We flew to Zanzibar by way of Istanbul, but we had barely enough time in that airport to grab a quick meal of various Turkish foods before boarding a plane for the second leg of our trip to Zanzibar, We reached Zanzibar at about 4 AM, where we were met by our son Sam and our machitunem Mohamed. They took us to their house where we grateful showered and fell into bed; we were able to sleep until about 9 AM when our grandchildren simply could not be denied a chance to greet us.
The day was a peaceful on as we began to recuperate from our long plane trip, although we did get out in the mid-afternoon for a visit to Wajamama, the women’s wellness center clinic that our daughter-in-law Nafisa has started. We got a quick tour of the facility.
then headed home and re-packed our bags to head off to the airport for a flight to Kilimanjaro Airport. The flight on Tanzania Air was efficient, but it was an early evening flight; by the time we landed, were picked up by a driver and driven over bumpy roads that our driver described as an “African massage,” it was close to 11 PM before we reached our destination, the Maasai Lodge of Africa Amina Life . It was a clear night, and we paused to appreciate the astonishing array of stars overhead – the hotel was a long way from the closest settlement and even that, as we were to learn the following day, was a fairly modest affair, so there were little ambient light to conceal the stars from us Our hosts fed us soup and we fell into bed, exhausted.
We were told that we would be awakened at 6 with coffee or tea, if Mt. Kilimanjaro were visible (apparently, we would be able to see it from our huts). Otherwise, the coffee and tea would be at 7, and breakfast thereafter. Bottom line: what happened to the amazing clear skies the night before? the horizon was filled with clouds that morning, so we were awakened at 7 with a tray with coffee, tea and muffins: from there we headed to the central area for a nice buffet breakfast.
Amina African Life is a Maasai-run and owned facility, dedicated to showing off and preserving Maasai culture. All of the common buildings (containing a shop, a bar, and a few dining rooms),
as well as our rooms, were located in traditional Maasai mud huts.
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| Toilet room at Maasai Lodge Guest hut: from the window, you get view of Mt Kilimanjaro while sitting on the pot! |
The door to the bathroom (and the door going outside) were held closed with branch joints
The walls of these buildings were constructed of mud mixed with fresh cow dung, ash and termite soil, with logs holding the walls; the roofs were thatched. Lowassa, our guide throughout our time there, explained that this material is used for the wall because termites don’t eat through their own soil. Soda bottles in the walls (as well as skylights) created openings allowing daylight to filter into the huts.
I was hoping to find one of the lovely beaded light shades in the shape of animal heads that adorned the buildings all around the facility, to buy as a souvenir. but I never did find one for sale
The row of huts sat on a bluff overlooking a broad valley; the foreground of the valley was pocked with a series of small hills which, we were told, represented volcanic deposits from Mt. Meru and Kilimanjaro
the latter of which could be seen looming in the distance (on the following day) from near our hut
We had a good breakfast in the common tent, and noted this lilac-breasted roller as we left on our game drive
Throughout our time in Tanzania, we appreciated the expertise that all og our guides displayed in bird identification.
When we drove through a nearby Maasai village on the way to our game drive, and on the way to our next hotel, we saw a mixture of such mud huts and other buildings, made of concrete or logs with metal roofs.
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| Old and new construction in a Maasai villege |
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| Old and new construction in a Maasai villege |
As the Maasai get richer, they are more likely to have concrete buildings and metal roofs; the traditional housing may eventually die out, which Lowassa seemed to regard with regret. Cattle-herding remains the main economic base for the Maasai;
Seeing boys and men with their cattle was a commonplace for the next weekL here, with Mt. Meru in the background
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| Maasai herders |
Maasai lands are held in common, with grazing rights for all in all fields. But individual families may have plots for planting;
We saw fields of tomatoes and even sunflowers
The planted fields were ringed with piles of acacia branches to keep the cattle out
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| Acacia branches with the sharp thorns fence out cattle from tomatoes and other crops |
The first stop on our game drive was to examine a plant – specifically, at the base of a hill
full of Euphorbia Candelabra trees. what made them all grow in that location?
The tree’s milky sap is highly poisonous – exposure could blind a human in 5 seconds – so animals leave it alone. Even elephants with their tough skins don’t rub against it. But its fibre is used in roofing material, after being dried in a hot fire for five days to eliminate the liquid
Lowassa gave us a demonstration by tossing a rock at the trunk – white sap began running out, and then pouring down the tree
And then, finally – the animals! We passed a field full of grand gazelle
and this Kori bustard, the largest flying bird;
it is so heavy that it needs running start to get off the ground
We soon saw fields with herds of the grazers we would see so often over the next week – zebra, wildebeest and Thomson gazelle
In this herd of ostrich, the black-feathered in rear is the male
We returned to the camp for some cultural demonstrations by the staff, beginning with a welcome dance
which led a jumping competition among the men, whose class in Maasai society is that of the "warrior," although discussions with a multiple Maasai guides over coming week led me to conclude that this is a bit of an anachronism
and finally, a competition among the warriors spear throwing – the idea was to practice the skills
needed to fend off a predator if it was attacking cattle. A section of tree trunk was hung from a tree,
and the aim was to hit it with a spear just right that the spear would stick into the target.
The men revved themselves up for the competition with another display of bouncing up and down, jumping and growling –growling like a lion, I take it
We were told that spears are now used only for lions that are killing local cattle (or people); not hunting for food, and not for warfare.
We guests were given the chance to toss the spears to try to hit the target. Always willing to embarrass myself publicly, I gave it a try – I couldn’t even hit the target, and even the Maasai men would miss or hit and bounce off. One of the Maasai managed to stick the target two times. He was the champion for the day!
Nafisa mentioned that the Maasai more like Ethiopians/Somali than other East Africans in features, language, dancing. And, in fact, it appears that the Maasai migrated to the area of the Keny-Tanzania border from the lower Nile valley in South Sudan
As we headed back to our huts to freshen up, and don warmer clothes, a fire was lit in the fire circle, and the legs of a recently slaughtered goat (we guests had the opportunity to watch the slaughter; I declined)
Would we have a clear sky for sunrise the following morning??????
We finished the day by sitting at the fire circle, eating morsels of meat cut from the goat legs (I found the meat unpleasant-tasting and tough besides)
We were also given the chance to taste a soup that had been cooked over the fire using various herbs – again, not a soup to my liking
The meal itself, however, was both delicious and beautifully presented.
The place-mats were like the circles that the Maasai women wear around their necks.
We got to bed early that evening – Nancy and I were still recovering from jet-lag, and besides, we were hoping to be awakened at 6 AM the for the promised glorious sunrise.
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