Masai Mara

We met Peter at 6:00 am to watch the sun and the animals rise; neither disappointed. The simbas were our playing in the morning light. We first spotted a group of lionesses dining on the previous night's kill. There were a few older cubs tucked in the grass too, I think. Then we went up a few yards and there was a proud male! He was right in the middle of the street. He was huge and powerful. They have definitely earned the title King of the Jungle. We thought there was typically only a single male in a pride, so we were shocked when another huge lion came up right behind our car. There was no confrontation and they seemed okay with each other. We called them the Brokeback Lions. Maybe these guys were more than just friends? J

We went back to the lodge for breakfast then went to visit the Masai Mara village nearby. On the drive, we stopped and picked up a Masai warrior. Guess who it was…here's a hint…we could tell by his name on his belt! Ken! He was so nice and bonded quickly with his brother from another mother, Tan.

They sang and jumped for us. They invited us to dance along too and placed the tribal lion hat on each of us. And we got to hold a warrior stick too. Oh the power! They were also very open and told us to ask anything we were curious about their lifestyle and daily goings on. We learned that they still have multiple wives, a wife is worth about 10 head of cattle, their houses are built by the women and dry walled with cow dung. The men walk the cattle and goats during the day; the women have babies and seem to do most things in the village. Divorce is not common and it's kind of a wonder considering the women's responsibilities. They also still practice circumcision on both the men and women when they come to age. Most women marry at about 15 and the men at about 23. The men are later because when they hit 18 years or so, they go to a central Masai school and learn about their background and how to be a Masai warrior and man. They said the people usually live into their 90s, which was also quite amazing. I have a little ADD and when they were talking about the history of the tribe, I saw a little boy playing on the perimeter and he came to stand next to me; and gave me a high five. So sweet!

We then listened to a chant/song by the ladies…Nita, Mary and I joined them. Next, it was time to visit a Masai home. Wow. Makes you thankful for all the little things we have. It was a stick hut with little rooms for the animals and people. There was a fire going and a lady that looked maybe 50ish in the main room, the living room/kitchen/bedroom. We heard a little whimper and there was a tiny baby on the bed we were sitting on. He asked me if I wanted to hold the baby…umm, of course!! It was so tiny and had big brown eyes. She started to babble and grandma asked for her. I passed her ever so carefully over the fire. I was terrified of dropping her…thankfully we made the transfer just fine!

We then learned to make fire and Bill got kind of swindled into buying the 2 pieces of wood for too much money. We then went through their "gift shop" with the items the tribe makes. Most things were similar to what we had seen elsewhere. But we did pick up a couple of things to support the group. The people are far too pushy for my liking though. They really pull and tug at you and just don't give you any peace to just look and take everything in. Overall, it was very informative and crazy to think that these people live this way. This tribe does have access to mobile phones and plenty of tourists though. So they are pretty knowledgeable about the world outside their community. They said some of their tribe's people have gone to school in Nairobi and in the US. When they return home for visits though, they are to live as the tribes do and honor tradition.

We were all pretty wiped out after the tour and just wanted to sit. I love the fact that even after 8 days almost everyone still spent some time on the patio of the lodge chatting, listening to music, trading pics and just being together. This group really felt like a family. While we sat for a few hours, waiting for the next safari, we got to see all kinds of wildlife from the lodge. There were hippos and crocs in the river; colorful birds in the air; a family of baboons in the canopy of the trees; monitors running about; and cute little coatis running about. On the way back to the hotel to get ready for safari, Nita and stopped and saw some monkeys digging in the trash. We snapped some photos and Nita got close…and they monkey totally came at her! I have never seen her move so fast. He started to come after, but then I stopped. He stopped in his tracks too and went back after Nita. I yelled, "stop" since it worked for me and she trusted me and screeched to a halt and the monkey did too. We laughed a lot after, but I think Nita won't be getting close to any primates anytime soon!!! J

On the way to the evening safari, we took Bill to the airport. The airport was comical. They were literally shooing animals off the runway for takeoff and the runway was dirt. I imagine a pretty bumpy takeoff and landing! The waiting area was a little open air space with a couple of benches and the toilets looked like outhouses. We all said our goodbyes to Bill and waved at the plane passing overhead about an hour later. We were all sad to see him heading out so quickly…he meshed right in with the group and everyone loved meeting my other travel buddy. The entire crew talked about how interesting and nice he was to have on the trip.

As we left the airport, we saw the biggest elephant yet lumber right past out van. It was nice to be the only vehicle and not surrounded by 15 other safari vans. This encounter seemed more relaxed and peaceful. The rest of the afternoon took that pace too. Not sure if it was a transition day for a lot of tours, but it felt like we had much more quiet time on this trip. We drove through the trees looking for a leopard sighting to round out the BIG 5. Jackson mentioned earlier in the day that he just wasn't impressed by the zebras. "WTH", I responded, "they are the funniest animal here!" He told me to prove it. I got my chance as we drove past a group of wildebeest and zebra and one was on the ground rolling around. We all thought he was injured, but they he just popped up. In my head, he was totally taunting a nearby predator in the safely of his big herd. I think I win, zebras ARE funny. J

So, a slow sighting evening, gave birth to Jackson's favorite past time…introducing the group to the horse face. Basically, you blow through your mouth and flap your lips…he was up first. Win! Everyone was game. Throughout the trip we all took our turns…classic. Total blackmail material…as always!

We all watched the sun set over our final evening in the Masai Mara. Such happy memories!

At dinner that night, we were all wiped out and knew we had an early morning. We did get to hear Jambo, Jambo and Happy Birthday to a little guy named Robert at the next table, but when they sang it sounded just like Robot. Sometimes the dumb things just make you laugh…it worked for Nita and me in our sleepy state!! We sat by our fire and listened to the guitarist again before heading to dreamland.