From the Masai to Lake Nakuru

7 july 2022

Got up this morning not knowing we were going to visit the local Masai tribe (walking distance from our camp). Our guide that led us there also works overnight security in the camp and told us an elephant came through last night! He walked us (led by his two dogs) to their nearby camp and introduced us to the chief's son who became our main guide around the village (learned hello = sopa and thank you = ashi ole).

It was very small with small huts made of wood/cow dung around the outside. They are nomadic, and move every 9 years, mainly due to termites (HUGE termite hills are everywhere here) that eat their homes. They are polygamists, and men marry more than one wife, having huge families. Each village has one grandfather related to everyone.

There are over 1000 villages in the area! They use only natural medicines and eat natural foods, so they are in general thin and live a very long time (one person in another village is 131 years old!!).They have a special drink made from local herbs that all the men and children drink, but women don't until they get past childbearing years. Women build and run the homes (building takes about 2 months).

The men leave home at 15 years old after circumcision for 5 years to learn to be warriors. When they come back they are sent to kill a lion (the chief's son still has a claw in his head and lost a tooth when he had his kill) and then they are ready for marriage. They showed us how they make fire (no flint) with a soft piece of wood (cedar) and a hard piece of wood (sandpaper tree). Then they invited us to dance with them. Part of the dance requires you to jump as high as you can.

chief and his son

We broke into groups and Karrie and I were paired with the chief's son who took us to one of his homes (he has two--one for each wife). It was very small. The main area was the kitchen, with a small room off to the side for his kids, and a curtained room on the other side for he and his wife. We sat there and chatted about life there, and met his daughter and his son's new puppy which was so tiny and adorable.

After returning outside, the hard sell came for handmade jewelry. I bought something and also contributed to their school fund (they have their own school).

Then we were back on the road, headed for Lake Nakuru, our next stop. We paused for lunch on the way there (more beans and veg) and I bought a Twix bar--it is the little things! We pulled into the MatFam Resort--an actual hotel this time with hot water and 24 hour internet! There are also kitties everywhere and a really nice pool. We even saw giraffes and donkeys on the road on the way there!

We had some dinner and went to bed--early game drive tomorrow!