One afternoon I spent an hour in a village of the Masai people. I was personally escorted by the chief of the village – James. The Masai are one of the biggest of Kenya’s 42 tribes. They are primarily cattle ranchers and goat herders, and they make money as well by selling some of their
One afternoon I spent an hour in a village of the Masai people. I was personally escorted by the chief of the village – James. The Masai are one of the biggest of Kenya’s 42 tribes. They are primarily cattle ranchers and goat herders, and they make money as well by selling some of their crafts. They are Christians and have some interesting beliefs. To them the cow is sacred, and they believe that they own all the cattle in the world. (I’d love to see them approach a rancher in Texas and tell him they are there to claim his cattle).
During ceremonies and special occasions they drink cow blood. Wealth is measured by the amount of cattle owned. Men can marry as many women as they chose, but in order to marry a woman he must give her family 50 cows. I spoke to a waiter at one of the lodges that I stayed at, and he told me he had two wives, who live 15 kilometers apart. He alternates his time spent with each. He found it odd to hear that in the U.S. we can only marry one person.
I had the honor of sharing tea with Chief James in his home (made of mud, sticks and cow dung). Unfortunately he spoke very little English, so I wasn’t able to learn as much about him and his people as I would have liked.
I was really interested in going on a hot air balloon safari and watching the migration from the air, but the cost was prohibitive (US$385 for 45 minutes). After Masai Mara I spent a few days in Lake Nakuru National Game Park, which is known for its million pink flamingos and abundance of white rhinos. The entire lake has a ring of pink flamingos about 25-30 deep; they are attracted by the lake’s blue-green algae. I never imagined anything like it existed, it was an incredible sight.
I also was able to see about 100 white rhinos in Lake Nakuru National Park, as well as just about every other animal. One evening when it was raining I saw five lions sitting in a jacaranda tree waiting out the storm. After Lake Nakuru I went to Amboseli Game Park, which is on the border of Tanzania and is shadowed by the mighty Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Unfortunately, in my few days there the top of the mountain was covered in clouds, but I still marveled at the different landscape and volume of animals. After my safari I spent a few days in Nairobi, where they also have a large game park in the city. The first night I had dinner with my Spaniard friends in a famous restaurant called The Carnivore, where they are licensed to serve game such as zebra and giraffe as well as many other types of animals. Fortunately they had vegetarian options for me. Carnivore also has a large dance floor/bar, and I had the good fortune to meet Jeissie, a 24 year old teacher currently studying for her masters in education.
I spent the next few days with her enjoying Nairobi – going to the movies, the Nairobi Game Park, fine dining etc. I also had the interesting experience of visiting her family’s home in Nairobi. We had to take a bumpy, bone-shattering dirt road about one mile off the main road to reach her home. While there they were experiencing a blackout so I shared tea and dessert with her family by lantern and candlelight.
Kenya is quite poor, and in the street I was constantly approached for money. Crime and corruption are serious problems. While I was there the spirit was optimistic for improvement: the World Bank and International Monetary Fund agreed to release up to US$500 million in developmental aid. Kenya has not received this aid for three years due to government corruption and the bombing of the US Embassy two years ago.
It was interesting to learn that Kenya is somewhat affluent compared to some of the surrounding countries. There are many refugees in Kenya from Uganda, Ethiopia, and Somalia. It makes me wonder about the difficult conditions that those people live in.