The days and nights were very nice at Masai Mara. The weather cooperated nicely, and even though it is still the rainy season in East Africa, we didn't have any rain. The skies were a beautiful blue, and the horizon stretched off seemingly without end. We drove a long way around this, one of the largest parks in Africa, and saw lots of different animals. Then, on the way out of the park we stopped by a Masai Village. That was actually a bit unsettling. The Masai are one of the most fiercely independent peoples in east Africa, but they have been forced to compromise with the outside world. They have a village that is built much like what the Masai have lived in for hundred of years, but this group does not move, and is partially (I believe) subsidized by the government so that they will cooperate with tourists. A hundred years ago we would have had spears thrust through our bodies as we approached the village. Now, well, its not like that. Here are some pictures of the last day or so in the Mara.
One of the denizens of the park are the baboons. I actually don't find these fellows all that interesting, but they are fun to watch.
Here are a couple just hanging out. They do a lot of that. The babies were cute, though!
There are also large herds of buffalo in the park. I actually find them more interesting, even though they don't do much. They apparently are highly unpredictable and are very dangerous, if they get mad at you. Though the horns have a curious shape, they can slash pretty nicely with them.
They don't look very bright, but they are big and very strong.
Here are some antelopes, hanging out towards the front of the park. Very nice to watch.
These are either waterbucks or topies (I think) hanging out in the grass, enjoying the afternoon sun.
Here are some zebras that you can see, a little far off. The zebras don't like being in the park, because they don't like the tall grass, but prefer the shorter grass. With all the predators around, that makes sense.
Some more zebras.
We got to the village and were immediately met by a guide, who was very friendly and nice. One thing about the Masai is that they hate to have their pictures taken. In this village, because of government intervention, they have to say its okay. The clothes are the real deal, though, because away from the village this is what you will see them wearing.
They greeted us with a ceremonial kind of thing where they put the lions head on your head. One thing about this visit was that, in terms of tourists, we were it. So what that meant is that when we went to the craft area the pressure to buy was HUGE. They spent a lot of time with us, since there was no one else around with shillings in their pockets (though they made it clear dollars would be fine as well). Tourism has had some problems in Kenya, because of some of the terrorist activities that have occurred.
Joel getting the ceremonial treatment. His foot was really hurting, but he was a good sport.
This is actually a pretty accurate image, of a woman in front of her house. She was performing or anything. The houses are actually made out of mud and cattle dung. For the Masai, who keep cattle, there is plenty of dung around. They also use it for cooking.
This is a view across the center of the village, where at night they would bring the animals. There are probably two hundred or so people living in the village.
Our guide was the young man on the right, though he had plenty of helpers. Most didn't speak much English, but our guide, who goes to secondary school, speaks very well.
I tried to capture just four guys hanging out. Typically they stand like the young man on the left, with one leg crossed over the other. They can stand that way for a good long time.
One of the things that the folks in the village have to do is dance and sing for the visitors. This was just so uncomfortable. The women were very nice about it, but I couldn't help but think that they would have loved for the warriors standing around to start throwing spears at us or something. Being the only three there, it just felt strange. The singing was lovely though.
The young men also do one of their warrior dances, the adumu, or Masai jumping dance. It was cool, no doubt, but like I said, it was kind of uncomfortable. Still pretty neat, though.
Evan got to try the adumu, though Joel didn't because of his hurt foot.
Joel made friends, though!
As did Evan. He really had a thing for the Masai culture, I think, and would have loved to have spent a few nights in a village.
Before we left, though, Joel and Evan had to run through the savanna grasslands.
On our way to Nairobi we had to go through the Great Rift Valley. This is on the eastern side of the rift, a beautiful place.
It is just so interesting to see plate tectonics at work!
A very steep edge to the rift escarpement.
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