Masai Mara

Having conquered the mountain, it was now time for the biggest tourist attraction in Kenya: Masai Mara, the famous national park on the border to Tanzania (changes name to Serengeti in T) where the Masai people live. This time our visitor was Ingeborg's father. We arrived Sunday evening, just in time to visit a nearby Masai village. The Masai people are world famous for their nomadic life, cattle, lion hunting and bright red/orange clothes that they wrap around themselves. Not so famous outside Kenya are the Masai's disregard for Kenyan laws; they still openly practices female circumcision, keep many children out of school and marry off the women at a very young age. Still interesting to see how they live, very differently from any other village I've visited in Kenya. On the picture are three masai warriors who dance the welcoming dance - in this part they prove their strength by jumping as high up as they can while making grunting noises.

On Monday we had a full day of game driving in the park, a great day! The landscape is breathtaking, just like being in one of those movies you've seen. Masai Mara is maybe most famous for the wildebeest migration that takes place every year as millions of wildebeest cross rivers and walk miles in search of green grass. We didn't actually see them crossing the river, but the thousands we saw were still quite impressive. Many og them had crossed the river a few days ago, dead wildebeest lay in the river, others were half eaten by crocodiles.

Apart from wildebeest we saw several lions, two cheetahs, a leopard, many elephants, hippos, giraffes, crocodiles, a number of different gazelles, monkeys, zebras, birds - we were lucky! Yesterday we had a drive in the morning before we drove to Nairobi.

Kari, Aberdare and Lord Baden Powell

Our mutual friend Kari have been visiting us, it was great having her here! She stayed for three weeks and got to see quite a bit of the country. Apart from coming with us to Mount Kenya, we also travelled to Aberdare National Park. We spent a night in the famous Treetops Hotel, a hotel inside the park. Meters away from the hotel is a waterhole where the wild animals come at night to drink. Whether the waterhole was constructed next to the hotel or if it was the other way around I don’t know, probably the first, however, for a touristy thing it’s a great one! A big group of elephants (I counted 15 individuals) showed up around 7 pm and stayed for a few hours, leaving us plenty of time to take pictures while staying on the roof terrace of the hotel. In addition to elephants, a couple of rhinos, some bushbucks, warthogs and buffalos also showed up. Before dinner we had a game drive in the park, and although the scenery was by far the most beautiful I’ve seen in a park in Kenya, not too many animals wanted to show themselves during daytime.

Aberdare National Park is not far from Nyeri, which was the town where the founder of the scout movement Lord Baden Powell lived and worked for major parts of his life. And being once – in fact, for 10 years! - a girl scout myself (yes, I know that it’s supposed to be boy scout or girl guide, but scout sounds much better, so I’ll use that), a moment in silence and remembrance of the great man was needed.

On our way home from Aberdare we stopped in Nyahururu, a small town famous only for its waterfall: Thomson’s Falls. We came, saw, spent a night there and left.

Mount Kenya

I am a big fan of writing chronologically, but this time I'll make an exception: I'll start with our adventures of the last week, when we climbed Mount Kenya. A lot can be said about this trip, however, I can't describe everything that happened and have therefore decided to give my experiences of the trip only. Read Inga's blog to get her story, which is quite different from mine.

Monday morning we started off from Nairobi, us being Ingeborg, her boyfriend Pablo, our good friend Kari and me. Our guide for the trip was George whom we met in Naivasha a few months ago. After sorting out where to stay for the night in Nanyuki, when and where to meet the following morning, and paying for everything, we went to bed. Tuesday morning we drove off from Nanyuki to Sirimon gate, an hours drive away - should be less, but large quantities of rain had turned the last 9 km of the road up to the gate into a gigantic mud slide, going in the wrong direction. Our 4WD got stuck several times, but finally we made it. We started our walk around noon, the first day is a short walk, approx 3 hours only on broad mud roads. Constant rain the first day was boring, but not much can be done about weather issues like that. We arrived Old Moses hut in the afternoon, and our chefs and porters prepared food for us, tea/coffee, popcorn and biscuits to start with, later dinner and fruits. The hut was cold, no need to take of any clothes except boots and jacket before jumping into our sleeping bags.

Wednesday we were woken up at 0615, had our breakfast, packed our things and set off again. No rain that day, but heavy clouds limited our view most of the way. A much longer walk this time, it took us about 8 hours to reach Shipton hut. The landscape was beautiful, but, being a Norwegian, I can't honestly say that it was more stunning than a walk in, say, Ryfylkeheiene. What was amazing was the view of the mountain peaks, completely different from the Norwegian mountains. And knowing that you're 4000 meters above sea level also adds a thrill to it all.

Thursday morning we were woken up at 0300 (!). Kari had got a serious attack of altitude sickness (as mentioned, a lot more can be said about this trip than what I'm telling here) and had to go down immediately, and Inga and Pablo decided to go with her and George the guide. I continued to the top with George's co-guide Wilson. We started walking at 0345 and reached the top, Point Lenana (4985 m above sea level), at 0605. The moon was almost full, meaning there was no need for a torch. Climbing Africa's second highest mountain in moonlight and complete silence was incredible, definitely the highlight of the whole trip. At the top pictures were taken while we watched the sunrise. Amazing. Recommended! From there it was downhill all the was back to Sirimon gate, with stops at Shipton hut for breakfast and lunch at Old Moses hut. I met with the Inga, Pablo and Kari back in Nanyuki, and luckily, Kari had fully recovered as soon as she got to a lower altitude.


To me, the trip was excellent and recommendable, but, understandably, not that great for the rest of my group. So take great care if any of you consider doing the same thing. And another warning also: An agressive, male elephant has made life miserable for several tourists lately, even in the last week while we were there. He is also said to have killed two people, but you shouldn't rely entirely on that information. Anyway, we didn't meet him at all, so he was of no trouble to us.

Work in progress

Two things have been happening for the last month at my school; first, the field is growing muddier and muddier due to constant dumping of soil there, they are trying to level the field so that all of it can be usable for ballgames etc. Looks horrible now, but will turn out nicely I think. Second, we have teacher students taking over classes 2-5 every day until lunch break. I love them - it means less work for the rest of us, and more time to plan, mark books and socialize.

The best and the worst

Ranging pupils from number one to the last one is something completely unheard of in Norway, at least in primary school. But in Kenya, that's how you do it. Every pupil knows what number he or she currently holds in class, based on frequently held exams. Last week we had mid term exams in school, and when announcing the results, all the pupils and staff of the school gathered outside. The class teachers read out the results from each class, starting with number one. Every child has to stand up when their name is read. On the picture are the class eight pupils standing in line according to their number. There are also awards given to the best ones, of course.

Parents' visiting day

Two weeks ago it was parents' visiting day in Resam. On visiting day one or both parents of the pupils come with younger brothers and sisters and a lot of food. All the pupils in the upper classes are boarding, meaning that visiting day often is the only time during each term that they will actually meet their parents. In addition to eating a lot of food, the parents talk with the class teacher to find out how their children are doing in school. In the picture, Inga is a "parent", Charles has the position of the teacher and the boy I don't know the name of. All for the photographer, of course.

Fysiotherapy

Once a month a fysiotherapist comes to Sigowet to treat people who need it. The health center in our village only have a doctor and a nurse, so the fysiotherapist – along with other experts – are very welcomed in order to give special forms of treatment. We got to follow the treatment of a wonderful boy, Brian, who has CP. His mother has been trained to do excercises with him every day, and he has improved a lot since he first started his training about a year ago.

Morning walk

Almost every morning since February, Inga and I have gone for an hours morning walk before going to school. It’s about time a picture to prove it was presented.

Sharing of knowledge: Bread and computers

Norwegians eat a lot of bread, preferably brown bread, and I've made my own for years. My collegues wanted a lesson in how to make ther own bread, so we arranged for that an afternoon in the staff room. An oven was improvised in the school kitchen, using a fire place, a sufuria (large pot without handles) filled with sand and a lid to cover it. Worked perfectly! After an hour and a half we could all enjoy deliciously fresh bread.

I've also brought my computer to school a few times to give basic computer training to those of my collegues who want it. I'm happy to be able to share my knowledge, I only wish there were computers in school so that more people could learn. And electricity would be nice.

Jorunn Jette and Kjelma

My sister and her boyfriend visited us a couple of weeks ago! I loved having them here, and really noticed how I sometimes miss having many of my friends around. They stayed with us in Sigowet for five days, then travelled on alone to Nakuru and Naivasha. Wish you could have stayed longer, but really glad that you came at all!

Beads

I'm quite obsessed with beads. After finding large quantities of

cheap beads in Cape Town and Nairobi, I spend an insane amount of time by my desk, trying out every pattern and technique that is listed in my book. Yes, of course I have a book about beading! My sister suggested I start selling them, but I find it equally satisfying just giving them away.

Less mosquitos=less malaria

Recently, the malaria guy came to our home. Looking a lot like a ghost buster, his mission is almost equally important, to reduce the number of mosquitos in our house. Quite scary though, we were told not to go near our house for at least half an hour after he had finished spraying, that's how poisonous it is.

Mamma in Kenya

My mother and her friend Lise was here this week and we had a good time together. The first four days we spent in Sigowet, to give them the "ultimate local experience", as I guess a travel agent would have called it. They visited our schools, neighbours, some of my colleagues as well as attended a funeral to one of my colleague's father-in-law.

Last Thursday we left Sigowet and went to Mbita, a small town by the shore of Lake Victoria. We've seen the lake many times before, but only in Kisumu where the water almost always is covered by water hyacinth, making it impossible to actually see the water. Mbita is situated just where the Kenyan gulf becomes the large body of water that Victoria is, and the water is quite clear here (not like the Norwegian water, but much less brown then Lake Baringo, for those of you who know who has been there). We stayed at Lake Victoria Safari Lodge,which is a wonderful place run by a Norwegian man who fell in love with this country a few years ago. A beautiful garden, charming huts to sleep in (where every detail has been thought through!), a nice beach, warm water - we had a great time. Yesterday we travelled to Kisumu to spend some more money on souvenirs, and this morning they flew back.

The top picture is of my mother at Chebulu, enjoying the view after a two hours walk to get there. The next two shows mamma and Lise at Rebecca's home, eating a great meal and me, mamma and some of my colleagues at Ruth's home. Number four and five is from Mbita: inside a textile shop where we spent at least an hour and a few thousand shillings, and my lunch that day: two tiny birds (vaktler in Norwegian, Alura in Luo) that tasted very much like tender chicken. Looked disgusting, tasted nice. The bottom two show me and mamma demonstrating the different ways you can ride on a boda boda, depending on how short/tight your skirt is.

Rainy season

May has been a wet experience. Especially when driving, it's been a challenge to make it to our destination sometimes. Creativity, optimism and pure luck have been important - and most of the times we've made it. The top pictures are from the road between Mbita and Kisumu. Our car got stuck in the mud - or should I say lake, that had appeared during the last 24 hours. It's still completely unbelievable that we actually made it in the end - but not without lots of help from the locals who had made it their job for the day to escort vehicles through the waters. Our car is in the top left corner, the white one. When driving through, the water reached above the front lights. Insane.

The first of the pictures below is from the main road (!) between Nairobi and Uganda, we were on our way to Nakuru. Traffic jams on muddy roads are not recommended. The middle picture is from Ruma National Park, and thia time, we had to turn around and go back. The muddy water just got too deep for our car to handle. The last picture is from

It's time for lunch!

A couple of weeks ago, Inga and I invited all our colleagues for lunch, 35 people in total. We had prepared a lot of food, from Norway, Spain and Kenya. It became a huge success, if I may say so myself! After eating, we gave all of our guests a tshirt each, which we had been given by Norwegian friends.

More travelling

In the middle of May we had more visitors coming: Gro and Steinar. We travelled both to Kakamega rainforest with them, as well as to Nakuru and Naivasha National Parks. Biking, hiking and driving thrgough beautiful landscapes - we had a great time!

Back to normal...or not quite

The first week after my long holiday is finished. It didn't take us long to adjust back to the village life: in bed by 10 pm, shake hands at least 15 times on my way to school, spend a whole day washing clothes and house. And just as quickly as we got back to normal, things change again! This morning Inga's mother and stepfather came to visit us, and with one visit following the other, we won't be "alone" again until the middle of June! Meaning we will spend a lot of time travelling to different places of Kenya with them. And working a bit in between, of course. Our next trip will go to Kakamega rainforest tomorrow morning. Pictures will follow!

Holiday Part 2 (3?)

No news are good news, aren't they? My blog has been standing still while I've had a great time! After leaving Cape Town on the 26th I flew to Dar Es Salaam where I spent the night before traveling on to the island Pemba north of Zanzibar. Actually, I had planned to write an entire blog post about the flight from Johannesburg-Dar Es Salaam. But I don't think I will. The anger and frustration I felt at the time has gone now. Let me just say that I had an intense feeling of "I'm sick of Africa" at some point, and that my luggage took four days to reach me.

I went to Pemba with Svein Olav, another Norwegian friend who lives in Tanzania. We made plans to go to Pemba to scuba dive already in December last year, really great that we actually managed to do it! Flying to Pemba was amazing (contrary to the previously mentioned flight), a tiny plane with only 11 passenger seats, got a great view, I felt a bit like Denys Finch Hatton. Three days of diving in warm, clear water on beautiful coral reefs, it was fantastic. We saw sea turtles and schools of fish in all sizes and shapes. In between the dives (two each day) we had lunch on small islands with white beaches and no other people around. What did I do to deserve such happiness?

We left Pemba on May 1st and traveled to Morogoro where Svein Olav lives. I got to help out a couple of days at the center for mentally handicapped youth where he works, a great place it seemed. Saturday morning (yesterday) I went back to Kenya by flying from Dar-Nairobi. I considered taking the bus, but that would have taken me a loooong time and I wasn't really up for that. Tonight Ingeborg will arrive from her holiday as well, and tomorrow we'll both go back to Sigowet.

I've had a truly unbelievably great holiday, met so many nice people and seen such beautiful places. Now I'm ready for the next chapter of village life.

Wine tasting

A great Saturday: Decided to check out a "food, wine and livestyle" thing in the centre of Cape Town. Paid R50 (NOK45) without quite knowing what that would get us (us = Bernd, Justin and me, we share a dorm. Helen and Greg, you should have been there also!). We got a lot. Have tasted an unknown number of South African wines and eaten a lot af nice food, including olives, cheese, Thai food, chocolate, mustard, chili sauces, bread...And my holiday still isn't nearly over yet.

The pictures don't match the text. But I have no pictures from the wine tasting day, so I put these in instead. Paul, Leah and Fefe at Cape Town Backpackers, and view from Table Mountain, looking at the cable car.

Cape Town

After five nights in Cape Town (and luckily, five more to go) I can confirm all those "it's such a wonderful city"-statements. It truly is. Beautiful scenery (mountains! ocean!), good roads (after four months in Kenya you really know how to appreciate a good road..), friendly people and amazing food. I don't think I've had the chance to get really hungry at all this week, every time I'm about to get hungry, I eat a lot (too much!) of fantastic food, and there are so many nice places that I want to try before I leave.

And I've done a fair bit of shopping. Found an amazing bead shop, and those who know me well can easily imagine my enthusiasm when I found an entire shop (two floors!)dedicated to beads. And dirt cheap! Already bought a lot (and I really mean A LOT!), don't know how to be able to get it all back with me.

And I've done some tourist things as well: went to Cape Point on Wednesday, which is the most southwestern point of Africa (not quite the most Southern though) with three friends I met the day before. That's one of the advantages of staying in a hostel - you meet great people all the time.

Top picture: windy at Cape Point. Bottom: Still windy at Cape Point.

Update

I'm still alive even though I haven't posted anything lately. Since I can't provide any pictures at the moment (hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later), let me just briefly sum up the past three weeks events:

-Inspired by the African haistyles, I had my hair braided by my next door neighbour. And of course, when doing it the African way, you add a lot of synthetic hair to make it longer and thicker.

-We got our first school holiday on March 29. Inga and I flew to Nairobi, and the next day I continued (together with a friend who came to visit me for Easter) by train to Mombasa, and from there by matatu (those private minivans, infamous for overloading and having frequent accidents) to Watamu, which is a tiny town along the coast of Kenya.

-Spent all of Easter more in the Indian Ocean than out of it, it was great! Went scuba diving every day, and on impulse I signed up for a PADI rescue diver course as well. So amongst admiring the beautiful coral reefs, the millions of fish, big and small (even a shark, hiding in a small cave), octopuses and shrimps, I practised how to calm a panicked diver down, rescue people at the surface, giving first aid and control my own stress level. What a great week!

-After Watamu I was in Mombasa for two nights and a day, doing tourist things. Got invited to stay with a really nice family who had a beautiful home.

-Went by bus (not without complications, of course, but I made it in the end) to Dar es Salaam last Thursday, and spent the weekend with two Norwegian friends.

-Yesterday I flew to Cape Town where I'll stay for the next ten days. Haven't seen much of the city yet, so I'll desribe it better later.

And that's my holiday so far. Absolutely no reason to complain about it, so I won't.