Kitengela Glass

A new edition

This weekend I flew into Nairobi to meet up with Josh.  We weren't planning anything huge but wanted to take advantage of his time in the city to do some of the things on our list.  Josh had visited Kitengela glass on a previous trip and really wanted me to see it as well.  After seeing his pictures I couldn't refuse.

A sculpture on the compund

The trip out to the little art community was a bit rough.  With no secondary routes we were forced to go through downtown Nairobi on a Friday during rush hour.  Not my idea of fun.  The traffic didn't let up until we were well out of the city and had turned onto the little dirt road that would eventually lead us to the compound.  After a few more wrong turns and some rough patches we finally made it to our destinations 3 hours later.  (it was only a 8 mile route)

A gorilla welcomes you to the community

We were greeted by Nani, the owner of the estate.  She is a German artist who moved to Kenya almost 40 years ago.  Over the years she developed her property and now it is home to almost all of her staff, a slough of animals and the occasional visitor or two.  Immediately I fell in love with the place.  We were whisked inside her home and almost ran over by her 10+ dogs all wanting to give us their version of a welcome.  Soon dinner was on the table and I was overwhelmed by the delicious array before us.  All of it, I was informed, came from her garden or her animals.  She's a strict believer that if she can't grow it or make it herself then she shouldn't eat it.  I have never been so well fed in my life.

Beads are just one of the glass items they make

After a few hours of great conversation and a run in with a bush baby (inside Nani's house nevertheless), we headed to our house for the night.  The house we stayed in was breathtaking.  Stain glass mirrors, windows, floor tiles, etc. as far as the eye could see.  I think that first night Josh and I took a few hours just walking around the place discovering all the hidden treasures it had to offer.

A woman hand rolls beads

The next morning we were woken up to a troupe of baboons outside on the balcony and made our way back to Nani's house for breakfast.  Again we were welcomed into her house and served ostrich egg omelets.  Now I've never even seen an ostrich egg before but when I saw how much just one of these makes and how delicious it was, I'd say these are the future! 

Josh crosses the wire bridge

The rest of the day was spent exploring the grounds.  I attempted to cross the wire bridge to the other side of the ravine but after getting about 10 feet out I decided it just wasn't going to happen.  Josh proceeded across and got up close and personal with a herd of gazelle.  Besides the local wildlife, we were able to watch some of the glass blowing up close.  Workers were busy making vases and small bowls. Other artists worked on commissioned pieces and we got to see one of the finished stages of the cross Nani is doing for a local Catholic church.  Nani took one look at Josh's fancy camera and immediately had him snapping photos for her to use to promote the place. 

Hand crafting lilly vases

Overall the place was great.  Sure we did have a few mishaps getting out to the place and a dead battery on the way back but that's just part of the adventure.  I definitely want to go back because there is no way I could have seen it all.  Its just one of those rare gems that once you know its there you just have to keep going back for more.
 

Art work in the gallery

A little excited

After 4 months of wet hair, I am just a little excited about my new hairdryer.  Josh bought me it in Nairobi and I can't say how much I love it already (I've only used it once).  Its especially nice since my hair is about twice the length it was when I left the states.  Ahhh back to the dry straight hair days....its the little things that keeps me smiling :)

Monkey rock...an adventure I'm not sure I want to repeat

This weekend we were invited to go hiking with friends in the hills around Kisumu.  Instead of our usual trail we were going to tackle Monkey rock.  We were excited as we had wanted to do this trail before but didn't know where it started exactly.  So we took off from Kisumu and after a little driving came to a small road that we thought was the start of the trail.

Getting out of the car, I looked over to the rock and questioned our ability to get there in one day.  It just looked too far, but alas I trusted our friends who had done it before and we were off.  Right away I realized this wasn't going to be the normal hike.  There was virtually no trail and more often than not we spent our time searching for anything that resembled one. 

After one steep hand and feet assent and some ducking under brush, we arrived at a large boulder overlooking the valley below.  From here we assessed where to go.  Half of us thought that maybe it was best to hike high and walk along the ridge line.  Josh, I and another one of our friends thought going low was the way to go as to better cross the rivers and gorges. 

I'm not sure we ever found out who was right.  The next 4 hours were spent blazing trail, tripping over vines, getting scratched a 100 times with thorns and even a really bad run in with some ants.  Needless to say I was getting frustrated.  We weren't making any progress toward monkey rock and looking back on it now, I'm not sure we even make it to the start of the true trail. 

We gave up and coordinated to meet at a compound we saw below in the valley.  Slowly we made our way down, sometimes sliding ok mainly sliding, till we eventually got there.  Little did I know but the adventure didn't stop there.  Instead of walking along the road to get back to our car, the group decided to cut through a sugarcane field instead.  Sure it was faster but for those of you that know what it feels like to walk through high corn, it wasn't a pleasant experience. 

I can't say what a relief it was to see the car and to know that we were headed home.  As I stood in the shower that afternoon, the water stinging every cut and thorn, I thought well I can finally say that was a wash.  Sure I'd still love to climb to monkey rock.  The actual monkey rock.  But I will never do that hike again. 

A Kenyan wedding

Last weekend, Josh and I attended the wedding of one of his staff members.  I've seen pictures of the Kenyan wedding ceremony but never had attended one before.  We were running late that morning so decided to instead just show up for the reception.  Little did we know that Kenyan time would take on its full meeting in this day.

We arrived at the church at 3:30 in the afternoon to be quickly shown to seats in the front row.  As it seemed the ceremony had just begun.  Three little girls and two boys slowly made their way down the aisle throwing confetti at every step.  I whispered to Josh, "I think this is the actual ceremony."  "No," he said, "They are just coming in for the reception."  As more and more individuals made their way down the aisle, I kept insisting that we had actually arrived to the wedding even though it was supposed to start 3 hours ago.  I claimed it was Kenyan time at its best!

Besides the late start, Kenyan weddings are not much different than American.  My only grief is the "marching" down the aisle.  To be in a Kenyan wedding is a great honor and ALL involved take their time enjoying being on parade.  The first set of children took about 15 minutes to make it down the short aisle and each person after that came slower and slower.  It seems that as you become more important in the wedding party you also get more time going down the aisle.  Now you think this would be come boring or even a little awkward for the individual marching or the audience, but alas not here.  Other Kenyans jumped out of their seats and ran into the aisle to take pictures.  Definitely no rules here!!

After an hour and a half of painstaking marching and hearing the same song over and over, the wedding party had finally made their way into the church.  What followed was a heart filled praise of the Lord.  The preacher welcomed everyone making a special note to single out Josh (we were the only non-Kenyans there) and conduct the ceremony in English for our benefit. 

After the vows were done everyone quickly ran outside and yes I mean ran!  Food and cake awaited us.  Again Josh and I were seated in the front row and quickly offered cake and soda.  We stayed for the gifts and a few of the speeches but made our exit as the speakers became more and more long winded. 

Overall it was a nice taste of the Kenyan culture.  It was great to go support Josh's staff and I think he was very honored that we came.  I'm not sure its what I would want for my wedding ceremony some day but it was interesting to get a look at what its like here.

A few things missed from the ole' USA

I've been in Kenya for about 3.5 months now and although I love it here there are a few things from home I miss.  Now, much to my family's dismay I'm sure, I can't say I miss the U.S. entirely.  I claim this comes from my easy going and adaptable nature.  I pretty much go with the flow and make due with my present circumstances.  BUT given the choice here's a short list of a few things from home I really wish were here....

1. My family-As much as I know NONE of you would ever come visit, it would be nice to see you in person :)

2. My friends-Ditto

3. Not having to bargain for everything-This time last year I was really wishing I didn't have to deal with this either.

4. A little more personal room-Really I'm used to the next person in line practically breathing down my neck and even the sometimes nose cringing odor coming from an unidentifiable source next to me.  But sometimes, just sometimes, I pray no I beg for a few more inches.

5. Fall-Its September and I know the leaves are changing and the combines are headed out to the fields.  I miss these sites as I left before the corn was even knee high!

6. Variety in my food-I have definitely lost most of my picky-ness when it comes to food here but sometimes I would just kill to not order rice and beans for every meal. 

7. Listening to my Dad talk about what he's buying next on the farm-Sure this one's a little strange, but I really do enjoy just sitting with my dad at the kitchen table listening to him "talk out" his latest purchase.  I like making sense of the deal he's planning and thinking about what it means for the farm.  Most of all I just like hanging out with him.  Miss you, Dad!

8. Moving-Ditto on the strange part for this one too.  But September is a time of moves for me.  Each year for the last 6 I have moved to a new place each and every September.  So to be staying put this time seems really strange to me.  There is just something strangely appealing of getting to pull everything out again and put it away.

9. Decent internet access-Yes I have the internet and yes normally it does work, but lately every time it rains (which is EVERY night) its gone out.  This makes getting anything done off of my to do list a little more challenging.  Oh and on that note when it does go out, I'd like a little more speed in getting it back up!

10. Speed-No I don't mean as in a car or truck.  Trust me there is plenty of that here.  I mean speed in everything else.  Yes, I do enjoy the slow nature of life here but there are times where I'd rather not wait 3 hours for my meal or only be able to accomplish one thing at work a day. 

Labor Day weekend-Kericho, Kerio Valley, and around

Lipton Tea plantation

This past weekend we headed out of Kisumu for another small trip.  After just recently returning from Mt. Kilimanjaro we didn't want to do anything huge but still wanted to take advantage of the four day weekend.  Instead of heading to a national park, as originally planned, we decided to take a more adventurous route and explore some of the towns in the area.  Our weekend started in Kericho, home to approximately 90% of Kenya's tea plantations.  We stayed right on one of the local plantations at the Walter Reed Guest House.  Although we were not able to schedule a tour of the plantations, we had a great time walking around the many arboretums and relaxing by the fire at night. 

Under a massive grove of bamboo in Kericho

The next day we headed north into the Nandi Hills going through Eldoret and ending up at an overland camp just east of the city.  We were a little disappointed about the grounds as they didn't reflect what we had seen online previously.  Despite the under par and chilly conditions, we enjoyed a relaxing day spent enjoying the local scenery. 

Rainforest in Kericho

On Sunday we headed even further north into the Kerio Valley on a tip from one of the staff members at the overland camp.  Our journey was an adventure the entire way.  Deciding to forgo the paved road, we kicked it into 4WD and took the less traveled path.  Definitely had a great time mudding through some of the local villages where the people looked like they had never seen a car before.  We arrived at the Kerio View about mid morning and promptly checked in.  The views were spectacular.  The hotel is located on top of an escarpment that drops 1000 m into the valley below.  The area is known for paragliding although we were unable to do this due to the season (too wet). (Were already planning a return trip to cross this one off the list :)

The Kerio Valley

Josh gets a little too close to the edge

After checking in, we headed in the car down the escarpment to explore stopping many times along the way to take pictures and admire the views.  We saw the beautiful Tarok falls in the distance and stopped along the gorge to take pictures of the rushing water below.  Our 4-wheeling didn't stop there as we tried our hand at two unpaved roads in hopes of entering the national reserve that was in the area.  After trying for a few hours we finally connect with Kenya Wildlife Service and learned that there isn't any roads into the park yet.  Well at least we tried!

The gorge.  Its a long way down!

Overall it was a very relaxing weekend.  It was nice to not worry about seeing this and doing that.  We made our plans as the day went on and focused more so on the adventure of it all.  We even came home with some great tea and cheese from the area.  Treats we normally don't get in Kisumu!

Kilimanjaro!!

Sorry its taken so long to post about my recent Mt. Kilimanjaro trip. Its definitely taken a week to recover from the mountain and then another few days just to get my thoughts together. I don't know how to adequately describe the 6 day adventure but to say it was by far one of the hardest things I've done physically. The first day of the trip was spent traveling from Nairobi to Moshi, the town at the base of the mountain. Although seemly not difficult it proved to be a challenge in of itself. With little sleep the night before, we stayed up late repacking our bags, we took off in a 20 seat passenger bus for the border. No surprises there as we tried to grab a few minutes of rest. The border of Tanzania was no problem for me as I had already secured my visa before hand and quickly got my exit Kenya stamp and entry Tanzania stamp. The boys had a little more trouble as they have both tourist and diplomatic passports with stamps in both. Luckily we had no major issues and it was back on the bus. We got to Moshi later that evening and had a quick bite to eat. Mainly we were exhausted and just wanted to get up to the hotel room for some sleep, our last on a real bed in awhile.


Machame Gate

The next morning we piled in another van and took off for the mountain. At this point we still hadn't actually seen the mountain as it was covered by a thick haze and even after the hour drive to the park gate were still not seeing any true "mountain". Formalities at the gate took longer than we expected as the park rangers take their jobs very seriously. Every hiker must sign in at each camp so that they can be tracked along the way. A few hours later we were finally off! The first day consisted of a mainly uphill climb through the rain forest. Luckily the mist quickly burned off and we didn't have to deal with any rain. The first day set the tone of the trip as two of the boys quickly forgot the climbing motto of "pole pole" (slowly slowly) and rushed to keep up with the twice as fast porters. Me, I took my sweet time as I knew we had 5 more days of this and there was no reason to get burned out now. By the end of day 1 we were above the cloud line which made for some amazing pictures of the summit and clouds from machame camp.

Machame Camp. Our Guide Vinncent.


Our first sighting of the peak from Machame camp.

The second day started with a very steep climb followed by a short decline. This day was spent getting out of the way of the porters and trying to get to camp at a reasonable hour for lunch. Again two of the boys went ahead and paid for it later!! What took us an hour took them 35 minutes. They were exhausted for the short acclimatization hike our guides wanted to do that evening. Shira camp was lively into the night as hikers celebrated their first day with songs and chatter. I went to bed early as I had a hard time adjusting to the camping the first night.

Apparently you can still get phone service on the mountain!

Day 3 we started to finally experience some real altitude. During the day we hiked up to lava tower which sites at about 4,600 meters above sea level. Here we ate lunch, or what we could make of it. At this point my appetite was gone. That's usually one of the first signs of altitude sickness and was luckily the only one I had! Every bite was a testament to how much I knew my body needed the fuel despite not wanting to eat. I think the guides were a bit grateful that I was willing to share part of my uneaten lunch too! From the lava tower we hiked down to camp. This hike was relaxing despite falling on my butt a few times. The point in going down to camp refers to the old motto, "walk high, sleep low" and just helps hikers get better used to the altitude. At the end of day 3 I was feeling tired but still had energy. Jin, one of the boys with us, started to feel the altitude and decided to forgo dinner for a rest.

The taller is the peak covered by clouds. The shorter in the front is lava tower where we stopped for lunch.

The fourth day started with a challenge as we were asked to scale the 1000 meter wall. Luckily for me I was too focused in each step that I forgot to look down. This was good as there were a few times we were too close to the edge for comfort. I was amazed that the porters managed to balance 50-60 lbs of equipment (sometimes on their heads!) and scale this wall. I barely got up it without anything!! After the wall it was about 2 more hours till lunch. Normally campers would stay here for the night but we pushed on to base camp after lunch arriving at approximately 5pm. This is when my body started to give out on me. I was utterly exhausted and promptly lost my lunch upon arriving to base camp. That night I managed to put down some soup and fruit but was seriously doubting the summit attempt that was schedule for 5 hours later.


My home away from home for 6 days.

We got to bed at about 7pm only to be woken up at 11pm. After layering up we were off. I was apparently not going fast enough as the guides decided an hour and a half into the hike to split me from the group. The boys took off for the summit and I kept trying to put one foot in front of the other. The hours past as I tried to make it up (sometimes being dragged) the mountain. Luckily the dark conceals the very steep trail. At about 5300 meters I started having chest pains and notified the guides once they moved to both lungs. In concern of a possible pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs) the guides thought it best we descend. At this point I was approximately 3 hours from Stella point then another hour from the peak. I knew my body was giving out and although I was disappointed knew going down was the best course of action.

The wall that we climbed. You can barely make out the peak in the clouds.

The boys summited Mt. Kilimanjaro at about 8am and were back down to camp by 11. After getting a quick nap we headed back down the mountain. It may seem harsh to hike that much in one day but the guides are quick to tell you that they want you out of base camp as soon as possible. The hike down was almost harder than up and I found myself wishing for some incline as my toes jammed up into my shoes. I had carefully avoided any blisters until this day where my toes rubbed on just about everything in my shoe.


The peak from base camp at 4,000 meters.

That night we celebrated with a Mt. Kilimanjaro beer and as the saying goes if you can't climb it, drink it! The next morning we woke early, thanked our group and headed the remaining 3 hours down the mountain. We were in high spirits as we crossed the park gate and signed out one last time. From there we headed back down to Moshi, quickly showered, and piled back on a bus to Nairobi.

That night in Nairobi, the mountain seemed like a mile away instead of being on it just that morning. It was a good time to eat some great food (now that my appetite had returned) and rest. The next morning Josh and I woke early as we still had a 5 hour drive ahead of us back to Kisumu. 5 hours later we were safely back home unpacking all the dirt and wet clothes that were the remaining reminder of the mountain.

Yes I am disappointed that I didn't reach the top but at the same time I am so proud of what I was able to do. It was the hardest thing I have asked my body to do thus far and I did make it higher than any other peak in Africa! Will I do it again? I'm not sure. It definitely is a serious undertaking but I would like to make it to the top. I guess only time will tell!