Heading to NBO and Masai Mara

June 29th
We had a 530am flight to Nairobi, so we were up and out to the airport
very early. We had some breakfast at the airport...notably Karen
enjoyed roasted chicken and fries at 330am! The flight was nice, we
actually had the former president of Tanzania aboard, kinda crazy. Of
course, he had plenty of security getting on and off.

Nairobi was beautiful driving in. Great landscape and clear air going
into city. We did hit a big traffic jam, and sat in smog of cars as
we got closer to the city. Evebtually we got to the safari office,
and were on our way. Our guide, David, was quite nice, and we had a
late, but promising start. As we drove, I was struck by how
everything was similar to India. City, small towns, countryside, it
all was how india was in 2000, last time I went.

As we drove to the Mara, we saw many Masai people along the way. They
were dressed in the bright red scarves of the pictures we seen. Many
had their ears stretched and pierced. We later learned that those
with the pierced ears helped with the herding and catlle raising,
while boys who were to be educated head their two front teeth (lower)
pulled out.

Another thing, parts of the road were extremely rocky! We got used to
being jostled around as soon as we got out of the city. If you have
back problesm, be very careful on safari.

We got to the park and lodge about 2pm. The Mara Sopa lodge was
incredibly beautiful. The room, the view, the pool, dining area, main
lodge, gardens...all were spectacular.

I thought about the rapid change from relative poverty to the richness
of the lodge we just experienced. As in the past, I'm always reminded
that wealth does not equal happiness. So many of the people we passed
were poor, but most seemed content. The balance between the need of
"stuff" and being happy is difficult, but poor here seem to be ok with
their basic needs being met. This doesn't mean we shouldn't share,
only that we should think about what we are doing, and truly need.

Also, along this trip, I've been reading Yunas's book, creating a
world without poverty. He talks about the huge percentage of the
world that lives on less than $1 a day. While the numbers are
truthful, the meaning isn't quite clear. He doesn't account for the
difference in standard of living. When you don't need much, money
isn't important. Its not important, the poverty is still there, and
help is needed. The only point is that we have to be careful of not
ruining poeples happiness as we help.

Ok...sorry for the digression, back to the safari...so after a very
nice lunch, we got onto our first game ride...at 4pm. AMAZING! We
saw impalas (with many wives!), topis, giraffes, a leopard in the
bushes, cheetahs, elephants, wildebeests, water buffalos, ostriches,
and other small animals. The scenary was great, and seeing the
animals in their natural habitat was awesome! They did not bother us
or the other safari goers, which was neat. Also, we had a very lucky
start...some people, see no animals at all during a safari, we saw so
many on our first game drive.

We wnet back to the lodge a few hours later, and had a nice dinner.
The food was buffet style, and they had a variety, with a lot of
indian food. I had a drink called dawa, which was vodka, lemon, and
honey, quite good!

After dinner there was a masai cultural dance which was quite
interesting. About 10 men chant and skipped around (similar to simple
garba), and they lined up and jumped up and down, one at a time. They
got really high! We later learned that this is a traditional dance,
and the highest jumper gets a "free" wife (he doesn't have to trade a
sister or cows...seriously).

At night we walked around the grounds a bit and found ourselves a bit
out of breath after stairs...we decided to" blame it on the
ah..aaha..alta...altitude!". We were about 1 mile up.

So ended our first day on safari!

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