Masai Mara - June 13, 2009

Evangeline after a Happy Nappy!

Jambo!
Today is Joe and mine's 28th wedding anniversary!!! Really wish he was here with me! This is the first time we have ever been apart on this special day. We did some texting - no calls. The reception is really poor when you get out of the city. Anna tried to call last night but couldn't get through.
Today was the same schedule: 6:30am 2 hour game drive, breakfast, nap or rest, lunch, nap or rest, 3:30 3 hour game drive, nap or rest, 8:30 dinner, glass of wine on the porch with Evangeline then off to bed with Mr. Hot Water Bottle. What a life!!!!
Our morning game drive was pretty uneventful. Letif tried so hard to find us some lions, leopards or cheetahs. He kept apologizing but we told him we were just thrilled to be driving around on Mara watching the sun come up and enjoying the spectacular scenery. We did see some mongoose, secretary bird and an eagle and of course herds of all the other animals. We told him there was no way he could top the lion drama we witnessed the day before!
On the afternoon drive we completed the Big Five - we went to see the Rhinos. The rangers keep them in a separate area because they are so highly prized for their horns and are very vulnerable to poachers. We saw one on the way in that had recently attacked a ranger's truck and he had had the tip of his horn clipped for this offense. The rhinos, elephants and cape Buffalo's are the most dangerous animals on the Mara. They have killed a lot of Masai.
At the ranger stations we actually got to get out of the truck and walk up to the an area where the rhinos were. They were pretty intimidating! I stuck real close to one of the rangers during the whole visit. We then hung out with a couple of orphaned eland who were very friendly. We actually got to pet them. They were so beautiful. On the way back we saw more elephants with babies, more Giraffes (Letif pointed out a couple of newlyweds necking), Impala, Cape Buffalo, Topi antelopes and lots of Dik Diks. Dik Diks are beautiful little animals that travel in pairs. They mate for life. If one of them dies the other will "commit suicide" if he or she does not have a baby or doesn't immediately find another mate. We also saw some warthogs. I love them! They are so ugly but so cute! Letif said they are called Pumba which is swahilli for stupid!
Tomorrow we go out for our last AM game drive then head back to Nairobi. Leah has invited me to stay and live with her. I told her I would love to but Joe may not like this!
Love,
Adina

Masai Mara - June 12, 2009 PM

Young Masai Jumping High!

Jambo!
We headed out to the Mara with Letif for our 3:30pm afternoon drive. I was really excited because we were going to visit a Masai Village! We first stopped at the place that the Hippos use to exit at night to graze. Saw some more hippos and a crocodile. Letif also pulled some leaves/twigs off a bush and said the Masai use it to brush their teeth. Everyone tried it out but me because Evangeline immediately let me know it was very spicy! Xan gave Letif a little demo on his yoyo. We then headed to the Masai Village. We stopped at a little "store" first that sells lots of carvings and artifacts. I bought Hubert and Jess each a Masai spear.
At the village we were greeted by the Chief. He was about 48 years old, dressed in simple Masai clothing and no jewelry. He lead us into the village where we were greeted by about 20 Masai women lined up singing. It was so beautiful! Then a group of male teenagers performed one of their traditional "dances" where they each demonstrated how high they can jump. This is supposed to be very attractive to the girls! They loved having their picture taken and want to see every picture I took. They also demonstrated how they start a fire. I have all that on video which hope to share soon. The Chief then took us into one of the huts. They are all built out of cow dung by the women. I found out that the women do almost all of the work! The men basically just tend to the herds and the women do EVERYTHING else! Not my "cup of tea"! The hut was very small with a small room off the entrance where they keep young cows and goats at night then around the corner was a larger room where they cook, eat and sleep. It was very small, stuff and very smokey. They have one small hole for a window. It was here that the chief gave us a little talk about his life. He has been the chief for about 20 years. His father was the chief before and he had 10 wives and 48 children. Our chief said he only had 1 wife and 6 children. I think he was a very savvy business man because it takes a lot of cows to keep a lot of wives and children. He spoke about his job as a chief - he said every morning someone is waiting outside his hut with a problem - no food, sick wife, etc.. He also has to settle all disputes which are very frequent in a village of 150 people. He seemed quite weary and said he hoped to "retire" in 5 more years.
We then went to an area where the women were selling and making their wares. They had beautiful beaded items. I had them attach a string of beads to my camera so I could secure it to my wrist and that was quite a fiasco due to the language issue. I also got a necklace and had to stop shopping because we still needed to give the chief a "little tip" since he had us pretty primed to do that.
We headed back to the resort, rested and headed to dinner then off to bed!
We did see some elephants on the way back so we only need to see some Rhinos then will have seen all of the Big Five!
Love,
Adina

Masai Mara - June 12, 2009 AM

Cheetah

Jambo!

We were awakened this morning at 5am by one of staff delivering coffee. I drank my coffee on the front porch and listened to all the birds and animals. There is one animal called the Hyrax. It is a very large ratlike animal that screams at night. Sounds like a human screaming. Very strange.
We headed off with Letif for our 6:30am game drive. It is really something to see the sun rise on the Mara.
Right away Letif spotted 2 hyenas running in our direction and we came upon a mother eland standing over her newborn that had been killed by them. Shortly afterwards we saw why the hyenas were running away. A large male lion approached and began helping himself to the kill. Shortly after that a female lion and 4 female cubs and one male cub approached. One of the female cubs approached the lion and begged by laying down and rolling around in front of him. For some reason he just got up and walked away and all the cubs began eating the kill while the mother watched. After a few minutes the male lion came back and the cubs all ran off leaving not a trace of the kill. Then he decided to go after the male cub. Letif told us that full grown male lions will often kill young males to eliminate future competition. The mother lion proceeded to follow and she would growl and try to confuse him. At one point even Letif and all the other drivers started to maneuver and try to cut the him off because nobody wanted to see the cub killed. This went on for quite a while and finally the lions all headed off into the bush. We did see the mother and the cubs another drive and looked like the little male survived.
After the am drive we headed straight to breakfast then back to our tents. We showered and got back in bed so we wouldn't be too tired to eat lunch. LOL! I couldn't sleep as usual so I enjoyed some tea and the hippos on our front porch. There are also Sykes monkeys that hang out in front of our porch. Evangeline calls them the "cheeky monkeys"!
Hope to have some pictures posted on Flicker soon. I have just about given up on trying to upload them onto this blog because it takes so long. (The picture above took about 15 minutes to upload). I also have some really neat videos (one of the big lion eating the kill) but may have to upload those when I get back home to my computer with a faster internet.
Love,
Adina

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

Nairobi - June 10, 2009

Today was a busy day here in Nairobi. Xan's girlfriend Halie arrived safe and sound last night. This morning - more laundry, errands and even got to do a little more shopping. Bought some really cool items. I got Jess a snake made out of bottle caps! Think he will like it?
As of right now I'm all packed and Hubert, Xan and Halie are in the kitchen making sushi rolls. Wish you all could be a "fly on the wall" - Hubert is quite the task master when you are in the kitchen with him!
That's all for now just wanted to touch base before we take off for Masai Mara. We'll be back on Sunday so I hope to have some great stories posted sometime Monday although the end of my visit is coming up which I refuse to dwell on and although I do miss my family VERY much it will be hard to say goodbye to Evangeline. We have a list going for the few more things we want to do together before leaving so it will be quite a task squeezing everything in.
Talk to you soon!
Love,
Adina

The ARK - June 7 thru June 8

THE WATER HOLE AT THE ARK

We headed to the Ark around noon. The Ark is a rustic lodge built overlooking an ancient waterhole in the Aberdares National Forest. We stopped at the Aberdares Country Club to check in and had lunch on the terrace overlooking beautiful gardens. Phillip, the GM for the country club and the Ark sent us on our way behind another Ark truck with some tourists from Holland. We thought we were headed straight for the Ark but realized we were going on the 3 hour game drive instead. Saw some amazing sights - giraffes, cape buffalo, baboons - BUT during the drive Jebari pooped all over himself and I had to pee really bad. I finally whistled to the truck in front and they stopped the guide pointed towards the bush where we had just saw a bunch of baboons. I said NO WAY! Evangeline and I opted for the back of the SUV. I know you may think this "too much information" but it was really funny at the time. We finally arrived at the Ark - it was a big WOW! Very rustic with 3 levels of viewing areas over the watering hole. There were tons of elephants hanging out. It was very surreal. Our rooms were like little cabins on a ship with 2 small beds and a bathroom. Evangeline and I opted to stay together in one and Xan and Hubert and the poopy cat in another. They had to give Jibari a bath. You should see Hubert's battle scars. We had dinner, did some more gazing at the watering hole and animals then off to bed. Yea! Mr. Hot Water bottle was waiting for me! Love those things on a cold chilly night. Up very early, breakfast then back to Nairobi.
Hope to post some pictures today but I have to work some more on the cookbooks and shelves.
Love,
Adina

Mt. Kenya June 5 thru June 7

Jambo Everyone!
Trying to find time to blog has not been easy! We arrived back in Nairobi yesterday from Mt. Kenya and The Ark. We have been doing laundry, running errands and more shopping before we leave for Masai Mara on Thursday. Masai Mara is supposed to be the Big Wow!
Mt. Kenya was beautiful. We stayed at the Mt. Kenya Safari Club. This is one of the properties that Hubert is in charge of. Evangeline's British friends Steve, Lindsey, Lindsay's brother John and little Luke joined us there for 1 night. Here's some notes from the journal I've been keeping while I'm here:
June 6, 2009 (Happy Birthday Jess!) We headed out on our drive to Mt. Kenya but first made a stop @ the Masai Market. I bought more earrings, a Masai women statue, a Masai painting and Hubert and Evangeline bought a beautiful wooden bowel for Anna. The drive to Mt. Kenya included some very interesting sights. As we changed regions so would the items the vendors were selling along the roadside would change: coal, mangoes, potatoes, etc..) We stopped at an African Curio shop. Turned out all the items I had thrown in my shopping basket were very expensive. I only bought a straw hat I had fallen in love with and super glued to my head. I had to leave everything else behind. (Didn't need the stuff anyway). We drove on and stopped for a late lunch at the Trout Tree. The restaurant is built in the trees overlooking a trout farm below. We took off again and arrived in Mt. Kenya around 5:30pm. (Note: for us a 3 hour trip always takes 6 hours.) Mt. Kenya is breathtaking! See pictures! I finally got a phone call from Joe - Yea!!! Sounded like is surviving without me. Miss him a lot and really wish he could see what I am seeing! Had a very late but lovely dinner then off to bed.
I awoke in the morning around 6am and made a cup of tea and sat out on my patio and watched the sunrise. Tons of birds! Guinea Hens, storks, hawks - too many to name. When I went in to make another cup of tea 3 peacocks appeared on my patio. The sunrise was so bright I had to move inside. Got dressed and headed to the lodge to get some coffee. Evangeline appeared just in time to join me. We had coffee on the terrace facing Mt. Kenya with little birds sitting on our table. It was a Dude Ranch moment x 100!!! (Dudettes you know what I'm talking about!)
9 year old Luke joined us for a walk around the property. We saw a little chapel and then explored the Maze. (you know, like the one in the Shining). I used the movie mode on my camera and made a little documentary starring Luke as the narrator. He is a beautiful little boy - very smart and loves to talk! We all went to breakfast then went on an adventure with Hubert, Steve, Xan and Luke in search of the perfect fishing spot. It was a very bumpy ride. I almost ended up in Xan's lap a couple of times. Also almost broke my neck crossing a stream on wobbly rocks! Some local tribesmen then sent is on a "wild goose chase" - 10 x's more bumpy and no fish! We came back for a late lunch and then Lindsay's brother John and I sat in the bar and looked at some spectacular pictures John had taken. He loaded them onto my flash drive. I will probably post them on Flicker and give all you guys the link so you can see all of them. He really captured what I was seeing but can't get on my little digital camera to do.
I went back to my room and had a glass of wine and tried to take a nap. Failed at the nap thing so I took a long hot soak in great big luxurious tub.
Note about the Villas we were staying in: They are 2 bedrooms with a large living room in between with a fireplace. In the evenings the maid comes in and lights the fire and turns down the beds. They put a hot water bottle in your bed - It's a good substitute for my little warm Gracie pup who always sleeps with me. It is quite chilly in the evenings and mornings and warm during the day unless it rains which always makes it cool again.
Anyway the Des Marais' were all napping so I enjoyed the solitude with some tea and my journal.
After dinner I texted Jess to give me a call so I could wish him Happy Birthday! He turned 22 - can't believe he's all grown up now. It was wonderful to hear his voice!
Evangeline, Xan and I had dinner alone. Hubert was entertaining a group of food writers. (They were from such magazines as Vogue and Travel and Leisure.) I think he was quite successful with them. He can be VERY CHARMING!
Sunday we packed up and made a stop at the animal orphanage that is on the property. It was much more than I thought it would be. Very neat place with a wonderful guide. He truly loves taking care of the animals.
We then headed out to The Ark. Stayed tuned for some very interesting stories. I promise to post pictures as soon as I have time!
Love,
Adina