Safari in Maasi Mara

The first three days of my trip to Western Kenya were spent on a safari into one of the most famous National Parks in the world - Maasai Mara. Since I was traveling by myself, I was placed into another group of 6 people- 3 other independent travelers and one group of three. Four of the six group members were in their mid-twenties, and we all got along really well. It was so fun to have such a great group, especially since we all just clicked from the very beginning. The first day we arrived at camp around 4pm and got settled in. The camp is classified as "basic camping" but with comfy beds, hot showers, and flush toilets it seemed to me more like "luxury camping". And the food was so delicious...lots of vegetables, chapati, barbecued meat, and fresh fruit- YUM! The first night we did an evening game drive, and although we were only driving for two hours, we saw many animals like gazelles, wildebeests, zebras, jackals, and cheetahs. We even saw a leopard sleeping in a tree! It was so cool!! The second day we drove through the park all day - from 7:30am until 6pm. We saw more cheetahs, zebras, buffalo, and gazelles. We also saw lions, giraffes, warthogs, hippos, and even crocodiles! It was so great to observe these great creatures in their natural habitat, and I even had fun when we didn't see any animals for awhile. I was just happy to cruise through the park- admiring the scenery and breathing the fresh air- which was very needed after a few weeks in dusty Nairobi. Later that night we also visited a local Maasai village, which was very interesting. All of their houses are made from sticks, mud and cow dung, so you can probably imagine the smell and the flies. But they people were very welcoming and they showed us a traditional dance. They told us that during the dance, whoever "jumps the highest wins a free wife" haha! Plus, we learned that each man should have between two and eleven wives! Each wife and her children has her own hut, and the husband gets to choose where he sleeps each night! Also, we learned that the Maasai diet consists of meat, cow and goat milk, cow blood, and corn...let's just say I was happy to be eating at the camp! We also learned that at a young age the children are selected for school (the lower front teeth are pulled to identify this group) or for cattle herding (the ear lobes are plugged and stretched to identify this group), and at the age of 15 boys go out and live in the wilderness for 3 years! And they have to kill a lion before they can return! (We later discussed the authenticity of this Maasai presentation, and decided that for the most part is was true to their culture, other than a few parts where they "told the tourist what they wanted to hear"). Needless to say, that village visit was quite the experience. Oh, and on the way out we were able to trade or buy some souvenirs. One Maasai man asked me if I would trade my watch, and I pointed out to him that it was broken, but he wanted it anyways! So I traded my broken watch for a lion's tooth and a beautiful red blanket- I think I got the better end of the deal, haha! When it got dark, we returned to camp for dinner. Later on, Maya, Nicki, Matt, Alison, and myself laid a blanket on the grass and watched the stars. We has so much fun talking and enjoying the beautiful night sky. I even saw a shooting star- and it was the most brilliant one I have ever seen. It was bright orange and traveled the whole span of the sky..it was an awesome moment! On the third day we did an early morning game drive (leaving at 6:30am!) and we saw elephants, giraffes, and a "king lion" as JoJo would say! Around 10am we headed back East, and I was sad to say good-bye to my friends, but happy to begin yet another adventure into two other National Parks!