Sometimes from home we see a documentary or TV report of distant tribes, very different from us who are living in extreme conditions with very limited resources in hostile regions of the planet, and many people from the couch of their homes think how hard and desperate it has to be to live like that, and a great majority of them avoid a trip to places like that thinking that their westernized culture will not be welcome there.
But television always presents something very different from reality, because what we see through it is this reality captured by a soulless camera, cropped, edited and made up to get a product that is impressive and, of course, the more commercial possible.
This photo report presents you to one of those tribes, the Maasais that live in the North of Tanzania, in the surroundings of Lake Natron.People that welcomed us with open arms and that made us feel at home from the very first moment.
1. Dancing with the chief of a small village, no doubt it is a clear sign of welcome and acceptance.
2. Here we just asked to the village chief if we can spend the night with them, safe from nocturnal wild animals. His face and closeness to us means clearly Yes.
VIDEO: our visit to Lake Natron, land of Maasais.
3. In the middle of the savannah, where the only thing that seems to be there are volcanoes, zebras, flamingos … Maasai curiosity always arises when they hear the sound of our motorcycle from far.
4. The Maasai warriors always ready to protect the roads and defend their livestock from attacks by lions.
5. Young Masai warrior with his typical spear, much bigger than him.
6. Many young Maasais travel to the island of Zanzibar, a place very different from their savanna, to work selling their handicrafts to tourists and so be able to return and buy the dowry to offer the father of the girl they want to marry, normally about 10 cows.
7. The Maasais are great artisans and very clever at the time of recycling, here is this man building the footwear they commonly use, made from old tires that can be brought from large urban centers.
8. We want to get to the volcano, which seems clearly visible behind, but it is always better to ask which of the numerous roads that cross the savanna we have to take.
9. Maasais, with the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano behind, come to greet us when they see us.
10. Young girls who are not yet married always approach us when they see us arrive in their village, the curiosity of this new generation Maasai is one of its great virtues.
11. We just woke up and we are ready to keep our path, but before the people of the village where we sleep want to invite us to a glass of fresh goat´s milk to give us strength.
12. When young Maasi are curious about the unknown world, the elderly, a generation born in very different times, are very shy and hide themselves of our presence.
13. Ivana never miss the opportunity to ask the Maasai warriors if these roads are free of lions.
14. The savannah is undoubtedly an inhospitable place, you have to be really hard to live in this corner of the Earth.
15. We said goodbye and, even without having spent too much time together with these Maasais, our hearts tell us that we must come back to enjoy and learn more from the company of this people.
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