Memories of Maasai Mara

I did promise an entry (an exciting, detailed, entry I believe is what I said) about our trip to the Maasai Mara. It seems so long ago and since our trip will be a memory before you know it, I thought I’d better deliver. So, with some help from my written journal, here it is:

February 4, 2009

What a fantastic day! We all got up and were ready to go on time. Two of Jeremiah’s employees picked us up in the Tour Africa Matatu. Jeremiah had put in two captains chairs, so it really was quite comfortable. We drove off in the dark early morning with Dolly Parton love songs playing… too much.

Even at 6:30am, the streets were busy with people walking. On the whole drive from Kakamega to Kisumu, the road was lined with kids wearing every colour combination of school uniform one could imagine. On several occasions, we had to stop to let herds of cattle, sheep, or goats cross the road. A little farther in to the drive it was donkeys.

Note: We heard from Jeremiah today how he got his start to success. He had known Alinda and her husband for some time. Jeremiah used to have a very old car that he used as a taxi. He told us it was not uncommon for him to break down with four flat tires on one trip. Alinda asked him one day if she bought him a decent car would he be able to pay her back. The answer was yes, and so she bought him a car. After some time he was able to pay back the loan, he then sold the car, which left him enough for a down payment on the café.

The scenery was spectacular… gorgeous bright green fields of tea, dotted with colourful pickers; crowded, noisy, colourful market days; donkeys. I was so enamoured by the donkeys that I barely noticed the change in scenery. It was getting dryer. Cactus fences replaced the barbed wire. The soil turned from red to light brown. The roads were now lined with sandcastles. Huh? Who is making sand castles in the middle of the desert? Oh wait, those are ant hills.

After several hours which flew by like minutes, Cody spotted the first animal (other than the goats, cows, pigs and donkeys previously mentioned). Giselle, then antelope and then 3 giraffes, and we are not yet officially in the park! Next were the wart hogs, who would come to be my favourites. Jeremiah told us that wart hogs are “very shallow minded”. They get scared and run very fast, which seems pretty smart to me; but soon they forget why they are running and simply stop. Lion sausages are what they are known as here. We witnessed this over and over again – warthogs with tails standing straight up, take off with a quick prance for maybe 5 seconds and then abruptly stop and look around. Ugh, just adorable. A little pathetic, sure, but totally adorable.

Next in my journal are some bullets:
- herd of 13 giraffes
- 2 elephants
- Huge hyenas, such a treat
- Wart hogs, often a pair will be hanging out with other animals, who hopefully remind them to keep running!
- The ostriches are HUGE, bigger than zebras if you can imagine
- Buffalo; look quiet enough, but Jeremiah says are very dangerous.

Coming through the gates at the Mara, the Maasai women were selling necklaces, bracelets, and carvings. And believe me, they do not take NO for an answer. “O.K. Mama, this one, this one, 700 for all.” They would put things in my lap and say “O.K. O.K., it’s no problem.” Like, I mean they were AGGRESSIVE. It worked though, Cody bought a mask and a statue for 500 shillings. Later they offered me two statues, 2 masks and a giraffe for 700. They told me this is the “mama price”.

To be continued…