Greetings!
Today, we were treated to two features of most of the Overseas Adventures Travels Tours. The first is called "A Day in the Life", and it involved our whole group being invited to one of the villages in the area. The Headman (Clive Machisi), and twenty members of his extended family were there or represented. We first were guided to their community garden, which feeds up to 5,000 in the community with fruit, vegetables, corn, and wheat.
The irrigation system was installed through a grant from U.S.AID, the same agency our government just abolished. Our local guide indicated that there were dozens of other communities which have hopes to attract similar infrastructure investment
Walking back to the village, we were greeted by Mr. Machisi and his wife (exchanging hellos in their native language), and guided to the several houses, animal enclosures, storage sheds, and open cooking pits. The meal preparation had begun, and we were encouraged to participate. It was particularly ironic for Pat to be one of those invited to stir a pot of polenta, given that task was assigned her regularly as a child.
One of the main strange ingredients of the meal was the fried larve of a butterfly which is cleaned and then stuffed with even more protein. This substitute for meat actually tasted great, especially wrapped in polenta meal and vegetable mash. Just before we left, we brought out the $210 worth of food we bought at a local market for the village.
Later in the day, we drove to one of larger local schools, partially supported by our tour company. Almost a thousand 'learners" had just completed their final exams, and were eager to show us their classrooms. Afterward, we were driven back to the National Park, and then in our safari vehicle back on the rough roads to our Camp for an late afternoon sundown drink and dinner.
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