The WILD side of Kenya

Recently I got the chance to venture outside of my Kakamega bubble, and here is a recap!

My first step outside of the area since I arrived, was to Naivasha for mid-term retreat with the interns. After a bumpy, dusty 6 hour bus ride and a sleepless freezing night (who knew Kenya could get so cold!), we went to Crator Lake to walk with the giraffs and zebra. There was no barrier between us and them but the tall grass and I asked our tour guide if lions ever lurked around. He replied with a laugh “of course!” Great. With the half marathon just a week away I wanted to do something active, so the next day I went with a few interns to Hell’s Gate where we biked scenic routes passing buffalo, empala, and grassy fields which then brought us to walk on foot into the Gorge, where 7 people recently drowned due to an inescapable flood. We saw a thin rope installed to help future victims out, but it wasn’t very comforting. Back at the lodge I got to hang out with the interns and watch Federer make an amazing comeback at Wimbeldon while sipping mango juice in the restaurant... Life. Was. Goooood.

The next week was the half-marathon!! I was so pumped to be reunited with my boyfriend, Michael. He was only visiting for a week so we crammed in as much as we could. Running the half was one of the best highlights so far of my time in Kenya. It was so thrilling to run amongst the fastest runners on earth. We meet Geoffrey Mutai, the world-record marathoner, who came in 3^rd place. I bumped into him and asked if he was a runner, and he shyly said “Yes.” And I asked him how he did he said he got 3^rd place. Then I asked his name and he said “Georfry Mutai” And I said I would remember his name in case I see him on tv... didn't realize until later he was the record holder. During the race, we saw people running in business attire, barefoot, and in those funky crock sandals. I forgot to bring sunscreen and the sun was scorching as it started a couple hours late. There were also a large number of injuries as ambulances rushed past us on the same road we ran on almost knocking us down. I only trained up to 7 miles while in Kenya on an almost-broken treadmill and it showed. Just after the 7 mile mark, my legs felt like heavy bricks, but still, I ran the entire way. Of course, there were no tags to keep anyone’s time or to detect if you actually ran the full way so they implemented a brilliant system- they had a box full of ink and you had to dip your finger in it at the half-way mark where runners turned back to the finish line. I didn’t know what it was so I dipped my entire hand in it. Oops! Just after 2 hours had passed, the roads were opened to the crazy, chaotic traffic, forcing everyone to run on the thin rocky dirt path. Often the paths dead ended and you were forced back onto the road to dodge cars coming from behind. A young boy, Wilson, had skateboarded/ran along with us for the last 6 miles in holey jeans and thin sneakers. As we approached the finish line race officials tried to stop him, but we shouted “He’s with us!” Since Kenya meat is much more fresh than in the states, we've decided to go on a vegetarian hiatus- the first for me in 5+ years, and him in 10+. So what are our first meals? We shared a full chicken, snacked on beef jerky and after the half, we ate at a place called Carnivore... where we were served a wider variety of meat than ever. The menu: steak, lamb, goat, chicken, chicken liver, ostrich, ostrich meatballs (favorite), crocodile, ox..... unmentionables, and washed it down with a pepsi.

Maasai Mara Safari- next we took another long and bumpy bus ride to Maasai Mara. Watching the sunrise and sunset was incredible. We also saw 11 lions, including 2 cbs, 4 cheetah, lots of zebra, giraffs, impala, deer, hippos, crocodiles, and of course the charismatic baboons. In addition, we spent the time with an awesome group of people, including one man from Japan who quit his engineering job (must have been in his 50s) to follow his dream of traveling the world. He said that as a child he was a trouble maker and people told him he would never go anywhere. On the way back we stopped at Lake Nakuru where we saw rhino and the strangest looking birds. We even saw a rhino get tranquilized from a helicopter and they painted a large number “34” as they were marking them to keep track of this endangered species.

Back to Kakamega. The trip from Nakuru to Kakamega was the bumpiest ride yet. We sat in the back and the entire row literally lifted high out of our seats many times… for 5 hours. Arriving in Kakamega, we decided to take it easy. I took Michael to my office, introduced him to the Site Team, hung out in the park, rode piki pikis (motorbikes) through the rain, and boda bodas around town, took him to the overcrowded market, and bargained for food to cook our own meals. Now he got to be a part of my daily life here.

The time was so short, but it also felt long as we were able to do so much in just 7 days. After he took off, I took an all night overnight bus back to Kakamega and it was back to work!