The temperature in Ottawa: -15deg C. Brrr. Lara gave me a drive to the Ottawa train station where I boarded the KLM bus to Montreal Airport. Traffic was crazy in Montreal. And there were hundreds of people in the airport trying to go somewhere. Crazy busy.
The KLM flight to Amsterdam left at 19:00. A bit late, but the pilot said the flight was going to take about 5h15m... about 40min faster than scheduled. Strong tail winds I guess. The flight was ok... watched "Wall-E" on the mini screen and was quite surprised how apocalyptic it was! Kung-fu Panda put me to sleep...which was pretty difficult considering I was in a middle seat.
Sunday Dec. 21, 2008
Amsterdam
Arrived in Amsterdam no problemo. Found a cool tropical themed cafe and had a nice coffee. Tried a Dutch Mcdonalds egg mcmuffin... It's pretty much the same as a Canadian one. Most of the stores and people in the airprt speak English, but there are travellers from all over.... a huge menagerie of languages. The cafe has groovy music and the temperature outside is a balmy +10. 2 hours to the next flight.
Amsterdam - Nairobi
Most of today was spent either in Amsterdam airport or sitting on a plane - uncomfortably. 8.5 hours after leaving Amsterdam we landed at Nairobi. Add in 1/2 hour sitting on the tarmac at Amsterdam, the line-up at Kenyan immigration, plus getting my baggage, and it was a long day. But safely arrived.
After landing at about 8pm, it took about an hour to get to baggage and a taxi to the hotel. It is really dark because there are few streetlights, and traffic is crazy. They drive on the left side of the road, and I just kind of looked out the side window ignoring the crazy traffic and trusting the taxi driver.
The temperature is a warm, refreshing, +23.
The Hotel Boulevard is... so so. The room is small, and the shower barely works. The bed.. well I had worse. There is no a/c, but a fan. And the windows face a main road. Even now at this hour of night the traffic noise is bad, good thing I brought ear plugs.
Off to the bar to try the local poison - Tusker Lager, named after the elephant the killed the brewmaster. Seriously. Not bad tasting though. The waiter was a nice guy who taught me some basic Swahili. Karibu = Welcome! habari iako = How are you? Pombe = alcohol or beer, Salama = good, usiku mwema = good night. siku njema = good day, asante sana = thank you so much, tafadhali = please and safiri salama = have a good journey!
Most important, he told me I am a mzungu, which basically translates to "white person." I was to see and hear this word lots in the next two weeks.
Had to think quick on my feet to get away from the local welcoming committee - "hi! you such a nice looking man! Why isn't a nice man like you married? My daughter needs money for school. Can you buy me a drink?" yeah, uh-uh. Sorry lady.
As I write this it is 22:00 (10pm) here in Nairobi, and 14:00 (2pm) at home which means I have been travelling for almost 24 hours. The last leg was very long, and very tiring. Nairobi airport, though probably large, seemed small compared to others i have been in. Nairobi seems like a big modern city and hopefully I can see more of it tomorrow. But of major note, I have finally crossed to South of the equator.
Time to go re-pack my bag and get ready for tomorrow morning when i meet the tour group. No more flying for now, the next two weeks will be living on the road on the truck, sleeping mostly in tents. Not sure what to put where....
Monday Dec. 22, 2008
Nairobi,Kenya
The noisy road traffic out my window and jet lag with 8 hour time difference to my body meant I was awake at 4:30am. I managed to get back to sleep, sort of, til about 6:30. But I finally decided to get up and sample the hotel breakfast. Not bad... a standard buffet with scrambled eggs, sausage, hashbrowns and toast. The coffee was - surprisingly considering Kenya grows coffee - terrible.
The Dragoman truck - named Christie after super model Christie Brinkley because the truck is also a "Super Model" model - get it? arrived . So did all the other travellers at around 9:45. The cast of characters for this adventure are:
Mat and Jimmy from Dragoman
Ben and Elise from London, England
Aniek and Rolf from Amsterdam
Anne and Steven from Reading, England
Chris and Louise from somewhere in England
Anita from Ireland / Amsterdam
and Andrew from Austrailia / Brussels.
Not to be forgotten is the most important man on the truck, Charles. The cook. Who hails from Kenya.
Mat and Jimmy are both English, but have been travelling through Africa for years. Mat has actually lived in various parts of Africa for 10+ years.
The truck is impressive. A dual axle cargo truck converted to carry passengers with lockers for all the gear. There are seats for 22 people. A fridge, a safe (to be referred to as "the Pub") and a couple tables. Everything is well organized and has its place and as will become obvious along the trip, everything can be loaded and unloaded very quickly. Good thing since this is home for the next 15 days.
Jimmy gave a rundown of the itenerary ... it has changed slightly from the published plan but no big deal. After the meeting and rundown, we left the hotel and did a quick drive through part of Nairobi. It is a big, busy city with a mix of rundown and modern buildings. Lots of people. Driving is crazy. There are lanes and signs and lights but nobody seems to really be following them. Its more like a giant game of chicken.
By 13:00 we have made it to Karen, a suburb of Nairobi. From the looks of things it is fairly affluent (comparitively) and i find out later is named after Karen Bixby, the author of Out of Africa. We are also near the airport, and Nairobi National Park - an actual game park bordering the city. This is our first stop - after driving about 45min. Home tonight is Indeba campsite. Which is actually somebody's old house that has been converted to a campsite. It's pretty nice. We are sharing with another overland tour so it is so-so crowded, but not bad.
After getting the tents set-up, I went with some others to the giraffe sanctuary. We hired a taxi to take us there and he waited for us while we watched giraffes come up and eat out of our hands. Some brave people put food pellets in their mouth and the giraffe kissed them. There were also warthogs running around. From there we went to the Kenya Wildlife Sanctuary and walked around the animal orphanage.
It was kind of like a big zoo. A teenage guide led us around and explained why all the animals were there. Most were found as babies in the wild and brought in because otherwise they would have died. Lions, cheetahs, leopards, monkeys, baboons etc... all lived here. We actually got to go in the cheetah pen and pet the cat... tres cool... he was very calm, but it was easy to feel his muscles.
Around 18:30 we headed back to camp and had dinner. Early to sleep.
Tuesday Dec. 23, 2008
Nairobi to the Masai Mara
Nairobi to the Masai Mara
Sleep was lousy. Between the 8hr time difference to my body and the noise of the campground it was not there. Dogs barking and the gate being opened and closed to allow cars and trucks in to the compound regularly also did not help. Note for next stop... do not set tent up near the gate!
I awoke at 5:30 am to what I was told were the sounds of lions roaring. Hmm. I had no idea. I just ent to take a shower and was packed up by 6:30 when I joined the rest of the group for breakfast and truck loading.
After breakfast, clean-up and load-up, we hit the road. The plan today was to go from Nairobi (Karen) to the Masai Mara, a distance of about 330km. Jimmy told us to expect to be in the truck for 7 1/2 hours because, he said, "the roads generally are terrible." Jimmy turned out to be a very understated kind of guy. If there was any asphalt left on the roads, it was in random pieces and places, not in a steady layer. The roads - all of them in Kenya in turned out - are full of potholes and bumps and cracks. Poor Christie (the truck) just did not enjoy it. And neither did we as passengers. Turns out that a truck originally designed to carry 18tons of cargo that gets converted to carry maybe 1ton of people and their luggage does not make for a comfortable ride. Oh well.
Quickly after leaving Karen, the road passed through Kikuru, a small town outside Nairobi. What a difference to Karen. Where Nairobi has modern metropolitan features - big skyscrapers and clean streets - Kikuru was a shanty twon in every sense of the word. All tin shack buildings, one-storey high and built wall to wall with each other. Garbage was everywhere. And the townspeople were all out, doing their business at the shops, sitting on the side of the road watching. A very wierd contrast to Nairobi. This was the scene at the bottom of the hill that Kikuru is built on. As we crested the top, there were more modern, clean buildings. Gated schools and a hospital for example. Not sure why the difference, we were only about 2km from the shanty town below, but the contrast was incredible.
Not too long after leaving Karen we got to the top of Mt. Longota... the Eastern edge of the Great Rift Valley. Absolutely spectacular. The mountain was quite high with steep sides and the road was rolly. We could see for miles across the valley. Very desert like at the bottom, and flat, and dry. About mid-way down the decent we stopped at an African roadside tourist trap. Dozens of vendors had set-up stalls to sell food and crafts - and a spot at the toilet! - some of them on platforms built into the side of the mountain. As soon as we got off the truck, we got immediately hit-on by the sellers calling "Jambo!" (hello!). The guy that picked me told me I had to buy something so that he could eat lunch. Aggressive selling does not begin to describe the atmosphere. "Go look!" he told me. And the truth is I saw a batik painting of some dancers and drummers that I did like. But I pretended to be a master barterer, so I walked away, pretended to look at other stuff and said no to everything else he told me to buy. Finally I went back to the batik, where my new friend told me it cost 3000Ksh (kenyan shillings)- about $39USD. I said no... too much. I tried him at 2500Ksh. He countered at 2800. Ok - deal. Next mistake - all I had on me was 1000KSH notes and as soon as my friend saw this he went and grabbed a couple of stone animal carvings and told me they were included at the 3000KSH price because he had no change. Damn... lesson 1 for bartering: make sure that you have the exact amount in bills as the agreed on price. Afterwards Charles (our Kenyan cook) told me I paid too much... that I should not have offered more than 2000KSh. Lesson 2... mzungu's can't barter. The carvings are nice though, so no big deal.
Back in the truck we continued our way down the mountain to the floor of the Rift Valley. Not sure what the elevation change was, but it would make an awesome ride on a bike.
I awoke at 5:30 am to what I was told were the sounds of lions roaring. Hmm. I had no idea. I just ent to take a shower and was packed up by 6:30 when I joined the rest of the group for breakfast and truck loading.
After breakfast, clean-up and load-up, we hit the road. The plan today was to go from Nairobi (Karen) to the Masai Mara, a distance of about 330km. Jimmy told us to expect to be in the truck for 7 1/2 hours because, he said, "the roads generally are terrible." Jimmy turned out to be a very understated kind of guy. If there was any asphalt left on the roads, it was in random pieces and places, not in a steady layer. The roads - all of them in Kenya in turned out - are full of potholes and bumps and cracks. Poor Christie (the truck) just did not enjoy it. And neither did we as passengers. Turns out that a truck originally designed to carry 18tons of cargo that gets converted to carry maybe 1ton of people and their luggage does not make for a comfortable ride. Oh well.
Quickly after leaving Karen, the road passed through Kikuru, a small town outside Nairobi. What a difference to Karen. Where Nairobi has modern metropolitan features - big skyscrapers and clean streets - Kikuru was a shanty twon in every sense of the word. All tin shack buildings, one-storey high and built wall to wall with each other. Garbage was everywhere. And the townspeople were all out, doing their business at the shops, sitting on the side of the road watching. A very wierd contrast to Nairobi. This was the scene at the bottom of the hill that Kikuru is built on. As we crested the top, there were more modern, clean buildings. Gated schools and a hospital for example. Not sure why the difference, we were only about 2km from the shanty town below, but the contrast was incredible.
Not too long after leaving Karen we got to the top of Mt. Longota... the Eastern edge of the Great Rift Valley. Absolutely spectacular. The mountain was quite high with steep sides and the road was rolly. We could see for miles across the valley. Very desert like at the bottom, and flat, and dry. About mid-way down the decent we stopped at an African roadside tourist trap. Dozens of vendors had set-up stalls to sell food and crafts - and a spot at the toilet! - some of them on platforms built into the side of the mountain. As soon as we got off the truck, we got immediately hit-on by the sellers calling "Jambo!" (hello!). The guy that picked me told me I had to buy something so that he could eat lunch. Aggressive selling does not begin to describe the atmosphere. "Go look!" he told me. And the truth is I saw a batik painting of some dancers and drummers that I did like. But I pretended to be a master barterer, so I walked away, pretended to look at other stuff and said no to everything else he told me to buy. Finally I went back to the batik, where my new friend told me it cost 3000Ksh (kenyan shillings)- about $39USD. I said no... too much. I tried him at 2500Ksh. He countered at 2800. Ok - deal. Next mistake - all I had on me was 1000KSH notes and as soon as my friend saw this he went and grabbed a couple of stone animal carvings and told me they were included at the 3000KSH price because he had no change. Damn... lesson 1 for bartering: make sure that you have the exact amount in bills as the agreed on price. Afterwards Charles (our Kenyan cook) told me I paid too much... that I should not have offered more than 2000KSh. Lesson 2... mzungu's can't barter. The carvings are nice though, so no big deal.
Back in the truck we continued our way down the mountain to the floor of the Rift Valley. Not sure what the elevation change was, but it would make an awesome ride on a bike.
Going across the floor of the Rift Valley was a bit like being in another world. Totally barren, desert. Few trees anywhere, and no water. Any plant spotted was low, cactus like things. The road still sucked. Potholes and bumps like crazy. We passed a couple of small towns... groups of single story buildings in a row along the side of the road. Everything looked pretty clean, except for the dust. And wherever we passed, the kids would smile and wave at us. All along the route.
We stopped for lunch on the side of the road just at some random point. Almost instantly, some kids who had been herding goats and cattle came over to us. They were young, the oldest was maybe 9 or 10. They just stood in a group and stared at us while our tour group set up for lunch – tables, chairs and food. Eventually they came over and shook our hands, smiled and said “jambo!” to us, but you could tell they were not sure about these mizungus. As Charles prepared food, they just watched. This was very weird for me... a bunch of rich tourists about to stuff their faces in front of a bunch of obviously poor and malnourished kids. It was difficult for me to do this, but no one else seemed to have a problem. The kids posed for pictures with the Masai Mara as a backdrop, but generally stayed quiet. I ate, a small amount compared to normal for me, a sandwich with two pieces of meat and some veggies. I could not stand to eat lots in front of these kids. But I also did not want to give them anything.
However, when everybody was finished eating, the uneaten lettuce and cucumber and tomato slices was given to the kids... it was clear they did not really know what to do with this stuff... one or two of them slowly tasted the food, but generally they did not like it. Then Charles threw them the left over chicken and rice from the night before......this time they all dove for the food like crazy.It was almost sad to watch. The older kids were clearly in charge, and they decided how much each of the others got to eat. This made me sad to watch... how desperately they dove for food while we had just eaten way too much. This was the last lunch I ate on the side of the road.
We cleaned up, packed up, and as we left, Aniek gave the kids a bottle of orange juice. Same near fight for the bottle as had happened for the chicken and rice. And as we drove away, they called out for more food, and sweets. We just drove. The crappy roads – almost unbelievably – got worse. We bounced along and gradually entered more wild area. No big villages anymore, but lots of little Masai villages along the side of the road. The kids continued to smile and wave as we passed... some, if they were close to the truck just put their hand out and asked for “sweets” in their Swahili accented English. No pretense, and no shame from them. Made me wonder what kind of “aid” they sometimes get.
As we continued driving (mostly southwest according to my map), the terrain became more forested. With more Masai villages set in the trees. And more kids. Also more wildlife... antelope, impala, buffalo and zebra were all seen. Finally at about 3:15pm we entered the camp...after 7h+ of shitty bouncy roads.
The camp is called Acacia Camp, and is managed by the Masai at the closest village. It’s quite nice... green grass, lots of trees. And very busy tonight. We did a quick set-up, then some of us went for a walk to visit the Masai village. We were escorted by two Masai men who explained their ways as we walked. They went by English names (Daniel and ? ). At the village, we met more Masai men. While the women did (one of the lamest, lest effort giving) dances to welcome us. The village chief’s son, Peter, further explained things for us. We watched as he made a fire by rubbing two sticks. He explained different plants and what they use them for. And how they build the fence around the village by using branches from the Acacia tres (1” thorns pointing out).
The houses in the village were grouped in a large circle around the perimeter fence. Inside the circle was where the cows and goats are brought for the night to protect them from predators (lions etc.). Consequently, the entire ground area inside the camp was covered in animal shit. The houses are made by intertwining twigs and branches then packing animal dung in the ensuing mesh. Each house takes 5 months to build (they say) and they had one there partly finished to show the process. We toured the house, saw their bed which consisted of more intertwined branches and an animal skin mattress, then went to the village market. Many women had items to sell, like bead necklaces, weaving, bracelets, carvings and blankets. The sales pressure was HIGH. We were asked (actually forced) to look at each and every table. A lot stuff was nice, but a lot was not. One of the men tool a real liking to my watch and the velcro strap with the needlework. He tried it on, and offered me his blanket and a copper bracelet in trade. I seriously considered this.... It actually seemed like a good deal. He really liked the Velcro I think. If this had been one of the last days of the trip, instead of one of the beginning days, i probably would have made the deal. But I needed the watch for the remainder of the trip. In the end, i bought his blanket which I thought was the nicest one of all that I saw and he asked for 1500KSH for it (about $20US) Maybe a bit much, but since I literally bought it off his back, what the hell.
We also visited the local school. The Masai kids go to school for eight years, starting at age 4. The one class we visited had 79 kids in a room that was about the same size as a normal Canadian classroom. Very basic items in the room...Desks and benches were each made from single planks of rough sawn wood. Basic primary lessons were painted on the walls... abc’s and 123’s, the weather, parts of trees, animals, plus, AIDS info. The school building was generally in good condition, with solar power panels and a satellite dish outside. Money is provided by a rich American benefactor (Patrick).
A short walk took us back to camp where we rested and had a beer ($2.25USD per pint bottle of Tusker). There was a big crowd tonight and many people settled around the campfire. The Masai men soon came over and did their dance for us. They sang while the danced, snaking their way between all the tourists watching them. Very nice to watch and hear. Then they did their jumping dance... the higher you jump the more likely you are to get a good wife in their culture. I could not jump that high.
People gradually headed off to bed. But since my tent was right beside the fire pit, really there was no point for me. I ended up talking to a family from Nairobi, who had come camping on their own tour. They were very nice. And the kids were toasting marshmallows. I told them about smores, and they thought that sounded good. I heard one of the men say to his wife, who had tried something new to her...“why did you do that? You should not do things you don’t know how.” This was in a slightly insulting voice... wierd. It is definitely a male dominated society here. The Masai men can be polygamous. The number of wives you can afford depends on how many cows you can afford. The men buy wives by trading cows.
Overall the Masai people left me confused... it is obvious that they live in a basic manner, with the bare minimum in every sense of their word to manage their day to day life. And they present themselves as adhering to their traditional ways. But they are master marketers and capitalists. EVERYTHING is for sale and negotiable. And though they collect a lot of US dollars and Kenyan shillings in their day, we all wondered where the money goes? Much of what they told us and showed seemed to be clearly organized and rehearsed and repeated for every mizungu tourist they bring. And while they do maintain some tradition, they also do have modern conveniences... like calculators to add up how much you need to pay them and cell phones. In fact, on the hillside behind the camp was a cell tower. A Dutch lady i met at the campfire told me that the night before, as one of the guys was midway through his wife jump, his phone rang. Bizarre. The Masai along the road were clearly poor. But at the camp and the village, i think it was different. All of the were very friendly. But I left wondering how much of what I had seen and learned was an act compared to what was real? Call me a cynic I guess.
But I am still very glad I went and met them.
Wed. Dec. 24 2008
The Masai Mara
Christmas Eve – in the Masai. The day started very early. A 5am wakeup call for an early breakfast than on the road to be at the gate of the Masai Mara park at 6am. It was quite cool this morning. Clouds were hiding the sun and long sleeves were needed. It was also quite breezy at times and stayed this way until we stopped for lunch around 11:30am. Almost as soon as we passed through the park gates we came upon a pair of lions – a male and a female – just lounging along the side of the road we were on. They were easy to spot because there was a circle of safari trucks stopped around them. Our big truck was quite unique, and we took advantage of the rooftop seats to get a better view. After leaving our first lion friends, we only saw more wild animals.... elephants, giraffe, zebra, hippos, antelope, birds, wildebeest, crocodiles, monkeys (including the crazy Japanese tourist). Words can’t really describe what we saw, or what it was like to see all these animals in their natural setting. Really, really spectacular.
We lunched along the Mara river, very close (spitting distance) to the Tanzania border. It was a great spot, and by this time the temperature had warmed up and the clouds disappeared. We had a long lunch, and returned back through the park the same way we came in with a couple detours to follow an animal here and there. Really great day.
We did not get back to the camp until about 17:00, so we had a quick rest and a shower before re-convening for Christmas eve beers and dinner. Around the campfire tonight, I met a couple from Brandon MB., the first other Canadians so far.
Bedtime was early. It was a long day and in the end I have lots of sunburn to prove it. Went to bed with the trumpeting of elephants from the forest behind us.
Thurs. Dec. 25 2008
Travel day – Masai Mara to Njoro, Kenya
Got to sleep in today... til 6:30. Woohoo. Happy freakin Christmas.
We had breakfast, got annoyed with the Dutch kids running around our tents at too early an hour, had breakfast and watched as Andrew and his Masai friends came back to continue negotiating for his lion hat. Somehow a deal was reached... I think the final price was $150USD which included a necklace made of a lion’s tooth. We were all quite impressed. And Andrew was quickly told by Jimmy and Mat to hide the hat in the back. Apparently a mzungu having a lion hat is highly illegal. Who knew.
We hit the road at 8:00 and began retracing our route over the same dusty, beat-up shitty roads that we came to the Masai on, back to Narok. Going through the Mara, we passed all the small villages and waved at all the kids running out to meet us. I don’t think they cared or knew it was Christmas day. They were doing their normal activities- shepparding cows and goats. Most waved, most asked for sweets, one pair asked for a pen... so I tossed him one. After passing the Masai villages the next section of road was totally barren... a flat, dry, desert as far as we could see. And in the distance while at a bathroom stop I spotted an ostrich wandering around.
We stopped briefly at Narok. Charles needed to buy some supplies so while he and Jimmy shopped I went into town with them to see what it was like. Very narrow streets, some with some type of asphalt, some just dirt and rocks. The buildings were mostly small one storey types with shop fronts on the street. The gutters were full of whatever you could think of in terms of garbage and other stuff... dirty dirty dirty. Most of the shops were quite interesting though. At the corner gas station I spotted a man putting a live goat in the trunk of his car... Christmas dinner.
I found a nice black onyx necklace at the gas station we were parked at. Time to try my negotiating skills again. The shop guy wanted 2500KSH, but I got him down to 1500. Not bad I thought.... it was the only one of the type in the store. As I paid him though, he pocketed 500 for himself (Christmas he said) and saif he would give the other 1000 to his boss. Dam... I suck at negotiating.
Most of the Brits stayed at the truck and went to get snacks. So far today they mostly just dozed and read as we travelled. Probably because they were hung over. I can’t figure them out. They stick to themselves and so far have not seemed that interested in what we are seeing in Kenya or the people we are meeting. Not sure about them.
Leaving Narok, the road unbelievably got WORSE. Absolute shite. The truck, which is basically a tri-axle cargo truck modified for passengers was not a comfy ride... the suspension is designed to handle about 20x the weight we had so it is very stiff. And as a result bouncy as hell for passengers in the back.
Our route was taking us Northerly, and a long section of it was up a mountain. The going was slow... only about 30km/h. I could have ridden my bike faster. Near the top, at a town called Enangiperi, we stopped at the entryway of a large grain handling complex for lunch. And as has become normal, almost instantly we were surrounded by the local kids before we were even off the truck. Charles et al prepared lunch, and I had that weird feeling again... I couldn’t do it. No lunch for me. Instead I went and started talking to some of the kids and a couple of adults who had arrived about the local area, what they do etc. Most of the kids lived on nearby farms and went to school near here. My watch proved popular again. One of the kids told me I should give it to him. Most of the farms are quite small, less than 2acres if that, and the crops grown include wheat, maize, cassava etc.(also barley, for beer Peter told me!) Some cattle and goat herding, but not much.
After lunch, the road – yes – got worse. I think at times we were only doing about 10km/h over this gravel road with massive bumps and holes. They were far too big to call potholes.
This road was taking us over the Mau escarpment. At one of the towns, probably Mau Narok, we stopped again for Charles to get some more fresh food. Instant crown around the truck. Mostly small kids. And very strangely, these kids ran away everytime a camera was pointed at them.
One teenager came to my window and told me he was a runner... in the 1500. And that I should sponsor him so he could keep training. Ya. Right. He did not look like any other Kenyan runner I had ever seen. But points to him for an original line.
Immediately after leaving this town the road improved immensely.... nearly to Western standards. The farms we were passing also improved, much larger and greener. I think it had to with being on the other side of the mountain and different weather. Some of the farms on this side of the mountain looked like Canadian farms. Kids all along the route smiled and waved at us. I waved back at as many as I could... the Brits continued their disinterest. At least most of them.
A common thing I have seen here are storefronts with signs saying “HOTEL – BUTCHER”.I asked Jimmy about it but he is confused as me. His guess is that people just rent out any small room they have and if it is next door to a butcher so be it.
There were many many people riding bikes along the roads in this part of the country. Many good pictures of them. Including the roadside bike repair stores!
Tonight we are in Njoro, staying at a farm / campground. It’s very busy here. And more upscale than the other campgrounds we have been at. I am sure it will be noisy tonight – especially considering it is Christmas and the farm is hosting dinner for all of us. There are at least 50 people here between us and 3 other overland trucks and some private campers. The Brits have already announced that it is to be a boozy affair.... Happy Freakin Christmas.
Friday Dec. 26, 2008
Travel day: Njoro to El Doret (about 170km)
Yes.... the roads get even worse.
We had a late start today to let the Christmas partiers catch up and the hangovers relax. Some of the group were up til 2am doing shots.... I was in bed at 11:00.
The first 50km leaving Njoro were ok. The roads were not bad, nice farmland scenery including people selling fresh honey on the side of the road. We had to make one unplanned detour... the president of Kenya was at his farm villa and the army would not let us near the place. Once that was done we began a climb up a mountain that just went forever. The first part of the road was steady, but the truck could not go fast. We crossed the Equator somewhere between Njoro and El Ravine. Then the road got bad with absolute huge potholes in the asphalt. Terrible. Progress slowed to about 25km/h... partly due to the bad asphalt and the steepness of the road.
At lunch we stopped at a lookout over the Rift Valley... we were on the West side of the Rift. Very different than the East side. There it was mostly desert. Here it was mostly forest.
Typical for our stops, we were surrounded by the local kids who came and watched us. They just sat, said hello than just stared. And again like yesterday they ran away when a camera pointed their way. Again, no lunch for me. It is really too weird for me to eat a big meal in front of kids who have nothing and are wearing near rags for clothes.. Some of the kids started asking me something in Swahili. I asked Charles to translate for me and he said they were only asking for money. Shameless of them really.
We left the lunch stop and continued up the mountain. Driving. Painfully. Slowly. Bumpily. Without doubt (and confimed by the remainder of this trip) this road ranks as THE WORST ROAD I HAVE EVER BEEN ON. Slow and bumpy the entire way.
We stopped again at another lookout over the Rift Valley at an elevation of 2740m. Maybe the highest I have yet been.I met a nice local family also at the lookout who explained to me what I was looking at. There was a river coming off one of the nearby peaks (though not actually visible to me) that was the source or a river which eventually flowed through to the Sudan. Maize crops were planted on the side of a mountain so steep I could not imagine how it was done. It looked impossible to walk there, never mind farm. They were very nice people.
The altitude was noticeable to me. Just walking around here I was having trouble breathing. Walking about 50m from the lookout to the truck caused me to be out of breath.
This shortness of breath continued as we began driving again. The road went about 200m higher in elevation. And I could definitely feel the effect it was having on me. And yes, it was till bumpy and slow. At one point a guy on a bike (a real heavy cargo style bike) passed the truck. Sign him up for the Tour.
Eventually we peaked the mountain and began the descent. And just like yesterday, the road was considerably better on this side. Our speed picked up and the bumpyness got milder. We began passing very basic farms. Maize, cattle, goats. Simple frame buildings. And the kids kept running to the side of the road. Most were only waving and yelling “Jambo!” but as we got closer to the actual town, more and more of them were just saying “give me money.”
On the outskirts of El Doret were many large building complexes. Including WorldVision and USAid.The city itself was ok. Kind of a mid size city with some multi-storey buildings and wide roads. Very busy, but being Boxing Day many of the shops and all the main services (post office, banks) were closed. We stopped at a large grocery store to re-supply I took the time to walk through the town and it seemed ok.. never felt unsafe even though I stood out as a mzungu.
We got back on the truck to BACKTRACK to the campsite. Everybody was upset by this... we had been promised a great campsite with a hot water pool and most of us would have preferred to spend the last hour and a half there instead of in a town with closed stores. We could have been resting more, instead of sitting on the truck some more.. Finally we made it to the campsite. It is even more posh here than the last one. But they had HOT showers....We had time to set-up tents, chill a bit, make dinner and just hang out.
We are at about 2100m altitude. And it is cold tonight....
We are at about 2100m altitude. And it is cold tonight....
Travel day: El Doret – Jinja. 270km or so
We had a moderate start to the day...8am breakfast. Today’s plan: whitewater raft the Nile. At $120USD for half a day (3h) it was a bit pricey, but what the hell... when else will I be able to do raft and swim in the Nile River?
We rode quickly back the ATV garage, got a taxi to camp, and shared beers with everybody else.
A late wake-up and breakfast today. Around 9am we loaded on a different truck and headed to the Softpower Education site. First stop was at the Amagezi Education Centre, near Jinja.... As soon as we walked down the road, surrounded by smiling laughing kids. About 2800 per year go through here.... 60 per day or so. The kids were all ages and they were very happy to see us. The school building itself was a funky design, round walls, with rooms for science, drama, computers, and more. The Aussie woman working here told me this centre operates as a an add-on to the normal schools the kids go to. They have more female students here, as a way to empower young girls and teach equality and help to offset the tendancy of violence against women. Also here was a craft centre. Very nice work... carvings and prints. All of the money from sales goes to the village. The centre has a stove, part of a design test, that minimizes the amount of wood needed to cook. There was a group of men repairing a brick moulding machine (hand made bricks) very interesting.
We batta-battaed back to the camp, paid our driver friend who waited for us the entire time, had dinner, and relaxed
Tuesday Dec. 30
Tent set-up was difficult in the dark, but we got it done. And I had lots of help from the fellow travellers so I could go do my kitchen duty. Steven and Anne especially helped. Everybody was really exhausted. More than 13 1/2 hours on the truck. Dinner and sleep came quick.
Wednesday Dec. 31
Crocodiles were resting in the sun. Hundreds of birds of countless varieties flew and waded around. Eagles. Storks. And who knows what else. Water buffalo just kind of watched the world pass by.
At camp it was party mode. I taped a red “T” to my t-shirt – the theme tonight is apparently “t”. So at least I played along. The after taking some cool night time photos of the camp, I went and joined the bar-b-que. Was a pretty good bash for NY Eve in the middle of remote Africa, but I would rather have done something different.
Thursday January 1, 2009
Happy New Year.
As we neared Kabale, the terrain got hillier, including two or three spectacular mountain passes. I kept thinking what a great bike ride it would have been. The truck... not so great. Very slow and bumpy up the long hills.
Moderate time for breakfast this morning. Then we left the camp heading back up the road up over the pass and down into Kabale to re-stock the food situation. This included a stop at the town market. Very, very fun. Much like a market at home, but somehow more real. Found a cool piece of fabric (4000USH for 2 yards - $2USD). Mom is going to make it into a blanket for me.
As we neared Ruhengeri, we began to see the outline of the Virunga volcanoes... seven in all. Huge, coneshaped, typical volcanoes. I think the highest is 4000m. This is where the gorillas live, and where we are headed. We stopped at a roadside lookout for some beautiful views.
Ruhengeri is slightly bigger than some of the other places we have stayed, maybe 10,000 people total. And tonight we are staying in the dorm of a church centre – Centre Pastoral Notre Dame de Fatima. Another real bed... and hot showers.
Sunday, January 4 2009Ruhengeri, Rwanda, Gorilla Hike and travel to Lake Bunyoni, Uganda
We walked further down the trail to see the chief silverback. He was a bit nervous, and kept grunting. He kept moving away from us, avoiding us. So I stopped on the trail and just waited. While waiting, I watched as a mother and her baby (5 months old) walked right by. She looked at us, and kept going. Standing further down the trail, just watching as all these gorillas let us watch them. Just amazing. I looked up and saw a younger male... 8 years old blackback ... he was standing at the top of a small hill on the trail, looking at us. I was standing next to two of the girls. The blackback came down the trail towards us. We had nowhere to go.. the trail was narrow, and the vegetation very thick. He passed right by.... brushing me as he passed. The without breaking stride he slapped the butt of the girl standing next to me and kept on walking. We all cracked up laughing... not really sure that what we just saw had really happened. The same guy slapped the butt of another of the girls who were standing further down the trail.
Another rented tent, and quickly to sleep, thinking about the gorillas
Just a drive today.... sitting on the truck backtracking the same highway we took to get to Rwanda. Another stop at the Equator and visiting the gift shops. All in all a not bad drive. Traffic in Kampala was crazy and it took a while to get to the rest stop for the night.
Not much today. Just kind of lazing around waiting for the drive to the airport. And the trip home.
After yesterdays long, hard transfer, I just wanted to sleep. But instead we had an early wake-up. 5:30am. Jimmy warned us that the road might be bad and it could take up to 10hours driving today.
Last night was cold. It was the first time I wrapped my blanket around me at night. And the cold, and higher elevation combined to make breathing hard for me. First time this trip (and in many weeks) that I had to use my asthma meds.
We departed on time, around 7am. And mostly the roads were pretty good. After 2.5 hours of driving past more small villages and farms we reached Malaba and the border with Uganda.
We departed on time, around 7am. And mostly the roads were pretty good. After 2.5 hours of driving past more small villages and farms we reached Malaba and the border with Uganda.
Getting out of Kenya was easy – all I had to do was fill in a customs card, get a stamp and that was it.
A short drive West and we entered the lineup to get into Uganda immigration. Had to pay $50usd for a visa, then we waited in the bus while Jimmy did paperwork.
There were many kids hanging around the truck, trying to sell anything...papers, coke, samosas, water, African passport holders... I bought some water and talked to some of the kids while waiting. Typical hi-pressure sales from them... “but this! Buy that! Give me your watch! Give me your sunglasses!” It’s getting easy to say “No!” in response. But one of the kids actually started a decent conversation. Asked me where I was from, how school was there, how much it cost for university... he told me he was going to go to school to be a politician, then a businessman, or maybe an engineer. He asked if I was married and when I said no, he told me, “it is God’s commandment to get married, fuck, and have babies.” Well. That’s that then. He also told me that he planned to finish school the follow the commandment.
He asked for money – of course – but he was not selling anything. So I told him that I would not just give him money because he would just spend it on something useless. “Yeah,” he replied, “you’re probably right.” So then he asked for money for school and church. I told him maybe. He asked how, and I said I could deposit money directly to an account on the internet. Se he ran off, telling me to wait he was going to get his account info. He disappeared, i figured that I would not see him again. The money traders came up to the truck, pushing and shoving trying to get our attention.... two twentysomething men with a bunch of kids in tow. I changed some money and probably got scammed but it was only $50usd and some leftover Kenya shillings. It was fascinating to watch this group of kids work... there was clearly one in charge that all the younger ones looked up to. He was boss.
Our truck started moving ... driving towards the gate to Uganda. And sure enough my friend came running up behind the truck, yelling my name and waving a piece of paper. I grabbed it just as we crossed the gate... and holy shit if it wasn’t really his bank account info. I was shocked..... i just might have to give the kid some cash for the effort he made. He did seem like an intelligent, logical kid. And he wasn’t linked with the other money trader types.... I think his school was Malaba Heritage Centre....but can’t find it online.
While all of this was going on, some of the Brits sat there, clearly wondering what I was doing talking to a local kid. Seems I have developed a reputation for talking to the locals. It’s true. I am more interested in them, meeting the Kenyans, Ugandans, and Rwandans than i am the Brits... at least some of them. As the truck carried on... they all settled in with their iPods or slept.
This continued as we rolled down the road through Uganda to Jinja. With just about every kid we passed and many adults yelling “JAMBO!” at us. Andrew and I, sitting in the back seats, waved back at as many as we could. It was really amazing and fun. All these little kids, running after us and yelling and laughing. And the Brits missed it.
The villages we passed in Uganda seem a little more clean and prosperous than the villages we saw in Kenya. And another thing I noticed, was how many water wells there were right by the road and in the villages. Every village seemed to have one. Not sure that was the case in Kenya, which is why it stood out to me. Of course around the wells were all the kids and women collecting the water. Almost always kids and women. These small little kids would work the pump handle up and down, laughing, and the women would be carrying the jugs of water, sometimes on their head. The men were often just relaxing, laying down, under the trees, chatting in groups.
Bike shops exist... usually just a small shack under a tree (for shade) with a few guys working on bikes - mostly truing wheels – and a rack of spare parts. The bikes here are rudimentary but strong. Simple parts, no cables to the brakes, but metal rods instead. All the bikes have a rack and some of the racks are actually a cushioned seat. I have seen people carrying just about everything on their bikes.... groceries, water jugs, fire wood, sacs of crops, bags of coal, and once, a double size wood bed frame. And I though pro cyclists were tough.
Along the main road at some point we passed another World Vision centre, a gated complex of buildings. And something struck me here. Close to this centre, the kids we passed weren’t yelling “jambo!”, they were just standing on the side of the road with their hands out, palms turned up, begging for money. The further away from the aid centres, the less I saw this.
Eventually we arrived in Jinja. The first turn Mat made was down an industrial road. Very sketchy looking part of town.... dirty and rundown. We did a u-turn and made it to the Adrift campsite. Very nice... high up on a cliff on the shore of the Nile River. And HOT water!!!! We are staying here for three days... so a nice chance to rest. And for a change, we actually arrived ahead of schedule so we have some time to chill....Woohoo!
Sunday Dec. 28
Jinja, UgandaWe had a moderate start to the day...8am breakfast. Today’s plan: whitewater raft the Nile. At $120USD for half a day (3h) it was a bit pricey, but what the hell... when else will I be able to do raft and swim in the Nile River?
It wasn’t bad.... Lots of rapids and the water felt really great... warm, clean. I was in a boat with a Dutch family and the annoying Irish tourist from our truck... She complained about everything... e v e r y t h i n g.... the raft trip included lunch. Then back to the campsite for me. Most of the others actually did the full day trip. I wanted to do something else and found an ATV tour that included a traditional Ugandan family meal. This sounded better and more interesting... unfortunately the annoying one thought so too. Sigh. But I went anyway. $70USD to do this, about 3h total.
Immediately after leaving the garage and driving through the village I felt weird. I was wearing a ratty dirty jumpsuit, helmet, goggles, gumboots and bandana.... kind of incognito. But it felt very weird to travel through Bujagoli village like this, past the kids and families with hardly anything. Dung hut houses (very similar to the Masai houses but these were round, with peaked roofs). Occassionally we passed a brick house with a solid roof. The bricks are made by hand... I saw this being done along the side of the road in many places. We stopped at a couple of places, high on ridges to look out at the Nile. Very impressive. The rapids we rafted and swam in the morning were really quite large and dangerous looking from this angle. A new hydro dam is under construction and scheduled to be complete in 2011. I saw this up close as we rafted by in the river too. The dam will end up flooding a huge area but provide electric power to Uganda, and some extra that they will sell to neighbouring countries. Many of the rapids will disappear. Land will be flooded. But from what I could see few houses will be lost. Most are already built high up on the cliff.
The ATV tour continued through the village... twisting and turning through the town. What seemed to me to be trails were actually the main roads. The younger kids and the women waved at us. The teenage boys looked like they would have been happy to kill me. Very strange feeling... I definitely felt like an intruder, a mzungu, at this point.
I was very conscious of me... being white (mzungu), then being on an expensive machine, and having a pocketful of money and camera gear. Going through a poor, farming, subsistent village. It was almost guilt and many times I wondered what i was doing there...riding an ATV was not really my idea of fun and being so grossly rich looking on the things was uncomfortable.... we passed a newish looking school. And an old looking mosque. When we stopped on the side of the road, the kids came up to us, smiled, shook hands. That was nice. I tried to be as friendly as I could. Occassionally as we travelled we had to stop or dodge cows and goats in the road.
Dinner was at the home of a teacher named Moses. He was not there, but his wife and daughters had made a great meal. Way more food than I needed and I felt seriously guilty again just looking at it, but at the same time it would have been rude to not eat it. The meal was a traditional Ugandan dinner... fried bananas, sweet potatoe, cassava, cabbage, beans and a sauce very similar to schewan peanut sauce. All in all pretty good... although fried bananas are not that tasty to me.
The house was a little bigger than most we had seen around here... it was probably made of concrete bricks. Very simple construction style. No electricity, but oil lamps. No running water. Dinner was cooked on a wood fuelled fire. There was no running water but Moses’ family had a jug for us to wash with... again... guilt at using it. It was an eye opening experience to share this time with a local family. The mom, Florence, Maureen, the oldest daughter, and three younger boys were very happy to share with us. And very friendly. Finally I felt like I had a real African experience.
Monday Dec. 29
Jinja, UgandaA late wake-up and breakfast today. Around 9am we loaded on a different truck and headed to the Softpower Education site. First stop was at the Amagezi Education Centre, near Jinja.... As soon as we walked down the road, surrounded by smiling laughing kids. About 2800 per year go through here.... 60 per day or so. The kids were all ages and they were very happy to see us. The school building itself was a funky design, round walls, with rooms for science, drama, computers, and more. The Aussie woman working here told me this centre operates as a an add-on to the normal schools the kids go to. They have more female students here, as a way to empower young girls and teach equality and help to offset the tendancy of violence against women. Also here was a craft centre. Very nice work... carvings and prints. All of the money from sales goes to the village. The centre has a stove, part of a design test, that minimizes the amount of wood needed to cook. There was a group of men repairing a brick moulding machine (hand made bricks) very interesting.
Following the visit to the Amagezi Centre, we trucked out to a primary school in rough shape. Softpower was providing funding and resources to improve the condition of this school. We helped by painting some walls and window frames. Painting was done both inside and out... between the about 10 of us working one entire building out of the 4 was given a fresh coat of paint. Some people from other groups joined us. A young English couple and Tony – a 60-something Brit who now lives and works at Fort Steele BC, a North West Mounted Police recreation site. He spends 6 months in Canada, 3 months in Uganda and 3 months in Thailand every year... interesting guy.
We worked for about 2 hours. There were also lots of kids who came to watch. It was Christmas break from school, so many were away. But lots came to play with us. I ended up chatting with Emmanuel. He wanted to know about Canada and schools and jobs there. He asked if he could email me to learn more and practice English. Sure. He seemed like a smart kid so why not?
The kids were all friendly and curious about us mzungus... working at their school. Many of them chatted and hung out with us. None seemed mean at all (what the hell did I mean by that?) several were quite curious about my sunglasses and they wanted to try them. I tried to explain that my blue eyes were sensitive to the sun, but I am not sure they got it. The same thing had happened at the Amagezi Centre.... many of the kids took our sunglasses, tried them out, than did a tough guy pose for our cameras.
They also liked our hair. Straight, light coloured hair is strange to them so I guess that was ok. One girl started tying my hair in strings... Aneik got a full treatment, getting flowers and braids in her hair, all done by the kids.
For lunch, local ladies made us a traditional meal (two in two days!). It was delicious, very similar to dinner last night. We piled back in the truck to head back to the campsite. Almost straightaway, Ben, the Brit said, “I feel like a better person!” with such a lack of conviction... his London snobbery shone through. Ben and his fiancé Elise are at the start of a 6 month world tour and I find them both very elitist and snobby. They climbed Kilimanjaro the week before joining our tour. And I can’t figure out why? When we drive, they sleep or read or watch movies on their iPod and barely notice the surroundings. When we stop they head straight to the bar and / or sleep more. And they argue about prices with the locals all the time...It seems to me they have brought their British standards here and expect Africans to be like them. I was surprised they came to the Softpower site. Neither had shown any interest in it previously. And Ben most of all is leading the charge against me talking to the locals. They are ignorant and rude and constantly trying to make jokes to be the centre of attention. Yes, they are annoying me today.
Following some chill time at the camp, Aneik and I rented a motorbike (a batta batta) to do some banking and other stuff. Anita and Anne were going to come with us, but there was only a batta available, no car. So only Aniek and I headed in. Yes, that meant there were three of us on a motorbike, no helmets. Slightly scary ride to town, but we made it. Spent some time in line at Stanbic bank... like 1h15m in line trying to exchange Uganda shillings and USD but in the end we did it. The staff who helped us were amazingly nice.
We did some internetting in town, and missed a mountain bike trek with Jimmy because of the delay at the bank, but oh well.
Tuesday Dec. 30
Travel Day: Jinja – Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda. 410km +/-
Absolute Brutal day on the truck. Breakfast was really early – 5:45am – because it was my turn on kitchen / cook duty. I had my gear packed and tent down and loaded before then. The truck wheels rolled at 6:45. From Jinja to Kampala the roads were ok – 2 lane paved, but mostly smooth. Mat annoyed a Ugandan Traffic cop (one without an AK-47) and we got pulled over, but no ticket.
Traffic in Kampala was nutty....gridlock like crazy. I don’t think I could have driven there. We stopped in Kampala at a decent almost western like grocery store to re-stock (including New Years Eve supplies) and then carried on, thru Kampala proper. Turns out the store was only in the suburbs... travelling through central Kampala was worse. Think the worst rush hour in Ottawa, multiply by 10. We finally made it through the city... I think it took about two hours.
The next leg of the road was pretty good. We stopped at the Equator, took the token photos with one foot on either side of the line, and did some shopping at the craft stalls. Bought a really nice painting. We had lunch here and carried on.
The roads turned to shit again soon after. People kept asking “how far Jimmy?” and his answer was always “a couple more hours!” Ya. Right. By 5:30pm when we looked at the map and realized we were still about 170km away from the destination, we called his bluff. Jimmy drove like crazy in the truck to try to make it before dark (about 6:30 or 7:00) but we did not arrive at the park until 8:35. Beautiful mountain roads as we entered... the blues and grays of twilight making a nice scene of the clouds in the valleys.
As we rolled through the main park gate, a big hippo crossed the road in front of us. Kinda cool.
Wednesday Dec. 31
Queen Elizabeth National Park, Katunguru Uganda
Another early wake-up after the marathon the day before. I am exhausted. And not really looking forward to partying tonight. The Brits have planned a big theme party and I would really just rather sleep.
No breakfast today... we left the campsite right away at dawn (6:30ish) heading thru the park towards the Kyambura Gorge to hike and look for chimpanzees.
The drive was ok. We saw some warthogs, some antelope species, and a very cool family of baboons right beside the truck. No cats though. The gorge was beautiful. 16km long, 100m deep in places. Thick tree canopy. The land around the gorge was mostly savannah type, with grass and some trees in contrast to the thick tree cover on the walls and floor of the gorge where the river ran through. The trails were rocky – very similar to Gatineau Park.
Our guide – Robinson – was very good. He was telling us about the habitat and the chimp family living here. There are only 19 in the entire group, which is a low number for the area and the environment. Robinson said that a study had shown that the gorge area could support about 64 chimps, As we hiked down, we passed hippos in the river, just hanging out, burping and grunting. Also saw some Corburus monkeys – chimp meal.
We did see some chimps – high in the tree canopy. Eating, sitting and hanging out. I got some good pics of them, including one of a mom and her baby. It was pretty cool... there were two small groups of them in the trees. We watched them bounce around and swing through the trees. Amazingly agile. All told we stayed down in the gorge about an hour watching. Then had to leave, climbing back up and having a snack at the truck.
We drove back through the park the way we had came. It was actually a long drive on crappy roads. This time we passed a large family of elephants eating near the side of the road. We stopped and watched... got some amazing pictures. Really really cool. This herd had a couple of babies in it. We stayed and watched a few minutes before heading back to camp to chill.
At the campsite, the showers and toilets ran out of water. The water supply here was rain barrels on the roof. And this was a bummer – it was hot and would have been nice to cool down. So I wandered to the nearby luxury lodge... 5 star, very fancy. Totally not the way the truck trip was travelling. And very odd to be in this place, in the middle of the African savannah. But I found internet, checked in with the world, and returned to camp. Party prep was in full swing, but I just dozed.
Around 4:30, we left to go to the park boat dock. The cruise down the river between Lake Edward and Lake George very quickly became the hi-light of the trip so far. This was called the Kazunga Channel. Hippos lazed on the shore, and just along the waters edge. A few swam under the boat and popped up RIGHT beside me... spooky and cool. There was a huge herd of elephants... someone counted 50. They were resting and swimming and running after each other. A huge bull elephant was chasing a lady elephant... a little pachyderm love. Spectacular and beautiful to watch, especially with the setting sun providing cool lighting. Andrew and I competed to get the hippo money shot... one with its mouth wide open and the teeth visible. No luck.
Crocodiles were resting in the sun. Hundreds of birds of countless varieties flew and waded around. Eagles. Storks. And who knows what else. Water buffalo just kind of watched the world pass by.
All told the cruise lasted about two hours and we saw more animals during this than anywhere else. There was also a beautiful sunset over the channel. Amazing time.
After docking we walked back up to the camp. All of us pledging to make fun of Anita who for some bizarre reason bailed on the cruise.
At camp it was party mode. I taped a red “T” to my t-shirt – the theme tonight is apparently “t”. So at least I played along. The after taking some cool night time photos of the camp, I went and joined the bar-b-que. Was a pretty good bash for NY Eve in the middle of remote Africa, but I would rather have done something different.
Thursday January 1, 2009
Happy New Year.
Queen Elizabeth Park to Lake Bunyoni, Kabale Uganda.
Hangover. Check.
Groggyness. Check. Welcome to 2009.
Apparently, I had such a good time last night I fell asleep first on the grass watching the stars. Then thanks to Steven, made it in my tent. But with the tent flaps wide open. Luckliy the warthog that visited at lunch the day before did not come back... or... maybe it did and I had no idea. And the mosquitoes were not bad. Malaria pill. Check.
We had another early start. A quick, hard effort packup and on the road by 6:30. Not sure of the distance today, but most of the road was – yes – shit. Bumpy and rough... even the asphalt parts.
Luckily, the people we passed made up for It. EVERYBODY today waved at us.. the kids, the ladies, the old men. It was really something else to see and feel. Most were very well dressed and walking to church, must be special New Years services. Everybody smiled and waved... made the hangover go away very quickly.
On the truck, most of us slept a good part of the journey. Everybody was hungover to some degree.... it was a quiet ride.
The scenery was very nice though. The area we passed was an agricultural heartland... tea, bananas, maize, lots of other stuff. Big rose plantations.
As we neared Kabale, the terrain got hillier, including two or three spectacular mountain passes. I kept thinking what a great bike ride it would have been. The truck... not so great. Very slow and bumpy up the long hills.
Part of the way along the road, maybe around 8:30, we stopped and Chalres made breakfast along the roadside. Immediately the local kids were there. None were saying much... just standing and watching. But one in particular looked at me and patted his tummy, asking for food. I could do nothing...Again, I could not eat in front of this crowd. Everybody else dug-in. Most people on this trip ate huge amounts of food... it’s incredible to me. Today, Charles did give the leftovers to the kids around the table, and donated some fruit to the boy who patted his tummy. I made sure he divided it up between all the others there. He nodded thanks, and cut up slices of fruit for all the others. We boarded the truck, waved, and carried on.
We stopped again in Kabale, for a food re-supply. Then carried on up the mountain to Lake Bunyoni. Amazing... a narrow windy dirt road – more a track really – to the peak, where we stopped and took beautiful scenic pictures, then decended an equally crazy road to the campsite. Lake Bunyoni is known as a luxury camping and recreation area for better off Ugandans and tourists. And it was clearly better off here compared even to Kabale, less than an hours (slow) drive away.
The site was beautiful. Instead of setting up a tent, i rented a safari tent with A REAL BED J This was an extra 20,000USH ($10USD) but totally worth it. Setting up a tent would have meant climbing several long flights of stairs and it was not in me to do that today. A quick unpack, re-org, then down to the water where I rented a traditional dug-out canoe for 4,000USH ($2usd) and went for a paddle around the lake. Really nice... relaxing... only one time did the canoe (a carved out log about 14ft long and 2ft diameter) get out of my control and I did a spin. Not bad. I was out about an hour and a half, then went back. Along the way, some kids on shore were shouting “hello!” and “Jambo!” at me... so I waved back. A couple minutes later the little bastards started chucking rocks at me. So I moved out of range and went back to the campsite where there was a hot shower and dinner. It was quiet tonight... I think NYE wore everybody out. Early to bed.... absolute luxury compared to what it has been like tenting til now.
Friday, January 2 2009
Lake Bunyoni, Uganda – Ruhengeri, Rwanda
Moderate time for breakfast this morning. Then we left the camp heading back up the road up over the pass and down into Kabale to re-stock the food situation. This included a stop at the town market. Very, very fun. Much like a market at home, but somehow more real. Found a cool piece of fabric (4000USH for 2 yards - $2USD). Mom is going to make it into a blanket for me.
Once on the road we were only half an hour from the Uganda-Rwanda border. Passing through was quite easy and only took an hour or slightly less.
The first few kilometres in Rwanda were amazing. Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills and it is obvious way. The road winds through spectacular mountains that are farmed all the way to the peaks. The people are different too. First thing I noticed was less waving at the truck. And more people pointing and staring at the wood mask (from Malawi) on the front of the truck. For some reason I had the feeling they were clearly afraid of it. Less people were waving at us than in Uganda, but many of the kids working in the farm fields stopped their work as we passed and laughed at us as we drove by.
Several boys would whistle as we passed. This amazing loud whistle could be heard over the roar of the truck and wind. I noticed many more people here just holding their hand out, palm out, just simply begging for money. Much more common here than in Uganda.
The road continued to be spectacular. Another amazing bike route.
We arrived in Kigali just around noon. Our route took us through the back part of the city and not the main city centre. The city looks pretty moder, but crowded and busy. Our only stop in Kigali was at the Kigali Genocide Memorial. We had a quick lunch, then went in.
Haunting, sad and harrowing are the only ways to describe going through the centre. The exhibits were very good at explaining the history of Rwanda and the divisions between the Hutu and Tutsi, emphasized mostly by the Belgians. From that point, after explaining the history, the exhibits get more telling. Very good at detailing the people who led the buildup to the 1994 genocide.. Then photos. And videos. Stories by survivors. A room full of skulls of victims. And finally at the end, a room of life size posters of of children killed during the genocide and stories about their lives.
I cried in the skull room. And at the videos. Thinking about it later, while I am writing this is still emotional. At the end of the section on the Rwanda genocide, there is also a section on other known genocides – the Holocaust, Cambodia, Kosovo, Armenia.
Exiting the exhibits you go out to a garden, which is also the gravesite of 250,000 people.
The site of the memorial is on a hill looking over Kigali city centre and I could not sit there and not imagine what the city would have been like during the spring of 1994. Today, it looks like a new modern city. Skyscrapers and houses and new construction exist. So different then the pictures we had just seen taken during the height of the Genocide. What was very clear in the exhibits was the desire of the new Rwanda not to forget, but to learn from the past. And to move forward as one people, not a nation of two tribes. From the outside, this appears to be happening. It is also painfully clear that the Western word and the UN failed Rwanda.
Leaving the centre, in the garden, the standard poor taste jokes from the regular suspects began. I can’t take it anymore. So I put on the iPod and ignored them. We left Kigali and headed North towards Ruhengeri. This involved driving over a huge mountain. At the top of this mountain we passed a group of men with uniforms and numbers on their back. Two guards only, for about 100 men. We confirmed later that these men had been Interahamwa... the civilian men who commited genocide. The reason for only two guards was that it was understood that these men would not have tried to run away.
Passing through every town and village there is a similar sign... sometimes large, sometimes small. It is written in the local language (Kiyarwanda I think) but basically it translates to, “Don’t forget the genocide.” In many villages, the sign is built on top of what is obviously a mass grave.
The truck continued along, driving up huge mountains and down the other side. The sides of the mountains are terrace farmed... right up to the peaks. Some of them have to be 2500m.
As we neared Ruhengeri, we began to see the outline of the Virunga volcanoes... seven in all. Huge, coneshaped, typical volcanoes. I think the highest is 4000m. This is where the gorillas live, and where we are headed. We stopped at a roadside lookout for some beautiful views.
Saturday, January 3 2009
Ruhengeri, Rwanda
17h30... at the moment I am sitting in a large amphitheatre behind the dorm where we are staying. Not sure exactly what it’s purpose is, but it is somehow connected to the church, also on the hill behind the dorm... Notre Dame de Fatima. The amphitheatre is quite large, it can probably hold 2000 people.
Right now there are a few groups of people practicing their choir singing. And a few groups of children coming by me to check out the “mzungu” sitting here writing in a notebook. I am sure they have never seen a white person before, at least here. There is a girl about 14 or so with 3 young boys between 1 and 4. Hopefully her brothers... but..... two other young teenage girls are also here.
This is a very nice, peaceful place, It is built into a hillside overlooking the town and the smaller of the seven volcanoes. The big ones are behind where I am sitting. There is also a small sports centre here on the grounds, with basketball, and of course, football (soccer).
I am obviously a great curiousity to the kids here. But this place is quiet, and away from the Brits.... a nice refuge.
Tomorrow we leave from this place to go up the mountain to see the gorillas. That of course is the highlight of this entire trip. But Rwanda and the rest of what we have seen is more... so much more.
It is quiet here, except for the birds in the trees, the low singing of the choir people, and the voices of the children. This is stark contrast to the place we were earlier today. Amahoro village and the orphanage. Amahoro translates to peace. There is one elderly woman (she looks elderly, but probably is not). This woman opened her home to these kids... 20 live here permanently and up to 55 come to visit during the day for some schooling. The kids are all ages, as young as a year old, and the oldest was 18. Some are orphans of AIDS parents, But the older ones are genocide orphans.
Before we were even off the truck, driving up to the orphanage, the kids had us surrounded. Laughing and waving as we backed up to park. As we got off the truck, handing out pens, small toys and chewing gum (a big hit), we were totally taken away by the kids.They were grabbing our hands, hugging us. It quickly became a play along free for all. Marie (the older lady) who acts as the mother and teacher to the kids was very happy to see us and hugged each of us... the smile on her face said more than words could have.
The home is a small one storey brick building with a wood frame and metal roof. Inside there is a large common room, a small kitchen, and 4 bedrooms. With beds for as many children as can be there... many kids to a bed. No electricity, no running water. There were 4 toilets, outhouses at the back of the building... 2 were old wood framed, and 2 were new with brick walls. Water comes from a well.
21h00.... My writing on the amphitheatre was interrupted.... one of the little boys came over to me... then ran away...then came over again. His sister watched and smiled. I held my hand out for him but he was too shy. Until his sister came over... So I took a piece of notepaper, wrote my name and drew a smiley face and gave it to them. Another pair of girls also came over at the same time. The sister and her brothers played with the pen and paper. Then Patrick came over. He had been playing chess with two friends further down the amphitheatre and came over and asked if I spoke English or French. So in French, we talked about the church we were sitting at, the amphitheatre and what I was doing here in Rwanda. So I explained I was on my tour, staying at the dorm next door and wanted to come out and sit and write and watch what was happening.
As we got talking he asked about Canada. Patrice was obviously smart... he told me he was studying to be in biochemistry and wanted to continue his studies. He knew that Ottawa was the capital of Canada, which I found impressive. By now most of the other kids had left but Patrice’s two friends came over. It was nearly dark – the streetlights were turning on and I was going to have to leave to go back to the dorm... did not really want to be walking in the dark even though the city felt reasonably safe. Patrice and I traded emails. I told him he could ask me about Canada and I would ask him about Rwanda.(sadly the email address he wrote down for me did not work). He was obviously a smart kid, and told me he was 17, and in my mind the first thought I had was he had lived through the genocide. I am not sure if Ruhengeri was affected (I found out later it was a scene of major killing, probably right where I was standing). We are not too far from the Uganda border... maybe half an hour ... where the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF – the “good” side) was based.
Patrice and the other kids I had seen around the church were so different than the kids at the orphanage... only 30mins away. The orphaned kids were so poor. probably the poorest I had seen, ever. The only clothes they had were the ones they were wearing. Patrice and the others were cleanly dressed, with shoes. Patrice spoke good French, and some English, meaning he was educated. The orphan kids spoke some English, “hi my name is.....” but not a lot. Few had shoes, and their clothes were mostly well worn.
Some of the older kids at the orphanage were old enough to have lived through the genocide, and their lives were so so different.
All of the kids I have met and seen in Ruhengeri were friendly... the orphan kids amazingly so. After they welcomed us off the truck, they took us inside their home and performed a set of dances and skits for us. It was very fun... they clapped and sang their own songs, and did the only and best traditional dancing I have seen on the trip. It was clear that they loved performing for us.
I did a quick tour of the building and pointed out some things that should be repaired, mostly loose bricks and a missing door frame where bricks were going to fall.
After the dancing everybody went back outside where more playing was going on. Somebody had brought a soccer ball to give to the kids and some of the boys were furiously showing us their skills. The Rwandan version of “duck duck – goose” was going on. My camera was a huge hit... the kids went out of their way to pose for pictures than rushed over to see the result right away. Several of them also tried taking pictures... I was really nervous to let them do this, but once I saw they were not going to run away with it and they were really being careful with it, I was ok. And some of the kids took some really good pictures. Several of the kids wrote their name in my book. Their English, and writing, skills are limited, And only one of them spoke French.
Everywhere we have been in Rwanda we have been surprised by the lack of French. Besides Patrice, only the border guard spoke some to me and I think he did it just to entertain me. This is in contrast to what I expected coming here. I was under the impression that most business and most Rwandans spoke French. One thing we have been told is that the new Rwanda... post-genocide... wants to be as distant from its colonial history as it can be. The country wants to join the formerly British colonies in the East Africa Community Society (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) and not be associated with the West Africa French nations. This is for business and world stage opportunities. But it is also because the new Rwandan leaders are seriously pissed off at France for the help provided to the old, genocide era leaders of Rwanda.
While the orphanage was fun it was not what was expected. I had thought that we might be able to help do more work around the building. That will have to be a follow-up project, probably a money transfer.
My watch strap was another big success... several of the children tried it on and they were fascinated by the Velcro.
21h35....After I left Patrice, and came back to the dorm area I found the Brits discussing amongst themselves how much their office Christmas parties cost and how they were pissed off that the company did not pay it all. We had been in an orphanage, where one woman struggled to support 30+ kids, that had nearly nothing..... The average GNP in Rwanda is around $260USD... none of the Brits, or any of the others on the truck that I have seen, have made any attempt to talk to or get to know any locals on this trip and they are bitching about the price of office Christmas party tickets. The irony... lost on them. Mat and Charles picked it up though. Mat has lived in Africa and travelled across most of the continent for the better part of the last 20 years. And he does not earn a lot of money doing so as a Dragoman driver. I could tell by the look on his face he was unimpressed by the snobby tourists discussing what they were. Am I so different? I certainly hope so. I have scrimped and saved to have enough money to do this trip. And one of my main goals was to meet as many local people as I could and find my own ways to help out for the future. Hopefully that works out.
Tomorrow we climb the volcanoes to see the gorillas, some of the rarest animals on Earth. It will be spectacular and amazing. And I am wondering what the kids at the Amahoro orphanage are thinking.
All through our trip through Rwanda so far, everywhere we go I wonder about the Genocide. How it could have happened in a place so beautiful, with kids and other people so nice. We have seen a few people on crutches, missing limbs. Others with damaged hands, or feet. There was a boy in Ruhengeri today with one disfigured foot, and the other leg missing below the hip. He got around by hand-walking everywhere. He was asking for money. A boy at the orphanage had only one eye. Can’t help but think genocide when seeing this... I have seen many older people on the streets with missing limbs. Most of the kids at the orphanage, and many of the older people were wearing clothes obviously donated by Westerners. This is the place where all the donated, used worn out clothes from Westerners comes ... at least some of it.
In an early discussion on the trip, someone asked about the aid organizations. Mat and Jimmy turned their heads and sneered in disgust. Their first comment and something I have noticed too is that all of the aid organizations are driving brand new vehicles... big 4x4 pick-ups and Land Cruisers. So much for our donations going to good places... these were the only new vehicles I have seen on the entire trip... all with aid agency markings.
As for the clothes, according to Mat, the donated clothes are sold en masse to entrepreneurs from Africa, then re-sold to the locals in the markets and shops. So they are not really donations, merely another commercial product for sale. Mat says there are warehouses full of these clothes where people can go and buy stuff... Mat told us about finding brand new Levi’s jeans. The orphans had barely any clothes. And what they had was dirty and in some cases ripped and torn. Why would they not have more.
I have seen people in the streets of the towns wearing all kinds of Western clothes. Harley Davidson. NFL. NBA. Even a Kawartha Lakes baseball league t-shirt. And I am not sure if it was donated or bought from a re-seller. Not sure what to make of the Aid situation. As noted before, in the villages most close to the aid agency buildings, people were immediately asking for money instead of saying hi. They seem to have been taught to be beggars only.
Sunday, January 4 2009
6:00am wake-up and truck load. At 6:15 we were picked up by Land cruisers for a drive to the entrance of Volcanoes National Park. And the gorillas. No breakfast. But really good coffee at the Park.
Once at the Park we were split into groups of 8... only 8 people at a time, plus a couple of guards are allowed to visit any one family of gorillas. The 3 Brit couples, plus the Dutch connection made one group. Andrew linked up with his own group. Which left me – again- with the dumb Irish fool, Anita. And to add to my fears, we were connected with a pair of British girls, who were nice, but one of whom had a foot injury. There was also an American who looked hopefully out of shape and was typically annoyingly American, and her Rwanda college roommate.
All 5 girls were asking for an easy hike, while I was really gunning for something more. Attempts to find another group to hike with were fruitless.... alas.
We loaded into another Land Cruiser for a drive to the trailhead, further up the mountain. The road – mostly a seriously rutted and rocky track that barely deserved to be called a road – we bounced around and all thought that we were not going to make it in one piece. Along the way we passed some villages where the kids stood and waved. Certainly they all knew what these mizungus were doing here.
Many of the kids had drawings of gorillas and they were running alongside the truck as the girls handed out money to the kids for them. Each drawing had an English sentence on it...something like, “Thank you for coming to Rwanda.” Of course it was cute. But our guide told us we should not have bought them.... buying the drawings from the kids apparently keeps them out of school. And here we thought we were rewarding them.
After about 45minutes of bouncing up the volcano we arrived at the trailhead. The reception centre for the park was at about 2000m altitude. Now we were at about 2500m. So far... no asthma problems.
We were met at the trailhead by two Rwandan Army soldiers, AK-47s ready. We started the hike, one of the soldiers on point, then a guy with a machete to cut a path, then the guide, and me and the girls, and the second soldier at the back of the line. We are very near the Congo border here. The soldiers are to protect us in case of poachers or Congolese rebels coming over for gorillas. A pattern to the hike quickly became obvious....
I had no trouble hiking. The slope was steep, slippery and narrow, but nothing I had not done previously. All of the girls were having trouble though. They quickly learned that Puma trainers and skinny jeans are not good hiking gear. To be fair, the Brit girls did pretty good. There was a lot of bitching and moaning ... I stayed near the machete man and just concentrated on what the goal was.
After one particularly steep section, we came out on a plateau over looking all the volcanoes and the valleys below... we were at 2900m. No breathing problems. We were not really walking on the ground anymore but instead on top of thick, dense vegetation. It was slippery, and a bit difficult to stay balanced.
And about 200m down... a gorilla, sitting in a tree, staring back at us.
We continued hiking down. Eventually we met up with a tracker who had been following the family of gorillas since morning. He motioned for me to be quiet, and I followed him as he walked around a bush. He used his machete to pull down a branch, and there in the bush was a gorilla, snacking away. Maybe 5m away from me. Wow. Absolutely awesome. She stared back at me, but seemed completely undisturbed.
This began an hour with the animals that was simply amazing. Words can’t describe it, the pictures say it all. But there are some highlights worth remembering.
The family we were visiting – called the Amahoro family – had two silverbacks. The junior one was lying on his back, almost sleeping and paid absolutely no attention to us. He was missing one hand – it had been cut off by poachers as a trophy and probably used as an ashtray.
Further down the trail I sat 2m away from a younger male as he ate, unconcerned with me being there.
We walked further down the trail to see the chief silverback. He was a bit nervous, and kept grunting. He kept moving away from us, avoiding us. So I stopped on the trail and just waited. While waiting, I watched as a mother and her baby (5 months old) walked right by. She looked at us, and kept going. Standing further down the trail, just watching as all these gorillas let us watch them. Just amazing. I looked up and saw a younger male... 8 years old blackback ... he was standing at the top of a small hill on the trail, looking at us. I was standing next to two of the girls. The blackback came down the trail towards us. We had nowhere to go.. the trail was narrow, and the vegetation very thick. He passed right by.... brushing me as he passed. The without breaking stride he slapped the butt of the girl standing next to me and kept on walking. We all cracked up laughing... not really sure that what we just saw had really happened. The same guy slapped the butt of another of the girls who were standing further down the trail.
Fascination and terror... that is the combination of feelings I had standing there, amongst these amazing animals.
By now, the guides were making different grunting noises and eventually the chief silverback calmed down and let us get closer. I moved down to get closer to him. Beautiful. He would look at us while eating. Clearly, he was aware that we were standing there, admiring him. But he did not seem too worried. The blackback did though. He must of thought that I was too close or too big because he came down the trail towards me, upright on his back legs, slapping his chest with his fists. I got the message – he was boss. I took a quick couple of steps backwards and let him pass... all good. But the heart rate was up a notch or two.
Our guide took a photo of me with the silverback behind me. After he did this, I moved to stand further away, by a big bush. The big silverback looked at me, decided he wanted to eat that bush, sauntered over and sat down next to me to continue his meal. Heart rate up a couple more notches... the silverback, sitting about 1m away from me. I did not know what to do... I knew I had to move, but was afraid to move fast. Between the narrow trail, the thick vegetation, and the rest of the hiking group there was no way I could move fast. So I stayed cool, and eventually the guide pulled my arm and I was able to move. Wow..... unbelievable moment.
The hour we were allowed to stay with the gorillas ended far too soon. We had to leave and hike down the volcano, back to the trailhead. The route out was a different way than the way up. This time we were going through a thick bamboo forest. The shafts of bamboo rising high above our heads. The track was very muddy. Somehow I ended up as the last person in the group, just in front of the rear guard soldier, and just behind the American chicita. The soldier and I traded many smirks and cookies as we watched the girl struggle over what was really easy hiking terrain. Oh well... we had a good laugh.
Back at the trailhead I bought my gorilla statues from a small boy.... $10usd for 2 of them. And then we bounced our way down the “road” in the Land Cruiser again, back to the start, with the kids following us. Part way back to the Park entrance an absolute wicked thunderstorm opened up... hail, hard rain, wind. The gutters on the side of the road were full of roaring water. The sides of the roads, usually full of people doing their daily business, were strangely empty as we passed.
Finally back at the Park entrance we graduated... receiving special certificates for visiting the Amahoro family.
Deifinitely one of the top life experiences......
We got driven back to the church centre, and met up with the Brits and Dutch. Their hike was only 20 minutes til they met their gorilla family. And they got a special bonus.... some live action gorilla luvin....
By 2:30pm everybody was back at the truck. A super fast loadup and started driving. By 3:30 we had reached the Rwanda-Uganda border at the town of Cyanika. A quick stop at the exit desk, a walk across no-man’s land, harassed by the money traders including a close call with a abd one, then another $50USD to re-enter Uganda. We were only about 20km from the Congo border... and surprisingly to me no guys with machine guns. I thought there would have been...
The road was all dirt, and all mud. This area had obviously gotten the rain we had seen earlier (that never reached the church in Ruhengeri). Looking back along the route, the views of the volcanoes were spectacular. The light, due to the time of day and the rain clouds, made the view even better. And as has become normal, we were waived at by many many people. The road eventually took us through the town of Kisoro, then out the other side. As soon as leaving Kisoro, we passed a UN refugee camp. The truck was pretty silent as we all took this in. The camp was for people from Congo, escaping the wars there. There were about 40 tents, UN white, lined up in rows, almost military like. What was normally a farm field was now a refuge city. Jimmy said a month previous, there had been 4x as many tents.
The road soon turned up... very up. A long dirt track, over huge mountains. Twisting and turning and making switchbacks to go higher. The views were spectacular. The colors amazing. The sides of the mountains were farmed in terraces, all the way up to the peaks, every inch of the mountain being used. Occassionally we passed small villages with the occasional spectacular building in the middle... including one particular church on a seemingly impossible to reach small sub-peak. And how the car got there.... more of a mystery. The roads and the views continued like this for at least two hours. Till darkness. We took one stop on the side of the road for a pee break, the back on the truck and the drive continued in the darkness.
Mat did an amazing job driving. It was dark, raining slightly, and occasionally other trucks passed us in the other direction on the narrow roads. Finally around 8:30, we arrived back at the Lake Bunyoni camp. Screw unpacking. We headed right for dinner and the bar (the food sucked but the beer was ok).
Monday, January 5 2009
Lake Bunyoni to Kampala, UgandaJust a drive today.... sitting on the truck backtracking the same highway we took to get to Rwanda. Another stop at the Equator and visiting the gift shops. All in all a not bad drive. Traffic in Kampala was crazy and it took a while to get to the rest stop for the night.
Tuesday, January 6 2009
Kampala, UgandaWed. January 7 2009
Kampala, UgandaNot much today. Just kind of lazing around waiting for the drive to the airport. And the trip home.
