Meserani Snake Park and Campsite has one of the livliest bars in all Africa. The owners, Ma and BJ, also run a health centre and they helped the locals build a superb Masai museum.
1. Masai children wanting to be picked up. I carried a toddler wearing a blanket, and he tried on my glasses
2. Alex, a British student running an adult education scheme for the village. He explained sheepishly, hampered by his out-of-control fringe, that he had been trying to read Wind In The Willows with his class. “I don’t think they get it so I’ve had to draw a map showing that Mole left his house, met the Water Rat, went on a picnic and then went to live at Ratty’s house.’’ I wondered if homesickness for the lush English countryside inspired his choice; and what the people in this land of browns and duns and dust made of it.
3. At the Snake Park some of the Masai women have little shops selling souvenirs. I had gone into Anna’s shop the evening before with no money and promised to return early in the morning. She remembered me and greeted me with a kiss on each cheek.
Meserani Snake Park, Arusha, Tanzania
