The big FIVE: Lion, Rhino, Hippo, Elephant, and Leopard. My team and I had the opportunity to go to the Masai Mara, see amazing animals, and live the Masai life. What a way to finish off the month. I apologize ahead of time for this long blog, but hey, what a story.
Ok, so back to the animals. We weren’t even to the Masai yet and had zebras, giraffes, and Thompson Gazelles running in front of the bus. Oh, the bus. In Africa the words “personal space” do not exist, even on a bus. You may have your own seat, but underneath the seat, down by your feet, and even your lap are free space for people to pile their belongings. There is no electricity or stores in the Masai so they would load up supplies in Narok, the town we took our last bus from. There were cases of liquor under my seat, gasoline jugs behind it, and buckets in my lap (until I found a new location for them). There were wooden benches and chickens strapped to the roof on top of our bus. Welcome to Africa. 
We arrived to Ntayia and Kios’ house in the early afternoon and after putting our things down headed out for our walking safari. When you live where these brothers live all you have to do is walk out the back gate of your village compound and you are on a safari. These men have to be able to kill and butcher a goat by the age of 8, and to be called a man must kill a lion and be circumcised without wincing. These tasks are usually accomplished by the age of 14. Kios has a scar under an eye from a lion, and another guy, Dennis, has one on his shoulder. When they reach about 13 they are sent out into the wilderness in groups of the boys that age and they cannot return home until each one has killed a lion. Ntayia was in a group in which one of the boys was killed by a lion. His group was also away from home for almost two years before able to return home. For our protection we went out later in the day when the King of the Jungle is sleeping already and our guides brought their bow and arrows that were poison-tipped. The walk was beautiful. The vast openness was endless. We saw zebras, Thompson gazelles, jackals, and wildebeest. We each also got to practice our archery skills. Perhaps I will take that up as a hobby when I return home.
We got back to the village as the sun was beginning to set. We still had to prepare dinner…but what’s on the menu? GOAT! We went out into the field, chose a goat, and watched Francis catch and suffocate him. His name was Oliver. The Masai warriors drink the blood and are, for the most part, peaceful/humane people and thus the suffocation. So the goat’s dead now what? This is the part when everyone else from our group walked away, except me and Caitlin. We were able to assist in the butchering of little Oliver. Yes, I can now say I have butchered a goat in the middle of the Masai Mara. Two things made me nervous, when the nerves made his heart twitch (as I’m cutting away his skin) and secondly, when they rolled him over the air left inside came out and Oliver made a bleating sound. Caitlin and I both jumped back in fear on that one….then started cracking up. The meat was put on sticks and placed over the fire which was started by rubbing two sticks together. 
While dinner was cooking, the men performed their Masai dance, wow, can those guys jump. After we enjoyed our roast goat and some of the yummiest mashed potatoes I’ve had in a long time it was time for bed. They brought the cow hides into the house and laid them on the dirt ground for us. With a sleeping bag on top I slept very soundly that night.
Quick note: when we asked where the toilet was, Kios said, “just go behind my house.” Thankfully the moon was bright so we could see well enough to find a good piece of dirt.
5:30am, my alarm went off and it was time to head off to the driving safari in the park. We got dressed to the sound of hyenas laughing off in the distance. On our drive to the park the sun began to rise. We had just enough light to spot some elephants by the side of the road. I saw three and they were hiding amongst the trees. Check one of the big five off the list, and the sun hasn’t come above the horizon yet. We had barely entered the National Park when Kios spotted what looked like a bush to us, but as it walked closer we saw that it was a Black Rhino. He came up very close because he was trying to cross but we were in the way. Just around the corner was our third of the five, a herd of buffalo. Elephants, rhinos, and buffalo, what a way to start off the day. As we drove on we saw many other animals: Wildebeest, zebra, warthog, ostrich, hyena, antelope, jackals, topes, giraffes, vultures, crocodiles, etc. The last two big ones we saw were the hippos and last but not least the lion. We first saw a female lion just off the road in some grass. She had recently killed a zebra and was resting before she began her feast. Towards the end of the drive we saw a male lion. He also had a freshly killed zebra which we saw him pull back into the trees as we drove up. What an awesome animal. They are so strong and huge. He pulled the zebra in his mouth like it was tiny.
