Wednesday, April 12, 2017

8 - Africa!

  





   Two female lions had just killed an antelope, And as we got in close one tore the face off. Barbara was on the corner of the Jeep nearest the lions, but for once in her life, she should have gladly given up the best photo angle. But she didn’t. Over the years, when we have joined a crowd looking at some big animal, they tend to single Barbara out and make a run at her. A bear, a big ram, an alpaca. So far, she has always outrun them all back to the car. But no car here.... She made all these photos from an open jeep with no telephoto lens. Anything for a good photo.
     With misgivings, we shot pictures like crazy. Maybe get something for our kids to show at our memorial service back home.
     Soon two male lions came running, trying to take the kill over while Hyenas circled, waiting for their share. One female Lion jerked off a large chunk of meat, and ran off with it, chased by a male.
     Water buffalo had another lion treed, and each time he would try to come down, they ran at him with their sharp horns, trying to protect their young. He just went back up the tree to wait them out. These kind of encounters continued for a while, then Wesley drove us back in some woods along a river bluff, overlooking a river full of Hippos, and set up a table for our breakfast.
      I picked up a huge bone, and brought it to Wesley for ID. "Never do that. There could have easily been a black mamba under that."
      He got a call, someone had spotted a leopard, and we were off, scattering water buffalo as we went. Sure enough, a leopard was treed. We got photos. We made many good photos that morning. One of the most beautiful birds I have ever seen, many animals in the deer family, then a herd of elephants. Next was a herd of zebras rolling in the dust.
      "That's why nobody ever rides a zebra. Their first instinct, with something on their back, is to lie down and roll over on it," Wesley said.
      When we got to lunch, back at camp, we only filled up one table of many in the lunch room.
      "It is just hard to get tourists to come in,"  Wesley said," when someone's getting hacked to death over the hill with a machete."
     Our group consisted of a war crimes recorder, with the UN, her two sisters from Canada, two missionaries, and us.
     Using my trademark charm, I told the ladies, "I would have been here long before, if I had only known I would be dining with six beautiful ladies." I know they all were inwardly swooning over that, but ourwardly, It looked a little more like they were gagging.
      The waiter, not very busy, sat down and talked to us a lot. He was explaining how his generation of Masai were trying to change old customs of his tribe. The old customs largely stripped them of their wealth, and also contributed greatly to the aids problem. Their dad wanted to buy yet another wife, but his sons told him he didn't need another wife, he had given far too many of the cattle they had for the group of wives he already had. The dad was pouty about that, but he didn't get the wife.
A dead man's wife was traditionally taken by his brother, helping further spread the aids problem.
      A Masai leader came to talk to us that afternoon. I think he sorta expected our women to swoon at his full dress costume, But these were strong, outspoken women, and they had their own agenda.
    "Why do you circumsize your women?" was their first question.
      Well, all he could tell them was, "It's just our custom."

      The UN War Crimes woman stated, "Well, its a bad custom, and you need to stop it." Poor guy. He was just never able to get around to his prepared speech, and was happy to see us go. He did manage to ask me if anyone in America had cows. When I told him many people do, he said, "Tell them we will be coming for them." The Masai feel they own all the cattle in the world. CONTINUED

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