Day 23- Arusha, Tanzania

Currently at a town called Arusha, which is essentially a staging post for trips into the Serengeti, where we are headed this afternoon.

This morning I went on a tour of a 'Masai village', the quote marks used because the majority of these exist solely for the benefit of taking money from tour groups. However, I was told that, as far as these villages go, this one was pretty authentic.

I learned about the traditional way of life in the village- the basics such as raising cattle, building huts and rites of passage for young men and women. And of course, the cornerstone of tradtional Masai life- rudimentary free markets in the form of arts and crafts stalls.

I thought that was a bit odd, and detracted somewhat from the 'traditional' tag. I was going to ask the Masai tour guide about this but he was talking on his cell phone most of the time. I'll text him later.