Masai Mara - June 11, 2009

Hey everyone!
I finally found a moment to visit the business center here at Masai Safari Club. Thursday we headed to the airport at 7am for our flight to Masai Mara (MM). It took 1 1/2 hours to get there due to the major traffic jams. Thought Hubert was going to get into a confrontation with one of the Matatu's who kept cutting him off. The Mattau's are the little tiny buses that provide the public transportation here. The drivers are very aggressive and rude. They cram tons of people in them. Glad I haven't had to use one!
We finally arrived at the airport and had breakfast then took off around 10am. (Crap! some lady sitting next to me is reading her computer out loud to everyone - go away!) Anyway we were the first stop so it only took about 35 minutes to get there! (Much better than a 6 hour drive!) We landed and were greeted by a group of Masai and Leah, a beautiful woman who I fell in love with. I can't wait to see her everyday to talk with her. She led us to Latif who was to be our game driver for our stay here. The resort is breathtaking! We are in tents with luxurious rooms inside overlooking the Mara River. There are always many Hippos in the river during the day. Our front porch gives a great view of them.
We then headed out for our first afternoon game drive. This is what we saw:
Impala, Grant Gisele, Thompson Gisele, Wildebeests, Hyena, Zebras, Giraffes, Impala, Eland, Leopard in a tree with his kill, Cheetah, Cape Buffalo and some Lion Cubs. Quite an experience! Latif is an awesome guide and very skilled at sniffing out something special. He is VERY determined to make sure we see ALL of the big five!
1. Elephant
2. Leopard
3. Rhino
4. Cape Buffalo
5. Lion
(Note: He said to add No. 6 - the Cheetah which is very elusive and we got to see one already!)
It was a 3 hour drive so when we arrived back it was straight to the tent to shower (best shower I've had since arriving in Kenya!) and changed and headed to dinner. We had a little lecture in front of the fireplace by a Masai. Very interesting - here's a few facts:
When they are around 7 years old they have their 2 front teeth removed - if they don't cry they get a cow. When the boys are 15 the big "C" happens - they get a cow for this also. He said that these days the girls are not circumcised unless they want it. Hope none of them do!!!!! The government no longer allows them to kill lions that used to be the big right of passage for the boys. The Masai only raise cows and goats and eat ONLY these animals. They never eat any wild animals out of tradition.
Anyway it was off to dinner and straight to bed. (Love those hot water bottles!)
Sorry there will be no pictures posted because I can't do that here. I am planning on posting all future pictures to my Flicker account because Xan said it was much easier to upload them to that sight. We will work on that Sunday afternoon or Monday and I will post the link here as soon as it's up.
BIG plans tomorrow!
Love,
Adina