Yesterday, we arrived to the Maasai Mara in the south eastern part of Kenya. It is a huge reserve with lots of animals. We are staying at the Intrepid Lodge which is like staying at the Ritz versus we have been at the Motel 6 in Kijabe for the past week. We ran out of hot water on Tuesday....so Jas and I have been extra dirty for a few days and it felt amazing to take a hot shower here last night. I can see that if you go to Africa and just stay in these lodges then you get a very warped view of life here. I am so glad we are working and really seeing the people instead of just being a tourist.
The food here is really good and last night we watched a Maasai warrior dance which Jas and I had to participate in.....I think we looked like the kids in the crowd so we were chosen.
We go on three game drives per day with our driver Raphael for about 3 hours at a time. We have seen so many different animals....zebras, elephants, giraffes (my favorite), various types of antelopes, monkeys, female and male lions, and many more. We have taken about a thousand pictures and still more to come. The most amazing part so far is that on our first trip out within about 1 hour we found 3 cheetahs under a tree resting. We stayed for a while and watched them pick out some prey (two zebras), carefully move in on the prey, patiently watch the prey, and then finally attack! Two of the cheetahs went after the child zebra and the other after the mama zebra we think to send her off. The three then tackled the zebra, one holding it's neck, one standing guarding to ward off any other predators, and one biting aggressively from the zebra's bottom. I was not sure whether to be enthusiatic as they had found something to eat or whether to just vomit. It was so intense and just incredible to watch it from start to finish. It really was agony though to watch at the end because it took so long for the zebra to die....definitely not for the weak stomachs. This morning we went back at 6:30am to see what was left over. The three cheetahs were still there and had just devoured the zebra - their bellies were so visibly full! Our guide said this was unusual because they typically do not like left overs but they are adapting to a changing environment and he thinks it is because of the hot weather and the drought. The cheetahs finally left and we saw some vultures come in. I guess it was good though that they really left little behind! Incredible though!
We head back to Kijabe for another work week tomorrow. I am going to meet Jas now since the sun is setting and the flies are attacking me. Love to you all and thank you so much for your prayers....we feel incredibly safe and secure here in Africa. xoxo em and jas
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