The roads to Masai

     Nakuru to Masai Mara is a 6-hour journey through the Masai town of Narok. The roads are fairly good till Narok. But the stretch from Narok to Masai Mara are on of the worst roads in Kenya. They are very bumpy and it becomes even more difficult during the rainy seasons. This stretch is enough to make the entire journey tiring though you don't feel much till Narok. After having our breakfast at Sarova lodge, we started in the morning from Nakuru and reached Masai Mara by around 2:00 pm, right in time for lunch. The cloudy roadside landscape was beautiful with vast plains on both the sides and mountains in the background. 

 

 

 

 

     Before going to the lodge we had booked, we payed a visit to a Masai village, the home for a few of the local people of Masai Mara. The Chief of the village showed us around the village and described to us, their ways of living, pride and practices.He showed us around their home and what they do for their routines. We met other inhabitants of the village, including some of the young generation, the Masai warriors. Each Masai warrior in the village had to prove his worth and bravery by killing a lion by voluntarily confronting with it in a fight. It is a tradition among them that only when a warrior proves his skills of combat, is he eligible to marry and have a family of his own.

 

 

 

 

     After that, the chief took us to an exhibition of their traditional arts and crafts, which was like a souvenir shop for promoting their tribe's pride. There were many different wood sculptures and bead accessories. After visiting them, we got a chance to watch their local dance. The dance was mainly about jumping high. The dancers in the group start jumping as high as possible one by one. This keeps going on in iteration like a competition among themselves. The people in the group are capable of jumping very high. After having a look at their dance, they showed us how they make fire for the night, for cooking or whenever required otherwise. They make fire by rubbing continuously, sopia luka and kamnen. It takes a lot of strength and patience to light a small spark of fire itself, which would serve as the primary source of light during the night hours. After having seen enough about the life of the Masai villagers, we started for our place, the Keekorok Lodge that is located inside the Masai Mara National Reserve.