Mimi Ni Maasai

After a few sub par experiences leading to a few sub par blogs, allow me to pick up the tempo a little bit and fill you in on some great adventures!

To begin, the Maasai people are some of the coolest in the world. I first learned about them a few years back and thought "wow, it would be cool to get to meet them." So when I was planning this trip, I made sure to mark down Arusha, a Maasai hub, as a place to stop and experience their culture. Arusha is known mostly for being the base camp for Tanzania's Safari curcuit. The serengeti and Ngorogoro only 50 K's away, host some of the best wildlife veiwing in the world. Everybody goes to tanzania to visit one of the many parks at the doorstep of Arusha. Consequently, the prices are ridiculously high and out of the range for yours truly. It is a new goal of mine to return here one day and visit one of these famous parks.

But our trip to Arusha was all about the Maasai. We arrived late at night and stayed in a real hole in the wall place named "menjas hotel" 20 Meters away from "Menja's hotel," and "Menja's hotel." We met a guy named "biggie" who is no doubt one of the millions of scams in Arusha who sold us a cultural experience tour with the maasai. Our original plan was to go to the maasai market, talk with some maasai and offer money in exchange for letting us hang out with them for a few dyas, but we were pressed for time and so "biggie" took advantage.

We met our guide, Godfrey and to my surprise, he was not like the maasai that we saw in Dar es Salaam, dressed in red blankets (shukas) and with piercings and weapons. Instead, he was a modern "larusa" maasai. Basically a mixture of traditional culture and modern ways of life. The larusa farm and dress modernly and seem like almost every other group of people in Africa but still keep a few traditions, like the circumcicion ritual that takes place when a child is 15!

One of the things that you read about the maasai is how they fight to preserve their culture. So when our first day involved a walk through a very modern neighborhood and a very modern guide, I was a bit worried that this would not be what I hope for. Speaking with Godfrey I learned that he, and many larusa's are now Christian, thanks to the several groups of missionaries that come through preaching the gospel. Add this to the mcDonalds t-shirt he was wearing and you can see where I was disappointed. The problem I have is in the way that our guide, Godfrey, talks about the maasai culture. Their creation stories and folklore is told with a hint of shame and embarrassment. I find these stories very interesting but Godfrey almost has a bit of shame, quickly letting me know that he no longer believes these and that he is christian. For me, it seems out of place for a maasai to be christian, at least culturally. Maasai have such a different way of life, or at least the nomadic, traditional ones do. To show how the cultures clash, I saw several signs that read "Mgaga wangu ni Yesu" (Jesus is my witch doctor). It is upsetting for me to think that a culture is ashamed of their culture and religion. But that was the feeling that I got.

But let me say that Godfrey is one of the joys of our trip. He was not only a guide, but a true friend. I hope to keep in contact with him for a long time and hopefully see him again, either in Tanzania or in the US.

The next day Godfrey guided us to a crater that was very lovely but the highlight of the day and the trip was going to the maasai market, also called the colorful market because of the sea of red that you see. Maasai wear red shukas and so everything is red. Nathan and I decided that the maasai look so cool in their shukas that we had to go ahead and get some for our selves. It started with buying a sword (machete) for about 5 dollars. Then we went and got 3 shukas each (the typical amount that one wears), a belt and a stick.

Immediately, we were the hit of the market. Where before people gave us cold stares (the maasai are intimidating people), now everyone, old men and women, children, everyone, greeted us with enthusiasm. They were so happy to see that we too could dress as maasai. I told everyone "mimi ni maasai, mimi ni morani." I am a maasai, i am a warrior. And they all love it. Old women would come to us and sing for us, encouraging us to dance and also jump. Maasai men jump to see who can get the highest. For a good 5 hours, everyone came to talk to us, in some cases, followed us around. They were very pleased that we embraced their culture so.

It was truly a highlight of the trip. A much needed one after the sub par days in Zanzibar (although I am not complaining, I have nothing but fun, if not bitter sweet memories). The maasai are truly beautiful people. Despite the fact that the women make holes in their ears big enough to fit a baseball, they shave their heads, tattoo their faces, and neither the men nor the women brush their teeth, they are still beautiful. It is truly the feeling that drives you to understand that our differences are what make us beautiful. I could spend a year with the maasai, I enjoy them so much.

The following day Godfrrey took me on a hike to see the colobus monkeys. Nathan could not go because of blisters on his feet. I dressed in full maasai gear. Godfrey, like all maasai, is very tall and very thin. Probably 6'3" with a 26 inch waist. Together, we walked at a ridiculously fast pace, covering 5 miles in about1.5 hours, mind you that it is uphill, on a rough trail. When we got to the top of the hill where the colobus are, there were many maasais and the monkeys were no where to be seen. So Godfrey led me into the jungle. We would have to use my machete (how cool is that?) just to blaze a trail. Finally we saw them. They are amazing animals, monkeys that are black and white. They look like skuns only really hairy and they jump around the tops of trees. No pictures to show but it was great to get to see them.

We walked back, again to the amusement of the maasai as they saw their mzungu maasai morani. Godrfry told me that the women are "tempted" by me. It was fun!

Again, the trip is something that I will always remember. A perfect guide, a great experience and millions of great memories. It was once again sad to leave a place that we got so used to and enjoyed so much but that is the theme of our trip.

We took a bus from Arusha to Nairobi and I thought for sure I was on my death bus. The roads were the worst we've seen and the driver went 120 kph the whole way, passing trucks by going offroad which to be honest was as good as the main road). We would speed up for 40 meters and then slam on the brakes for a peed bump, over and over again. It was crazy. Once I hit my head on the roof because we hit a bump so ahrd.

We arrived and started planning for Lake Turkana, the alst great adventure of the trip, and to our surprise, were told that it would take at least 10 days round trip. since the famous scientist, Louise leakey, told me that I must be gone by the 15th, we will have to leave ASAP. So, without further announcement, Nathan and I will truly be in the bush, on the greatest adventure of our lives, beginning in just a few hours.

I am sorry that I cannot say more about it but I encourage you to research koobi fora and sibiloi national park to find out where we are going. We rented a rav4 and will be driving off road for about 1000 k's. Only a compass and a map as our guide. If you think of us in the next few days, know that we are probably somewhere in the desert taking the adventure of our young lives. Don't expect a blog for the next 10 days.

Lots of love to family and friends. I will enjoy your emails, messages and prayers.

Update

All it said was:

"Dear Adam, Unfortunately Dr. Leakey will not be available in July."

And my hopes were shattered.

Not much has happened since the last blog beyond reading, writing, and researching. I sat on the deck for the ferry ride back, right on the front of the boat, and got drenched by waves. It was nice because it was so hot outside and the water is crystal clear.

The drive up from Dar es Salaam to where we are now in Arusha was beautiful. One of the more breathtaking moments was driving along side Mt. Kilimanjaro. The mountain is very impressive. 19,000 feet basically coming up from sea level. It is VERY tall and very beautiful. It is the only mountain around so it stands out, rising from the plains.

We will be spending the next 3 days with the Maasai people, in their village. To learn mroe about these people see the link on the right.

Bad times

So much has happened since the last blog that it will be very difficult to fill you in on everything. But let me begin, and trust me, so many crazy stories, I swear you wont believe it all.

The first thing we did in Zanzibar was swim in the Indian Ocean. The water comes down from the equator which makes it some of the warmest water in the world. It is really very nice. But the first night we stayed in Stone Town, which is the "urban" piece of the island, and anything urban in Africa often also means filthy. The beaches were very narrow and honestly, not much to look at.

Our hostel was 200 meters from the beach but it would take us 20 minutes to find our way. Stone Town has got to be the most interesting city I have ever seen. The streets are only about 5 feet wide and every building is conected to its surrounding buildings (no spaces). On top of that, the streets are all windy and fragmented so the small city is literally a maze. I should bring you the map of Stone Town, it takes you a few minutes just to find your way out of the center on a map!

We went out after dark and walked down to the market place. There were thousands of people, probably 30% tourists, enjoying street cooked seafood and local dishes. It was really good but everything in Zanzibar is very expensive. There is no such thing as a good deal. We ran into some people that we met in Malawi and we were excited that we were going to get to hang out some more. That first night was fun but very melo because we knew that the next day was going to be big since there was a "full moon party" on the north side f the island. We walked home and got lost and Nathan asked a guy where "Jambo guest house" was. Jambo means hello, and the guy just kep saying "Jambo!" with a big smile, thinking Nathan just kept saying hello to him. It was hilarious.

The next morning we arranged to rent mopeds and ride around the island. We got up and around and told the moped guy to meet us at our hostel at 8. He arrived at 8:30, took our money and then went to get the bikes. He returned at 10 but our friends (the ones from Malawi) wanted to join and so we had to wait for one of the most annoying girls in the world to get her moped. She swore that she had riddin one before but when her bike arrived the first thing she did was crash it into the curb after riding it for about ten feet. I knew that we would be babysitting her the entire time.

Finally, at noon, we set off. Now, to drive this heap of junk I would have to teach myself bpth how to ride a motorcycle and also use a clutch (it was a 4 speed) all while driving for the first time on the left side of the road. In africa, roads are wide enough for two cars (one in each drection) but the people manage to make it a 4 lane free for all. Within 30 minutes of stalling, jerking around, and nearly crashing, I had the biggest scare of the trip. I went to make a right turn and as I turned right the car behind me passed me on the right side. I began to turn as it whizzed by at about 80 kph. I was literally 2 inches from the car. I had to pull over and take a deep breath. I was 2 inches from a very messy accident.

The first 2 hours were very nerve racking. Nathan had teased me about not knowing how to ride a motorcycle but from the start I was much better at it than him. He kept salling and could never get his bike to start. I thought that was really funny.

After we left the busy part of the city, things calmed down. The road became completely vacant and the scenery was beautiful. I am not the type of guy that gets off on adrenaline sports or things like moped riding but it was fun enough to see this island. If it were just me I would have taken more time to just explore the beautiful landscape and villages, instead of racing passed them at lightning s[peed. But oh well.

The island is smaller than oahu but we spent most of the day trying to figure out where we were. Right before nightfal we arrived at our new hostel in the north. We had to stay 3 k's from the full moon party becausse accomdation was sold out everywhere else. It would prove to be a real drag. We rode one bike (dumb and dumber style) over toward the beach with the party and it was 100 times better than our beach and 100,000 times better than stone town. Actually, it was picture perfect. White sand, beautiful resorts, clear water, calm water, palm trees, it was beautiful. And there were young people everywhere. We were very excited.

We ate dinner and met some canadians that invites us over for some hookah. It was a good 2 or 3 hours of interesting conversations. The canadians were muslims, there was a jewish brit and then myself to offer some christian theology. Of course, I always enjoy religion convesations. And these people seemed to as well.

Around 11 or so we headed over t the party and started tossing back a few beers. I only had 3 the whole night but it was enough to get me dancing (just a bit). Nathan somehow got smashed and couldn't stand up straight. We partied until about 3:30 and then started going back. Our friend was going to drive us back but his car was blocked by some asshole that doesn't know how to park properly. So we went back to our friends' room to make a plan. We feel asleep but when they all came back to go to bed we were kicked out. We hired a taxi back for 10 bucks and then when we arrived Nathan realized that he forgot the key. I was so pissed. The hostel didn't have a backup key and we had no way of getting back there. It was 3 k's the way the crow flly's but probably 7 k's on the road. I was so angry that I just went to the beach and layed down. I got bitten by 100 mosquitos. Nathan went walking (in his drunkenness) rtying to right his mistake. I'm not sure what happened but he rreturned with blood on his legs. By 6 the sun was starting to come up (that gave me about 1 hour of mosquito bitten sleep) and then it was enough. Nathan said that he was sober enough to ride the moped over (on a 4wd road) to get the key. It took about an hour and a half but finally he arrived, like don quixote, with the key. I was filthy, mosquitos had feasted on me from head to toe, and I just crashed on my bed. I woke up at 11 and it was time to get out of there. I was in such a bad mood.

We went and grabbed a bite to eat but not before Nathan's moped broke down. We had to walk it about 1k in pouring rain. We were completely soaked. I'm not sure what happened while he went to retreive the key but whatever it was, his bike was never the same. We had to take it to a mechanic and wait for him to fix it. We ate lunch at a restaurant, getting attention from everyone since we were soaked and looked pathetic (once again I was wearing the same outfit for 4 days). The mechanic fixed the bike and we were off. After driving about 2 k's we were stopped by one of the many roadblocks. Only this time, the cop found some superficial flaw with my license, an "offense" and was threatening to write a ticket. Then he mentioned bribe. We offered 5,000 (about 5 bucks) and he said to just act like we dropped itin case someone was watching. I was so pissed at this S.O.B. He was an insult to the human race.

We were off but shortly after my bike ran out of gas. There aren't gages so we had no idea how much was leftt. I had to sit at the side of the road while nathan fetched some gas. It was about 30 minutes or so.

After that we were off again and once again we ran into a roadblock. This cop was even more of a prick. Another superficial problem with the bikes and he took the keys and our licenses. He told us that he was an honest man and that he doesn't take bribes, but... if we were willing to give him some money he would pay the ticket. What a nice guy, huh? It's not a bribe it's a payment. We offered 5,000 and he laughs, not nearly enough. It is all we have. After about 30 minutes of interrogation, and mind you that this guy is uneducated, can't talk straight, think straight, or even speak english, he lets us go for 5,000. 20 minutes later the clutch on my moped broke. My bike went down like a ship in sight of land. Just 1 k from our hostel. I walked it the rest of the way.

I can't explain how frustrating this trip to zanzibar was. It had so much potential and it was all wasted. What's worse, it was by far the most expensive leg of the trip. By far. This blog is too long and i am getting upset just remembering these things. Hopefully I cheer up by tomorrow.