We travelled back to Nairobi yesterday (New Years Eve). Last night we wanted to go out and welcome 2010, not sure what we were thinking..........We went into the city center, and were greeted by pretty much every Kenyan between the ages of 18 to 25! There were so many people down there we couldn't take it. So we turned around and headed back to the burbs.
We found a bar a couple of blocks from the house at about 10 minutes to midnight. We did manage to get drinks before the countdown. Speaking of the countdown it was the strangest I've ever witnessed. It seems logical to count DOWN to midnight.....but the DJ counted in ascending order starting with 1, ending at 5?? Then there was bubbles and smoke and screaming.......... it was so confusing we just did our own and toast!
Overall the night was fun, but ended abruptly as Maurine was twinkled on by a very drunk lady, who was sleeping on a barstool next to her.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Lake Victoria
I've done more traveling across the Kenyan countryside, and I think I've mentioned this before but the scenery is absolutely breath taking.... our route took us through the beautiful Nandi Hills, people actually have homes along the moutainside surronded by tea farms! There was also miles of sugar cane and rice.
Our first destination was Eldoret which is home to about 1 million people. Eldoret suffered many casualties to violence during the December 2007 post election uproar. Apparently there was pre-tension between tribes over land, and anger over the election gave the tribes an "excuse" to attack. The violence is over, but the disagreement is not. Our visit there was brief (lunch with family), our next stop was Kisumu.
Kisumu is one of Kenya's 3 big cities. It sits on Lake Victoria, the 2nd largest lake in the world after our own Lake Superior. It's known for its fish, and its exciting nightlife. This is also where President Obama's Kenyan family is from.
We were feeling quite brave, lol. We decided to take a ride on the lake in a motor boat (none of us are swimmers, and all of us were nervous). As long as the motor was running the ride was just fine, as soon as it stopped we rocked like crazy, one of the guys (I won't say which one) was almost overboard, lol. Overall it was a lot of fun and we were all glad we went for the ride.
We were in search of hippo's but never did find any. However we saw everything from people bathing on the shore, to local beer being made, and of course fishermen. Afterward we ate fresh fish on the shore, it was the best fish I ever ate (there are pictures to prove it)!
Our first destination was Eldoret which is home to about 1 million people. Eldoret suffered many casualties to violence during the December 2007 post election uproar. Apparently there was pre-tension between tribes over land, and anger over the election gave the tribes an "excuse" to attack. The violence is over, but the disagreement is not. Our visit there was brief (lunch with family), our next stop was Kisumu.
Kisumu is one of Kenya's 3 big cities. It sits on Lake Victoria, the 2nd largest lake in the world after our own Lake Superior. It's known for its fish, and its exciting nightlife. This is also where President Obama's Kenyan family is from.
We were feeling quite brave, lol. We decided to take a ride on the lake in a motor boat (none of us are swimmers, and all of us were nervous). As long as the motor was running the ride was just fine, as soon as it stopped we rocked like crazy, one of the guys (I won't say which one) was almost overboard, lol. Overall it was a lot of fun and we were all glad we went for the ride.
We were in search of hippo's but never did find any. However we saw everything from people bathing on the shore, to local beer being made, and of course fishermen. Afterward we ate fresh fish on the shore, it was the best fish I ever ate (there are pictures to prove it)!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Quam-boh-kah 12-27-09
In Suneka, I have become quite the celebrity. Suneka is a rural area, very different from Nairobi.
Anyways, a day or so after we arrived here I walked through the sitting room, which to my surprise was filled with about 6 pre-teen girls. I said hello, and they all just looked at me but no one responded, so I just keep walking to the "shade house" to relax, and keep cool (it was very hot that day). As I am relaxing in the "shade house" I looked up and notice the girls are all peeking out the window and the door at me.....when they see I've noticed them they giggle and hide......this happened a couple more times, so I decided I'd go in and talk to them.
This time I greeted them in Swahili with "Jambo" and with the biggest smiles they could find they all met my eyes and replied, it was very cute! So I sat down with them and learned that they had come to see me, the American. The way these girls were admiring me, you would have thought I was Miss America. So once they became comfortable the questions started coming.
They asked me everything from is it true that American's eat snakes and snails, to is everyone as light as me (even though they we're not much darker than I), they even asked my mother-in-law if I was white-lol. So since then a couple of them have returned to stare at me and smile.
Today I was given the Kisii name of Quam-boh-kah, I am no longer Demetria, lol. I'm spelling it the way it sounds because I have no clue......basically it means I have crossed water to get here.
Anyways, a day or so after we arrived here I walked through the sitting room, which to my surprise was filled with about 6 pre-teen girls. I said hello, and they all just looked at me but no one responded, so I just keep walking to the "shade house" to relax, and keep cool (it was very hot that day). As I am relaxing in the "shade house" I looked up and notice the girls are all peeking out the window and the door at me.....when they see I've noticed them they giggle and hide......this happened a couple more times, so I decided I'd go in and talk to them.
This time I greeted them in Swahili with "Jambo" and with the biggest smiles they could find they all met my eyes and replied, it was very cute! So I sat down with them and learned that they had come to see me, the American. The way these girls were admiring me, you would have thought I was Miss America. So once they became comfortable the questions started coming.
They asked me everything from is it true that American's eat snakes and snails, to is everyone as light as me (even though they we're not much darker than I), they even asked my mother-in-law if I was white-lol. So since then a couple of them have returned to stare at me and smile.
Today I was given the Kisii name of Quam-boh-kah, I am no longer Demetria, lol. I'm spelling it the way it sounds because I have no clue......basically it means I have crossed water to get here.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Meet the Parents
After leaving Masai Mara, our next destination was to Kisii/Suneka to spend time with my mother-in-law, and father-in-law, and wait for the rest of the family to arrive so we could celebrate Christmas together.
The plan was to take the infamous matatu to Kisii about a 3 hour trip. If you've been following you know I'm not a fan of the matatu, but I was able to get a good comfortable seat, so I thought things would be fine. Boy was I wrong! about 20 minutes into the trip we get a flat tire! its mid-day now so the sun is beaming....all the passengers get off of the van to "bask in the sunlight" while the driver and his helper attempt to jack up the van. However, I'm not really sure why they were jacking it up, THEY DID NOT HAVE A SPARE TIRE!
So we had to sit there and wait for another van to pick us up. When it finally did arrive they were a few passengers on board. I was happy that I stayed close to the road, because I was able to get a seat, while others lagged. I began to feel bad for those who were behind me, because they would have to wait longer in the hot sun to continue on their way....so I thought. Every single person was squeezed onto the van! I was next to the small aisle, a man squatted in that small space, pretty much on my lap! This was one of the most uncomfortable situations I've ever experienced. I became very overwhelmed and the tears began to flow.
Fred said we could get off and take a cab, but by then I couldn't even move, didn't feel like struggling to get out of the tight fit. We did make it safely to Kisii, and I finally met in person the rest of my family, so it was well worth it. However now Fred refuses to take me anywhere on a matatu which is good because I don't like them, but bad because we don't have car!
The plan was to take the infamous matatu to Kisii about a 3 hour trip. If you've been following you know I'm not a fan of the matatu, but I was able to get a good comfortable seat, so I thought things would be fine. Boy was I wrong! about 20 minutes into the trip we get a flat tire! its mid-day now so the sun is beaming....all the passengers get off of the van to "bask in the sunlight" while the driver and his helper attempt to jack up the van. However, I'm not really sure why they were jacking it up, THEY DID NOT HAVE A SPARE TIRE!
So we had to sit there and wait for another van to pick us up. When it finally did arrive they were a few passengers on board. I was happy that I stayed close to the road, because I was able to get a seat, while others lagged. I began to feel bad for those who were behind me, because they would have to wait longer in the hot sun to continue on their way....so I thought. Every single person was squeezed onto the van! I was next to the small aisle, a man squatted in that small space, pretty much on my lap! This was one of the most uncomfortable situations I've ever experienced. I became very overwhelmed and the tears began to flow.
Fred said we could get off and take a cab, but by then I couldn't even move, didn't feel like struggling to get out of the tight fit. We did make it safely to Kisii, and I finally met in person the rest of my family, so it was well worth it. However now Fred refuses to take me anywhere on a matatu which is good because I don't like them, but bad because we don't have car!
Mara Leisure Camp
The next day we went to another resort called Mara Leisure Camp, it was very nice. The rooms were very large tents with nice size bedroom and bath areas. I thought it was nicer than the lodge, but I forgot how the "sounds of the wilderness" keep me from sleeping! It was a sleepless night, and to make matters more scary, they shut off the power from 10:30 PM to 5:30 AM. It was pitch dark the entire night, and I heard the strangest sounds ever. So if you like the great outdoors you'd love it there. I think it was a newer place, very modern, and the food was great. Check it out at: www.maraleisurecamp.co.ke
Monday, December 21, 2009
Simba's Attack
Masai Mara is a game reserve, similar to our national parks, where nature does its thang un-interrupted by people. We we were all excited about what we might see once we entered the park, and shortly after going through the gate we were greeted by a simba (lion)! It was just sitting on the side of the road, so beautiful and still the scene looked like a painting.
There was about a 30km ride from the gate to our resort, along the way we saw giraffe's, huge buffalo, zebra's, and beautiful gazelle's- I took many pictures can't wait to share with you.
We arrived at the resort Keekorok Lodge (nice), were greeted by our hosts with warm cloths to clean our hands, and fruit juice. We dropped our bags at the room, then were off to lunch, and out first Safari!
In addition to the animals listed above we saw Cheetah's (from a distance), elephants, and wildebeast. The highlight of the evening came as the sun was going down. There was a pack of zebra's grazing and moving accross the plains. The trail we were on was going to take us right next to them, I took out my camera to get good snapshots, but we zoomed right by them......about 50 yards away there was a small pride of 3 lions and 3 baby cubs. We parked to get a good look at the pride. As the zebra's continued to graze the lions began watching them (the zebra's had no clue). As the cubs played around the lions spread out and staked out the zebra's who were slowing moving closer. Then one of the zebra's started moving quickly towards the lions, we believe it was trying to get to a river, as soon as it got close enough the 3 lions charged from their posts! the zebra took off back toward the pack and the others ran also. The lions were not able to catch the prey! actually the lions gave up the chase pretty quickly. I wonder what the cubs had for supper that night-lol?
There was about a 30km ride from the gate to our resort, along the way we saw giraffe's, huge buffalo, zebra's, and beautiful gazelle's- I took many pictures can't wait to share with you.
We arrived at the resort Keekorok Lodge (nice), were greeted by our hosts with warm cloths to clean our hands, and fruit juice. We dropped our bags at the room, then were off to lunch, and out first Safari!
In addition to the animals listed above we saw Cheetah's (from a distance), elephants, and wildebeast. The highlight of the evening came as the sun was going down. There was a pack of zebra's grazing and moving accross the plains. The trail we were on was going to take us right next to them, I took out my camera to get good snapshots, but we zoomed right by them......about 50 yards away there was a small pride of 3 lions and 3 baby cubs. We parked to get a good look at the pride. As the zebra's continued to graze the lions began watching them (the zebra's had no clue). As the cubs played around the lions spread out and staked out the zebra's who were slowing moving closer. Then one of the zebra's started moving quickly towards the lions, we believe it was trying to get to a river, as soon as it got close enough the 3 lions charged from their posts! the zebra took off back toward the pack and the others ran also. The lions were not able to catch the prey! actually the lions gave up the chase pretty quickly. I wonder what the cubs had for supper that night-lol?
Hotels
Every town I've been in I've noticed many "Hotels". Well the signs say hotel, but they do not look like places where anyone would want to stay mainly because of the size.........which is about the size of my cubicle at work. So I've been trying to figure out how such a small space could contain a check-in desk, a bathroom, a bed, privacy, etc. So last night I asked Fred if he had ever been in one, and told him I'd like to see what they look like. Yes, he has been inside, and I shouldn't go. They are not Hotels as we know them, but rather places to buy cooked food-LOL. Shame on me again....
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