Masai Steppe Summary

Chips mayai, where have you been all my life? We bid farewell to Tanzania a couple of days ago, and sadly, I only had the delicious snack once. Chips mayai consists of french fries thrown in a cast iron skillet with an egg cracked over it. The result is a tasty french fry “omelette” served with hot sauce and salt. It can be found in many of the little villages, even on the outskirts of game preserves (which is where I had mine). Add chips mayai to the list of reasons to return to Tanzania.

Everyone was reluctant to leave and all the riders were extremely enthusiastic with only positive things to say about Tanzania. The scenery was different than all of the other countries so far, the off road riding was challenging but not so much that it wasn’t enjoyable, the fresh fruit was delicious, and the animal sightings were the icing on the cake. Ian Wright tells me how a giraffe crossed the road while he was riding and that it was definitely a high point of the trip.

And the rains held off! Tanzania typically marks the start of the rainy season for the TDA. Although, we were quite fortunate to not get soaked every night, many people enjoyed the showers and David Crane listed it as one of his most memorable moments. “Definitely the day we had the crazy rain at camp. Torrential downpours. It was nice to have a shower. We had actually just paid someone for a bucket of water two minutes before the rain. We used it as a foot bath before we got into our tents that night.” Noah, our Zimbabwean dinner truck driver generously gave me a pair of rubber boots to wear. They are 3-6 sizes too big depending on whether they are a men’s or women’s size 40 but they are awesome. I have contemplated wearing them while I ride like the locals do.

The people here have been so welcoming and friendly. Sally-Anne Dunn tells me about a not so fun experience that turned into a highlight. “I had a nice moment when I fell off my bike for the 4th time and was just laying there in the sand. A group of ladies from the village came up to me and through a medium of sign language we were discussing my cuts and bruises. We shared a smile and a chat in incomprehensible languages. It was quite nice and wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t fallen off. The silver lining, I suppose.”

Yup, Tanzania and the Masai Steppe section has been good to us.