Almost done

I'm almost done this blog!! I just received Sarah's journal from her and will do my best to insert her entries in the order of mine and by days. Then, I will also likely add a few more pictures - some which may be repeats because I can't remember all that I have already posted!

Heading home!

We arrived at the airport about 830pm for our 1055pm flight. After pleading our case with the KLM agent and supervisor (about the mix-up the airline had made a few days prior with the tickets and I said I lost almost a night of sleep); we were upgraded to economy comfort which was wonderful - a smaller section of about 20 rows that was much quieter and had more leg room. I think I got about 4-5 hours of broken sleep. It's about 5am right now and we have just landed in Amsterdam. Halfway home to Matt and my girls - to lots of hugs and kisses!

A final picture with our wonderful guide for the past few days - James!


SARAH's JOURNAL

Heading home after such an awesome trip. I'm sad to leave but ready to go home. I'll be staying in Grand Rapids until Sunday to see my gorgeous twin nieces and hopefully recover from jet lag before my final flight back to SNA and my own bed! This trip was above and beyond all I had dreamed it could be - definitely my BEST trip ever! We were able to serve and help the Mully Children's Family (MCF), spend quality time together and explore Africa for a few days at the end of our trip.

After dinner tonight, James (our driver) took us to the airport for our 1055pm flight ... via Amsterdam to Detroit and on to Grand Rapids - to arrive just after 1pm tomorrow afternoon (9pm Kenya time). Miriam asked for an upgrade due to a mix-up by Delta with her return ticket - she was persistant and we were upgraded to Comfort Class - more leg room and we each had a row to ourselves! Although I rarely have trouble sleeping on planes (lots of practice), Miriam is hoping for 2-3 hours on this first 8 hour flight. I'm planning to kick back with my Kindle - I'm reading Nelson DeMille and just finished the Gold Coast (thanks for the recommendation, Charlie - great book) and now I'm starting the Gate House.

Genite for now!

Tuesday, Feb 8th

SARAH's JOURNAL

We've had a couple of fun-filled days of safari and adventure! After a rest on Sunday afternoon, we headed to Masai Mara Reserve to see wildlife. All the drivers in the reserve have radio communication to alert each other of animal sightings. It brought me back to my firefighting days in northern Ontario. When a fire was spotted on radar, all available crews would race to try to find it by truck. It felt the same - all of us racing in matatus (tour vans) to see the animal(s) sighted. Two of the biggest pieces of excitement 1. Two cheetahs feeding - our driver took a huge risk as he drove off the road and onto the grass closer to the cheetahs so we would get a close-up picture. Both Miriam and I snapped quick pictures and told him to get back to the road - the penalty for being off the road is a $10,000 fine and the park rangers will suspend their license and ban them from the park. Just after leaving the cheetahs ... 2. a second call came that a buffalo was being taken down by 3 male lions. The couple staying next to us at our camp saw the kill and said it was like watching something on the discovery channel. By the time we arrived, two male lions were feeding and the other one was watching. A very cool experience to see all the animals in the wild - my favorite were the giraffe -- seeing their heads above the trees was awesome! Of the big five - lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant -- we saw all except the leopard.


MIRIAM's JOURNAL

Up at 530am, breakfast and on the road for a side trip to Lake Nakuru park reserve. A smaller park, but, again, so amazing. Flamingos, pelicans, different kinds of giraffe, zebras, ostrich, lions, ostrich, white and black rhino .... It is one of the most incredible things to see elephants, lions, and giraffes in their natural habitat -- to be in the middle of their land and surrounded by the beauty of land and animals.

After leaving Lake Nakuru, we stopped for BBQ'd goat - something I have never tried before. Meat was hanging beside the open grill. They cut the meat in front of you on wood planks, which have small piles of salt to dip the meat in. No utensils. Sliced onion and tomato and various other sides are given to us - all to be eaten with fingers. I have to say, it was a very tasty, delicious meal!



After an afternoon of driving, we are back in Nairobi and we head to THE carnivore restaurant - a totally unique experience for both Sarah and myself. All kinds of meat, roasted over charcoal and carved at your table. You are given a mini turntable with all different kinds of sauces and the servers would give suggestions for each meat. They will keep serving you meat until you "surrender" and lay your flag down. Sarah and I were adventurous and tried just about every kind of meat. We both agree that liver tastes like liver - no matter what kind it is and it's just not our favorite! The ostrich tasted a bit like dry, overcooked beef; the ostrich meatballs were good and the camel meat was quite tasty. My favorite was the leg of lamb - medium rare with a light mint sauce -- delicious!







The ox balls actually weren't too bad!




We SURRENDER!




SARAH's JOURNAL

After a final safari day, before heading to the airport, we stopped for dinner at a restaurant called Carnivore. What a dinner experience! Definitely once in a lifetime! They kept bringing us various kinds of meat until the flag on our table was put down on the table as a sign of surrender ... and then there will be desert - if there is any room left!?! We sampled exotic meats such as ostrich (a bit chewier than beef - I didn't like the meat alone but the ostrich meatballs were good) and crocodile (tastes like fishy chicken) ... lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, chicken gizzards (we couldn't stomach trying these), lamb liver and even ox balls, which were surprisingly good - believe it or not! I highly recommend giving this place a visit if you are in Nairobi - an experience to remember!

Maasai Village

We left the park about 4pm and headed for our Maasi Village tour. What an incredible experience that was - so interesting to learn about this culture.
Some things we learned:
- A community elementary school for Grades 1-8. Only about 30% go on to a boarding school for secondary education. The school has 14 teachers and about 500 students. The teacher we met has 65 students in his 5th grade class.
-Circumcision is done at age 14 with a ceremony attended by men. The one getting circumcised is not to scream or cry at all. They must be brave and endure the pain in silence or they will bring "much shame and disgrace" to the family.
-Dowry for a woman is about 10 cows. If the man can jump high (literally), the dowry is lower. So, the boys/men practice jumping.
-About 200 people live in this village, which is about average. Every in their community is related, so they must marry from another village. The woman goes to the mans' village.
-They move their community every 9 years. Moving gives them a chance to cultivate the land. The women of the village rebuild the homes with sticks and cow dung. It takes them about 3 months.
-6 or 7 kids per family
-They eat 2 meals per day. Mostly ugali (mace-corn, flour and milk) for most meals
-They drink blood from the cow mixed with milk. They take blood from the cow's neck (they don't kill the cow - just take some blood) and drink it warm with fresh milk
-There are a lot of ceremonies: here are a few
-A chief ceremony
-At 1 year old, there is a naming ceremony. You can name your child prior to this, but it's not official until this point
-Circumcision ceremony
-At age 10, children go to live with their grandparents to learn more about culture and traditions

Sarah and I were taken into a small house at the village we toured. There was a small calf/goat pen in the house. There were 3 very small bed areas (I probaby would have had to curl in a ball to fit in any of them - and I would have taken up the whole area). One area is for guests, one for the kids, one for the parents. I have no idea how they all fit! There were no lights - they started a fire in the middle of the house - it was so small, we could hardly maneuver ourselves in this house. Then, the 2 guides started to pass around a mug with milk -- I was just praying it wasn't mixed with cow's blood. It felt rude not to at least fake taking a small sip of this milk. BTW, I don't think there was blood mixed in!



The Maasai Dance











I did a google search for more information and found a few more pictures and I will copy and paste some of the information I found. Here is a little more info:

Taken from ( http://www.magiccarpetjournals.com/masai-village.htm )

The huts were small and square, not more than ten feet in any direction, and made of a combination of mud, dung and sticks, known as wattle. They consisted of several tiny rooms. Inside the rooms were dark with only small holes for windows and a short, narrow hole for a door. The roofs were low, flat and covered with sticks and straw. The huts were grouped in a circle joined by a fence of closely woven sticks. This formed a protective wall around the central compound which was used as a corral at night, when the cattle were brought inside to protect them from predatory animals.

The women and children were dressed in colourful sarongs or 'sheets,' as we heard them called. Bright colours were very popular. Plaids and stripes, prints and checks were worn together in a glorious explosion of colours. Another high stick fence sat in the centre of the compound. It was surrounded by Masai women in their colourful costumes. The women were holding beaded collars and bracelets to trade with the tourists. They were asking 40 or 50 shillings for these. I wish now I had bought a collection of them. Several of the women tried to make other deals with us. One wanted to trade beadwork for my shirt, another wanted to trade my friend for her hat.

These women had very shiny black skin. Their shaved heads gleamed in the brilliant sunlight. From their trading, some had T-shirts or pants under their sheets. Many were barefoot. They were mostly tall, and all were slim. They stood very erect, which gave them a proud, dignified appearance. As with the chief, these women had elongated earlobes with beads dangling from them. Traditionally the Masai women are the ones who carry the water and wood. They wash their clothing in streams, beating them on rocks. The people looked clean and their clothes looked amazingly clean too.

From: ( http://www.kenya-information-guide.com/maasai-tribe.html )

Maasai Culture
The warrior is of great importance as a source of pride in the Maasai culture. To be a Maasai is to be born into one of the world's last great warrior cultures. From boyhood to adulthood, young Maasai boys begin to learn the responsibilities of being a man (helder) and a warrior. The role of a warrior is to protect their animals from human and animal predators, to build kraals (Maasai homes) and to provide security to their families.

Through rituals and ceremonies, including circumcision, Maasai boys are guided and mentored by their fathers and other elders on how to become a warrior. Although they still live their carefree lives as boys - raiding cattle, chasing young girls, and game hunting - a Maasai boy must also learn all of the cultural practices, customary laws and responsibilities he'll require as an elder.

An elaborate ceremony - Eunoto - is usually performed to "graduate" the young man from their moran and carefree lifestyle to that of a warrior. Beginning life as a warrior means a young man can now settle down and start a family, acquire cattle and become a responsible elder. In his late years, the middle-aged warrior will be elevated to a senior and more responsible elder during the Olng'eshere ceremony.

The Maasai tribe has a deep, almost sacred, relationship with cattle. They are guided by a strong belief that God created cattle especially for them and that they are the sole custodians of all the cattle on earth. This bond has led them into a nomadic way of life following patterns of rainfall over vast land in search of food and water for their large herds of cattle.
All of the Maasai's needs for food are met by their cattle. They eat the meat, drink the milk and, on occasion, drink the blood. Bulls, oxen and lambs are slaughtered for meat on special occasions and for ceremonies. The by-products of the animals - skin and hides - are used as bedding while cow dung is used for building (it is smeared on the walls). The Maasai's entire way of life truly revolves around their cattle.

The effects of modern civilization, education and western influence have not completely spared this unique and interesting tribe. Some of the Maasai tribe's deep-rooted culture is slowly fading away. Customs, activities and rituals such as female circumcision and cattle raiding have been outlawed by modern legislation. Maasai children now have access to education and some Maasai have moved from their homeland to urban areas where they have secured jobs.

SARAH's JOURNAL

Before leaving Masai Mara, we toured a Masai village ... there are approximately 30 villages in the Masai Mara area. Each village is surrounded by a fence that takes about 2 years to build from trees and sticks. Although it's thick and tall, lions and leopards are a daily threat to livestock in the village, who are sheltered in the middle of the village during the night. 4-5 men guard the fence every night, using spears to scare or kill predators. In the village are the houses and another fences / protected area for the goats and sheep - the second barrier is necessary, as leopards are known to climb or leap over the outer wall. I asked if they eat / cook the meat of predators they kill and was surprised that the Masai people do not eat any meat - that is their culture and tradition.

Another tradition is that when boys turn 15, they head out with 5-6 other boys to find and kill a male lion. They only have their spears and it can take up to a month for them to return with a kill. As is their custom, they must bring back the mane and teeth from the kill. The Kenyan government no longer allows the Masai people to hunt in the reserve, so they must go out to the wild.

It is a simple life the Masai people live - although a village can be longer or slightly smaller, the one we toured had 20 families, approximately 200 people. They are all related and so marriage is not permitted within a village. At ceremonies, other villages are invited and this gives them a chance to meet and interact with other Masai people. There is one chief in a village and he passes the baton to his eldest son when the time is right. Sallow, who was our guide, will be the next chief of his village - he is the eldest of 7 children. I was curious if he ever has a desire to travel and he answered "sometimes, I like to go to Tanzania to see my sister." He asked Miriam "how many cows for her dowry?" It took her a minute to understand his question! I don't think I could live life as the wife of a Masai village chief!

Safari sightings

Lake Nakuru
-waterbuck
-flamingo
-pelican
-stilt bird (with babies)
-rock hyrax
-BLACK RHINO
-WHITE RHINO
-giraffe (Rothchild)
-ostrich
-hyena
-buffalo
-zebra
-vervet monkey
-lions
-impalla

MASAI MARA
-giraffe (Masai and Reticulated)
-impalla
-guinnea fowl
-lions (male, female, cubs)
-bushbuck
-baboon
-zebra
-elephants (they live 60-70 yrs, weigh 5-6 tonnes full grown and weigh 250 lbs at birth)
-cheetah
-ostrich
-wildebest
-warthog
-topi (only found in Masai Mara)
-buffalo
-coke's hartebeest
-jackal
-spotted hyena
-hippo
-vervet monkey
-crocodile
-agama lizard
-fire ants
-marbou stork
-yellow-billed stork
-bat-eared fox
-secretary bird

I'm sure this list in not fully complete of all we saw, but we tried to write down all the wildlife we spotted =)

Monday, Feb 7th

I'm on Kenyan time now - finally! I have not been wearing a watch for 2 weeks and it still feels weird not to always know the time, but I'm getting use to it. Last night, I didn't sleep well - a text woke me up at 2 am. It was from Wendy, the trip coordinator at Ada Bible. She asked me to text her ASAP. Well, it was Sunday evening at 6pm in Michigan (8 hours behind us). A long story, but in summary, somehow, my airline ticket and Phil's (another team member that came to Kenya), our tickets got transposed. He flew home on part of my ticket??? WHAT??? How does that happen? I had been in a deep sleep up to this point up to this point and suddenly, I was wide awake. My other problem was that my phone battery was almost dead and, as you remember, there is not electrical power during the night. So, about 6-8 text messages later, Wendy was going to try to sort it out the next day.
To finish this drama, tonight, I received a text that it was sorted out (Delta had made an error) and my flight was still all set. Thank you God.

The day was a full safari day and then a Maasi Village tour. The safari was awesome. I can't put into words how incredible it is! We didn't see any rhino or leopards, which we are told are the hardest to see. Tomorrow, we'll head to Nakura park and hopefully see both there.

We saw so many animals - 2 cheetah feeding, a baby elephant taking a bath, so many giraffe - it was so neat to see their heads poking out over the top of trees.



Sausage tree









Carcass left by a cheetah


This monkey and many others kept trying to steal food from our lunch. This one managed to jump in one of the vans (through the roof and get a chocolate bar someone had in their bag!)

At the river watching hippos



No man's land - Tanzania 21 km away , Kenya 2 km away