WE LIVED IN THE SHADOW
OF KILIMANJARO FOR SEVERAL DAYS.
Yeen Lan, the Rafiki director, called us the
last day before heading back to Kenya. We were able to tell her we had seen the
top of Kilimanjaro every day, a rare event. This mountain is the tallest free
standing mountain in the world, over 18,000 feet, standing right on the
equator. It is a four day climb, the last day being through hellish arctic
conditions. She told us she had prayed
for us to see the mountain in all its glory. She said some people stay there
for weeks without ever seeing the top. Don't doubt that Yeen Lan has those
connections. I personally believe Yeen Lan is an African legend in the making.
If we live long enough, many people will be enthralled to find we actually know
her.
We got bad news just before heading back
to Kenya. Deb, the director at Rafiki Tanzania, told us our visa was a one way
thing, and we would have to buy another to cross the border back into Kenya, at
$100 each. No way around it, that's just how it's done. We didn't have that
much on us, and only cash could be used.
Deb
insisted on cashing a personal check of ours before we left. Barb seemed
confident we would never need that money, I wasn't so sure, and I took Deb up
on her offer. But, as I well knew, its very easy to underestimate Barbara's
abilities, when it comes to public relations.
On the bus headed out, we saw many small,
circular compounds in the bush. Mud and cow manure huts were surrounded by a
high fence of thorns. Most were unoccupied. The Masai, with their herds of
cattle, mules and goats, just went wherever the grazing was in this dry, arid
land that is East Africa. The donkeys were used to haul containers of muddy
water from sources that might be many miles away.
Drinking water was a real problem there.
The Masai often had to drink from the same source the cattle had been in, a
very bad thing in Africa. Many people die because of the water. Modern water
wells and filtering systems could save many lives there.
Young boys herded the goats. "Isn't
that dangerous?" I had asked. "Yes, we do lose boys often."
Those who survive and become a man are a very formidable force, with only a spear,
in protecting their herds from lions.
Traditionally, a young Masai warrior-to-be
has to draw first blood in the killing of a lion to become a man. One youngster
showed me how this was done.
When a lion stalks their animals, four or
five warriors track it down. They surround it, each with a spear and a cowhide
shield. The young warrior seeking to become a man confronts it. When the lion
charges, he braces the back of the spear with his foot, points the spear at the
charging lion. If things go well, the lion will be impaled, and the warrior
crouches behind the cowhide shield. But if things go bad...
Other warriors then move in and help. This
is technically not legal now, but many older men show many scars from the day
they became a man.
Masai often open up a vein in a cow's
neck, drink the blood, and close it back up. Safer than drinking muddy water, I
guess.
When dry times hit, and the grazing dries
up, they move the cattle into downtown Moshe, into the moist micro climate at
the base of Kilimanjaro. They have been doing this for eons, long before Moshe,
and besides, who is going to stand up and tell these seven-foot-tall warriors
no? Since they strongly believe that all the cattle and the grazing in the
world belongs to them, they go where they wish, paying no attention to borders.
Barbara is the only woman I have ever heard of
who has held their hands, and danced with these warriors. Their hands were sorta rough, she
reported. However, she had no spear, and her vertical jump was not
impressive. I was not invited to dance, and I was not going to insist.
Barbara’s boldness has landed her in many unusual situations around the world.
But she was well warned by our free lance spy friend in Austria – You travel far too lightly about the
world...people will entrap you... you should have never allow me into your car
yesterday...
Barbara’s reply –we had you out-numbered.
**My new book, The Truest Friend, Tooter of the Fourche LaFave, is now available on amazon.com. A personalized edition is available from me. barbandpat1966@suddenlink.net.
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