Did you know that chimpanzees are about 96% genetically the same as we are?  On Earth Day Walt Disney Films released the documentary film Chimpanzee.  I have not had the time to see it yet, but I am eager to experience the story of Oscar, a young chimp who is orphaned, but is taken in and nurtured by an adult male chimp.

While I did not get to witness that story in the bush (thankfully or I would have wanted to bring Oscar home) I did get to see an amazing sight that proves that the urge to take care of our children is common to all of us primates.  When Diane and I tracked chimps in the Mahale Mountains on Lake Tanganyika  in Tanzania, we got to learn about and be introduced to Gwekula.

Gwekula is a spinster with a bad hip and cannot have babies.  But the fact is that she loves children, so she found herself the perfect job: Chimpanzee nanny.  For the troupe of chimps we followed, she was Mary Poppins, only hairy and without the umbrella.  When the moms are off gossiping and grooming each other Gwekula is all too happy to babysit.  Watching her play with another’s baby chimp, turning him upside down while he squealed with joy, proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that these guys are our cousins!

You can read more about our experience in a Los Angeles Times Article that Diane wrote and I did photos of.  Click here

An Old Friend of Mine - My Passport

An old friend of mine is expiring and I am very sad about it.  I am frustrated because there is nothing I can do to prevent it.  I have known this friend for almost 10 years.  This friend has been with me on every one of my adventures and has helped me each step of the way.  One time my friend got too thin and I had to fatten my friend up so that it could continue to travel with me.

My friend has been touched by many people and has helped me collect memories along the way.  As I sit here on a quiet Sunday with my old friend we reminisce together about the times we have shared.  From that glorious time of kayaking in North Vietnam and realizing that I was in a beautiful place that many decades before I came close to having to go absurdly fight against and to West Africa where I witnessed voodoo ceremonies that few had seen.  We also reminisced about that fateful trip to Tanzania with my amazing children that set me down a life path to follow a dream to start Infinite Safari Adventures and share with people my love of Africa, its wildlife and its people.  My friend was always there with me.

Sadly, soon I will have to send my friend away to be replaced by a new friend.  It will be thinner, emptier and not as worn and warm as my old friend – but I know that will soon change.  And I can take comfort in the fact that my old friend will arrive back to me accompanied with my new friend, where I can keep it safe and every so often we can visit and reminisce about those wonderful adventures of 10 years that we shared together. I wish they would make passports that were good for your entire life.

The Fowler Museum of Cultural History is one of my favorite places to visit in Los Angeles. First I am a UCLA grad. It’s nice to get a chance to see what’s up at the old campus. Second, as a member of the Los Angeles Adventurers Club and as Southern California chapter chair for the international Explorers Club, it’s wonderful to have a place where I can experience the culture of many lands without going far from home (I’m a big fan of the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Orange County for the same reason).

And now, two local arts patrons have made the Fowler Museum even more attractive to me: Deborah and Jay Last of Beverly Hills have pledged $2 million to endow a position of curator of African arts.

I just can’t get enough of Africa, and now I’ll have even more to enjoy nearby. Jay Last is a collector of art from West and Central Africa. I had the pleasure of exploring West Africa in 2009 when I explored voodoo ceremonies in remote villages. The Lasts’ major collection of works by the Lega peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was donated to the Fowler and became the centerpiece of the Fowler’s 2001 exhibition Art of the Lega. These beautiful photos from the Last collection are ivory artifacts from the Lega, circa the 18-19th century.

We at Infinite Kayak Adventures would like to applaud the Lasts for sharing their collection and their love of Africa with Los Angeles. And the best part about the Fowler Museum is – admission is free!

Alan of Infinite Safari Adventures with Maasai Friends wearing Maasai beads

While Maasai are historically polygamous, Patrick has one wife and 3 amazing children.  Patrick has a son Leyian, a daughter Sein and a baby boy Soipei.  His wife Agnes is a beautiful talented woman who is an incredible bead artist.  In fact Agnes and Patrick have been to New Mexico to display her artistry at the internationally known Santa Fe International Folk Art Market.

So many things impressed me Patrick, his family and village.  I could go on and on but here are a few.

First, Patrick borrowed a car to drive us the 25 kilometers to his village (it was that or walk with all my luggage – something I had just done in the rains in Tanzania and did not want to do again.  Check out (Read Meet my Maasai Rafiki of Kenya – Patrick Papatiti).  In the little town where our bus stopped there were several members of his village who caught a ride.  All the way back there was laughing, talking and joking.  I had no idea of what was being said but everyone was enjoying themselves. When we arrived at the village I gave gifts to Patrick’s children.  I was expecting, as children do here to be possessive of their new gifts.  Instead everyone shares.  A soccer game started immediately with all the kids and Sein let a little girl wrap her doll and carry it like a baby –just as the women do.  Everyone was so friendly.  Every single person who came by stopped by to say hellow with a smile on their face.  And while they may not have the possessions we have they are very generous as the beaded gifts they gave me.

We can learn a lot about how to live a happy life from the Maasai.  I know I certainly did!

My Maasai Rafiki Patrick & His Family

Happy Maasai Children at their village

Maasai Barbecue

When I arrived in Patrick’s village I had no idea what I would eat.  Would I drink blood and milk as is traditional of the Maasai?  Would I eat corn? Would I eat something that was hunted?

It turns out that I would be honored by the butchering of one of their goats that would be cooked in my honor.  Living in the U.S. my experience is going to the market and buying some meat.  Here a goat was led away from the herd.  Laying it down on a pile of greens and covering its eyes and mouth it was quickly and humanely killed.  While I was given a lesson on butchering a barbecue was prepared and the meats were stuck on sticks cut from a local acacia tree.

After the meat was thoroughly cooked I was informed that different parts of the goat are given to different parts of the community depending on gender and age.  As I was one of the “elders” I was given some liver as well as some of the ribs.  It was delicious!

However, what I did not know is that I would have that goat for breakfast and dinner for 2 straight days.  Now I know why the Maasai are so trim and fit!

A Maasai Barbecue