This post will wrap up the travelogue of my adventures in Kenya last month. There is a lot to cover, so I probably won’t go into as much detail as normally
(thank goodness, eh?). And it will be a picture-heavy post. Mostly I’m just picking up random things here and there throughout our trip, and therefore they aren’t meant to be chronological.
On our way driving to the Maasai Mara for our safari, we stopped at a Maasai manyatta village. The Maasai have historically been semi-nomadic as shepherds of their beef and goat herds. Many still live in the mud hut villages called manyattas. The villages are built in a square or rectangle around a center area. At night, the animals are returned from their daytime grazing to the center square for protection. There is usually additional fencing around the village. And in the winter or when predators are about, the animals may even be brought indoors. The houses are built by the women and are identical in floorplan. Each hut contains a room which can be used for the animals, if necessary. During the day, the children play outdoors and are watched by some of the women of the village. The families usually eat, play, work and tend to chores together. No doubt you’ve heard the expression, “It takes a village...."
Because the huts are relatively small, we were divided into two groups and given a tour of a home. Again, they are built identically. This is the kitchen area - with custom cabinets! There is a little window above the cooking area, which you can see in the photo below.
There is even an electric light (solar-generated), although it is not bright.
This is the parental sleeping area.
They had an area set up in the back of the village where they sold trinkets, and of course most of us took advantage, buying jewelry, masks, scarves and the like. It’s one of the ways they support themselves.
And naturally, they performed and jumped for us. But our host OD had to get into the act, too, and show off his jumping skills!
As we left and said our goodbyes, the animals were coming home for the evening.
On another day, prior to the safari, we made another trip up the rutted road into the Mau Forest again. Our aim was to visit a girls school and do a Days for Girls program. The problem is that it had been raining, and the rutted road up the mountain was now rutted and muddy.
So, we decided that we could hike the last quarter mile up the road and let one of the vans go with supplies only, lightening the load. Up the road we hiked.
The next picture I thought was rather funny; a local couple taking a picture of us. Naturally, I had to take a picture of them, too. This is a good shot to show you the condition of the road.
And then one of our ladies tripped and fell in the mud. She was not hurt, but we decided not to continue on. We returned to the vans and sent a message up to the school. So instead, the girls came down the road TO US!
We passed out composition books, pencils, stickers, and toy cars for either them or their siblings. Here is my friend Mary Ann with some of the students.
Our friends Janet and Ann from the Days for Girls organization (see post
HERE) were on hand, so they were able to walk up to the school later and conduct the menstrual training for the girls.
Here is a video of the girls just before we left. They didn’t understand the word “smile” so you can hear some Maasai talk, with someone (OD?) telling them to show their teeth. I hear me saying
ashe oleng, which means thank you in Maasai.
On our last day in Kenya, we were back in Nairobi before catching our near-midnight flight. We visited the giraffe sanctuary. Here were my highlights.
We learned how to feed the food pellets to the giraffes by holding them in our mouths with the pellet sticking out, like a cigarette. The giraffes very deftly came up and grabbed it with their tongue. Here is DGD Lauren feeding one of the little giraffes.
I tried it too, and it wasn’t gross or anything. Just a warm nuzzling feeling with their breath on your mouth area. Some people do it on their own tongues, but we didn’t go there!!
I was just mesmerized at how beautiful these creatures are! Look at those spots and the long, soft eyelashes!
Here’s the cute sign on the gift shop.
And finally, we had a 5:00pm appointment at the Sheldrick Wildlife Sanctuary to go visit our adopted elephants from the previous week. Since this is open for adoptive parents only (not the general public), it wasn’t very crowded. We got to see our elephants in their own pens and visit with them as they were getting ready for bedtime.
We (Bruce and I) adopted Sagala, a female, for one set of grandchildren.
And we adopted Ambo (short for Amboseli) for our grandkids in Colorado. Amba is a sleepy boy.
Isn’t this sign in the entryway cool??? Can you see that it’s an elephant?
And that just about wraps it up! Thanks so much for reading and commenting on the previous posts! I hope you’ve enjoyed the pictures and stories.
The following are just a few random pictures from our trip - in no particular order.
Taken out the van window. Vendors selling roast maize (corn). We bought and sampled them - yum! No GMOs!!
Mary and Mary Ann in the Mau Forest, showing off their Maasai toothpicks and toothbrushes!
And we can’t forget one of our favorite beverages...... (the most popular, however, was Stoney’s Ginger Beer, nonalcoholic).
The last little bag of the toy cars. Toward the end, we were just stopping whenever we saw kids and passing them out!!
The Benes Family (Lonny, Mary, Becky and Hannah) - the movers and shakers behind all the Days for Girls work we did. It was Mary’s Girl Scout Gold Project. I understand that when she gave the presentation once back home in Texas (complete with media program), she got a standing ovation. Well deserved!
We though this sign at the Nairobi airport was cool...
Dear Jonathan is a friend of OD and Marilyn’s and was with us every step of the way. He was also a great shoulder to lean on at times. We all love him! Jonah (which is how the Kenyans shorten Jonathan) also acts as the nanny (or “man-ny” as Marilyn says) for their kids, and he was amazing. He’s single and a real catch, let me tell you!
Here’s Jonathan with a goat. His family are goat herders.
And the final pic (because this is the order they loaded in) is of women and children doing laundry, on the rocks at the river, on the way up to the Mau area on our first visit.
If you’re interested, here are the links to all my other Kenya travelogue posts:
Part 7 - Kenya Safari, Day Two
