Days of Adventure – mostly unplanned…

Warning! Long post ahead!!

We set out for the Masai Mara with high hopes on Monday. It’s one of the premier wildlife refuges in the world and for the first time we’d be spending two nights on safari instead of one because of how long it takes to get there.

Basilus, one of the directors of the Jamii School had suggested an alternate route to the one that Washira, our trusted driver and guide, had planned on taking. We left on time at 7 a.m. (which doesn’t always happen). The drive through tea country was beautiful and we spent a lot of time oohing and ahhing over the views of acres and acres of tea plants.

Tea is one of Kenya’s leading exports. (As a British colony, that part of the country proved perfect for raising the Brits’ beloved beverage, never mind how many African people lost their own property in the process.)

About 2 hours into the trip, Washira pulled into a gas station; he didn’t like the sound of the engine and we all could tell that as it was idling, it was running rough. He hoped to get to a bigger town nearby but as we were pulling out of the station, the engine died completely. Not good.

Amazingly enough, a mechanic was literally standing nearby and was willing to help. But the engine was too hot to do anything with right away. Then Miriam, always ready with a solution, called a long-time friend who lived close by and asked where we might have lunch while we waited for the engine repair. She recommended a hotel/shopping mall that has a beautiful rooftop restaurant with a view of Lake Victoria. It was gorgeous and the food was good.

Our initial updates from Washira sounded hopeful but then things started falling apart. He had rented the van from a guy who had not kept the van in good working order and had even put tape over one of the warning light indicators. The owner didn’t want our “on the spot” mechanic; he wanted someone he knew. Plus the guy who had driven us 1/2 hour to the town where we had lunch and had said he would bring back the part that might be needed, never showed up. Sigh!

So we figured we’d hang out at the mall portion of the complex, but there really wasn’t much in the way of stores and we gravitated to the Java House (Kenyan version of Starbucks; popular and ubiquitous). No one was crabby or grumpy but as the afternoon ticked by, our opportunity to get to the Mara in time to spend the night there started dribbling away. Washira was working like crazy to get the car repaired as well as to find another van for us to use but it finally became clear that his options were severely limited by the fact that he’s part of the “wrong tribe” for this part of the country. (Interestingly when we attended a church service early in the trip, the pastor preached against “tribalism” which it manifests itself here in ways small and large,)

Ultimately, the concierge at the hotel where we were hanging out approached Miriam and asked if he could help. Though we had hoped to travel farther, we had resigned ourselves to a night in Kisumu. His hotel was full but he made calls and found a place for us to stay. Which wasn’t entirely altruistic because we tipped him and the hotel probably did as well. But he did perform a valuable service for us.

He also got transport for us but the driver was brand-new to the town and had no idea of where he was going. He kept stopping to ask for directions and was ignoring what our "trusted friend" Siri was telling us about where to go. Sigh! Ultimately we had him drive back to the hotel, talk with the concierge and start out again. Then when we arrived, he asked for twice the amount the concierge had told us we would pay. Miriam is a master of being kind but firm so he didn't "win" that attempt at extra money.

The hotel itself was fine but we’re sort of getting used to the fact that rarely is one is going to have a room where everything works. The AC worked in some rooms and not others; some had screens on their windows and some didn’t; water for showers is always a question mark – will there be hot, warm or cold water, or an intermittent mingling of the two? Toilets work to varying degrees of effectiveness, lighting is inconsistent at best. Is there a mosquito net over the bed, do doors and windows work? I think we will all be hyper-aware on our return of so many things we take for granted.

Miriam and Washira stayed up til 11 that night finding and hiring a van for us. At 6:30 a.m. the next morning we had eaten breakfast and were ready for our adventure to the Mara. Except the new driver didn’t make it til 20 minutes later. “Someone double-parked and blocked my van.” Hmmm - maybe, Or maybe he overslept? Or…??

So we drove to the Mara with a rented driver and Washira as our trusted guide. Our new driver decided on a “shortcut” that cut off many miles but added at least an hour of travel time and was over super bumpy roads for the majority of the trip. Rough going. And about 8.5 hours again. Oh my! And we had the added “excitement” of an impromptu roadblock created by some young men demanding 200 shillings ($2) per car through a rough ravine. None of us were happy about that.

(A view through the rear window as they get ready to fleece the next vehicle...)

Washira had told me earlier that he’s sad to see what’s happened to the Masai in this area because they are giving up their previous nomadic lifestyle to settle down in houses and farms. I was at the Mara 30 years ago and I don’t remember seeing so many Masai without their distinctive blankets, in concrete houses instead their huts of mud, dung and sticks. Who am I to say they can’t or shouldn’t change? But it feels like we’re losing yet another culture.

And speaking of culture - the Chinese are buying a lot of property, doing a lot of projects and making their presence known here. They have gotten contracts for roads and railways; as we drove out of the Mara on Wednesday, this is some of what we saw. Soon there will be a divided highway all the way to the gate of the park from Nairobi - cutting an hour or two off the current 5 hour drive...

The remote to operate my air conditioner in the hotel. Fortunately the up and down arrows are universal and the power button was lit.

We arrived at our tented camp only to discover that our reserved tents had been given away the night before, and we discovered later that they had double-booked those tents (with the best location in the camp by the river). The other folks who had booked ranted and raved and got the tents so even if we had arrived on the correct night, we would have had no place to stay. Oh my! We did get tents to stay in and they were ok but a party going on uphill and fires smoking all through the night made the stay less than ideal.

After lunch we went on a late game drive and saw lots of animals, including a pride of lionesses lounging on some dry sections of a riverbed. Pretty awesome! I didn't take a lot of pictures since other people were doing so and I was content to just enjoy the views.

We drove back to Nairobi today, will do just a bit of exploration of Nairobi (which we really haven't done), visit with some friends and then depart on Thursday night. Maggie and I will meet Greg and Jon in London for a very different travel experience together!

Until then, here's a lovely pic. I think Maggie took it, but a lot of us have been sharing photos so I'm not positive of who to credit :-)