University of Helsinki
Grateful for yesterday’s awesome party we got to enjoy a later breakfast, after which we prepared towards the day’s activities: exploring the Maasai village in Salaita Hills and Lake Chala near to Tanzania border.
When we arrived at the Salaita Hills, as in Kenya, we received a really warm welcome from the women of the village. After that we listened Julia’s interesting presentation about her research focused on the lives of Maasai women.
What is remarkable about the lives of Maasai women in addition to their clothing in all the colors of the rainbow, is that they build houses, milk the cows, take care of the family and, if they have time after all, make beautiful jewelry for sale. The main task for men is only to own the cattle, which makes it fair to describe women as the backbones of families.
After an interesting and impressive visit, we crammed again into our beloved and incomprehensibly durable bus, and got a little briefing about our next destination. Lake Chala, also known as Challa, is a lake with a surface area of just over 4 km², and it gets its water mainly from rain and fog coming from Kilimanjaro. Because the lake is located on the border of Kenya and Tanzania, its existence as a source of water for two different countries causes conflicts. Private investors are also interested in the surrounding areas and as Kenya News report says, an unidentified private developer has laid claim on over 1,000 acres of land adjacent to Lake Chala.
The walk to the lake was easy, and after a short walk Lake Chala opened up in front of us in the turquoise waters of which the bravest dared to swim, and on the shore of which we enjoyed an outdoor lunch and fig bombs falling from the trees. After lunch it was time again to move to our reliable vehicle, and head towards our already established research station. On the way to the station we stopped at one place selling Kenyan handicrafts and enjoyed one more beautiful sunset, which we had already witnessed several on our journey.
https://www.kenyanews.go.ke/unknown-investor-attempts-to-grab-taveta-shrine/