by south_sea_bubble » Tue Jul 08, 2008 7:17 am
Since returning from Somaliland, I continued south into the Omo Valley, Ethiopia. This remote area is a kind of Papua New Guinea although in recent years the increase of tourists has been dramatic, ruining the experience of seeing the tribes. The people will surround you and demand money for pictures. There is no way to interact beyond ignoring their open hands. So I was often left to return to the camp, hours away, after a 15 minute stroll through the village. A crappy week.
I took a 22-hour bus ride from the Ethiopian border to Nairobi (they drive all through the night).
I'm about done with my safari. Masai Mara was wonderful. I saw over a dozen lions, in maybe 5 different incidents. I saw a cheetah stalk something, loads of elephants and giraffes, a leopard for a few seconds, and the great migration of wildabeasts started the day I was at the park (this was 2 weeks early and completely unexpected--rich people the next day hurried into the park, the air strip was very busy).
I lived in a camp staffed by the people of the Masai tribe, a warrior tribe that has strictly kept its traditions despite the extreme exposure to tourism. I like being a tourist with a cultural anthropological bent, especially looking into the realm of divinity, so I asked the Masai to take me to their village witchdoctor. It was nothing like the breathtaking six hour ritual in Haiti but I had fun. The witchdoctor shook a horn full of rocks, spilling out the contents into a bowl, centered in a chalk circle. The arrangement of rocks had meaning. While he shook and moved the rocks he sipped a plastic coffee mug of the local hooch (sweet and weak stuff). He had only one significant prophecy: My first born child will be a son. He wrapped up and told me I would have a nice trip. The Masai fellow--maybe a bit apologetically--explained that he had not drunk enough of that beer--cause if he had he would have a lot more to say.
I am now in the Rift Valley Province to see the lake. I had no idea I would be at ground zero. I was an hour in the Valley before the driver noted where we were, catching me my surprise. If I had known I would have researched a little to best prepare my attempt at getting under the political/religious/racial skin of this place. Looks like there is no chance to do that since I will leave tomorrow.
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Wrote this two days ago. The net is better in Nairobi. I'll be heading to Mombassa next by that nice sleeper train. I'll search for Swahili magic. I must be in Cape Town by my birthday, August 12 (to catch my planes). I don't feel I have enough time so I will be rushing through Tanzania, Zambia, Namibia, and SA. I might not even visit Western Kenya or Tanzania so I'll miss out Lake Victoria sacred traditions.
How does Zimbabwe look?