Yep. I'm long overdue in keeping you up to date. It has been anxiety central here with all the election brouhaha. I will admit to being enthralled with listening to the Supreme Court hearing on my Red Cross solar, hand crank radio. I swear if there was a muscle in my wrist it would be the size of a mega bicep from the hours of cranking to be sure I wouldn't miss a single comment. I'm actually glad I don't have a tv because I could focus on what was being said rather than faces and other courtroom distractions. I often wondered if our founding fathers acted the same way in presenting their arguments before the high court? Were they allowed to go on and on and on? Were their arguments delayed as they asked associates for papers or belabored by the numerous times they iterated 'my lords' or 'the honorable?" Twas fascinating! And now it's over with the ruling confirming the election results. Amazing to listen to democracy in action. I kept thinking I might hear a shoe banging on a podium or a judge rapping his gavel for order, but it was very dignified.
So that is but one of the reasons why I am so delayed in getting this done. Not to mention what a huuuuuuuuuge task it is to do this. It's hard to decide which photos to use and of course I have to be in the right mindset to write the story. So I will take you back to where I left off--heading off to the coast for the Christmas holiday and then to Rusinga Island on Lake Victoria for New Years.
I met my dear friend Jennifer on Lamu for four lovely days at Lamu House. She lives in Kilifi on the coast so Lamu wasn't much different for her. And of course I had been before so it was just a chance to be in a lovely place with friends for Christmas. I have previously shown you Lamu so I won't do it again.
Who says you can't fly over the rainbow? This was the view as I approached Lamu this visit.
The owners of Lamu House were in residence this visit and had decorated fully for the holidays. It was so heart warming to see a huge Christmas tree all dressed up and they had designed a special 7 course dinner for guests. We were tipsy and sated after course four but managed to down the rest of the yummy meal.
The weather was hotter and steamier than my visit last May and there were many other pals that had trekked to Lamu as well. So we got to see them, enjoy a day of swimming and lunch on Shela Island while we lolled away Christmas.
Then it was time to head cross country to western Kenya to Rusinga Island which lies in Lake Victoria. My pal Stacy and I took a six hour matatu ride to the shore only to discover that the ferry to the island didn't leave for another four hours. Pisser! So we decided to do what the locals do--hop on a local motorboat for the 20 minute ride over.
You basically do a heave-ho of your luggage onto a motor powered canoe and then clamber on board with everyone else. Cheap but efficient. And did I mention smelly? It's a bit nippy in the water spray and I will admit to saying a few hail mary's because we were so low in the water.
Rusinga Island resort is nice, spacious and quiet. We had a nice large room near the water and spent most of our time by the pool. Lunch was served on the lawn and was simply prepared fresh fish and vegetables. Don't think I would go back there but now it's checked off the tourist list.
After returning to Nairobi for a meeting it was time for Stephanie's arrival. I had a jam packed itinerary for us this trip--of course. But I also had told her that this visit she was going to experience the life of a volunteer in Kenya. Her last trip had taken her to my site in Maralal where I lived 'posh corps' meaning I had everything. Boy is it different now!
We checked into the skeeter motel around midnight chattering like a bunch of squirrels and dove into bed to rest up for a loooooooong first day in the morning. I even showed Steph how the room had been freshly painted, right over top of the skeeters I had smashed on the wall during previous nights there.
After chugging a few cups of coffee my pal and taxi driver Caesar picked us up for the drive to the Elephant Sanctuary. This is just outside Nairobi. Wounded or abandoned elephants from all over Kenya are brought here to be nurtured until they are age three and can be returned to the wild. Some adults never return because they have ailments or issues which prevent return. Promptly at 11am daily feeding commences. They surely have an internal clock because they come trotting from the woods in a pack and head straight for the handlers bottles. After which, they wash down the milk with water and munch on leaves before getting a mud bath.
With a tap on the butt, they quietly retreat to the forest until the ritual repeats itself the next morning.
A few miles down the road is the Giraffe Sanctuary where you can kiss a giraffe! Well, kinda. They give you food pellets to put between your lips and the giraffe will take its sloppy, sticky tongue and grab it from you.
Steph was a tad hesitant but was soon stuffing her lips for repeat 'kisses.'
Then we were off down the road a bit further to the Karen Blixen Museum. Yep. The Out of Africa movie location. Most of the items in the house had been donated to the Kenyan government when it was decided to make this a museum. So what you saw in the movie was actually in the house. What a beautiful place, immaculately maintained on the Ngong Mountain foothills.
They even have some of the original farm equipment and our driver Caesar tried out the tractor.
Accessed by a different road at the far end of the property are beautiful cottages, gardens and a restaurant built in the 1980s to attract the tourists. We toured a few of the cottages and would have loved to hoist ourselves up into one of those high netted beds. Lunch on the veranda of the restaurant was a two hour delight of caesar salad, fresh broiled fish and chocolate brownie. Well of course we had several glasses of wine, duh!!!
Then it was back to the skeeter motel for a nap before heading out to dinner. There were quite a few of my peeps in town so we decided to head to a favorite watering hole, Havana.
They have some bawdy paintings on the wall, good mojitos and awesome baby back ribs. The dj downstairs is spinning all your favorite tunes from way back when. We were getting wound up with a sing at the top of your lungs to 'that's what friends are for' and the dj cut the music! Damn, we were rockin it! Guess he didn't want the competition.
My pals Dave and Farhan were enjoying the fun with the gang.
The next morning I took Steph to the Peace Corps office so she could meet peeps there and see where Mama goes for meetings and medical stuff.
Once upon a time this was a fabulous mansion--even has a pool, that has been converted to offices for 20 plus as well as a motor pool of 7 and drivers. We wash our laundry in the medical office area washer and hang it on the line by the drained pool. The landscaping is meticulous and I always make flower arrangements for anyone offering up a container when I drop by.
The next morning we headed to the airport for the short flight to the Masaai Mara Reserve. The premier preserve in Kenya is massive and the seasonal home for the animals during their great migration here from the Serengeti in Tanzania. Although we weren't visiting at migration time, it is 'mtoto' time--birthing season. So maybe we will see some babies.
After staying at the skeeter motel, I raised the bar to the Saruni Camp. We had stayed at the Saruni in the Samburu Reserve on Steph's previous visit and I like their style. This was our cottage 'camp.' Although not as posh as the Samburu, it is obvious the owner corrected a few things after this first camp. It was still awesome--great italian food, 18 guests only and our private game driver and vehicle.
Enroute to the camp we stopped along the Mara River to watch the rhinos playing in the water.
They spend the day splashing and come ashore at dark to forage the bushes and greenery. Definitely big, mean buggers and I woulnd't want to try to outrun one.
Rising at sunrise to go on the hunt is a chilling experience with no windshield on the jeep. Well, there is one but the guide didn't want the obstruction.
And then we heard radio chatter of lions. so we're off!
And here is her majesty, staunchly surveying the view for a possible snack. Her gal pal was sleeping nearby, obviously with a full tummy.
As the day wore on, it warmed up nicely and we peeled off a few layers.
In the Samburu Reserve, we felt we were hunting the animals. Here, "they're just everywhere" was how Steph put it. So rather than taking a zillion more photos of animals we had already on file, we decided we would try to capture the perfect 'butt shot' of each animal. It became a daily contest. I told Steph when I get back home I want to see a fab framed wall hanging of 'Kenyan Butts' that I can hang in my itty bitty house.
That evening it was the night for a bush dinner with entertainment by the locals.
There were some other interesting guests as well. One we enjoyed was a retired couple from Germany and it was his birthday and she had arranged for a cake. Yes, it was their first time to Kenya so they had no clue about cakes in Kenya. Looked great on the outside, nicely decorated and pretty candles. Well, he must have chewed that first bite for five minutes before choking it down. Then there was a British couple and she was a hoss of a woman. She never met a twinkie she didn't like! She wolfed down that cake and even had seconds! I would not want to get between her and a plate of food. But we couldn't blame her the way her pompous husband constantly ragged her. I would eat constantly too just so I wouldn't have to hear him barking at me! Steph and I were about to pee our pants laughing at these two sights. No, we didn't eat our cake. It tasted like a dried up sponge.
The next day we got lucky--a cheetah kill!! It is rare to see cheetahs and even rarer to catch a kill. We watched a mama training her young male how to hunt.
She showed him how to silently watch, wait and then stalk a herd of gazelles until a young one was lagging behind. Then she flew into a rapid fire chase, isolating it completely, siezing it by the neck, rendering the killing bite and dropping it for the young lad to bring to the safety of an acacia tree to devour. There she showed him the process of severing the skin, removing the organs and then feasting on the fresh meat. I know--sounds gross and barbaric. But it's the circle of life. We spent several hours just watching this lesson.
Another day as we were heading back to the lodge for luch, we discovered a pride of lions resting in a grove during the heat of the day. One young gal was peacefully napping, cuddled next to mama, still within touching reach.
After four splendid days of hunting which also included a four hour morning hike across the range with our guide, we hit the road once again to uber exclusive Hippo Point Sanctuary on the shore of Lake Naivaisha. This will be the acme of Steph's three weeks here.
To be continued...
So that is but one of the reasons why I am so delayed in getting this done. Not to mention what a huuuuuuuuuge task it is to do this. It's hard to decide which photos to use and of course I have to be in the right mindset to write the story. So I will take you back to where I left off--heading off to the coast for the Christmas holiday and then to Rusinga Island on Lake Victoria for New Years.
I met my dear friend Jennifer on Lamu for four lovely days at Lamu House. She lives in Kilifi on the coast so Lamu wasn't much different for her. And of course I had been before so it was just a chance to be in a lovely place with friends for Christmas. I have previously shown you Lamu so I won't do it again.
The owners of Lamu House were in residence this visit and had decorated fully for the holidays. It was so heart warming to see a huge Christmas tree all dressed up and they had designed a special 7 course dinner for guests. We were tipsy and sated after course four but managed to down the rest of the yummy meal.
The weather was hotter and steamier than my visit last May and there were many other pals that had trekked to Lamu as well. So we got to see them, enjoy a day of swimming and lunch on Shela Island while we lolled away Christmas.
Then it was time to head cross country to western Kenya to Rusinga Island which lies in Lake Victoria. My pal Stacy and I took a six hour matatu ride to the shore only to discover that the ferry to the island didn't leave for another four hours. Pisser! So we decided to do what the locals do--hop on a local motorboat for the 20 minute ride over.
Rusinga Island resort is nice, spacious and quiet. We had a nice large room near the water and spent most of our time by the pool. Lunch was served on the lawn and was simply prepared fresh fish and vegetables. Don't think I would go back there but now it's checked off the tourist list.
After returning to Nairobi for a meeting it was time for Stephanie's arrival. I had a jam packed itinerary for us this trip--of course. But I also had told her that this visit she was going to experience the life of a volunteer in Kenya. Her last trip had taken her to my site in Maralal where I lived 'posh corps' meaning I had everything. Boy is it different now!
We checked into the skeeter motel around midnight chattering like a bunch of squirrels and dove into bed to rest up for a loooooooong first day in the morning. I even showed Steph how the room had been freshly painted, right over top of the skeeters I had smashed on the wall during previous nights there.
After chugging a few cups of coffee my pal and taxi driver Caesar picked us up for the drive to the Elephant Sanctuary. This is just outside Nairobi. Wounded or abandoned elephants from all over Kenya are brought here to be nurtured until they are age three and can be returned to the wild. Some adults never return because they have ailments or issues which prevent return. Promptly at 11am daily feeding commences. They surely have an internal clock because they come trotting from the woods in a pack and head straight for the handlers bottles. After which, they wash down the milk with water and munch on leaves before getting a mud bath.
With a tap on the butt, they quietly retreat to the forest until the ritual repeats itself the next morning.
A few miles down the road is the Giraffe Sanctuary where you can kiss a giraffe! Well, kinda. They give you food pellets to put between your lips and the giraffe will take its sloppy, sticky tongue and grab it from you.
Then we were off down the road a bit further to the Karen Blixen Museum. Yep. The Out of Africa movie location. Most of the items in the house had been donated to the Kenyan government when it was decided to make this a museum. So what you saw in the movie was actually in the house. What a beautiful place, immaculately maintained on the Ngong Mountain foothills.
Accessed by a different road at the far end of the property are beautiful cottages, gardens and a restaurant built in the 1980s to attract the tourists. We toured a few of the cottages and would have loved to hoist ourselves up into one of those high netted beds. Lunch on the veranda of the restaurant was a two hour delight of caesar salad, fresh broiled fish and chocolate brownie. Well of course we had several glasses of wine, duh!!!
Then it was back to the skeeter motel for a nap before heading out to dinner. There were quite a few of my peeps in town so we decided to head to a favorite watering hole, Havana.
The next morning I took Steph to the Peace Corps office so she could meet peeps there and see where Mama goes for meetings and medical stuff.
The next morning we headed to the airport for the short flight to the Masaai Mara Reserve. The premier preserve in Kenya is massive and the seasonal home for the animals during their great migration here from the Serengeti in Tanzania. Although we weren't visiting at migration time, it is 'mtoto' time--birthing season. So maybe we will see some babies.
Enroute to the camp we stopped along the Mara River to watch the rhinos playing in the water.
Rising at sunrise to go on the hunt is a chilling experience with no windshield on the jeep. Well, there is one but the guide didn't want the obstruction.
That evening it was the night for a bush dinner with entertainment by the locals.
The next day we got lucky--a cheetah kill!! It is rare to see cheetahs and even rarer to catch a kill. We watched a mama training her young male how to hunt.
Another day as we were heading back to the lodge for luch, we discovered a pride of lions resting in a grove during the heat of the day. One young gal was peacefully napping, cuddled next to mama, still within touching reach.
To be continued...
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