June 28, 2005

We went down early for coffee and interpreted the sign because there were Vervet monkeys all over the patio and swinging from trees.

We had an early game drive at 6:30. This was wonderful as we were able to see the sunrise and extremely large herds of wildebeests at the same time.

We also saw huge herds of elephants with white birds on their backs.

In the distance we could see a hippo grazing in the marsh. We felt very lucky because the day before we just saw them in the river. Little did we know that later in the day we would see two separate hippos out of the water grazing just feet away from us.

We watched one of the elephant herds for a long time. It had a very young baby with it under 1 year old. Most of the herd was females and teens.

On top of the trees we saw two varieties of eagles.

The view of Mt. Kilimanjaro was spectacular as we watched a bull elephant (over 60 years old) and a bewildered warthog.

We went back to the loge for breakfast and then set off again. This time one of the monkeys was on the wall waiting for us. We were heading to a Maasai village and it turned out to be a mini-game drive. The road to the village was very dusty and it was a warm day.

When we got to the village Chief Raphael greeted us. He was 41 years old and the chief of 64 tribes. This village was a permanent settlement. We had a performance by the women and warriors. They wore very colorful outfits and lots of beaded jewelry. Both the men and women had very large holes in their ear lobes to show off their adornments. All of the tribe's people wear red to help ward off the animals. The warriors have long hair. It used to be that each warrior must kill a lion before he could get married. The problem is that too many of the warriors were getting killed so now they just have one killing every ten years and all of the men in an age group participate at once.

They performed a dance where the men would jump very high as if searching for the lions.

Until the lion is killed, the warriors have long hair which they add acre and cow fat to. Once the kill is made, they shave their heads.

Before we actually went into the thorn-surrounded village we all had a prayer in which the response was "nina".

Inside the village there was an enclosure made for the cattle and a separate one for the goats.

The Maasai only raise cattle and all they eat is beef, milk and cow's blood. I remember seeing this on "Survivor: Africa". They also drink alcohol made from honey. The blood and milk are served from either a gourd or from the hollowed out cow horn.

We learned about the pre-arranged marriages.

We went into one of the houses that were made exclusively by the women. On one side there is a bed made of stretched cowhide for the children. In the middle of the hut was a fire pit and on the other side is where the parents sleep.

The Maasai's shoes are soft and wrap up around the sides of the foot and are attached with straps.

After the tour we were taken in back of the village where the men and women had their wares for sale. I bought a beaded wedding necklace and Phebe had a lot of fun as she used a stick in the dirt to negotiate her price.

We visited the children's school where they counted to twenty and said their ABC's. These kids were 4-7 years old.

On the way back to our lodge we witnessed a stampede of zebras. We also saw cows being marched to a watering hole.

When we returned to the lodge we accidentally left our room door open for just a minute. I looked up and saw that there was a monkey in our room. I immediately went for my camera but Phebe wanted him out in case he was planning on stealing something.

We had time to have naps and write postcards before going on our afternoon drive. On this drive we saw a female lion that came up real close. She had just had cubs because her belly was very thin and was likely going to make a kill.

We saw hyenas and ostrich. We encountered what Pat and I termed an animal jam. There were at least 27 safari vehicles stopped and were looking at two female lions in a clearing way in the distance. I guess that we were lucky to have seen one within 15 feet of our van earlier.

We saw a pair of Egyptian Geese and learned that they mate for life.

While at the great swamp we saw various other birds such as spoonbills and egrets.

Our dinner was an outdoor BBQ with seven courses and Maasai entertainment. We had to take our flashlights and bug spray to this event.

The good news was that we were able to repack a bag and leave it behind in Arusha so we took out all of our souvenirs.

The ugly was that at 3:30 a.m. I awoke with severe diarrhea and chills. I shivered in my bed for three hours before then throwing up. I could not believe that within just a couple of hours that I was going to have to go 50 miles down a bumpy dirt road to the Tanzanian border and then another four hours driving to our next camp. I called Andrew and he sent the doctor to our room. He gave me a shot, a powdered substance to be mixed in water, an antibiotic, antispasmodic and anti-vomiting pills. All of this and there was absolutely no charge.