Kenyan Coast, August 13 (Jen)

Mombasa

After 6 days without a shower, an afternoon waiting around in Nairobi, and an overnight bus, we were ecstatic to reach Mombasa at 5:30 am. We picked out one of the more upscale sounding “mid-range” hotels from our LP, as I decided that I NEEDED, and certainly deserved after our successful climb, a hot shower and a comfy bed. The place was the “Castle Royal Hotel” and it met all of my specifications. I could have used a little more water pressure, but that is standard in Kenya and I wasn’t complaining. After what I’m sure was a 45 minute shower (um, Perry’s was more like 10), we both hit the sheets. I decided I wasn’t getting up, or leaving the room, until my feet had shrunk at least halfway back to their normal size. Lucky for Perry, this happened around lunch time. We had lunch at the hotel, and promptly went back up to our room to lay around and watch TV, since TV is a luxury we hadn’t had since Asia. We only ventured out once more in the evening to walk one block to a Chinese restaurant for dinner (yes, it appears that even in Africa, every town has one). It may have been the most lazy day of our trip thus far.

Next morning, after a nice long sleep, we got back into the spirit. After breakfast, we decided to walk to Fort Jesus, and then to the “Old Town” to check it out. One thing to note about Kenya, is that breakfast is always included, and is always substantial. I don’t know how I’m going to go back to a muffin and coffee at my desk (I know, I know . . . I no longer have a desk) after having full eggs, sausage, beans, french toast, pancakes, fresh fruit, etc., etc. everyday. It’s definitely a refreshing change from Asia, where “western breakfast” consisted of one or two of the thinest, whitest, and stalest pieces of bread ever. Anyhow, I digress. On the way to Fort Jesus we, as usual, had multiple young men stop us in the street offering to be our tour guide. We, knowing our destination was just blocks away, politely declined them all only to be abruptly assigned one upon paying the exhorbent 500KSH entry fee to the Fort. (All of Kenya’s National Museums are about $1 for locals and $15 for foreigners. No matter what the caliber of the museum.) I understood perhaps 50% of what the man said, and I’m pretty sure he didn’t look Perry or I in the face once. Regardless, we gave him the obligatory 200KSH and sent him on his way. We did enjoy the Fort though, but mostly for the views of the Indian Ocean, and the exhibits which we had time to read through once we’d ditched our guide. It’s pretty cool that the whole thing is made of coral, and of course all of the explorer-type history associated with the place. I think I have learned more random history on this trip than I recall from all of my social studies classes back in high school!

After leaving the Fort, we decided that we should check out the “Old Town”, which is a maze of tiny alleys. There are signs everywhere warning tourists that it is best to hire a guide, or you may get lost. Since Perry almost couldn’t walk anymore due to his blisters from Mount Kenya, we flagged down a tuk-tuk and asked the driver if he could show us around. Did he know the major sights of the “Old Town”? A simple “yes” was his answer, so we hopped in. Stupid us. Of course he’s going to say yes! After an hour of random driving around, and a visit to a ridiculously uninteresting Hindu temple, we were dropped back where we started, near the market in the midst of the “Old Town”. Well, at least Perry got off his feet for an hour and so now agreed to venture inside the market and take a look.

Of course, two unaccompanied mzungu (foreigners) in the market attracted immediate attention and Oman Sharif became our newest “friend”. We make a lot of “friends” here in Kenya, as random people often chat us up in the street. “Wow! What a friendly country!” we think innocently at first . . . until the request for money and/or sponsorship eventually comes out. We have learned to have our guard up, which is somewhat unfortunate. However, I’ve recalled something I guess I’ve always known; normal people don’t just corner you on the street and start conversations with you for no reason, immediately invite you to meet their family, see their village, or share with you totally inappropriate personal information. (There are in fact many, many very normal, very friendly people in Kenya. I think after a month we have almost mastered the knack of distinguishing them.) Omar Sharif stepped into our lives at just the right time though. He turned out to be a wonderful guide through the “Old Town”. And, I liked that he had a good natured laugh and quoted us a price when his claim that “We a good friends now. Don’t worry!” met our skeptical looks.

The Old Town’s tiny streets were very cool, unlike anywhere I’d ever been. We mostly just wandered around while Omar pointed out various ancient buildings and innumerable mosques. Of course, the tour ended up at a spice shop, where neither Perry nor I could restrain ourselves. I bought some Kenyan coffee and tea, Perry bought some curry. Curry! We ended up sending it all home in a package with a few other souvenirs, all of which I’m sure will remind us of Mombasa, regardless of where they were purchased, because the entire box reeks like curry. (Sorry Mom, you are the lucky lady who gets to pick that one up from the post office . . .) I was proud of myself for bargaining hard enough that the shopkeeper told Perry he had a good “Mama budget” in me. ha! If only he knew me a little better . . . .

Since our ultimate goal on the coast was actually Lamu, but I was totally unwilling for another 7 hour bus ride so soon, we settled on leaving for Malindi the next day. A mere 2 hours away by matatu.

Malindi

The matatu to Malindi was our first solo matatu experience. I suppose if I were the hardcore traveller that my LP seems to encourage me to be I might be embarrassed by that. But, I’m not. And besides, they make it sound like you are taking your life in your hands taking public transport anywhere in Africa. I would tend to agree that, yes, the drivers are crazy and the vehicles under maintained. But really, even if you were to rent a car and drive yourself, these guys are still on the road with you so it’s all the same thing in my mind. And, it’s nice and cheap! Except that this one actually made us pay for a third seat for our bags . . . that is how massive they have become. This ride went off with off without a hitch. It was actually relatively comfy.

We had decided that it was time to finally reign in our spending a little bit, so we headed to Ozi’s guesthouse on our arrival. I was gently eased into our first “shared bathroom” accommodation (apart from camping that is) because there was nobody else staying there. So, I was really only sharing with Perry and the hallway, which suited me perfect. Ozi’s was great mostly though due to the staff who were soooo helpful and nice.

Malindi is known to be a bit of an Italian beach resort town. We didn’t meet too many Italians there (there were a few), but we did find some fabulous Italian restaurants. “I Love Pizza” was 2 minutes away from our guesthouse, and had the most fabulous pizzas and pastas. I honestly think the pizza rivals Puccinella in Kensington. Second runner up was a place called “Old Man and the Sea”, which offered up very reasonably priced seafood. One night Perry and I had lobster; we each ended up with a lobster and a half for $14! Delicious. The $1.50 glasses of South African house wine were an easy sell as well. (Wait a minute . . . did I say second runner up? Perhaps it was a tie.) Needless to say, we took most of our meals in Malindi between these two places, which were both within walking distance of our guesthouse.

The strangest thing about our visit to Malindi, the Italian beach resort town, was that we never went to the beach. We walked by the water, we checked out the “Vasco da Gamma Pillar” (another historical site) by the sea, and we admired the view from our balcony, but we just never had the inkling to get in the water. I even considered scuba diving, but it was expensive and the wrong season, and ultimately I think I was still just too lazy from the climb. I swear Mt. Kenya took it out of me!

We mustered up the energy one day to set out on an adventure to a place called the Marafa Depression The matatu ride there was an experience in itself. Traveling through various villages, the vehicle picked up all sorts of people and animals along the way. The Depression was very incredible looking. The red colors and rock formations were really beautiful. (You can check out the photos to see) The whole attraction was also a community based project. We paid a bit of money for a guide who walked us through. They also had a table set up with supplies needed at the village school, so naturally we bought some notebooks as well.

Our guide took us to the school and began randomly passing out the notebooks we had bought. At first it was pretty calm as there were only a few small kids around. But once word got out, in about 30 seconds, it was a free for all. Kids were actually fighting over plain blue notebooks, which once again reminded me how lucky Canadian kids are. I worried that perhaps this wasn’t the most appropriate way to give our gift to the school children, but in the end they seemed to calm down and perhaps even share. The teachers also didn’t seem to mind and welcomed us with big smiles and a tour of their classrooms. It was impressive to see what these teachers did with very little. There were colorful homemade posters and teaching aids on every bit of wall and hanging from the ceilings of each of the classrooms. They had collected discarded pieces of wood which the children now use for blocks. One teacher had also set up a “play store” with empty water bottles, old packaged food boxes and other items the children had collected. No FisherPrice here, but it seemed to me that their simple store served exactly the same purpose.

Lamu

The bus ride from Malindi to Lamu was extremely bumpy and dusty. I think I caught at least a foot of air numerous times. The ride was only about 4 hours, but it felt much longer due to the layer of dust coating my face, and the fact that I couldn’t stay put in my seat. I felt more sorry though, for the various people; men, women, and babies, picked up along with way who were sitting on tiny stools or standing in the aisle. No space on this bus was wasted, that is for sure. Upon reaching Mokowe, we were quickly ushered from bus to ferry and arrived on Lamu Island just as it was starting to get dark. We knew where we were going, a hotel called “Amu House”, but had no idea how to get there. Of course there was a helpful fellow there, mysteriously also named Omar, who offered to lead the way. He quickly grabbed my bag, and ducked into a tiny and completely dark alley indicating that we should follow. I stopped and actually said out loud, “Seriously??”. Omar laughed and said, “Lamu is a very safe place, not like Nairobbery.” Against my better judgement, into the dark alley with Omar we went. Turned out he was right, Lamu was a very safe town and it was refreshing our entire stay there to walk freely at all times of the day and night.

Lamu was by far the most interesting place we visited on the coast, and accordingly we spent the most time there. The town is a UNESCO world heritage site. The streets are not really streets, but are tiny alleys wide enough only for pedestrians and donkeys. There are no cars, and surprisingly no motorbikes as well. The homes and buildings are traditional Swahili style, and most are original. Amu House was one of these, which made it a really cool place to stay. The people in Lamu were incredibly friendly. Yes, many of the locals we met were selling sightseeing tours and dhow (traditional wooden sailing ships) trips, but even those we declined still stopped each time we met to shake hands and see how our day was going. The town was small, so we usually met the same people a few times a day, and after 5 days Perry had quite a few buddies. (In Kenya, and especially on the coast, it is mostly the men who are out and about, and they normally only talk to Perry, not to me. I am often wondering where all the women are . . .)

We spent a few days just hanging out in Lamu Town. Much of our wandering time was spent lost in the maze of tiny streets, which was pretty fun actually. We found our way to the Lamu Museum. checked out the market, wood carving, and craft shops, and had multiple coffees and seafood meals. Perry got a haircut, which attracted a lot of attention from the locals. I think he just decided to get one because he was so proud to know the Swahili word for barber (“Kinyozi”). I had my legs waxed at the “beauty salon”, which was a lengthy experience. The girl used a wad of sticky stuff she told me consisted of sugar, honey, and lemon, and it took over an hour. At least it worked though. The most interesting part about the experience was when she first arrived at the shop. She was in her black bui-bui (cover-all garment worn by Islamic women), with her eyes barely peeking out. Once inside, she geared down to the super fashionable clothes she had on underneath, and I realized that she was absolutely gorgeous. I don’t know why, but I was completely surprised. Oh yes, and Perry just had to ride a donkey! It was hilarious. I think the guys whose donkey it was found it a bit hilarious as well. I was impressed how fast that animal took off.

One day we took a walk to the beach, which was near Shela, a separate town also on Lamu Island. The interesting thing about Shela is that it is largely inhabited by rich expats, including the Prince of Monaco! Some locals told us that they regularly see him out and about, and that when he gets drunk he pees in the street. (Not sure how credible this information is . . . ) At the beach, we finally took the opportunity to swim in the Indian Ocean. I was shocked at how cold it was! We spent only an hour or two on the beach because it was so windy and sand was blowing everywhere. The sand was perfect though, so fine and soft. I just wished there wasn’t so much of it in my eyes. The highlight of the beach were the two camels hanging out waiting for tourists to ride them. The guys were charging 1,000KSH (about $15) per 1/2 hour ride, which I figured wasn’t worth it. But, I wanted to try, so negotiated five minutes for 200KSH ($2.50). The camels were so cute! They were very docile, but really high off the ground. The camel actually crouches on the ground so that you can get on. I was petrified when the camel first stood up, and then again when he sat down again so I could get off. Five minutes was definitely enough for me.

We also took the obligatory dhow trip, which included a full day on the dhow, lunch, fishing, snorkeling, and swimming at a nearby island called “Manda Toto”. The snorkeling was barely worth getting wet for, compared with what we’d gotten used to in SE Asia. But the fishing was pretty fun. I caught three fish! And Perry caught two. Mine was the biggest on the boat and they served it to me for lunch. It was very tasty and yes, I did share with Perry. The fishing rods were just line tied to a piece of wood, but they worked fine. The dhow itself was enjoyable, and it was kind of exciting to see just how much muscle our crew had to put into steering us in the proper direction. It was a relaxing day, and another chance to get in some beach time. I’ve had less desire to hit the beach here in Kenya than I had when we were in Thailand. I think partly because our accommodation hasn’t been on the beach, and partly because I had to dress up all conservative to walk there. (I think I may have been deported from the island if I was caught in my bikini and shorts in town.) There actually were quite a few women tourists who weren’t following the “rules” of covering up shoulders and knees, but every time we passed a bunch of guys hanging out in the street, which was about every 10 feet or so, I was very glad that I did.

We both loved Lamu, but after five days it was time to move on. Uganda was calling us. We bused back to Nairobi, which was an extensive trip; 7 hours bus during the day back to Mombasa, and then immediately onto an overnight bus to Nairobi. Yikes. We spent a couple of days in Nairobi, as poor Perry lost a filling while we were in Lamu and had to visit the dentist. We’re not sure whether it was a fish bone from the dhow trip, or the unboiled grilled corn from the street that did it. Our LP is so out of date (even though it was published in June 2009!) that it suggests heading directly to South Africa for any dental care, so we were a little concerned at first that our plans would have to change. But, in the end we found a safe and reputable dentist very near to Classic Guest Home where we were staying. Other than the dentist, we caught up on our photos and blog, printed some photos for our various Nairobi based tour guides, and booked our bus to Kampala.

Overall, we had a fabulous experience in Kenya. It seemed to us to be the perfect introduction to the African continent. Perry likes to call Kenya our “Thailand of Africa” - it was our first stop, we spent longer than we planned, and we are a bit sad to leave.

Mount Kenya, August 1 (Perry)

The day before heading out on our 6 day Mt. Kenya trip, we left the comfort and quiet of the Rock House and decided to check into something a bit closer to the city center. Luckily, the Classic Guest House lived up to it’s slogan of, “A home away from home.” Complete with furniture and decor straight out of the 80‘s, the Classic ended up being super comfortable and a bargain at the same time. As much as I’d like to take the credit for finding the place, the tour company that we booked the trip with, Sana Highland Trekking, actually recommended the place to us. In terms of what to expect from this company, this simple guesthouse recommendation gave us confidence in our choice, but in the end turned out to be one of the few highlights.

When we first met with Sana, they were very professional and very thorough in going over all the details regarding the trip. After about an hour, we had no issues in booking with them. We were excited! However, we booked the climb prior to heading out on our amazing IntoAfrica safari. After that week, we were secretly doubting our choice to cheap out on the Mount Kenya excursion. (Sana was significantly less expensive than doing the climb through IntoAfrica) Now, it’s not that we weren’t still keeping an open mind regarding Sana, but I think both Jen and I were wondering if there was any way this company could compare. It probably didn’t help things when just before we left the Rock House, Patrick, the director of IntoAfrica in Kenya, gave us a “warning” of sorts regarding Sana. He said that in the past, their reputation had not been the best and to be wary of our guide changing promised arrangements once away from the office. Although we tried to pass this off as simple “trash talking” the competition, it did worry us a little. But after a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast at the Classic, we starting to feel good regarding our choice once again. (Although seeing our big 6’3 driver stand idle while Jen and I loaded our many bags into the jeep did start me worrying again, but I digress).

Day One

We met our guide Dancan (pronounced “Duncan”) at the Sana office and just as quickly as we met we were off to find our ride to Nanyuki. (We were actually happy to have Dancan as our guide, as we’d read great comments about him in the evaluation forms they showed us the day we’d booked.) I say “find our ride” because unlike our previous tour where all of our transportation was provided by the company (I know, I have to let it go and move on), we were going to rely on taking the matatus, public mini-buses that only leave when they’re full. (This was fine of course, as we had expected the trip to be a bit more “budget”.) After about an hour and a half of waiting and numerous attempts of stuffing what I’m sure was a car windshield at our feet, we were off. Although I could barely feel my ass cheeks after the 4 hour ride, the trip was fairly uneventful and we arrived at our stop for the night. Nanyuki has a few things going for it in terms of tourism; it’s the jumping point for the Sirimon route on Mt. Kenya (Sirimon was our route up, Chogoria our route down.), it’s at around 2,000 plus meters above sea level so most people stay the night to acclimatize, and it happens to be situated right on the equator. I’ll spare the “exciting” details of straddling the equator but check out our photo gallery for the obligatory photos.

Having arrived in Nanyuki around midday, we had plenty of time to check out the town. Unfortunately, all the extra time also provided Dancan with ample opportunities to show us his sketchy side. Now, it’s not that he wasn’t a nice guy. In fact, our first impression of him was very good. But as the day unfolded we could see why Patrick warned us to be on guard. One of the main reasons we decided to go with Sana is because they don’t pair up random people together for the fact that different people hike at different paces, react differently to high altitudes, etc. The last thing that Jen and I wanted was to feel rushed on the mountain. As we sat in the courtyard of our guesthouse drinking some tea, Dancan came by and said that one of his friends was dropping by and that he was also a guide. “Okay”, I think I said. Then as he was walking away, he muttered something about his friend bringing a couple of customers with him. At this point, we’re still trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. We both figured that we’d be “buddying” up of sorts with this other guide and his group for meals, etc. No big deal. Well, as it turns out Dancan’s “friend” was not a guide. In fact, he was bringing this additional pair to join our tour. Although it was a bit awkward, we quickly and firmly squashed that idea. The worst part was having to watch the two people show up and listen as Dancan’s friend explained that we didn’t want them to join us. Oh well, we thought, it’s a big mountain and we’ll probably never see them again . . . (Actually, they did find another guide and we saw them everyday of the trip.)

Day Two

That night, in the hotel in Nanyuki, I didn’t have a very good sleep. Maybe it was the excitement of starting the trip. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the persistent bass-thumping coming from a nearby bar till the wee hours of the morning, which was followed very shortly by sunrise “call to prayer” from the nearby mosque. I’m not quite sure, but thankfully for me, the first day on the mountain would be an easy one. The actual trekking didn’t start until around noon. At around 11am or so, after seeing the very exciting equator sign, we took off from our guesthouse and headed to Sirimon Gate. It was here that we met the rest of our crew. In addition to Dancan, we would be joined by the super friendly Simon, a porter, our amazing cook James, and Kate, Dancan’s sister who would be the second porter (We had actually met Kate briefly the day earlier). Because Kate is much smaller than Dancan, and any other person functioning as a porter, the arrangement was to be that she’d carry Dancan’s small bag, and he would carry Jen’s. No problem, as we understood his urge to give Kate the work. (I think at this point Jen was happy as long as she didn’t have to carry it.) After some quick rearranging of gear, we set off for Old Moses Camp where we’d spend the first night. The 3 hour trek was a steady, gradual ascent and we arrived at camp with plenty of daylight to spare.

At around 3,200 meters elevation, Old Moses Camp was pretty much what we expected. Housed in essentially a large wooden shack, there were 5 separate rooms each with 6 sets of bunk-beds, meaning at capacity, the camp could sleep around 60 trekkers. Luckily for us, the place was not even close to being full because while you could definitely sleep that many, there was nowhere even close to enough tables and chairs in the dining area. As a bonus, Jen and I actually had our own room that night. Although our guide told us that the first day was going to be relatively easy, both Jen and I were feeling pretty content with ourselves and excited for the days to come as we had our “afternoon tea” at camp. (Yep, English “afternoon tea” everyday, even on the mountain. Did I mention our cook was fabulous?) Going into something like this, we’d had no idea what to expect. I mean, the two of us have both done our share of hiking in the Rockies back home, but for some reason, I was feeling a bit intimidated about the whole thing. Anyways, after the first day I realized a few things.

First off, I knew that we would be fine in terms of the hiking. Secondly, although mostly out of our control, I realized that in terms of packing we were very ill equipped for the conditions. Before arriving in Kenya, we knew that trekking on Mt Kenya would be cold and potentially very wet. However, coming from Thailand we’d had very few options in terms of cold-weather gear. (And there was no way that we were going to carry all that warm clothing around for 6 months, even if we had “planned” enough to realize we’d need it). Ignoring the fact that we’ve been in 30+ degrees weather for the last half-year, we figured we were Canadians and if there’s one thing that we’re good at, it’s living in the cold weather. Our plan was simple. Where others would rely on appropriate gear such as 0 to -20 C sleeping bags or down jackets, we would rely on layers. Many, many layers. The first night at Old Moses, we put the plan in action. That night I wore 2 long-sleeve shirts, 4 t-shirts, underwear, leggings, shorts, a tuque, and two pairs of socks. Jen wore pretty much the same. Shockingly, we were still a bit cold. Not a good sign considering that it was only going to get colder as we gained altitude, but at this point we figured we still had fleeces and some additional shirts to add to the mix.

Thirdly, I realized just how lucky I was that Simon was the one carrying my bag. Ever since we began researching the trip, we knew that we wouldn’t be carrying our own bags. Perfect we thought. What luxury! What never crossed our mind was that our bags would essentially be like sponges, soaking up the sweat of our porters. For Jen’s bag, this was quite evident. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that we weren’t appreciative of our guides and porters. I mean, here they are carrying our 15 kg bags (well, hopefully they were a little lighter, but that is the regulation max weight) of clothes, food, etc. up a mountain for us. Of course, we would normally never complain or even notice the fact that they were sweating on our bags. The problem is that when, even before you start to climb you notice someone has a fairly strong body odor, you know that your bag is in trouble. I could see the writing on the wall about half way up the trail as Dancan was sweating up a storm and Jen’s bag was started to show definitive sweat stains. As we reached camp, Jen gave me a look that made me realize she also noticed her bag becoming two-toned. Inside our room and out of the fresh air, we finally got a whiff of the damage. The smell can best be described as simply, “unhealthy”. For all of you who know Jen, you can imagine how she felt about this.

Day Three

Despite the cold and some plumbing issues (the camp’s, not mine), we both ended up having decent sleeps at Old Moses. After packing up our stuff and eating a hearty breakfast (I kind of still miss James . . .), we were ready to tackle the full day of hiking that would take us from Old Moses to Shipton camp. Although I’m not sure of the distance, the trek to Shipton would be our longest on the way up, about 9 hours, and maybe the most scenic. The best way to describe the trail is a series of smaller ups and downs that eventually bring you to Mackinder’s valley, the biggest on Mt Kenya. Reaching Mackinder’s at about noon, the traverse from this point on is where the majority of the 1000 meters of elevation would be gained. It also provided us with our first clear glimpse of the ultimate goal. At 4985 meters, Point Lenana was finally visible and it was an amazing sight. (Check out the photo gallery to see what I mean).

We arrived at Shipton’s around 4:30 and while we weren’t exhausted, we definitely were glad to be done for the day. Shipton’s camp sat at just under 4200 meters of elevation and in terms of amenities, it was pretty much the same as the previous night’s camp except for one thing, the view. Sitting on wooden benches and enjoying a hot cup of tea, we had a front row seat to Point Lenana and the twin peaks of Batian (5199m) & Nelion (5188m). (Lenana, while not the highest peak on Mt Kenya, is the highest peak accessible without technical climbing.) Our schedule was to spend two nights at Shipton, with the extra day being used to acclimatize ourselves before attempting the summit. In addition to providing the best chance for trekkers to reach the peak, the extra day gives people the option to hike the summit circuit. When this extra day was originally sold to us, the lady at the Sana office talked of the circuit as if it were a leisurely stroll which provided some additional gorgeous views of the mountain. We were keen to do it. I guess we shouldn’t have been too surprised when Dancan approached us and asked us if we wanted to skip the circuit and instead summit the next day. This would knock a day off our time on the mountain, which we had of course already paid for. His reasoning was that he didn’t think we could do the circuit and have enough strength left over to reach the peak. (Thanks for the encouraging confidence . . .)

I don’t know much about being a mountain trekking guide and all, but I would think that it’s not too common to repeatedly tell your clients that you don’t think they can make it. I mean, I would understand his concerns if Jen and I were the slowest of all the groups and were incessantly asking him, “Are we there yet?”, but honestly this was not the case. I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but despite being the last group to leave the Old Moses camp (Dancan slept in), we ended up being the second group to reach Shipton and not once did we complain about the difficulty of the trail. For this reason, both Jen and I were skeptical of Dancan’s “concerns”. I hate that my instinct was not to trust him, but he hadn’t exactly proven to consistently have our best interests at heart. We declined his offer and decided to stick to the schedule.

That night, we definitely felt the difference in temperature at the higher altitude and as such, decided that we needed to add some additional layers from the previous night. I’ve been carrying around a fleece for the last 6 months and hadn’t found one opportunity to use it. I’d even thought of sending it home a couple of times but at this moment I was happy to have it. Looking like a couple dressed in those inflatable sumo costumes at halloween, Jen and I got into our sleeping bags and went to sleep. For me though, tried to sleep would be more accurate. After a tiring day, we were both exhausted and went to bed at around 9:00 pm. While I did manage to fall asleep initially, I woke up after what I thought was a long, deep sleep. I was shocked when I looked at my ipod and saw that it was only 11:30pm. From that point on, I really started to feel the cold and was in and out of sleep for the rest of the night. It didn’t help that some of the groups sharing our room were waking up at 2:30 a.m. in order to reach the peak before sunrise, something we would be doing the following day.

Day Four

The second it hit 6:30 a.m. on my ipod, our wake up time for the day, I rolled over and immediately started making noises in the hopes of waking up Jen. Just enough noise to wake her up gently but not so much that it would appear I was waking her up intentionally. (I have become expert at this in the past months to avoid the wrath of “morning Jen” . . .) At this point, I’d been up for almost 3 hours and was so bored and cold that I couldn’t wait to get out of bed and hopefully warm up, and of course, I wanted her to join me. This day it didn’t take much to wake Jen as it turns out she had a fairly restless sleep as well. With the usual hot tea and warm porridge, both Jen and I warmed up quite nicely and after finishing breakfast we were ready for the day.

We started off around 8 am that morning and this time, because we were spending two nights at this camp, we didn’t need anything but our day packs. As such, James and Kate took a well deserved day off, but Simon decided to join in on the hike. At this point, Jen and I hadn’t really noticed any effects from the altitude and seeing that we were already at 4,200 meters, we didn’t think it would be an issue going forward. Well, within the first 30 minutes of the hike, we finally started to realize just how thin the air was. For the remainder of the first uphill of the day, we were taking quite a few breaks to catch our breaths. As the day went on though, we both started to acclimatize and soon we were feeling pretty good. The circuit is essentially a series of ups and downs that takes you around the peaks of Mt Kenya. From the onset, we could see that not only was the trail very scenic, but at the same time it was fairly challenging. (Dancan had been accurate about that . . . oops) After a few hours, Dancan finally explained to us why he had suggested the change in itinerary. Although we had already hiked about 5 km, to do the full circuit would be an additional 21 km! With some fairly significant inclines and declines. YIKES! So, knowing that we really didn’t have it in us, we listened to the alternatives. One option was going back the way we came, which didn’t really appeal to us, or we could take a “shortcut”. Perhaps we should have listened to his advice initially . . .

Maybe something was lost in translation, but I would never classify the hike that followed as a “shortcut”. As Dancan explained it to us, we would continue on with the circuit trail for about another hour or two and then instead of continuing on around the peak, we would go over Point Lenana. Sounds great. Wait a second. Did you say that the shortcut consists of going over the peak? So much for using the extra day to acclimatize. But really, what choice did we have? Arriving at the “Austrian Hut” (about 100m below Pt. Lenana) pretty much on schedule, we stopped for a short lunch break before heading to the top. In addition to being a fairly steep climb, the way to the top was a cold and windy affair. I have to admit, there were some pretty sketchy sections that had me concerned, where a simple misstep would mean sliding down a cliff, but we continued on and eventually made it to Point Lenana. Being the late afternoon, the peak was covered in clouds so other than the Kenyan flag marking the point, we really couldn’t see much else. Still, we were proud of ourselves. We had done it! We had reached our goal, and a day early.

Returning back to camp, Jen and I were feeling pretty good. Yeah, we didn’t complete the summit circuit, but we had a full day of hiking and reached the top as a bonus. Enjoying our late afternoon tea, there wasn’t much that could spoil the moment, although Dancan definitely gave it his best shot. When Dancan arrived at our table, we were expecting to go over the logistics of tomorrow’s climb. We were pretty shocked when once again he tried to change the plan by suggesting that we skip the sunrise climb, which was to provide the gorgeous views meant to make all this effort worthwhile, and instead simply start our descent. His reasoning, once again, was that he didn’t think we had it in us to reach the peak twice in one trip, let alone two days in a row. Granted that he might have been right in suggesting we not complete the summit circuit, there is simply no way that we were not going to do the sunrise summit. I mean, other than hiking Mt Kenya itself, catching the sunrise on the peak was one of the main reasons for doing the trek at all. Suffice it say, we once again kindly declined his suggestion and we made a plan to set off at 3:00 a.m. the next day.

If you think I’m being overly harsh on Dancan, what happened next finalized our conclusions regarding the type of guy he was. While we were discussing the plan for tomorrow, one of the other guides said something to Dancan which he apparently did not appreciate. After a heated discussion (they were speaking Swahili, but you can tell when an argument is going on in any language) and some finger pointing, Dancan pushed the other guide from behind and then threw a wild looping punch that missed badly. Before the rest of the camp knew what was going on, tables and chairs were flying all over and Dancan was on his back still swinging wildly. Fortunately, some of the other guides and porters jumped in and broke up the fight. It was actually quite funny, especially when word got out to the other hikers that it was our guide that started the brawl. The whole thing was ridiculous. The ridiculousness was especially evident when Dancan explained to us the incident started because the other guide wanted to serve his own guests tea at the table where we were sitting. In order to prevent a fist fight, I think we would have moved to another table. Maybe.

Later on, once calmed down, Dancan asked us not to mention his temper flare up in our comments to Sana, and could we also not tell any of the other guides or porters his “English” name! The guides and porters use their Swahili names with each other so the others didn’t know him as Duncan. However, the name “Dancan” would be the only way to identify him to his company, should the others want to snitch. Fist-fighting in front of clients on the mountain is certainly cause for dismissal. However, while we didn’t really appreciate the drama, we didn’t have the heart to decline his request. Especially since we also knew that Dancan’s dismissal would mean James’s, Kate’s, and Simon’s as well. I guess that is where all of those other “great” comments we’d read in the office came from as well. Guilt.

Day Five

Having already experienced a couple of cold and sleepless nights, Jen and I knew that we had to have a decent sleep if we were to be ready for the hike the next day. In addition to reaching the summit, we also had to make our way down to Chogoria Gate, which sits at around 3000 meters. The last day of hiking would be a tough one. Heading off to bed at around 8:30 that evening, Jen and I proceeded to put on basically everything in our packs. Honestly, in terms of clothing, all that remained in our backpacks was our extra underwear. We figured that not only would this approach keep us warm at night, it was essentially what we’d be wearing on our hike so we could literally roll out of bed and start the day. Normally, waking up at 2:30 in the morning to go hiking in the dark, and in -10 degree weather, would be at the bottom of my “to do” list. It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable hiking experiences of my life.

Stepping out of the camp at 3 that morning, it was darker outside than I thought it would be. Even with our flashlights and headlamps on, the path continuously surprised us with its varying terrain. In addition, the cold was more of a factor than Jen and I had expected it would be. At about the midway point, the wind started to bite and for the first time in about 7 months, Jen and I remembered what Calgary winters felt like. The cold wasn’t so much an issue as long as we kept moving. The problem was that we were actually making such good time that we had to break for longer and longer periods to avoid reaching the summit prior to sunrise, at which point we would feel the cold even more. Hiking at night, you pretty much keep your eyes fixed on the light and your next couple of steps, so the breaks were nice in that they were an opportunity for us to check out the view. For the first couple of hours, seeing nothing but the stars was absolutely amazing. In all my life, I’ve never seen so many in the sky. The Orion constellation, which I love to find whenever I look up at a night sky, was the biggest I’ve ever seen it. It’s a shame that we couldn’t take any photographs but I know I’ll never forgot what we saw that early morning.

As we got closer and closer to the summit, the sky started to brighten and soon we were able to move around with just the light off the horizon. Despite the strong winds, the increasing presence of the sun was making the journey warmer by the minute. When we finally reached Point Lenana, we saw what we had missed out on the previous day. With a clear sky, the rising sun lit up the surrounding peaks and valleys perfectly and it was absolutely stunning. After taking in the scenery and snapping a few (ok, many) photographs, the adrenaline that kept us going in the cold soon wore off. As such, we started our descent. It wasn’t until an hour or so into the trek down that I started to feel my legs.

By the time we reached our lunching spot, both Jen and I were completely bagged. It didn’t help that we were wearing all those layers of clothing and that the sun was now blaring hot, but regardless, I think the previous days hikes were finally catching up to us. After lunch, the hike became even more painful because, with a mere 7 km to go, it started to pour. By the time we reached our campsite at Chogoria Gate, which would be where Jen and I would share our first tenting experience together, we were absolutely soaked. Let’s just say that we’re hoping our second tent experience will be a more comfortable affair.

After another tasty and massive dinner provided by James (consisting of soup, bread spaghetti bolognese, and fruit - we ate like kings the entire trip), we set about getting ourselves ready for the night. Knowing that at 2950m we would still be feeling the chill, we asked the crew if we could dry a couple of items, particularly my fleece, over their fire. It was also an excuse to join them sitting near the fire where they’d been cooking. It’s warmth was beckoning us, even though “campfires” are not technically allowed in the park. As we chatted and waited for the smoke to dry out our stuff, the crew were preparing their own evening meal; Ugali (corn flower mixed with boiling water and cooked until it becomes sponge-like) and green vegetables which they had picked nearby. A completely tasteless and very basic meal, especially in comparison with the lavish feasts Jen and I had been devouring for the past 5 days. Suddenly we had more understanding for Dancan, who we felt had been doing his best to increase his revenues and decrease his costs here and there throughout the trip. We had naively assumed that the crew were eating, at least in part, what we were eating, as this had been the case with IntoAfrica. I guess the realization that this was obviously not the case highlighted for us one of the reasons why the Sana excursion was so much cheaper. Obviously these guys weren’t being paid a sufficient amount by Sana to justify incurring any extra expense on their own meals. It was fortunate for us, and for the crew of course, that we came to this realization prior to doling out everybody’s tips the next day.

Day Six

The next day, the plan was to reach Chogoria town where we would take a matatu back to Nairobi. We had two options. We could either hike the 20+km distance or hop into an overcrowded Land Cruiser for a ridiculous $25 per person. In this case, it was money well spent since after hiking in the rain the previous day, I had developed two of the worst blisters I’ve ever had. The thought of hiking even a few meters was enough to make me cringe. Arriving in town, we had plenty of time to enjoy a farewell tea with our crew. This consisted of us handing out each person’s tip, and them running off to compare amounts and then discussing it amongst themselves in Swahili in front of us. Um, guys, we can tell what you are doing! In the end, and despite Dancan’s unprofessionalism, we really enjoyed our crew. Simon and James were by far our favorites. (Accordingly, we tipped them a bit more, hence all the discussion.)

Anyways, after saying our goodbyes to the crew, we boarded a Matatu with Dancan. Arriving back in Nairobi, all Jen and I wanted was to use a proper bathroom (all the camps on the mountain had western style toilets, but unfortunately no toilet seats . . . ), take a hot shower (did I forget to mention that we hadn’t showered in nearly six days?), and have a good sleep. Unfortunately for us, our personal hygiene would have to take a backseat for at least another day. Instead of booking the nicest hotel we could find (which we should have done), we had already pre-purchased tickets for an overnight bus that would take us to the East coast of Kenya and the town of Mombasa. Hopefully for our fellow passengers the windows on the bus open up . . .

For photos of of this and all of our adventures, go to http://gallery.me.com/adamschen

Kenya Safari, July 25 (Jen)

I have no idea actually how to begin this blog. Our safari experience was completely, absolutely amazing. I’ll give you the low down, but you really have to look at the (sorry, many) pictures, which I’m doing my best to upload when I can find a reasonable internet connection here in Kenya (which is rare).

Perry has already told you about our introduction to IntoAfrica at the Rock House and how they took such great care of us in the days leading up to our safari. I have to say, I was feeling uncertain over my choice prior to arriving in Kenya, as they were more expensive than the other companies we’d investigated. However, after the trip I have no doubt that the extra cost was totally worth it. This company was professional, considerate, and kind, and the trip was near perfect.

Day One

Before setting off, we met our group. We had two drivers, Duncan and Samuel; one cook, Patrick; and one guide, Elijah. Enjoying the trip with us we had Jaime, an intelligent Chinese American from Washington DC; Pablo and Fremon, a hilarious gay couple from Santa Cruz, California; and Adam and Christina, honeymooners from the UK. We couldn’t have asked for a better group, or a better number of people since at 7 instead of 6 persons, we required two 4WD instead of just one. We had tons of space for comfy travel, and of course for the game drives which I’ll tell you all about later on.

We left from the Rock House around 9:30 am or so, and headed out past the Great Rift Valley towards the Masai Mara. Along the way, we stopped at a Masai Market, which was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. To give you a little background, the Masai are a tribe which has kept fairly close to their traditional ways over the years. Their livelihood is focused on their cattle, and their diet consists mainly of milk, meat, and blood. Yikes! The men also carry massive spears. I think this is at least partly to look cool, but officially it is to protect their herds from unwanted predators, like lions.

Needless to say, the market was complete mayhem! Absolute craziness of a place, which we really were only there to observe, and not to partake in. (None of us were currently in need of a goat, a cow, or any second hand apparel . . .) At first we weren’t going to take photos, as the Masai are in the habit of demanding 500KSH (about $7) per picture, but once there, I just could not resist. I had to show you all just how overwhelming it was. I somehow managed to snap some shots without incident, but Adam, an English guy on our trip, did not get off so easy. Not sure if he was the tallest or the whitest or what exactly made him the target, but one old man decided to grab on to him and just refused to let go. Locals were gathered around, some were laughing, and we all became a little unnerved. Even Elijah seemed shocked and I wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do about it, as he is not a large man. In the end, Elijah paid the old man his ransom of 100KSH to set Adam free. Not the sort of behavior you want to reward with cash, but it appeared that we had no choice if we didn’t want to leave poor Adam behind. At this point Perry and I were feeling fairly justified in opting for an organized safari as our first “African experience” outside of Nairobi.

The rest of our encounters at the market were much more amicable however; kids following us wanting to get their pictures taken (and of course take a look on the display screen - seems to be a fad the world over), and one gyrating woman, who we thought might be having a seizure until some bystanders explained that she was dancing. She seemed happy when Christina joined her, but I think she might have been a little disappointed that her dance wasn’t followed by a few shillings . . . nothing is for free in Kenya.

We continued on to our campsite, which was near to a Masai village with which IntoAfrica has a partnership. We set up our tents and headed over to the village to say hello. The experience was a bit different from the “village” visits that we had had in Asia. These guys are literally living in huts made of mud. I found it disturbing that the children’s faces were mostly covered in flies, but I suppose that is what happens when you keep your cattle and your kids in the same area. The kids seemed unphased though and were super cute. We had a tour of the village and the inside of one of the Masai’s houses (built entirely by his wife of course). Then, the ladies sang some songs for us. I can’t get over how everyone we meet here in Kenya seems to be musically talented. Of course, the ladies also brought out some bead work and we just couldn’t resist purchasing a couple of bracelets which I’m sure I’ll never wear again. It was all a very cool experience. I also felt good to see that the relationship between our guides, and the Masai people, seemed strong and positive. We were then escorted back to our camp, in the dark, by two Masai “warriors” who guarded our camp through the night, sleeping outside by the fire. The camping experience itself was pretty posh, by camping standards. We were served a delicious 3 course dinner by candlelight, and the guys even set up a little outhouse for us so that we didn’t have to venture too far into the scary African bush.

Day Two

After being spoilt again with a massive breakfast; complete with sausages, eggs, and french toast, we walked our Maasai “guards” back to their village and said our good-byes (i.e. gave them their tips). Then we hopped into our Landcruisers and continued the drive towards the world-renowned Masai Mara Reserve. Before we even reached our tented camp, located near to the reserve gate, we managed to spot giraffe, zebra, and gazelle. Duncan, our driver, laughed at us taking photos of tiny gazelles that were quite far off in the distance. Once you see the pictures from the reserve game drives, you’ll understand why. It was pretty exciting for us anyhow, to see our first wildlife. We arrived at camp in time for lunch, a short rest, and a late afternoon game drive in the park.

Our camp accommodation was a step up from the previous night. While still in tents, we were now in permanent tents, complete with beds, toilets, and showers. Luxury! There was even a wood burning hot water system.

The highlight of our game drive that evening were the elephants. I could not believe how close we were able to be to them! It was so amazing to see a huge family of elephants, just living their lives, totally uninterested in us and our vehicles. After the drive, we had dinner and a fairly early night, as day three was to be a full day inside the reserve.

Day Three

“Game drive” is just a fancy term for driving around the park, looking out the window, and searching for animals. I was a little concerned that I might get tired of being in a vehicle for the entire day . . . but quickly realized that that was totally impossible. First of all, the Landcruisers were pretty comfy (we had only Perry, Jaime, and I in our 7 seat car so had tons of space), and we were able to stand up and look out the pop-up roof at any time. Secondly, the experience was just so so so amazing. I could not believe the amount and variety of wildlife we saw. I expected to see animals in the park, but not that many! And not all at the same time! It was truly an extraordinary experience. In the morning alone we saw baboons mating, warthogs feeding, zebras, giraffe, vultures feeding on a zebra carcass, buffalo terrorizing a lion who was bleeding and stuck in a tree, wildebeest, ostrich, cheetahs playing, elephants roaming, lions resting after feeding on a wildebeest, other random bird-life that I cannot name, as well as various gazelle, impala and other deer like creatures which I can only tell apart when I have an African wildlife book or website open in front of me. It was so incredible.

We stopped for a picnic lunch near to the Tanzanian border (i.e. the Serengeti). Here we were able to go for a small walk along the “Sun River” where we saw hippos and crocodiles. I never realized that hippos make so much noise. We actually saw crocodiles mating, which Elijah told us even he had never seen before. I felt a little sorry for whichever croc was underneath, I assume the female, as she didn’t seem able to come up for air much. ;-)

In the afternoon Duncan managed to track down a spot where we could observe part of the annual wildebeest migration, which happens around this time each year. I think seeing this was Perry’s prime motivation for coming to Africa at all. It was a little bit different than we had expected, as I think normally, at least from the pictures and research we had done, the excitement comes from watching the throngs of animals crossing the Mara River. But, this year Kenya is abnormally dry and, while we did see them crossing a river bed, there was no water to speak of. At least not where we were. Regardless, the sight and sounds of thousands of these animals, mostly we saw wildebeest and zebra, all moving together, was absolutely magnificent. It is funny to see a few of them every now and then just go a bit crazy and start jumping around, disturbing the sort of random organization of movement.

We topped off the day with a few more giraffe, elephant, and of course more bird sightings. Then, another fabulous dinner courtesy of Patrick, our talented cook. Patrick made sure we were well fed and served us loads and loads of delicious food, and of course lots of English tea. I don’t know how I was able to sit around at night chatting and drinking cups and cups of tea, yet still fall fast asleep in my tent. Anyways, thanks to Patrick, I swear I gained at least 5 pounds on this trip. Luckily, my pants all have a little extra room in them to fit my money belt. (Thank goodness Mount Kenya is next or I’ll have nowhere to keep my money . . . he he)

Day Four

We started out the day very early, 5:30 am or so, to catch the sunrise on our last game drive in the Masi Mara Reserve. I think I’m starting to get used to these early mornings . . . well, maybe just a little. I’m still surly at that time of the day. But, the sunrise was very pretty and the animals were out so it was certainly worth it.

After breakfast, we packed up our bags and began the journey to our next stop, Lake Elmenteita. Apart from our picnic lunch, the journey was fairly uneventful. Well, apart from when we stopped to purchase carrots and potatoes, and our vehicles were swarmed by kids and people selling stuff or merely asking for a few spare shillings. We were pretty glad, once again, that we were safely with our group and our IntoAfrica guides. I think it may have been our posh IntoAfrica vehicles that likely attracted all the attention though . . .

Again, I tried to snap some photos along the way. The only time I got into trouble was actually an innocent incident when I was truly trying to shoot the scenery, but there was a fellow with a bunch of his donkeys in the distance. I got a finger wagging from him! Duncan thought it was funny, and giggled with his massive smile that we’ve come to love. Our accommodation on Lake Elmenteita was again a step up, or so it seemed, as this time we were in bungalows with a view to the lake. Pretty nice. Unfortunately, the toilet was still unflushed from the previous guests and the shower was more that a little scuzzy. Let’s just say that I didn’t take off my shoes the entire stay, which lasted for the remainder of the trip.

Not much else went on that evening, as it had been a fairly long journey. We had dinner and Fremon had the fabulous idea to order a bottle of brandy from the “bar” (which consisted of some very old couches and chairs, like you might find abandoned in a back alley in Calgary). The brandy became a enjoyable routine for the next few nights. After a few glasses, we all began to open up a little more, and of course ask more questions of our Kenyan guide. Elijah admitted to us that no self respecting Kenyan man would stoop to cooking in his own household, as this, in addition to all cleaning, childcare and other sort of household chores, were solely the responsibility of the wife. I told Perry not to get his hopes up . . . It is amazing how differently some things are viewed here, even among the highly educated city dwellers. (Elijah’s wife also has a successful career in Nairobi.)

Day Five

This day was packed full. The morning consisted of a walk along the lake to a hot springs and back. The highlight of this was the what seemed like hundreds of thousands of pink flamingo we saw. We could see the smears of pink on the water from our bungalow balcony, but the walk allowed us to get up close. Lake Elmenteita (Along with Lake Nakuru - see day six) is actually a “soda lake”, which (I didn’t learn until this day) means that the water is not fresh, but is salt water. The lake was low, due to lack of rain. It is definitely a tough year for the Kenyan farmer, and we have noticed all kinds of discussion of this in the local papers since our trip.

We stopped at a hot springs and some of the group dipped their feet in. I mostly enjoyed watching the locals doing their washing, and listening to the school girls, who arrived on a big bus, nattering with each other in a mixture of Swahili and English.

After our “hike”, and another sizable lunch, we had a visit to a nearby primary school, Kekopey Primary. The tour of the school was eye-opening and inspiring at the same time. Teachers back home will be interested to see the picture of the staff room, the classrooms with rudimentary homemade visual aids, and to hear that the school’s grade one class has 80 pupils to one teacher. Can you imagine!? We do see it in the papers often here, stories about teacher shortage in Kenya. The Head Teacher (i.e. the Principal) seemed passionate about his job, and gave us a very informative tour. The most emotional part of the visit though, was the welcome we received by the kids themselves. The school completes in a national music competition, and I have to tell you that these kids are AMAZING. They sang a song about Kenya, and they also sang a welcome song to us into which they incorporated our names. I took a short video which I’ll try to upload. I wish I had taken more. Their voices were so strong and they were so talented that I actually teared up. It was a little embarrassing. That didn’t last long though because they also dragged all of us up to dance with them, which was so much fun. I wished that we could have stayed and hung out with them for longer. I have to say that this was also the best fundraising strategy ever, as after that performance we all made sizable donations to the school.

After our time and Kekopey Primary, we visited a Kikuyu farm. The Kikuyu are the largest tribal group in Kenya. We were received in the “living room”, which had more doilies than I’ve ever seen in my life, accented by some Christian posters, which seemed like they were from the 50’s. George, our host, was a retired teacher, and was very interested in finding out about each of us, particularly our professions and education. (Most Kenyans we’ve met, regardless of their profession, seem to also have a farm. Elijah did as well.) Most of our group though, was much more interested in George’s grandson, George Jr, who kept us entertained the whole time we were there. He took a shine to Perry, and I think likewise Perry to him, and of course enjoyed getting his photo taken by everybody.

It was interesting that while in the home, only George Sr and George Jr sat with us. We saw the women only when they were serving us tea, and displaying for us their beadwork which we of course again felt obligated to purchase. (The pieces were pretty nice though. Mom & Dad, you can see your gifts in the photo of George’s mom.). It was even more interesting to see that George’s mom had to serve him as well! Apparently the superiority of the male begins early, even at the tender age of 3.

Day 6

Our second to last day was spent in Lake Nakuru National Park. The most memorable part of the visit took place early in the day, when we drove up to the lake to see an astounding number of flamingo and pelican. You just have to look at the pictures because I cannot describe how unbelievable it was. There were just soooo many and they were so beautiful. We spent quite a bit of time just watching them, and taking way too many photos. (We actually filled up an 8GB memory card on this trip. Don’t worry though, I did whittle it down prior to posting.)

The other “big deal” in Lake Nakuru Park were the rhinos. We managed to spot both black and white rhinos, which are in fact all grey in color. My understanding is that it is actually the shape of their backs and the way they hold their heads which allows you to tell the apart. We didn’t find them until the end of the day, so were getting slightly discouraged after lunch. But, we all had faith in Duncan, our guide and driver, and in the end saw so many of them. And very close to our vehicles! This completed the “big five” for us. The big five of Africa are lion, rhino, elephant, buffalo, and leopard. (Must admit I didn’t know this prior to arriving here . . .) I managed to get photos of all, expect for the leopard, which I’m not even sure it is fair to say that I saw. In fact I saw him so far away that I only just caught him running with his tail in the air through the binoculars. If it weren’t for Duncan, we would certainly not have realized what we had seen.

Of course, these are just the highlights, and like in the Masi Mara, it was surprising the variety and amount of wildlife that we were able to see in one day. (Although the landscape was entirely different from Masi Mara.) Overall, another truly, truly incredible day.

Day 7

Our last day, we were all a little bit sad to see the trip end. But, it was also time. This was the longest “organized” trip that Perry and I have done, and we have agreed that it will remain so. 7 days is enough.

We had time in the morning, before heading back to Nairobi, for a short boat trip on yet another lake, Lake Naivasha. This one is a fresh water lake. The draw of Lake Naivasha were the hippos, and the fish eagles. The boat drivers threw out fish for the eagles and it was pretty cool to see how very fast they were able to swoop down and scoop them up. I’m actually shocked that Perry got a photo of one. There were even more hippos than we had seen at Masi Mara, and I think they might have been noisier too. And, I just love being on the water, whether in a boat or in my swimsuit, so it was a perfect way to end the trip.

We were taken back to the Rock House, where I began the, what seemed like insurmountable, task of going through our thousands of photos and we spent the afternoon chatting with Jaime, Christina and Adam while they waited to catch their flights home. (Fremon and Pablo had headed by bus to Tanzania that afternoon)

Perry and I had been prepared to leave the luxury of the IntoAfrica and the Rock House and get back on budget. However Patrick, the Kenyan Director for IntoAfrica and the owner of the Rock House, was kind enough to let us stay on there at our budget price. We took full advantage and spent two nights there, resting and preparing for our next adventure. It was a great place to ready ourselves, what with Lydia’s tasty dinners, a cozy fire built each night, and Lydia even taking Perry on his first “Matatu” (absolutely crazy public transport consisting of minivan, very loud pumping music, and insane drivers) to the supermarket to shop for our supplies.

After such a fabulous safari, and then all of this comfy rest and being spoilt, mostly by Lydia and Duncan, we were ready get some exercise . . . Mount Kenya here we come.

For our many, many photos, go to http://gallery.me.com/adamschen

Dubai and Nairobi, July 18 (Perry)

Dubai

After 5+ amazing months in Asia, both Jen and I had mixed emotions as we headed to the Bangkok airport. Both of us were a bit sad because we were finally leaving Thailand, a country that both Jen and I love. But the predominant feeling for the both of was a mixture excitement and fear. Reading the East Africa LP, we began to feel that the days of easy traveling were behind us. It doesn’t help the matter that Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya and our first stop, is known to be one of the more dangerous cities in Africa. But at the same time, we were feeling an obvious amount of excitement. Excitement of entering the unknown once again and leaving the comfort behind us. Our first stop in Africa would be Kenya and more specifically, the capital city of Nairobi. Excitement for the almost the same reason as the fear, for getting out of our comfort zone and starting a new leg of our trip.

Leaving Bangkok at 1:00 am, we wouldn't arrive in Nairobi until 7:00 at night. While a substantial layover was involved, thankfully for us it was in Dubai and it was long enough to actually do something with the time. Seeing that we would be arriving at 4:00 am in Dubai and departing for Nairobi at 3:00 pm, we figured we had plenty of time to leave the airport and check out some of the city sites. This time, both Jen and I were in complete agreement that the only way to do this was by an organized half-day tour.

Both of us were looking forward to seeing Dubai but we knew that if we didn't get any sleep on the flight, we would be in for a long day. Unfortunately for us, Air Emirates was not very accommodating to our needs. Usually it's me who can't resist staying awake and watching as many movies as possible, but this time, the 100 plus channels even got to Jen. While I only slept about an hour and a half more than Jen, the fact that I got any sleep at all would prove later on to be very beneficial.

Arriving on schedule, we had plenty of time to secure our visa, freshen up a bit, and catch a small bite to eat before we headed out of the airport to meet up with our tour group. Despite the 8:00 start time, we still managed to cut it pretty close as finding the meeting point turned out to be more difficult than we thought. Throw in the fact that by 7:30 in the morning it was already around 28 celsius, and you can see why we quickly abandoned our effort on foot and jumped into the nearest taxi. When we did finally make it to the meeting point, we were pleasantly surprised to find that it was just the two of us on the tour.

The itinerary for the day would concentrate on the newer developments in the city, such as the Palm and World Islands, various humongous and over the top malls, the Burj Al Arab (7 star hotel shaped like a sail) and the Burj Dubai (world’s tallest structure). While the sites were very impressive, what stands out for me was the heat. After our time in Asia, we both thought that heat wouldn't be an issue anymore. However, in Dubai, we were quickly reminded that we are Canadian and not made for this type of weather. Being a muslim region, Jen figured she should dress conservatively meaning covered shoulders and covered legs. She opted for cargo pants and a thin long-sleeve black top (black!?!). Me, I wore by swim trunks and Beer Lao shirt.

The tour started out interesting enough as by the second stop, we were on the beach looking at the world-famous 7 star hotel. Pretty amazing site. Still more amazing though was the more than 35 degree weather that early in the morning. At this point, I knew that it was going to be a long day for Jen. After returning to the van, the only words she could muster were, "I can't believe how hot it is. It's just so hot." This phrase would continue to dominate Jen's vocabulary for the next few hours as we stopped along the way. I also knew that the lack of sleep was starting to get to Jen as the head-bobbing started in the first hour. I felt pretty bad for Jen as here I am, wearing my standard beach attire while she's wearing an outfit more suited for a fall hike in Calgary.

In the end, the half-day tour was pretty good and we did manage to see some of the major sites. What I enjoyed seeing was the amount of construction that's still going on in Dubai. You know the email that was circulating awhile back showing how fast Dubai was developing? Well, it wasn't lying. The city is still full of cranes and half-constructed buildings. However, some projects seem to have been halted, and in many parts of the city there appears to be more incomplete than complete.

Nairobi

The flight to Nairobi was quite uneventful and for the life of me I can't remember what movie I watched (this is rare). Most likely because the two of us were in and out of sleep the whole way. While in Phuket, reading and planning for Kenya, we went ahead and booked a safari with a company called IntoAfrica. While the safari didn't start right away, the company was nice enough to find us some accommodations for the first few nights in Nairobi and to pick us up from the airport. Thank goodness. Once we picked up our bags and left the arrivals terminal, the airport was a complete sea of touts and taxi drivers, much worse than anything we had seen before.

Arriving at our accommodation, it was easy to see that this wasn't "Asia traveling" anymore. The Parkside Inn was definitely midrange in terms of price but in terms of value, it was probably the worst we've had since traveling. That being said, the place did have its good points. In addition to being centrally located, the place had in-house security and a great little restaurant that served a tasty english breakfast. After such a long journey getting here, we pretty much crashed as soon as we checked in.

The next morning, I woke up before Jen and decided that I would head outside to check out the area. Arriving at night, I didn't get much of a chance to see our surroundings. I didn't get 5 feet of the exit before I was chatting with a couple of men, who were all interested in finding out my plans while in Nairobi. Maybe it was the early morning or the lack of sleep but for whatever reason, I found myself chatting with these guys for about 30 minutes or so, revealing more information than necessary. I finally came to my senses near the end of the conversation and simply said, "Sorry, I can't make any decisions until I chat with my wife." Usually I would cringe upon saying these words, but good thing that I came up with this little excuse because somehow these guys had got me talking about doing a walking tour of Nairobi and potentially another safari with them. While I never said anything concrete, my feigned interest in the conversation was good enough for them. From that point on, whenever we left our hotel, there they were, asking us what our plans for the day were and trying to get us to simply go to the office and check out the various tours. In the end, we never booked anything with them but they actually turned out to be pretty nice guys.

Our first day in the city, we decided to check out the National Museum which was only about a 20-30 minute walk from our place. Although everything we've read says to avoid walking the streets at night, I felt pretty proud of ourselves when we successfully made it to the museum without incident. My pride was perhaps unwarranted, since it was actually mid-day . . . . About the only "incident" we had was when we stopped at an intersection to determine whether we should go left or right. A older gentlemen stopped and asked where we were going. I hate the fact that I immediately thought, "Okay, what's he selling?" so I reluctantly answered the musuem. Well the man turned out to be nothing but kind, pointed us in the right direction and gave us a friendly "Karibu Kenya", or "Welcome to Kenya".

The museum was quite impressive and we ended up spending the better part of the day there. In addition to the various cultural artifacts and of course, the many large and detailed animal displays, the museum is home to many of the significant finds concerning human evolution. They don't refer to Kenya as the "birthplace of man" for no reason as some of the oldest "human" remains ever found were found here. Despite all the culture and history the museum had to offer, it was the lunch that day that probably gave us the quickest introduction to Kenyan culture.

Scanning the menu at the museum cafeteria, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary and in the end, I decided on the mutton and Jen had the grilled fish. The side dishes were something entirely different. Not wanting to settle on plain old rice, we both opted for the local favorite called ugali, which is made from maize flower and water. After the first bite of ugali, it is obvious why it is, and will always remain just a local favorite. It’s really hard to describe the taste as I think most Kenyans believe it to be tasteless, but I would say that it has the definite aftertaste of white glue. Texture and appearance wise, it’s a cross between mashed potatoes and a bath sponge. Suffice it to say, that has been our one and only ugali experience.

The next day we continued our tour of Nairobi by heading to the Kenyatta Conference center which, despite the age of the building, is still Nairobi’s tallest. The building essentially looks like a tall apartment building with a ufo-shaped viewing deck placed on top. Although the building itself is not much to look at, it does offer some pretty nice views of the city and surrounding areas. After some obligatory photos, we took the elevator ride down and made our way to the next site. It was at this moment that we, I’m embarrassed to say, fell for our first Kenyan scam. Embarrassed not because we got scammed but because not only did we see it coming, we allowed it to continue to fruition. Here’s some background information. On the first day that we arrived, a man approached us and asked where we were from. Replying “Canada”, the man asked us what Canadians think of black people. We replied that Canadians treat black people like they treat any other race, equally and very kindly. Of course, hearing the desired answer, he continues on to say that he is from Zimbabwe and that because of his country’s problems he has fled to Kenya to look for work and that if we could help him out in any way it would be appreciated.

Now back to the current situation. Leaving the conference center, a man approached us and started to ask us where we were from. Again, he asked us what Canadians think of black people and we replied accordingly. Next, he began to ask us what the Canadian university system is like and that he would love the opportunity to ask us some questions. Don’t ask me why or how, but before we even had a chance to say no, Jen and I found ourselves seated with this complete stranger in a nearby restaurant. I just want to remind everyone that even as this is happening, we both know that we’re getting scammed.

Anyways, as we’re seated, the man continues on by saying he’s a student from Zimbabwe and that he and his friends came to Nairobi to look for work and that later on today, they must jump on a train to take them back home. Oh yeah, and they don’t have enough money for the trains so if we could help them it would be appreciated. Even though I didn’t believe this guys story, I still felt for him and believed that he needed money. But even my compassion and naivety has a limit and the limit was crossed when our waiter came and this guys, without even a polite look-over, proceeds to order food and a drink. This was the last straw for Jen who bluntly but politely said, “While we don’t mind paying for lunch, we are not in a position to give you any money at this time.” Start the fireworks. The man replies with something like, “I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to the man over here.” I’m cringing at this moment and thinking to myself, “Buddy, you are crazy if you think I’m going to go over my wife’s head and give you money.” Of course I knew it was time to leave when, after Jen replied with a surprised and stern “excuse me”, the man basically waved us off and told us to leave. Check please.

In the end, the total damage was only around 100 KSH or about $1.50 Canadian. I know it’s not politically correct to say, but in hindsight it would have been awesome if one of us had answered his “How do Canadians treat black people” question with, “The same way we treat Asians, terribly”. Anyways, the damage was minimal but it did leave both Jen and I in a sour mood for the rest of the day, which is a shame because I think we both would have enjoyed the art and crafts on display at the Nairobi Archives (our next stop) more had we been in better moods. I think what probably calmed us down the most was that right after the archives, we booked our trekking trip on Mt Kenya. More on that later but the excitement of having booked it definitely brightened our moods.

After having “survived” the city center of Nairobi we were somewhat relieved to be heading to Karen, a suburb of Nairobi named after Karen Blixen, best known as the author of “Out of Africa”. Our safari company had suggested moving to their guesthouse in Karen, called the Rock House, as that’s where the safari starts from. As you read “Rock House”, you literally need to picture a rock house because this place was something out of the “Flintstones”. As nice as the place turned out to be, the best part of our move was that it gave us chance to see some great sites and to meet and get to know some of the IntoAfrica staff. For starters, Lydia, who runs the show at the Rock House was the nicest woman who would do anything to make us feel at home. Because we were the only ones staying there the first day, that meant a lot of attention and a lot of good home cooking.

Once Jen and I finished our four-course lunch, Lydia asked us what we wanted to do for the rest of the day. Near to the guesthouse was a Giraffe Center, where they breed and integrate into the national parks, the endangered Rothschild giraffes, so we said we’d like to go there. Before we could even say anything, Lydia was on and off her cell phone and a guide had been arranged to take us there. This was our first meeting with Elijah, who we were happy to later find out, would be our guide for the safari. I don’t know why, but I really didn’t know what to expect at the Giraffe Center. Yeah, I knew there would be giraffes there but I didn’t realize that we’d be able to get so close to them. Standing on a raised walkway, you could feed and touch the giraffes. If you held some feed in a closed fist, you could feel the giraffes biting at your fingers trying to get in. Thank goodness they’re herbivores. I even held a longer piece of food in my teeth and had the giraffe “kiss” me on the lips. Correspondingly, it took many days and many teeth brushings before Jen would kiss me again.

The next day and the last one before we headed out on safari, we decided to check out the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, or as I like to think of it, the place where they have baby elephants and rhinos!!! Still full from Lydia’s previous night’s feast, Jen and I sat down for breakfast, which at first glance looked a bit more reasonable in size. Close to where we sat was a self-serve station consisting of tea and/or coffee and cereal with all the fixings. After serving myself a medium-sized bowl I sat down and started to enjoy my light breakfast. “You know there’s going to eggs and some sort of meat for breakfast.” Jen said. “Bet you fifty bucks that it’s only cereal.”, I replied. Since what is mine is Jen’s and vice versa, we didn’t bother exchanging any funds but let’s just say that I was very full that morning. Arriving to pick us up once again was Duncan, the same nice man who picked us up from the city center. While we really liked all the people we met with IntoAfrica, Duncan was our favorite. Not only was he super nice and interesting to talk to, he constantly went out of his way to help Jen and I get around. Thankfully, Duncan would also end up going on safari with us as one of the drivers.

Since we’d arrived in Nairobi, it always seemed that wherever we went, Jen and I were really the only tourists around. Not at the Wildlife Trust. Getting there about 10 minutes before opening, the place was packed and a hefty queue had already formed. Regardless, the place was worth the wait as we got to see up-close tons of baby elephants, some as young as a few months, feed and play around. What made it more worthwhile was hearing how some of the elephants had been orphaned and how they were eventually rescued and brought to the trust. Their stories were quite sad, and most involved poachers is one way or another. But the real star of the show was the baby black rhino, who was the last to make his appearance. Dressed in a little blue “jacket”, the baby rhino made his way to the excited crowd. I love baby elephants, but this baby rhino was ridiculously cute. Anyways, the rhino was definitely more shy than the elephants and after about 10 minutes he was gone.

Although we’ve only been in Kenya, Nairobi to be precise, for 5 days, I can honestly say that I love it so far. Yeah, when we first arrived I was bit weary and intimidated by the city. I hate to say it but having grown up in Regina, and then seeing nothing but Asian people 24/7 for the last 5 months, it was a bit of a culture shock when we first took to the streets. So much of a shock that within the first few steps I said to Jen, “I just can’t believe how many black people there are here.” Um, not sure what I was expecting?!

After spending some time in the city, the place has definitely left an impression on me. It’s not that Nairobi is the most fun city we’ve been to or that the sights we’ve seen have been the most amazing, it’s just the overall vibe of the place. Maybe it’s the fact that compared to Southeast Asia, Kenya feels a little more like the road less traveled. Or maybe it’s because the people that we’ve met, from the guys on the streets to the safari company staff, have been so nice. Whatever it is, I really can’t place my finger on it. I only know that I like it and I’m looking forward to the days ahead.