Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik is called the "Pearl of the Adriatic" for good reason. Looking out our apartment windows at the white marble city walls, against the clear azure waters of the sea, it seemed like a Hollywood set for a pleasant fairy tale or pirate movie. We marveled at the contrast between the present beauty and the damage of the war, that scarred the architecture and the hearts of the Croats we met.

One man told us of his experience during the eight month siege without electricity or water. At one point the women and children were allowed to leave and his family went to America. He fought in the Croat army and did not see them again for 2 and a half years. Now that peace has returned, the Croats seem happy with their lives and their country. Many people we talked to will vote against EU membership because they don't see how it will benefit them. The referendum is 2008 so we shall see.

Here we vacationed from our travels for a week. What fun to cook our own meals, do laundry (a task well overdue), check emails in our apartment and watch DVD's. We got a lot of exercise, walking around town, sightseeing, swimming and climbing the many stairs in this terraced city. Often we conducted gelato taste tests in the evenings.

During a day trip to the island of Mljet, we met an engaging family from Seattle. We passed a memorable day together exploring this national forest and swimming in the saltwater lakes. The girls thoroughly enjoyed having other young people to play with. We met again for gelato that night and hope our paths will cross again.

Now we make a sprint to the finish line, visiting Zagreb, Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich and Frankfurt in the next ten days.

Enjoy more photos of Dubrovnik!

Meteora, Greece

Enjoy more photos of the stunning monasteries and convents of Meteora.

Our jaws dropped at the sight of monasteries and convents perched at the zenith of natural stone towers. A prehistoric inland sea carved these formations; a lot of human labor created edifices atop them. Meteora is first and foremost a holy center for prayer and study. Photography inside the buildings is prohibited, visitors are limited and the monasteries are open on a rotating basis to limit interruptions. In fact, when the James Bond movie, "For Your Eyes Only," was filmed there, the Church insisted they completely camouflage the monasteries so they didn't appear on film. I may just have to watch a James Bond movie, just to see how they pulled off that feat.

Ladies must wear skirts and gentlemen long trousers to enter the premises. Appropriately attired, we explored the chapels with their elaborate frescoes. Martyred saints: beheaded, eaten by lions or stoned to death, were common motifs and somewhat disturbing to the children. We studied the two headed egret, symbol of the East/West schism dividing the Church. Besides the enthralling views and welcome breezes, the old elevator captured our imaginations. Before there were stairs to reach the monasteries, monks sat in cargo nets and were hoisted up by their bretheren, a first test of faith perhaps....

We knew we'd reached a convent when we smelled the gardenias. The nuns have enchanting gardens at the convents and it reminded me of visits to Bethlehem, Connecticut as a child. My mother took us to visit a cloistered nun she knew from college. It was there that I first smelled gardenia and honeysuckle perfumes, ate hand-churned, vanilla ice cream and joined the Latin masses. Indeed it made an enduring impression as did this visit to the holy communities in Meteora.

Thank you Melissa and Ken for recommending Meteora. It was definitely a highlight!

Athens and Delphi, Greece

At right: Girls at the ruins of Delphi, north of Athens.





GREECE: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
By Maya
THE GOOD - Greece is truly a lovely, wonderful place to be. The people are kind and always willing to help and 60% of the time it's NOT to sell you something or to take you to their 2nd cousin, twice-removed's store or to spend the night at their uncle's hotel etc. The beaches in Greece are marvelous, with water seemingly made to cool you down after the heat of the day. Though not always soft sand, the water is positively cool and crystal clear. The monasteries placed on the top of sheer cliffs, white washed buildings with blue windows, centuries old columns like at Delphi and the Acropolis, you name it, Greece has it. The food is delicious. Greek salads are truly fantastic in Greece. (The tomatoes are so yummy!) As a vegetarian I tend not to eat animals, but supposedly the fish is delectable. Clothes, shoes and accessories are in abundance in Greece. Most aren't utterly repulsive and the majority are cute. Lastly the ice cream is really yummy. Plus, they have many sweets you haven't heard of before such as sesame cookies or twists, and honey dippers (big crunchy rolls smothered in honey).

But, no person or country is perfect so we proceed onto THE BAD. Unfortunately not only pleasant people go to Greece. Now, I'm not saying that these people are bad at heart, but in my opinion, if you are a man with a really big belly, you should not be wearing a speedo as you will cause "speedo trauma" to the children who see you. Topless bathing is just gross. Also, there should be a law against obnoxious, self-absorbed tour guides, like the one we had at Delphi. It really is easier to walk around by yourself and spend time where you want to and avoid the expensive, repulsive food you're served on tour.

But none of this is as awful as THE UGLY. It is so bloody hot in Greece! With temperatures reaching up to 40+ degrees celsius, it's almost unbearable. Especially because there are large amounts of white everywhere, reflecting the heat right up in your face. Also, Greeks can bare grudges that last for eternity. Don't mention Turks, Turkey, Turkish architecture or Greek made buildings that reside in Turkey unless you want a sharp telling off and/or a piercing stare. Plus, there is no falafel in Greece! Don't go to Greece with the expectation that you're gonna get a great falafel. No, apparently though the falafel and pita sandwich made it across both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans to North America, it hasn't managed to get from Egypt to Greece. What's up with that?

All in all, Greece is truly a wonderful place, just don't go expecting a falafel.
To enjoy more photos of Athens and Delphi, click here.

Patmos, Greece By Skylar

We are staying in a house in the Hora. (It is the top of the island.) It is beautiful! When you walk in, you walk into the kitchen. The next room in front of you is the living room. Then if you go back into the kitchen, there are stairs. You go up the stairs to the balcony with a table. Inside the blue doors are the three beds. One is a loft and below it is a single bed; one is a double bed. All of the houses in Patmos have blue doors and white stone walls. Our house was built in 1604!!!!!

One day my Mom found a way to the roof and we watched sunset. It was fun. We brought drinks and we made brownies that day so we had brownies too! The sunsets were beautiful! Another good place to watch sunsets is at the windmills. We go to the windmills and look over Patmos. It is very beautiful and windy.

Ireni Gouras is really nice. She is our landlord. She gave us 2 chocolate bars and invited us to her house for a sweet called Honey Dippers. Another day she gave us cherries. She is like a grandma. Two other friends on Patmos are Robert and Christopher. They are very nice and showed us a lot of good places to go on the island. Robert's sister works at my school so that's how we learned about Patmos.

Lampi Beach is my favorite beach on Patmos. It is full of beautiful rocks(see picture above). Some of them look like shiny marble. I saw so many colors: all different shades of blue, brown, green and more. It was fun to collect rocks and swim there.

I got leather sandals with flowers on them. They are pretty and so comfortable! I even got the next size bigger so I can wear them for longer. Even though I have to wait until next year to get my ears pierced (when I'm 10), I got gold hoop earrings. They are so pretty.

WHAT I DO IN PATMOS
I get up and get dressed. My mom and dad go for cappuccinos while Maya and I have breakfast. We either go to a beach and swim, go shopping, check email, get ice cream or take a car ride around Patmos. We come back for lunch, read, do stuff, have dinner and go to bed. Patmos is fun and beautiful.
Click here for more pictures of Patmos!

Ephesus, Turkey

Click here for more of Jeff's awesome photos of Ephesus.
We arrived in Selcuk by night bus from Istanbul. (The drive bore no resemblance to the night bus in Harry Potter.) The bus had airplane style service and at midnight, unexpectedly drove onto a ferry to cross the Dardanelles. Oddly, men were not allowed to remove their shoes on the bus, though women and children could.

A bit weary from only napping on the bus, we arrived in the ancient ruins of Ephesus, built by the Greeks, it grew to 200,000 people at its zenith. We walked the marble roads and climbed across all kinds of old rocks, marble carvings, ancient latrines and amphitheaters. The girls became Greek goddesses atop unoccupied pedestals. (Most of the high quality statuary and mosaics can be viewed in the British Museum or the Louvre.) Occasionally we would follow an English speaking tour to hear a fact or two, then continue our self-guided tour. The library is really cool with its two story facade still in tact. The library windows frame trees, hills, blue sky and clouds, like a portrait hall in mother nature's home.

While sitting on a fallen column from the first century, eating a macaroon, Skylar lost yet another tooth. She has added a Turkish tooth fairy to her pantheon of U.S, Hawaiian, Japanese and Kenyan fairies. She writes letters, asking questions about their country and collecting cash and self-portraits from them.

As we left the ancient city, among the newer cars, a fabulous 1964 Chevy Impala taxicab was waiting to take us back to town. Riding in this blast-from-the-past was a highlight for Jeff whose mom owned one back in the day. We explored the center of Selcuk, dining at Erjun Restaurant at the base of the Roman Aquaduct. The Selcuk storks now reign atop the columns, raising their young in Big Bird-sized nests.

Traveler's Note: Arrive early to Ephesus and go directly to the library. By 10:00 the tour groups arrive in a steady stream and photography without large groups of people becomes impossible.
Second Note: It was so difficult to get ferry timetables and reservations, it seemed that we were the first tourists to attempt a trip from Turkey to Greece. Internet sites are unreliable; travel agencies are the best bet and they will need to make several phone calls. Even then, the 8:30 ferry from Selcuk to Samos left at 9:30 and the 15:30 ferry from Samos left at 16:30. When traveling, don't ever be in a hurry.

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul, ancient Constantinople, its location on the waterways connecting Europe and Asia made it a target for conquests of every Empire. This crossroads blends cultures, religions, foods and languages into a unique flavor as deep and rich as their coffee. Turkey is a nation of Turks. After saying, "Shukran," (Arabic for thank you), we were quickly corrected. They do NOT speak Arabic. They speak Turkish. "Thank you" in Turkish sounds something like a tea-sugar-a dream, but our awkward tongues settled for "Sow," meaning "thanks." It's a beautiful Mediterranean nation, not unlike Italy or Greece and our family experienced warmth and kindness at every turn during our stay.

We stayed in a bed and breakfast in the heart of Istanbul's old city, Sultanahmet, where each morning we gladly climbed to the rooftop for breakfast overlooking the Bosphorous. Savory olives, feta cheese and tomatoes graced the daily buffet, along with fresh yogurt, breads and jams. We looked forward to fresh Turkish bread and meze for dinner each night. It's like an antipasta plate with stuffed grape leaves, garlic spreads, hummus, eggplant, ratatouille, mushrooms and more. One night we tried to eat like the Turks, ordering meze starters and a main course, but we were too stuffed. So, the rest of the time, we just confused the wait staff by ordering only meze.

Turkish people are charming and there is a constant patois from business people on the sidewalks, particularly in the labyrinthian Grand Bazarre:

Hey, can I help you spend you money?
How many for dinner? (Even when you have no intention of dining in their restaurant)
Are you looking for my shop?
You look like rug buyers!

After four days in the city, as silly as a pack of middle schoolers, we decided to alter our route to the hotel to avoid a few folks: the rug salesmen we continually refused, the man who wanted Skylar to have apple tea in his shop and the restaurant owner who was moving to SanFrancisco. If we lived in Istanbul, we would soon be unable to leave the house for fear of offending someone :-)

The soaring architecture of Aya Sofia, the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace gives Istanbul a stunning, minaret-studded skyline. However, we were a bit disappointed visiting the Church of Divine Wisdom (Aya Sofia); the famed "floating" dome was held up by a mile-high scaffolding, wrecking the illusion. It was like seeing Notre Dame while the stain glass windows were being cleaned. Shoulders covered in our borrowed wraps, we sat on the carpets of the Blue Mosque and observed the goings on. The vibrant blue tiles wear a wide array of patterns. It would be a bold homeowner to decorate a kitchen with this scheme. As for Topkapi, we enjoyed walking through this palace museum, picturing where brutish rulers exhibited their enemies' heads on tall standards. The monuments felt slightly familiar as Jeff and I had both recently finished The Historian, a fun work of fiction spanning centuries and roaming from France to Istanbul, while searching for vampires.

Istanbul continues on the other side of the Marmara Sea. To get a panoramic view of the city, we took a local ferry to Karacoy and back again. Of course, we stopped at the original turkish delight candy shop and stocked up so we could sample these chewy sweets on the boat ride. Aside from Edmond in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, we'd not really heard of it, but it's mighty tasty. We particularly recommend the lemon and pistachio flavors.

Beneath Istanbul, we walked along the raised boardwalks of a roman cistern, finding carved Medusa heads awkwardly placed at the bottom of two columns, one upside down and one sideways. Why did they bother to decorate a room that would be filled with water? Were there slacker builders who finished the columns and then said, "Oh snap, we put her head upside down!@#! Leave it. No one will ever notice."

Whirling dervishes or "semazen" are Sufi Muslims who follow the teachings of Rumi: love and tolerance, a refreshingly simple creed. We watched them whirl for an audience of tourists at the train station on Wednesday night. How can these guys walk a straight line after spinning for 30 minutes? It's a graceful and yet dizzying way to pray.

Mr. Mustache squeezes the best orange juice in Istanbul. His righteous facial hair, kind eyes and tasty juice earned him loyal customers in our family. When we stopped at his hole-in-the-wall shop, he had changed to a gray fez and was praying on the floor. Instead of leaving us to stand on the sidewalk, he invited us to sit on a couch in his tiny shop while he pressed the oranges.

Each night, we waited to sleep until the al-mu’azin's final prayer call at 10:30. It seems a bit late to keep a whole city awake, as the melodies to Allah broadcast from multiple minarets. No one climbs the towers any longer to chant across the city; they employ loud speakers and amplification systems now.

Traveler's Note: Beware the travel agents of Istanbul. They are not all travel agents. If they don't have Grade A certificates on the wall and computers on their desks, they will probably be ripping you off. We compared prices among travel agents for bus and ferry tickets and found that one such "travel agency" attempted to charge us $300 US over the actual cost of tickets. Needless to say, he didn't get our business. Also note that the DHL shipping company bargains the cost of packages. There are no fixed prices in this country.
To enjoy more photos of Istanbul, click here.

Masai Mara, Kenya

Caption: Walking along the Mara River (with an armed guard) to see hippos and crocs!
Masai(named for the indigenous people) and Mara(meaning spotted hills because the trees dotting the landscape make it appear so)

You have likely heard of athlete's foot and tennis elbow, but there is a lesser known affliction called safari butt. One contracts this ailment from lurching, bouncing and otherwise careening along the highways and dirt tracks of Kenya for eight hours a day, eight days in a row. When our Toyota van broke, it was a relief not to drive for a day. The girls caught up on schoolwork and interviewed Professor Dickson who answered all of their questions about animals and ecosystems. We met a German couple who invited us to visit them in Munich at the end of our trip and an intriguing British family who has found homes for street children in Uganda and Kenya for the last twelve years.

Jeff and Maya took a nature walk with the camp host, Elly a 26 year old self-taught Kenyan. They returned contented in a downpour after two hours of walking the red clay roads of the area and climbing a ridge to see the Serengeti in Tanzania. They sipped the sweet nectar of an orange, brown flower and saw a Masai elder herding 1,000 cows. Each of his four wives has an additional 200 cows each. Elly and Jeff share an interest in history, politics and religion so they traversed these topics while Maya silently predicted what would happen in the final Harry Potter novel.

Grass, grass and more tall grass waved across the Masai Mara awaiting the hungry hoards of wildebeest and zebra who will migrate here next month. These immense grasslands yielded little in the way of game for our viewing, but the Mara River provided an adventure. It's one of the few places tourists can escape their vehicles in the Mara, albeit with an armed escort. We walked the shores of these hippo and crocodile infested waters, learning that these odd companions have a truce. Crocs only try to eat baby hippos and adult hippos use their powerful jaws to crush crocs that try. Did you know that when hippos converse, it's like the deep snort of several Harley Davidson motorcycles trying to start? A crocodile resident of the river has reached the length of our safari van over the last hundred years. Thankfully he basked on the opposite bank of the river.

We visited Kenya at the end of the rainy season, which produced little rain. However, on our last night, it rained in earnest through the night and into the morning. Dickson had "repaired" the van so we could limp back to Nairobi, a five hour drive that would take nine hours this day. For those of you who understand cars, the rear, left leaf spring had broken loose. (For those of you who don't, that's the part of the car that fastens the axle and the suspension to the car.) It's really important and ours was now tied on with rubber tubing and baling wire. It needed welding, but that wasn't available in the Mara. With the conviction that Dickson had led us safely thus far, we got back in the car.

Rain had turned the dirt roads and minor stream crossings into muddy batter and major rivers. The slick slime, one-foot deep in many places, spun tires, mired buses and the tractors that tried to rescue them. Smart, patient, experienced Dickson doubled his tip as he navigated the roads like a Hollywood stunt driver. We are certain he was the only driver not to become stuck at least once on the road between Nairobi and Masai Mara. When I told him this, he said, "Yes, I think I am the only one. I have a four wheel drive mind." We agree that he does. Like a chess master he strategized several moves ahead. At times he left the so-called road, jumped the embankment and fishtailed along the grass instead.

We watched impotently as our former cook, Dominic and the kind German couple pushed on the back of their trapped van. Impossible to stop and attempt a rescue; we would have been undone by our own heroics. Car loads of Korean and Japanese tourists stood marooned at the side of the road while their guides attempted to free their vehicles. Local buses offloaded 100 passengers while Masai chopped small trees to lay under the bus wheels. These are some of the things we witnessed on that wild ride to Nairobi. That night, the 43rd anniversary of independence in Kenya, we learned that extra police arrived to guard the forty safari vans, full of tourists, who spent the night stuck in the mud without facilities or extra food.

Finally back on partially paved roads, we stopped at a curio shop to purchase souvenirs. Simon relieved us of many shillings and a few pens. His son offered us 100 cows and two donkeys to marry Maya when she finished high school. Unable to negotiate for more livestock, Maya remains available to decide at a later date whom she will marry.

To us it was an extraordinary day. To the people of Kenya, it's called daily life.
Enjoy more of Jeff's amazing photos in the Masai Mara, our last stop in Kenya.

Lake Nakuru, Kenya

After roughing it at Amboseli, even the basic guesthouse at Nakuru with its indoor plumbing and electricity, warranted five stars from us. Zebras welcomed us, grazing along the driveway and on the front lawn, a sight that Dickson had never witnessed.

This fragile park is an island, separated from the town by a high voltage fence. Nakuru has experienced extreme hardships in recent years, such as the flamingo die-off and diaspora when sewage polluted the lake. 1.8 million of these boldly decorated birds are back, significantly fewer than the 3 million that lived here in 2004. Five years ago, a lion began eating pedestrians who wandered into the park, so an official ordered all of the lions eliminated and imported new prides. The endangered black rhino have made a home here and are slowly increasing their number.

Within fifteen minutes of starting our early morning game drive, we heard alarmed monkeys calling through the canopy. Dickson shut off the engine and whispered, "Look, in the road, a leopard." There it was: muscular, silent, spotted and walking straight toward our open-topped van. "Mommy, I'm scared." Dickson didn't blink in this game of chicken so we trusted too. After many minutes of awe-inspired silence, with a leopard five feet from us, the big cat disappeared into the tall grass. Later, when we asked how he knew the leopard wasn't a threat, Dickson explained how you can read an animal's tail. If the leopard's tail is curled up, it's not hunting. Down between the legs, it's another story. (FYI Rhinos curl their tails before charging.)

Another twenty minutes and we stopped again to observe forty Anubis Baboons parade cautiously passed us, within three feet of the van. Mothers held babies on their backs or tucked underneath them. The alpha male, last in line, sat on a log to make sure his troupe had safely passed before following them. Later in the day, we enjoyed another troupe grooming each other while juveniles played king of the branch, often comically tumbling into the grass.

In West with the Night, Beryl Markham writes of her adventurous life in Kenya from 1910-1940. I read her autobiography in Kenya and found some of her observations described Kenya in 2007!

There were no subtle strokes in the creation of Nakuru....as long as the day lasts, Nakuru is no lake at all, but a crucible of pink and crimson fire - each of its flames, its million flames, struck from the wings of a flamingo,(Markham, 161).

The image of Lake Nakuru is inextricably linked to its flocks of flamingoes. No matter how many times we saw their images on National Geographic or Animal Planet, walking on the muddy shores among these pink and black birds was incredible. The noise is deafening as they all talk at once and beat their wings in the water. As the only creature with a fixed LOWER jaw, flamingoes must eat their blue-green algae upside down! "Why does a blue-green food turn them pink?" we asked. The high keratin content in the algae does the trick. Take away that food source and they return to their original all white color.

In Nakuru, we saw all of the "Big 5." In the days of big game hunting in Kenya, the Big 5 were the most dangerous to hunt because they would always fight back: elephant, rhino, lion, cape buffalo and leopard. The five lions lazed under a distant tree surrounded by an unconcerned herd of cape buffalo. They stood after a while and moved farther away to enjoy the abundant shade of another tree.

Now and then the whimsically fashioned figure of a rhino has moved along the horizon like a grey boulder come to life and adventure bound,(Markham,33).

The black rhino has anger issues and lives alone. That's one of the reasons they have trouble reproducing. Our fortunate group saw three of them, one wounded from a recent fight, bleeding from his neck and leg. The other two, a courting pair, wallowed in a mud hole that is a necessary part of each rhino's territory.

After such a comfortable night and abundant game drive, we wanted another night at Lake Nakuru, but with the Masai Mara separated from us by ten hours over rough roads, we had to move on. The main highways would be deemed impassable and closed in the US. French and German companies are currently building new roads, but for now, bouncing along them is just part of daily life in Kenya and according to Beryl Markham, that's the way it's been for decades.

The more traveled roads were good and often paved for a short distance, but once the pavement ended an aeroplane, if one were at hand, could save hours of weary toil behind the wheel of a lurching car- provided the driver were skillful enough to keep it lurching at all,(Markham,6).

Thankfully Dickson proved very skillful in this regard.

Click here for more photos of Lake Nakuru.

Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Resting at the base of cloud-covered, Mount Kilimanjaro, Amboseli National Park was the first stop on our "safari" (Swahili for journey). Thanks to the Rogan's recommendation, we traveled with the best guide and driver in Kenya, Dickson and a kind, talented cook named Dominic. As Dickson says, "Game drives are like fishing; you never know what you'll catch." Surprises lay around every turn in the wildly bumpy road. As the animals are most active in the early morning and early evening, we rose at sunrise most mornings and retired to our tents at dark. It is low season, before the summer crush so we enjoyed cool temperatures and saw few vans on the dirt tracks. We mostly had the animals to ourselves.
Some of the most transcendent snapshots included:
-Sunrise in with large herds of elephants moving majestically across the grasslands toward the swamp. Mothers and babies, all have their tusks, as Kenya has eradicated poaching.
Something about a "shoot to kill" order and a special paramilitary unit protecting the animals.
-Smelly army tents and squat toilets did nothing to stifle our enthusiasm (OK, the accommodations were a bit surprising, but we adjusted our expectations.)
-Groups of giraffe striding elegantly toward the next acacia tree and then disappearing into the forest.
That's something that never failed to awe us. Everything can disappear so quickly, no matter how large. An elephant into scrub bushes, a hippo into the swamp, giraffes behind acacia trees.
-An enormous bull elephant strode silently passed our van, at a distance of ten feet.
-Male wildebeest, gazelle and elephants clashing horns resolving some unspoken dispute.
- Five cheetah, camouflaged in the tall grass, wrestling each other like overgrown house cats
- Spying a rare African wildcat that looked like a domestic cat until it stood to its full height and turned into the grass.
- Dr Seuss like birds live here including the Crested Crane, Maribou Stork and Helmeted Guinea Fowl.
- Running zebras, outrageously painted, each with a unique striped pattern like a fingerprint
- Maya and Skylar standing up with their heads out the roof of the van, wind in their braids, straining to spot another beast.
-The soft light of sunset, brilliantly lit the snowy peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
We have eight days and two more parks to visit. The people we meet adore Barak Obama and definitely think he should be the next President of the US. While electricity is rare, there is cell phone reception across the country, including the game parks. Kenya is full of surprises.
For more photos of Amboseli National Park, click here.

Masai Village: Amboseli, Kenya

Skylar kicked her soccer ball with a Masai man, moments after arriving to our campsite in Amboseli National Park. Over the next few days, John (as he called himself), returned to visit us, teaching the girls Swahili and Masai words and telling us about his village. Perhaps he does this with all the foreign tent campers, but the invitation to his village felt authentic and personal. We had shipped school supplies and needed a recipient; his village had recently built a school. We had a match.
John roused the village from their afternoon siesta to greet our family with songs, the men holding down the rhythm section with their voices and bending from the waist. Jeff joined their chorus as the women invited us to join their dance. The Masai have a presence with their red robes, impressive height and noble bearing. Surrounded by these friendly strangers from such an ancient culture, we couldn't stop smiling and exchanging quizzical glances. A very young (approx. 27), English-speaking, Chief Ipetek, welcomed us to his village with a warm smile and kind eyes. He explained that we could take as many photos as we wanted and ask as many questions as we wanted. Jeff thanked him with a Masai "Ashe" and
Thorny acacia branches encircle the village, providing some protection from wild animals for the 180 residents. The inner courtyard holds additional acacia corrals to hold the cows, sheep and goats at night. Until they reach six months in age, the domesticated animals spend the night inside the Masai huts. Gender and age roles are clearly defined in this polygamous culture. Men carve wood, make fire, protect the village, govern and herd animals. Women do everything else including building the huts, cooking, caring for the children and beading. In fact, girls by the age of 12 can build the low, stick, dung and mud huts.
We stood in the gray/red dust of the courtyard under a lonely tree to see a demonstration of the vertical jump of the Masai men. They can jump straight up as high as their own heads. Holding John's walking staff, Jeff made a sporting attempt as well. Three men then taught us how to make fire without matches. Two took turns spinning a stick between their open palms. Lodged in a piece of flat wood, the friction created smoke and ash. A third man dumped the ash onto elephant dung and blew on the cinders, igniting a fire most efficiently.
Leaning against his grandmother's hut, John diplomatically answered our questions about polygamy. "A man must have enough cows to afford more than one wife; he must pay each wife's family 8-9 cows. It's not good to have the wives in the same house; that can be a problem so each wife must have her own house." We ducked low to enter the dark, cool hut. It's built low because the wind would topple a taller structure. Our eyes adjusted to the dim light, our minds settled on the idea that we were sitting in a real Masai mud hut. John gestured for us to sit on the edge of the stick and cow hide beds, "No mattresses he pointed out." Chief Ipetek joined us and talked about the Masai diet, only three things: meat, blood and milk from their domesticated animals.
The Masai creation myth explains that first God created the cow, then the Masai, then everything else. There never was a time without cows. They never eat wild game and only hunt the lion as a rite of passage to manhood. To us vegetarians, it was particularly surprising to hear that on a diet, void of veggies, the Masai live to be 90-100 years old. Of course, they walk everywhere and don't appear to own chairs, so they get a lot of exercise. "Masai men have gorgeous white teeth," we remarked to John. He explained that they brush several times a day with the shredded end of an acacia twig.
Outside again, we joined the school children gathered in the courtyard to give them school supplies. They sang in Masai then broke into the familiar Alphabet Song. Skylar stood head and shoulders above her Masai age-mates. No one could believe our children were nine and twelve, "They must eat well." This tribe had a meeting three years ago and decided education was more important than their nomadic lifestyle. So they built a school with the help of a Los Angeles Rotary Club and only the men wander with the animals seeking water and grass. The children and women remain in the village year round to attend school. Bic pens caused the biggest excitement as the ones available here are of inferior quality.
Finally, we visited the improvised marketplace where the Masai displayed their beadwork and wood carvings for us to purchase. Jeff, Maya and Chief Ipetek surveyed one aisle while Skylar, John and Michelle walked the other aisle. Despite our protests that our money supply was not endless, we were instructed to choose one item from each family's "booth" and we would bargain later. What a cornucopia of gorgeous items: carved animals, beaded bracelets, necklaces, baskets, wooden clubs and more. One man removed his ankle bracelet to sell it to us. Raindrops came to our rescue, but not soon enough. We'd accumulated 38 items which the men arranged on a blanket to inventory. The bargaining began at a shocking $550. After much back and forth and a bit of discomfort on our part, we put a few items back (making sure we kept the Chief's wooden hippo) and arrived at a fair price. What gracious and likeable people (though they do practice polygamy and female circumcision). What a memorable experience. It certainly gave us all a lot to think about.

Traveler's Note: Ink pens and digital watches can be used to barter for Masai trinkets. At the very least, the many schoolchildren asking travelers for pens and money will not leave empty handed.

For more photos of our family's visit to the Masai Village, click here.