8.2.2025: Walk through a gorge near the Sacred Site and visit of a Maasai - village (Boma).
ZuvorIn the morning, the sunrise has to be admired. It gets light very fast - much faster than in our latitudes.
The sun appears behind the dust.
It ascends higher ...
... and after a minute, no more solar disk behind the dust is visible.
First sunlight on the valley beneath.
Kilimandscharo
The whole scenery. The landscape is completely different as compared to the lodge.
Starting the gorge walk. Recent rain has left puddles.
The fairground of the Maasai ...
... with view to Kilimandscharo, now with the snow on the summit enlightended by the sun.
View back to one of the "caves".
The gorge ...
... is filled to the brim with water during the rain season, resulting in a wild mountain torrent with a waterfall in this place.
Healing plant of the Maasai.
The puddle is several metres deep, says our Maasai guide - due to washing out by the waterfall.
White salt incrustations on the rock, which are collected by the Maasai.
Rest in the shadow.
Lemonyellow rosemallow (Hibiscus calyphyllus)
We walk down along the gorge.
More puddles.
The gorge is cut deep into the volcanic rock.
More down, the valley broadens a bit.
Interesting stratification of the volcanic rock, due to different eruptions.
We climb the slope to the side of the gorge ...
... and come to a flat, slightly inclined area with large grassland and fields. This is a heliotropum species which I cannot define better.
This donkey is bathing in the dust.
...
... and once more.
Maasai now learn agriculture - with rather primitive methods as nearly everywhere over here.
Thorn apple (Datura spp.)
The land is rather eaten up by excessive pasturing.
We visit a Maasai - Boma. "Boma" means fortification, an that´s it. Only a narrow entrance into a circular area, delimited by high heaps of thorny acazia branches. Inside are houses of the Maasai - (extended tribal-) family.
The animals take a rest inside ...
... and are milked just now.
The kitchen building, where it is cooked over open fire I wonder howthey do without burning down everything. We are allowed to visit a tiny residential building with only a very small vestivule and a sleeping room nearly completely occupied by the one bed. Of course, there are no photographs from there.
A chameleon bathing in the sun on a rock outside the area; we now walk back to the "Sacred site"