Last Safari Day in Amboseli National Park: Maasai Mara Village Visit

After breakfast, we loaded back in the truck and made our way to a local village located just outside the boundary of the park. We were greeted by the son of he chief of the village and then a huge group of men and woman came out of the boma (round enclosure made of branches of thorny trees to keep the lions and other wild animals out- you may remember from Survivor: Africa what one looks like), and began singing and dancing for us!



They then started a jumping competition and mom and I even joined in!









It was close, but I did not win the competition... After the welcoming dance, we entered the boma and were taught about daily life of the village.






We were able to enter one of the homes that was made of mostly elephant dung.



I tried to take pictures inside, but it was so dark that my camera couldn't focus enough to let me take the picture, so I don't have any, but the inside was dark, with only a couple of small holes in the middle of three walls for light. These holes are about the size of tennis balls and are to let out the smoke from the kitchen fire. There are two small rooms, one to each side of the small kitchen, which really is no larger than a closet in one of our homes, but with a much lower ceiling... The parents sleep in one of the small rooms, and the kids in the other. It really makes you appreciate what you have, because I would never be able to live like that. The Maasai only eat milk, cow's blood, and meat. The children were beautiful!



We did some shopping, where we really had to practice our bargaining skills, and then bid our farewells to our new friends! We piled back into our vehicle and made our way back to our lodge, where we had lunch and the then afternoon to rest and relax. Mom and I got moved to another room, since they weren't able to fix the fan in the room we slept last night. We are leaving in the morning, so mom and I did some shopping in the lodge's giftshop and then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Now it's almost time for our afternoon game drive (and sadly our last in Amboseli), and I can't wait to see what's out there this evening!!!

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Location:Kenya