Advertisement
Published: October 22nd 2010
Edit Blog Post
Losirwa Camp
This was our morning of relaxation. We had reached what we call "cathedral overload", which means we had seen so many wonderful things, that we were numb to more. Instead of spending the whole morning at Lake Manyara Park, we slept until 7:45, ate breakfast, and spent a leisurely morning on the veranda of our tent/hut. It was overlooking the Mosquito River which was dry since we were there at the end of the dry season. We watched several Maasai tending large herds of cattle, goats, and donkeys. They had dug some ditches in the river bed in order to find water for their animals. When the Maasai have to take their animals a long distance from their bomas in order to find water, they stay in that area, sleeping under the stars. Keep in mind that there are dangerous animals all over the place. After lunch we spent a couple of hours driving through Manyara National Park. We had seen lots of vervet monkeys since the first day in Tanzania, but this area has a different kind called blue monkeys. There were also large troops of baboons playing in the road. After leaving the park we drove to Esilalei Village to visit with the Maasai people.
Huge termite mound
These things were a common sight. Look closely, and you can see a mongoose peeking out. One of the men spoke English, and he was our escort as we spent the night and next morning in his village. Many of the people danced and sang as a welcome to us. Len joined the men as they displayed the high jumping they're known for. When it was done the women all pulled handmade jewelery out of blue plastic bags. After a lot of looking, I chose a necklace to buy. The Maasai people live in round huts made of sticks, mud, and cow manure. They have a thatched roof with an opening for smoke from a constantly burning fire. The floors are dirt. It's dark inside since there are no windows. Maasai men are polygamists. Each man's boma is made up of a hut for each wife and her children (the new wife builds her own hut). There is also a corral made of branches from thorn bushes. The animals are brought back to the corral at night to keep them safe from animals. These bomas are built on government-owned land and are often not connected to any kind of road. A few Maasai men own bicycles, but most people walk miles every day carrying water containers
on their heads. After seeing the nursery school that is sponsored by the safari company we used, we walked across an open field to our tent that Francis had erected for us. This was a small tent like we would use un the US to go camping. Our safari company had sent a truck from Arusha with our tenting supplies and a cook. The Maasai had sent a bicycle to the road to help carry things to the village since there was no road. The Maasai man ate with us and told us about the Maasai culture.
He also had some questions for us. He didn't understand why there are some tourists he had met who weren't married. In their culture girls as young as 12 are sold to older men. The girl's father arranges the marriage to the man who will pay him the most in livestock. Although the Tanzanian government has outlawed it, many Maasai still practice female circumcision. The number of wives, children, and cattle determines a man's wealth. It was difficult to keep our opinions to ourselves, but it's important to remember that we're visiting THEIR world. He noticed my large knee replacement scar, and he
Blue monkey
These are also known as Sykes monkey. wanted to know what had happened. When I explained it to him, he was in disbelief. Later on, he even asked Francis if my explanation was true; he just couldn't believe it! Two Maasai "warriors" (which apparently means young guy with a spear) sat at the campfire all night to protect us from wild animals. We heard hyenas, but that was all. The area where we camped is a wildlife corridor between 2 national parks. The animals move through the area to get from one park to the next, so it's not unusual for them to stroll through our campsite. We slept on a foam pad on the ground and used a "bush toilet", but we had a lovely lantern-lit dinner under an acacia tree and a great night's sleep.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.058s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 11; qc: 30; dbt: 0.0303s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb