen many immaculate white shirts around. Even the guy who sold charcoal buy the dusty road was wearing a spotless white shirt! This means that at all the hotels we've been in, someone had to hand-wash our sheets and towels. (I think there's some washing machines in Nairobi.)
10. All the big buildings are hand made out of cement, sticks, mud brick, rocks. The scaffolding around a construction site is made up of a bunch of sticks. Sometimes you can see this in the slightly uneven doorway and stairs.
11. Some male travel writer said something about the elegant simplicity of a squat toilet: just a hole in the ground. I don't feel the same way as my aim isn't as good a his. :-(
2. Eating in a restaurant takes even longer than in Europe. I think they really wait until your order comes in to start from scratch.
3. Not all the places have napkins. Instead, they have somewhere for you to wash your hands before and after the meal or a woman comes to you with a basin and pitcher of water.
4. For a malarial area they are pretty lax when it comes to mosquitoes. Yes, there are mosquito nets but no screens on the windows or doors.
5. Very few cash registers. I think I've only been to 4 places that had them and they were large supermarkets. One coffee shop had one, but it wasn't plugged in. Everything is handwritten in a book with carbon paper.
6. Cash only! No credit cards!!
7. If you buy something and need change it could take another 10-15 min waiting for someone to go "next door" to make change.
8. All babies are bundled up in hats, jackets, and blankets even though it's over 75F and sunny.
9. No one has any washing machines. We've seen many immaculate white shirts around. Even the guy who sold charcoal buy the dusty road was wearing a spotless white shirt! This means that at all the hotels we've been in, someone had to hand-wash our sheets and towels. (I think there's some washing machines in Nairobi.)
10. All the big buildings are hand made out of cement, sticks, mud brick, rocks. The scaffolding around a construction site is made up of a bunch of sticks. Sometimes you can see this in the slightly uneven doorway and stairs.
11. Some male travel writer said something about the elegant simplicity of a squat toilet: just a hole in the ground. I don't feel the same way as my aim isn't as good a his. :-(
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Good-bye, Kenya
Lake Naivasha
OK-after our safari we made our way to Lake Naivasha. We heard (correctly) that the national park there, Hell's Gate, is one of the few where you can just walk or cycle on your own, and after several days of eating and sitting we were more than ready to do just that. All along the lake are a few lodges and lots of campgrounds. Now, these campgrounds all had places to set up tents, but also rooms if you want. At Fisherman's Camp we rented a tent and sleeping mats and chose a spot a little way up from the electric fence. Electric fence? you ask. Yes- seems the hippos come out at night and eat the grassy field there and without the fence you run the risk of running into a hippo. We did see a few, including a mother and small baby hippo which only made the security guard nervous as mother hippos are extra protective of their babies.
The next day we woke up before dawn (again!), ate a bit of fruit, and hopped onto the bikes we rented and got into Hell's Gate around before 7:30am. We were the first ones there and did get to enjoy the quiet morning a bit, watching a herd of gazelle and some baboons in the distance. At the crossroads we had a choice- do the Buffalo Circuit (14km) or go onto the Gorge (7km). Of course, Froody wanted to do Buffalo Circuit and see some animals and I wanted to do the Gorge and see cool structures. Of course, I gave in and we did the circuit. Then, the bad times came. After 6km (note: by now we had biked 13km from camp)I got saddle sore and we hadn't seen all the wildlife Froody had hoped for. We talked for a bit an I decided I could go on, seeing as we were about halfway and that, surely, the circuit included going to the Gorge. I got into a rhythm- walk uphill, bike flat/downhill, and grit my teeth over any and all bumps. We did see some cool stuff, like a herd of hartebeest and herd of zebra. It was really something to see them face to face and not with a metal car between us. Eventually we got near the top, where the road seemed to veer away from the gorge and the rest of the park. Froody biked ahead and, as far as he could tell, the road kept going away, so we decided to bike back to the crossroads which was mostly downhill (yay!) but with lots of deep, loose sand (scary!) and bumps (ouchie!).
At the crossroads Froody could see that I was in a lot of pain (my poor butt!)and offered to just bike back to camp. That would have been the smart thing to do, so I said "let's go to the Gorge" because there was no way I was going to get on a bike tomorrow and do it again. So, through clenched teeth and some walking, we made it to the Gorge, all 7km. By now it was noon, hot, and both of us were tired, so we did the smart thing again and got a guide to take us on the "short" walk which is about an hour. It was a good walk, part of which took us through hot water falling over rocks and raining down on us and felt just like a shower! It also made us wish we could've done the longer walks. Our guide was knowledgeable and from the local Maasai village and said he was one of 6 chosen by the elders to do this job and bring money in for the village. He told us a bit about some of the plants and tribal customs. With that done, we rested a bit and biked the 15km back to camp.
Lake Nakuru
Came here to see the famous flamingos! Nakuru town abuts the Lake Nakuru national park. From the viewpoint you could see exactly where the town stops and protected area starts. Got up before dawn (again! sheesh!)for our game drive, which was difficult, as the place we stayed in was cheap but right next to all the pubs and a mosque. Peter, our guide, was very nice and knew a lot, but seemed to get a couple of things mixed up. Again, being spoiled Americans, we saw a bunch of the same animals as on safari. But we did see lots of new things, like a baby zebra only a few hours old, taking its first steps. And the water buffalo didn't seem to mind us so much. Of course, we just loved seeing all the flamingos!! Bonus birds were the pink pelicans which seemed to be more of a peachy color than pink. :-) Also yellow-billed storks, a spoonbill, and maribu storks (this one next to yellow-billed storks) which none of our guides seemed to like. We also saw white rhinos- great big grass-eating things!! They were all over and before our drive Peter pretty much guaranteed we'd see a rhino (this one is napping). We also watched a hyena chasing down the flamingos, hoping for a weak and slow one.
Back from the drive we stayed in a much quieter hotel, the Hotel Waterbuck, and got a bit more sleep and laundry done before moving to the cheaper Tas Hotel which had good, cheap food. It seemed nice and sleepy at 9am when we checked in but was really hopping at night! We met with a German student and all pitched in on a taxi ride to see Menegai Crater.
Kakamega Forest
Made our way to this last slice of tropical rainforest in Kenya. Seems that all over Kenya, people are chopping down trees in order to make charcoal, the main fuel source for cooking, so who knows how much longer this forest will last? Even though it's protected, that doesn't mean people don't come in and chop down trees. In fact, sometimes the government will displace people in the area and sends them to the forest area! I got the impression from our guide that some reserves are a community-based effort to keep something protected, so they don't get any government funding or help, eventhough it's officially a Forest Reserve. Our guide,Gabriel, asked us about (on top of many other things) how we in America protect trees and was surprised when Froody said that the government protects them. To which Gabriel asked, "What happens when a tree are mature for harvest?" and Froody answered, "Nothing. It's illegal to cut it down." Gabriel chuckled at that and was amazed that we had huge trees over a thousand years old that no one will ever chop down. Through his questions he led us to the topic of HIV and what his organization, Kakamega Environmental Education Program (KEEP) does for the community. He said he could arrange for us to see some of the homes they help and we thought this would be a good opportunity to see how people really lived, especially those who are really poor. (Gabriel was also surprised when we said we had never seen anyone with AIDS that we knew of. About 40% of the people he tested these past few months have been positive.)
So, we got up before dawn (again. why bother going to bed??) to see the sunrise over the forest. It was beautiful. And just when the sun was about to appear all the birds and monkeys started calling and singing! The mist rising over the dark green canopy was something right out of a picture, only I was right there!! Afterwards, we visited an old mine that fruits bats were living in. Back at the campsite we had our breakfast (some fruit, hardboiled eggs, and bread we brought with us) and rested before the home visits. I was full of trepidation and don't remember when I had been so scared to face anything like this. Gabriel even said we'd probably be made very sad over what we would see. Finally, the hour came and we met some of the volunteers who make the rounds with him. They added that we'd get to see a family suffering from parasitic fleas that bore into the soft flesh of your feet and hands. (?.!@#@$^&YG??)
The people were poor, in that all their money went to buy the HIV drugs so there was nothing left for school supplies, clothing for the children, tuition for secondary school, cooking oil, etc. They had land and most of them had their children farming for them. One woman said she was lucky to still be strong enough to care for her kids, but couldn't afford to send the oldest ones to school. I won't post any pictures as some of them are a bit graphic, but you can go to Froody's site and check them out if you want to.
This picture is cute, though. The little girl just ran up and held my hand for a bit while I was walking with one of the volunteers to the next home. In a way I felt like a celebrity because things like this happens to us here. You get all the small children running, just to wave at you and say "Jambo!" or "How are you?" And the loved it when we'd answer, smile, and wave back.
Nairobi
Nairobi is Kenya's largest city and is just like other big cities. Only the traffic and driving is worse. Having been in Cairo for 24hours now I'll say that while Cairenes drive aggressively, they still seem to follow some traffic rules, whereas in Nairobi it's every man for himself. (In Nakuru they have traffic lights that are not in use. We asked a taxi driver when was the last time they were used and he said in 2002, only they caused too many accidents so the city government decided it was safer just to leave them off!)
Only had one full day here and the "big thing" we did was eat at the world famous Carnivore restaurant. It was an adventure just getting there! but once there you get to eat all the meat you want. These guys walk around with lamb, beef, chicken, sausage, crocodile on meter-long sword/skewers. Then you get dessert! There's another guy who walks around making dawas, Kenya's signature mixed drink made with vodka, limes, and honey.
OK-after our safari we made our way to Lake Naivasha. We heard (correctly) that the national park there, Hell's Gate, is one of the few where you can just walk or cycle on your own, and after several days of eating and sitting we were more than ready to do just that. All along the lake are a few lodges and lots of campgrounds. Now, these campgrounds all had places to set up tents, but also rooms if you want. At Fisherman's Camp we rented a tent and sleeping mats and chose a spot a little way up from the electric fence. Electric fence? you ask. Yes- seems the hippos come out at night and eat the grassy field there and without the fence you run the risk of running into a hippo. We did see a few, including a mother and small baby hippo which only made the security guard nervous as mother hippos are extra protective of their babies.
The next day we woke up before dawn (again!), ate a bit of fruit, and hopped onto the bikes we rented and got into Hell's Gate around before 7:30am. We were the first ones there and did get to enjoy the quiet morning a bit, watching a herd of gazelle and some baboons in the distance. At the crossroads we had a choice- do the Buffalo Circuit (14km) or go onto the Gorge (7km). Of course, Froody wanted to do Buffalo Circuit and see some animals and I wanted to do the Gorge and see cool structures. Of course, I gave in and we did the circuit. Then, the bad times came. After 6km (note: by now we had biked 13km from camp)I got saddle sore and we hadn't seen all the wildlife Froody had hoped for. We talked for a bit an I decided I could go on, seeing as we were about halfway and that, surely, the circuit included going to the Gorge. I got into a rhythm- walk uphill, bike flat/downhill, and grit my teeth over any and all bumps. We did see some cool stuff, like a herd of hartebeest and herd of zebra. It was really something to see them face to face and not with a metal car between us. Eventually we got near the top, where the road seemed to veer away from the gorge and the rest of the park. Froody biked ahead and, as far as he could tell, the road kept going away, so we decided to bike back to the crossroads which was mostly downhill (yay!) but with lots of deep, loose sand (scary!) and bumps (ouchie!).
At the crossroads Froody could see that I was in a lot of pain (my poor butt!)and offered to just bike back to camp. That would have been the smart thing to do, so I said "let's go to the Gorge" because there was no way I was going to get on a bike tomorrow and do it again. So, through clenched teeth and some walking, we made it to the Gorge, all 7km. By now it was noon, hot, and both of us were tired, so we did the smart thing again and got a guide to take us on the "short" walk which is about an hour. It was a good walk, part of which took us through hot water falling over rocks and raining down on us and felt just like a shower! It also made us wish we could've done the longer walks. Our guide was knowledgeable and from the local Maasai village and said he was one of 6 chosen by the elders to do this job and bring money in for the village. He told us a bit about some of the plants and tribal customs. With that done, we rested a bit and biked the 15km back to camp.
Lake Nakuru
Came here to see the famous flamingos! Nakuru town abuts the Lake Nakuru national park. From the viewpoint you could see exactly where the town stops and protected area starts. Got up before dawn (again! sheesh!)for our game drive, which was difficult, as the place we stayed in was cheap but right next to all the pubs and a mosque. Peter, our guide, was very nice and knew a lot, but seemed to get a couple of things mixed up. Again, being spoiled Americans, we saw a bunch of the same animals as on safari. But we did see lots of new things, like a baby zebra only a few hours old, taking its first steps. And the water buffalo didn't seem to mind us so much. Of course, we just loved seeing all the flamingos!! Bonus birds were the pink pelicans which seemed to be more of a peachy color than pink. :-) Also yellow-billed storks, a spoonbill, and maribu storks (this one next to yellow-billed storks) which none of our guides seemed to like. We also saw white rhinos- great big grass-eating things!! They were all over and before our drive Peter pretty much guaranteed we'd see a rhino (this one is napping). We also watched a hyena chasing down the flamingos, hoping for a weak and slow one.
Back from the drive we stayed in a much quieter hotel, the Hotel Waterbuck, and got a bit more sleep and laundry done before moving to the cheaper Tas Hotel which had good, cheap food. It seemed nice and sleepy at 9am when we checked in but was really hopping at night! We met with a German student and all pitched in on a taxi ride to see Menegai Crater.
Kakamega Forest
Made our way to this last slice of tropical rainforest in Kenya. Seems that all over Kenya, people are chopping down trees in order to make charcoal, the main fuel source for cooking, so who knows how much longer this forest will last? Even though it's protected, that doesn't mean people don't come in and chop down trees. In fact, sometimes the government will displace people in the area and sends them to the forest area! I got the impression from our guide that some reserves are a community-based effort to keep something protected, so they don't get any government funding or help, eventhough it's officially a Forest Reserve. Our guide,Gabriel, asked us about (on top of many other things) how we in America protect trees and was surprised when Froody said that the government protects them. To which Gabriel asked, "What happens when a tree are mature for harvest?" and Froody answered, "Nothing. It's illegal to cut it down." Gabriel chuckled at that and was amazed that we had huge trees over a thousand years old that no one will ever chop down. Through his questions he led us to the topic of HIV and what his organization, Kakamega Environmental Education Program (KEEP) does for the community. He said he could arrange for us to see some of the homes they help and we thought this would be a good opportunity to see how people really lived, especially those who are really poor. (Gabriel was also surprised when we said we had never seen anyone with AIDS that we knew of. About 40% of the people he tested these past few months have been positive.)
So, we got up before dawn (again. why bother going to bed??) to see the sunrise over the forest. It was beautiful. And just when the sun was about to appear all the birds and monkeys started calling and singing! The mist rising over the dark green canopy was something right out of a picture, only I was right there!! Afterwards, we visited an old mine that fruits bats were living in. Back at the campsite we had our breakfast (some fruit, hardboiled eggs, and bread we brought with us) and rested before the home visits. I was full of trepidation and don't remember when I had been so scared to face anything like this. Gabriel even said we'd probably be made very sad over what we would see. Finally, the hour came and we met some of the volunteers who make the rounds with him. They added that we'd get to see a family suffering from parasitic fleas that bore into the soft flesh of your feet and hands. (?.!@#@$^&YG??)
The people were poor, in that all their money went to buy the HIV drugs so there was nothing left for school supplies, clothing for the children, tuition for secondary school, cooking oil, etc. They had land and most of them had their children farming for them. One woman said she was lucky to still be strong enough to care for her kids, but couldn't afford to send the oldest ones to school. I won't post any pictures as some of them are a bit graphic, but you can go to Froody's site and check them out if you want to.
This picture is cute, though. The little girl just ran up and held my hand for a bit while I was walking with one of the volunteers to the next home. In a way I felt like a celebrity because things like this happens to us here. You get all the small children running, just to wave at you and say "Jambo!" or "How are you?" And the loved it when we'd answer, smile, and wave back.
Nairobi
Nairobi is Kenya's largest city and is just like other big cities. Only the traffic and driving is worse. Having been in Cairo for 24hours now I'll say that while Cairenes drive aggressively, they still seem to follow some traffic rules, whereas in Nairobi it's every man for himself. (In Nakuru they have traffic lights that are not in use. We asked a taxi driver when was the last time they were used and he said in 2002, only they caused too many accidents so the city government decided it was safer just to leave them off!)
Only had one full day here and the "big thing" we did was eat at the world famous Carnivore restaurant. It was an adventure just getting there! but once there you get to eat all the meat you want. These guys walk around with lamb, beef, chicken, sausage, crocodile on meter-long sword/skewers. Then you get dessert! There's another guy who walks around making dawas, Kenya's signature mixed drink made with vodka, limes, and honey.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Masai Mara
OK, so I'ma gonna try to summarize our 3 day safari right. about. now!
Masai Mara is frikkin' beautiful. I will say the landscape is even more beautiful than Serengeti with its rolling hills, green grasses, and trees. And a beautiful sunset. Since this was our second safari (yes, we are spoiled, rich Americans) we saw lots of the same animals we've seen in Tanzania. But we got to see some of them a bit closer and in larger numbers. Seems that at Masai Mara the guides are allowed to drive off the road to any of the Big Five so that their clients can get a closer look. Not so in Serengeti, where you just have to stay on the track.
During our visit at the Mara the lions were in great form, feasting on zebra and wildebeest. Our second day included scenes right out of Discovery Channel- wildebeest crossing rivers, jumping into unknown waters out of sheer instinct and with more than a hint of fear! They can't see too well and are pretty stupid. We've seen an entire herd head to a watering hole and then, hearing our truck, stop and stand there for a bit, then turn around! Some of the smarter ones follow the zebras.
We also got pretty close to lions a bunch of times (and cubs), so much so that when looking for leopards and think we've see something in the distance and then, after looking at it with binoculars, would say, "Oh, it's just another lion."!!!!! How many of you would think you'd ever say something like that???
Another cool thing was the giraffes. I just love watching them and we got to be in the middle of a herd of them for a minute. We also managed to piss-off a momma elephant which made us a bit relieved when our guide finally drove away and left her with her baby.
The campsite was pretty awesome, in fact, it was what we thought we'd have for our first safari. The site was run by the local Masaai tribe and included hot water. Funny how the camps in Kenya had the hottest water and the hotels could be summed up as "a cold shower on a cement floor." But, the Masaai would heat the water over a fire before it made it to you. I got to have the hottest shower, so hot that I'd turn on the water, get all wet, then turn it off!
Our last morning was spent visiting a Masaai village. It cost extra since it wasn't really part of the safari but way cheaper than what the guidebook said- only Ksh500 per person rather than $25 per person. The young warriors welcomed us with a dance and song, showing some of the skills they use to hunt lions. Blair and Froody were forced to join :-) and participate in the jumping contest at the end of the dance. The other Masaai were impressed with Froody's jumping skills, which, for the Masaai, are skills to pay da' billz. (How to get married when of age: 1- KILL A LION [how many of you would do that just to get married??] 2- Get 10 cows 3- WIN A JUMPING CONTEST [I kid you not]). We were then taken through the barrier and into the village where they showed us how they made fire, dried out cow skins to use as bedding, got to go inside a hut (mud, sticks, and thatch made by the woman!! as if child-bearing and rearing aren't enough), and had the women of the village sing for us and, yes, I and Marije had to join them. One of the men showed us the claw and tooth of the lion he killed before he got married. We were told that we could buy a claw or tooth, as each lion has lots of each and the guy only needs one of each for luck. We were really tempted but knew they'd most likely be confiscated when we tried to get them home. Of course, it all ended at the "shop" which was chock-full of beaded jewelry, crafts, carvings, spears, necklaces, all lovely stuff, but was good and only bought one pair of earrings. Pretty much everyone here (yes, men and women all over Kenya) wears a piece of beaded jewelry of some sort be it earrings, belts, keychains, necklaces, or bracelets. Lots of men wear bracelets.
Also saw:
*Baboons and babies
*Giraffes and babies
*Hippos...and baby
Masai Mara is frikkin' beautiful. I will say the landscape is even more beautiful than Serengeti with its rolling hills, green grasses, and trees. And a beautiful sunset. Since this was our second safari (yes, we are spoiled, rich Americans) we saw lots of the same animals we've seen in Tanzania. But we got to see some of them a bit closer and in larger numbers. Seems that at Masai Mara the guides are allowed to drive off the road to any of the Big Five so that their clients can get a closer look. Not so in Serengeti, where you just have to stay on the track.
During our visit at the Mara the lions were in great form, feasting on zebra and wildebeest. Our second day included scenes right out of Discovery Channel- wildebeest crossing rivers, jumping into unknown waters out of sheer instinct and with more than a hint of fear! They can't see too well and are pretty stupid. We've seen an entire herd head to a watering hole and then, hearing our truck, stop and stand there for a bit, then turn around! Some of the smarter ones follow the zebras.
We also got pretty close to lions a bunch of times (and cubs), so much so that when looking for leopards and think we've see something in the distance and then, after looking at it with binoculars, would say, "Oh, it's just another lion."!!!!! How many of you would think you'd ever say something like that???
Another cool thing was the giraffes. I just love watching them and we got to be in the middle of a herd of them for a minute. We also managed to piss-off a momma elephant which made us a bit relieved when our guide finally drove away and left her with her baby.
The campsite was pretty awesome, in fact, it was what we thought we'd have for our first safari. The site was run by the local Masaai tribe and included hot water. Funny how the camps in Kenya had the hottest water and the hotels could be summed up as "a cold shower on a cement floor." But, the Masaai would heat the water over a fire before it made it to you. I got to have the hottest shower, so hot that I'd turn on the water, get all wet, then turn it off!
Our last morning was spent visiting a Masaai village. It cost extra since it wasn't really part of the safari but way cheaper than what the guidebook said- only Ksh500 per person rather than $25 per person. The young warriors welcomed us with a dance and song, showing some of the skills they use to hunt lions. Blair and Froody were forced to join :-) and participate in the jumping contest at the end of the dance. The other Masaai were impressed with Froody's jumping skills, which, for the Masaai, are skills to pay da' billz. (How to get married when of age: 1- KILL A LION [how many of you would do that just to get married??] 2- Get 10 cows 3- WIN A JUMPING CONTEST [I kid you not]). We were then taken through the barrier and into the village where they showed us how they made fire, dried out cow skins to use as bedding, got to go inside a hut (mud, sticks, and thatch made by the woman!! as if child-bearing and rearing aren't enough), and had the women of the village sing for us and, yes, I and Marije had to join them. One of the men showed us the claw and tooth of the lion he killed before he got married. We were told that we could buy a claw or tooth, as each lion has lots of each and the guy only needs one of each for luck. We were really tempted but knew they'd most likely be confiscated when we tried to get them home. Of course, it all ended at the "shop" which was chock-full of beaded jewelry, crafts, carvings, spears, necklaces, all lovely stuff, but was good and only bought one pair of earrings. Pretty much everyone here (yes, men and women all over Kenya) wears a piece of beaded jewelry of some sort be it earrings, belts, keychains, necklaces, or bracelets. Lots of men wear bracelets.
Also saw:
*Baboons and babies
*Giraffes and babies
*Hippos...and baby
Safari Njema
"Safari njema" is kiswahili for "bon voyage" or "good journey" for you English-only Americans out there! Anyway, after our luscious stay in dreamy Tiwi we hopped back into a taxi, grabbed a matatu, waited in the hot sun for a ferry, another matatu to our hotel in Mombasa. again. (Man, when I read that traveling in Africa is not the same as traveling in America I was not prepared for what I got! They weren't kidding! And, after reading Dre's blog, looks like we're in for more of the same in Egypt. Well, as the locals say, hakuna matata.) This time we were only staying for the night as we left for Nairobi the next day. Coincidentally, the hotel was closing the next day for repairs (and the next day was the first day of Ramadan) so our room was cheaper as there would be no breakfast. No prob. We woke up and packed up and left the hotel pretty early for us in search of BreakFast. Just down the street we saw a tiny restaurant (Kenya is full of tiny shops and stuff), one we've never noticed before, and seeing the waiter bringing coffee to the businessmen seated inside, decided to try getting breakfast there. The menu was on the wall, which I loved, so I ordered a fried egg and a sausage (NOT LIKE AMERICAN BREAKFAST SAUSAGES) and a white coffee. (***sigh*** some of you coffee drinkers reading this will be disappointed when I tell you that Kenya, major supplier of coffee to fancy-pants American coffee shops does. not. have. good. coffee. my white coffee is, really, instant coffee made with hot milk instead of water. more on coffee in a later post.) The food was nice, nice and hot, and when the bill came found it only cost about Ksh200, which is less than $3. :-)
Anyway, made it to the bus station on time but this was before we learned that buses really don't leave on time and you could arrive late and still make the bus. ANYWAY, got to our seats in the back, the last seats available, and had no problems until we arrived in Nairobi. Nairobi is Kenya's biggest city so when we got there at 6pm of course we hit traffic. Man, that was the longest hour! We were supposed to meet Sammy at the bus station, a friend of Zapporah's (owner of Sakina Camp in Arusha who suggested we go to Kenya and do this safari, remember?), so we got to use our cell phone to call Zapporah who called Sammy who called us who called him back.
Finally got off the bus! Only 10 hours! And it had stopped raining long enough for us to get into a car driven by Martin, Zapporah's husband, who drove like a maniac to the hotel we'd be staying in. I mean, really. Ex: the car ahead of us, in our lane going our way, was in the intersection trying to make a left turn, but Martin felt he was taking too long so we drove around him, on the left of course!
Next day we got ready for Safari, Part II. Met our safari partners Marije and Blair, a cute young couple who we'd be sharing the car and guide with. Our guide, Big Sammy, was knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor and Joseph, our cook, was good and a bit quiet. We all settled for the long, long, drive to Masai Mara- Kenya's most popular national park and site of the annual wildebeest migration, the reason for doing this trip!
Anyway, made it to the bus station on time but this was before we learned that buses really don't leave on time and you could arrive late and still make the bus. ANYWAY, got to our seats in the back, the last seats available, and had no problems until we arrived in Nairobi. Nairobi is Kenya's biggest city so when we got there at 6pm of course we hit traffic. Man, that was the longest hour! We were supposed to meet Sammy at the bus station, a friend of Zapporah's (owner of Sakina Camp in Arusha who suggested we go to Kenya and do this safari, remember?), so we got to use our cell phone to call Zapporah who called Sammy who called us who called him back.
Finally got off the bus! Only 10 hours! And it had stopped raining long enough for us to get into a car driven by Martin, Zapporah's husband, who drove like a maniac to the hotel we'd be staying in. I mean, really. Ex: the car ahead of us, in our lane going our way, was in the intersection trying to make a left turn, but Martin felt he was taking too long so we drove around him, on the left of course!
Next day we got ready for Safari, Part II. Met our safari partners Marije and Blair, a cute young couple who we'd be sharing the car and guide with. Our guide, Big Sammy, was knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor and Joseph, our cook, was good and a bit quiet. We all settled for the long, long, drive to Masai Mara- Kenya's most popular national park and site of the annual wildebeest migration, the reason for doing this trip!
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