Don and I during the Marine Ball in Kampala a year before his re-assignment to Abuja, Nigeria
At the beginning of the year in 2002, Don and I had talked about us moving to Abuja where his next assignment would be. The engagement and marriage arrangements were in place and we were happy and dandy. Two months into it, we had another talk of it and his position bla bla bla, we were moving and my clearance had come through, but once his assignment actually came through things change. After almost three years of emotional involment and decisions and after he was re-assigned to the USAID Mission office in Abuja, Nigeria I decided not to go with him. So much was factored into the decision, but of course Don did not understand, he kept expecting that I would follow after he left, but that did not happen.
My colleague Grace, Me and Alfred of Lohnro Motors group (owners of Mara Safari Club)
Dealing with the heartache was tough, I engrossed myself in work and being a mother and good daughter, lol! These were tough times for me and the best way I knew how to deal with it all was to go back into what I enjoyed best, travelling. With my new position as a marketing manager for Pearl of Africa Tours & Travels, I, initiated a campaign with my long time friend Alfred of Lonhro hotels. This campaign involved inviting as many travel agents as he could to help sell the chain of hotels and lodges they run which included Mara Safari Club - tented lodging. With this in the pipeline, in September of that year he invited a total of twenty agents to Mara Safari club and I was happy to go on the trip with one colleague from work. It turned out to be the best safari I ever went on. The Masai Mara game viewing and later on the Wildebeest migration were unmistakable the single most unbelievable sight I have seen in my entire life.
The Masai Village: the Masai culture. The Safaris to the Mara always includes a stop at the Masai Village which I, highly recommend if you take a trip there). The Maasai have such a rich culture that has stood the test of time. Their ancestry originating from 'the cradle of mankind" also known as the Great Rift Valley that crosses through the 3 major East African countries (Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania). The Maasai are one of the best-known African tribes although not as politically powerful as the Luo or Kikuyu (despite the Maasai being dominant in some respects due to their warrior caste and effective organization). But that is because they prefer to keep their heritages, culture and roots in the more traditional and peaceful ways.
At Mara Safari Club tented camp where we stayed
They are one of Kenya's tourist attractions as a matter of fact (if you have seen advertisements on African safaris, many times you have a Maasai warrior standing right there or racing with a Lion or some crazy stuff like that, hahaaaa). They are synonymous with the image of Kenya/Africa.
You will definitely recognize the Maasai because they have such a distinctive appearance with their worriors covered in ochre and always holding their spear and wearing bright blood-red shoulder cloaks also known as shuka in Swahili. Their women always wear bangles and strings of colored beads around their neck; both men and women actually wear the beads: Both men and women have pierced ears with huge lobes holding huge metal ear rings.
Some of the men will normally have reddish hair - that is because they put a red paste called ochre on their head - part of a tradition from time immemorial, their ancestry. Because they are hunters, the Maasai are known to cross the Mara plains with no fear of the wild animals, especially lions. Some of their clothes are actually mad of lion manes, ostrich feathers and even eagle feathers (the African eagle I must say is not an easy bird to hunt down), you must be a warrior heheeeee! The Maasai have some of the most colorful traditional ceremonies and during these ceremonies to see a culture so rich, and so ancient. I bet you the white man has tried to tell them their culture is wrong or uncouth etc - I guess they failed because the Maasai still stand tall (no offense meant to anyone).
The Masai Mara National Game Park: The Maasai Mara game reserve is a world renowned wildlife sanctuary and of recent been considered a wonder in the world because of it's unbelievable Wildebeest Migration.
The Wildebeests migrate every year between June and September from the Serengeti to the Maasai Mara and back, it is a sight to behold. The Mara reserve is a huge expanse of grassland with undulating hills and acacia woodlands. At the Maasai Mara you are certain to see the BIG FIVE - Lion, Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo and Leopard.
