Maasai Mara Safari

I'm currently safari-ing in Maasai Mara, easily one of the most stunning places I've ever seen. The views alone are worth the trip. I flew here from Nairobi in a tiny 12-passenger plane, getting the chance to fly low over much of the park, seeing everything from buffalo to impalas, giraffes to elephants. I'm staying at the &Beyond Kichwa Tembo tented camp. I can't recommend this place, or Maasai Mara strongly enough. The staff is awesome, the accommodations couldn't be cooler, the food's great, and the views are impressive. My tent is a bit raised, so I feel like I'm literally sitting in a really swank treehouse. The tents are an ideal place to stay because they're comfortable with nice beds and nice bathrooms, but you're definitely still in the bush (albeit, a very comfy one with wireless every now and then). There's no electricity in the early evenings, so you use candlelight, which I love...it's a pretty romantic setting, in the middle of the jungle with only candles to light the room. (For the more practical, there are real lightbulbs in ceiling lanterns and stylish bedside reading lamps when the electricity's on after 6:30pm.) Funny thing about being in the jungle--they only allow 15 kilos of baggage on the small planes, so I took only my backpack, scrambling a bit to switch just what I needed from my hiking pack to the backpack while in the airport. In my rush, I forgot to pack PJs, so I slept mostly naked. It was a surprisingly primal feeling to go to bed half naked in a tree, in the middle of the jungle, listening to the sounds of monkeys moving about the surrounding trees and lions and cheetahs roaring not too far off. The only thing more primal-feeling I'd think (short of sprinting out barefoot for a quick hunt, spear in hand, Maasai style), would be to, ahem, get intimate with your baby, baby, baby (a la TLC), in a tree in the middle of the jungle, to the sounds of monkeys, lions, and cheetahs. Haha. Anyway, like I said, this place is amazing. They go out of their way to make you comfortable. In fact, last night when I was ready for bed, I shimmied my way under the covers and my foot hit something soft and warm. Scared the crap out of me, thinking it was some animal that had snuck in and burrowed deep in bed. It was actually a hot water bottle (which is perfect, cuz my feet are always the last to warm up) that had been placed there when my guy turned down the sheets for me and rolled down the tent windows (don't need any peering monkey eyes in the middle of the night). And the wake up call before breakfast/the morning game drive involves tea or coffee with biscuits brought to your tent...of course, since it couldn't be left outside (lest the monkeys get to it first), I was in a bit of a scramble to find some article of clothing before receiving the best tea ever.

But enough about the lodge. Long story short, if you're ever in Maasai Mara, the Kichwa Tembo tented camp is where it's at. And let me know you're coming so I can come too! Another plus about this place is that a portion of the funds you give are funneled toward their conservancy efforts here in Maasai Mara. The park itself is absolutely amazing. It's the stuff dreams (and Disney movies--shoutout to Rafiki and Simba) are made of. Stretches of tall grass as far as the eye can see in every direction, dotted by solitary trees and herds of all kinds of animals. Mara is a Maasai word for "something dotted," in reference to the appearance of the savannah from above. I've been here less than 24 hours and have seen giraffes, hippos, lions, cheetahs, impalas, antelope, warthogs, all kinds of birds and small game animals, crocodiles, elephants, etc etc. The zebras here are super affectionate. I saw tons of what I like to call zebra kisses, and several of them could be found with their heads rested on the neck/upper back of another, and vice versa. Adorable. The hippos on the other hand, were so mean to each other. There was a big group of them that kept chasing away one lone guy...they first started wagging their short tails really fast. Then, one of them approached this poor dude, turned around so his butt faced him, and wagged his tail. Finally, they converged on him, forcing him out of the Mara river. The group next to them actually had one bully chase him across the bank of the river. If giraffes are the basketball players of the animal kingdom, hippos are the biggest, meanest linebackers. They're HUGE but holy crap, they can run. Other than that, the cheetahs were pretty awesome. I saw one with his freshly caught kill, a little antelope. A leopard has left the head of his prey strung across a branch in a tree. (They can carry three times their weight up into the trees!). The lions were super lazy, just chillin in the tall grass.

Had a little chat with a real live Maasai dude. Their village is 2km from the lodge, so they wander in and out sometimes (so do the warthogs who apparently are primed for mating season right now, sprinting across the garden after each other). They'll be putting together a little performance of sorts tonight before dinner (tourism has reached its claws into the Maasai tribe, too...and I am embarrassed to say I'll be indulging myself). The traditional diet of cow milk and blood is what gives them mad hops, apparently. I remembered that little fact from a random children's book about the Maasai that I read multiple times in elementary. However, homeboy said a lot of the younger generation that go to school have stopped drinking as much blood. The rest of the community sticks to the traditional staples, though.


Man. Neither words nor pictures could describe this place. It's an experience you should definitely add to the bucket list. The internet's super slow here (we are essentially in the bush), so I won't upload pics til I get back to Nairobi, but check the fb album in a few days. I've still got another day and a half here, before I'm headed to Mombasa, so I should have a ton of pics.

After this, Mombasa, Lamu, Uganda, Rwanda. Yes, I got my yellow fevs vaccine at the Nairobi Hospital. Ha. Wayyy cheaper to get vaccines here than at PAMF. And the kids in the vaccine clinic are the cutest things everrr. And don't worry, I'm also prophylaxing, unlike in Burma/Thailand. Oops. Now I've got lunch, then another game drive. I've already fallen in love with Kenya. Can't wait til my next trip back.

Asante sana for reading, btw!

Madaraka, Lake Nakuru, and Safaris

I've been in Nairobi for a few days now, and have loved it more and more as I see new things and meet new people.  The first night I was here was the day before Madaraka day (Kenyan independence day) so Nairobi was crazy. Expats and Kenyans alike were out celebrating that night, into the early hours of the morning. Despite all the warnings about the crime here in "Nairobbery," I've felt pretty safe walking around where I'm staying. Of course, like any big city, you'd be asking for trouble if you walked around at night and flashed them dolla bills, or shillings, I should say.

Post-Madaraka, I tagged along on a one-day safari to Lake Nakuru with a guy who's visiting from Chicago. It was pretty amazing, to say the least. We saw all kinds of animals, up close: rhinos, buffaloes, flamingos, giraffes, baboons, hyenas, antelopes, gazelles, Pumba (warthogs), etc. There are several lookout points that offer surreal panoramic landscapes of acacia forest, savanna, and water, dotted with herds of animals. Even the dirt here has this really rich red color that makes the different plants pop.

I spent half a day hitting some of the tourist stops in Nairobi. This little adventure focused on getting up close and personal with giraffes and crocodiles. Pretty cool. Giraffes are one of the neatest animals I've ever seen. They're like the basketball players of African wildlife--tall, lanky, with a swagger in their gait. Although, their eyeballs are much bigger than I expected and their tongues are ridiculously slimy--antiseptic, I learned. Crocodiles have really soft underbellies, no tongues, and a suction-like snap to their grill that cracks big bamboo sticks. Oh! They've also got two eyelids, allowing them to keep the inner translucent one closed underwater, so they can see excellently. We also stopped by Karen Blixen Museum, the second Kenyan home of the author of Out of Africa (inspired the movie of the same title with Robert Redford and Meryl Streep).

Other than that, I've just been hanging out here, meeting a ton of people, mostly expats, but some Kenyans. Went out for nyama choma last night with Kanyi, a Kenyan from Stanford--so good. Literally, a kilo or two of grilled meat on a platter with ugali and some version of salsa, eaten with your hands. Paired with a cold Tusker or Pilsner--excellent. This place, Njuguna's, I believe it was called was definitely not an expat spot, which was refreshing. The bars and clubs that cater to expats also have a much different vibe than those that have a primarily Kenyan clientele. Both groups however, go hard. I mean, until 4 or 5am regularly. And Kenyans can drink.

Other fun foods I've tried here in Nairobi for the first time ever were not actually Kenyan, but Ethiopian and Korean bbq. Both good, but only Ethiopian was eaten with the hands. That's basically what's been keeping me busy in Nairobi--people, food, and drinks. I did stop through Kibera, however, to check out Josh's work with Carolina for Kibera. Literally a bike ride away from a nice part of town, this place was heartbreaking to see--all the buildings made of mud and those corrugated tin/aluminum sheets, packed with people, covered with rubbish. But the work that CFK does there is pretty admirable. Also went to Blankets & Wine, a little music festival at Mamba Village the first Sunday of every month. Pretty low key fun.

Tomorrow, I'm off on another safari--this time, a serious three day, two night lodge stay in Maasai Mara. Then, it's off to the coast for Mombasa, Diani, and Lamu, before I head out to other East African countries for a week or so. Hoping to find people to wander around with, because without all of you back home, it gets pretty lonely sometimes. Maybe on the romantic little island of Lamu I'll pick up some new friends. Ha.

The pics take too long to upload onto the blog, so check the facebook album if you're curious:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2009843800269.2116318.1068930008&l=70faf85844