Tanzania Part 2: The Maasai and Secret Kilimanjaro
Waking up to coffee the next morning was like that scene in A Little Princess where the girls wake up, magically, in silk pajamas in a room filled with delights and desserts. I’m millennial-exaggerating about a classic little girl movie, but that’s how I felt. Like a gotdamn, princess.
Baraka, our resident guide from the chalet, had already given us the full rundown on what to expect for the day’s events: Hot Spring first, to avoid the tourists. Next, the traditional Maasai Village experience, followed by food. Since we would be going to the Hot Springs first, I put on my bathing suit along with a long sleeved shirt, because there was still a light chill in the morning mountain air. (layers!) Baraka and his friend Joseph picked us up, ready to go, this time in a van instead of tuk-tuk.
Around 10 minutes into the drive, Baraka let us know we would be going to the Maasai Village before the Hot Springs since their village is about 10 degrees hotter and would only get hotter as the day went on. A smart pivot.
The Massai make up a huge ethnic group, over a million, throughout Tanzania and Kenya. Most continue to live nomadically in modest conditions with a strict diet that includes oxblood, but we also learned that their are some Maasai who live a modern lifestyle in the city. They also hold the reputation and lore of being the fiercest warriors. That may still be undisputed. Shoot, it's only a fairly new law that lion hunting is no longer allowed for traditional marriage proposals. It’s only allowed for Maasai safety.
The chief explained that his tribe was originally from Cairo, Egypt and nomadically made their way to this region of Tanzania over how many hundreds of years. The Maasai were immediately elated to see us and to share their history and show off their schools. While it is undoubtedly a tourist attraction, the hospitality is real.
When we pulled up to the village we were the first group to arrive, so for a while it was just us. The women instantly grabbed our hands to put jewelry on us, with no words, but while smiling deeply. We went into a separate mud house to get dressed in the traditional Maasai clothing to participate in the traditional Maasai jumping dance. I’m talking about the dress, the thick wool shuka wraps, earrings, bracelets and THEN we were ready.
There were no instructions to the jumping dance - you just get in the circle, and jump. High! And then someone jumps at you! At first, My confusion was making me laugh, but all I had to do was glance at the other set of German tourists next to us, and I was instantly filled with confidence to follow a drum beat.
Then that whole “10 degrees hotter” thing started. After the end of that small amount of aerobic work, my heart was racing like crazy and my eyes were closing in. Was I about to faint!?
My body instinctively put my hands on the back of my head like some symptom of overheating to open my chest, and just as instinctively - my mind said “you just need to sit here, on this ground, now. Immediately, now.
Then I woke up.
Woke up to the concerned, german-accepted shrills of “omg is she okay!” standing above me, my eyes now opening to white light. Lindsey looked at me moments before I went down, with only the words “let me get you some water.” and she turned around.
By the time she turned back around I was on the ground. My long-sleeve wearing, wrapped in wool, overheated body that was not hydrated at all enough to start jumping around.
The Maasai chief surrounded me from above like “not on my watch!” and started waving cloth saying “she just needs to coooool off”
Embarrassment-adrenaline got me to stand and say “i’m fine”, long enough to where they took me back inside the mud house to pour water on my head and let me lay down. I really was fine. Fainting from the heat tho? I want to be as hot as possible all the time. The shame…
I almost didn’t write this story. I’m still so embarrassed; but I’m typing and laughing. I can’t imagine the sight of me just crawling on the ground, covered in long clothes, panting for air. Like damn, woman.. where are you from?
The Maasai were so kind. They immediately stripped me of all of the clothes and let me lay on a cow hide. Lindsey was so kind. After I was truly okay, she laughed with me retelling what happened. She said it was all under 8 seconds. And another shoutout to Lindsey - she most notably and definitely had that water in HAND the moment I stood to my feet - Thank you Sis!
…“she just needs to cooool off” …
After that, Lindsey bought some of the kid’s crafts to support the village and we called it curtains on the Maasai Village experience. I just gave the chief all the cash in my wallet and apologized again .(lol). Hey, the next activity would have been “spear throwing” which Lindsey said she was cool on anyways.
One of the Maasai leaders said he knew a shortcut to the Hot Springs and could lead us there, through the open Maasai land. Bet! Now riding shotgun, Joseph fired up the van and we just drove where he pointed. Straight, around a shrub, then straight again into the vast open plains. It was a truly remarkable sight watching the man navigate open space, because it looked like we weren’t really going anywhere - until we arrived at the Hot Springs in 10 minutes flat.
You may be wondering:
How did the Maasai get back to the village? He simply waved goodbye to us and immediately caught a ride on a boda-boda from a random driver, and took the same “path” we came. Just disappeared. He really just wanted to take us a faster way… Thank you!
The Hot Springs were blessedly cold and refreshing! We rented a few intertubes and waded in the water with tiny fish nipping along the way. The current of the river was strong but still calm enough to swim relaxed. Even Joseph got in and floated for a while.
There was a team of acrobatic local kids who were doing insane flips in between the other families of tourists. Like “Showtime” in NYC - only on a rope swing in Tanzania! One of them (the BEST flipper!) came up to me and asked me if I wanted to try. But this teen was intimidatingly good so I told him I wasn’t a strong enough swimmer - which is a fact - so he let me live. But I feel like I should have just trusted him.
After we changed clothes back at the chalets, Jacob and Baraka picked us back up in the van and took us to his friend’s newly built restaurant/bar/club with the most incredible view of Mt. Kilimanjaro in all of Moshi. Talk about location, location, location. The restaurant sits on stilts to reveal the sunset on one side, and Mount Kilimanjaro on the other. And here we were, damn near invited guests at a “soft launch” climbing parked buses on the front of the field, just for more views and memories. DEM Girls!
The moment this place gets any kind of google traction it’s a wrap.
It was the most glorious ending to the most incredible adventure. We had conquered Kilimanjaro, danced with the Maasai, and were now dancing in the middle of a secret field, just to catch the last views of such an amazing part of the world. Cemented sisters for life after that one, I tell ya.
The next morning we would be on our way to the come down - The adventure-turned-leisure part of the trip in Zanzibar. We didn’t come to party, we came to relax! And we had earned it.
“Do Not Disturb in Zanzibar” Post coming Sunday June 2nd!