Dharavi

We had another overwhelming experience today. We visited the Mumbai slum, Dharavi. It was quite unlike any slum I have seen before. I was expecting something similar to the Nairobi slum, Kibera, but it was very different. They are both urban slums, but Dharavi is much more industrialized. The streets are made of old patio stones and are really nice when I compare it to what I saw in Kibera. Their houses are single rooms, but often people will have one or two room stacked on top. The buildings are made of concrete and just their roofs are metal, unlike the metal shacks that Kiberans live in.

There are many industries flourishing in Dharavi; leather, soap, denim jeans, fabric dyeing, textiles, luggage, baking, pottery, etc. One of the first workshops we stopped in to see had men attaching pieces of metal frames together, the same metal frames that give rolling suitcases their shape. We also saw denim patterns being cut out and the basic stitches sewn in to be later sold to companies who will put their custom designs on them before selling them to the public. It was quite fascinating to see all this going on in a slum. I was actually looking at where the "Made in India" clothing actually comes from. I always imagined these materials coming from large factories, but they were being processed in small workshops in the middle of an urban slum.

To get to the first workshop, we walked through an alleyway full of junk. It was the scrapyard of Dharavi. People collected scrap plastic, cardboard, metal, and a slew of other things to bring to this area and sell to someone else who recycled these materials in some way. We saw mostly piles upon piles of bags filled with junk. I don't know what they turnover rate of this junk is, but it didn't seem to be moving fast.

As we walked through the streets of the industrial area, there was quite a bit of space between buildings. This is relative to the two-foot wide alleys that we snaked through once we reached more residential parts of the slum. We had to duck from several open electrical wires over our heads, while at the same time dodging the milky-grey puddles on the floor beneath our feet. Apartments seemed to be everywhere; we turned a corner and there would be a doorway with a sheet covering the entrance and we could hear people inside. A lot of times these curtains were open so we could see inside. It would be one room with either tiled, linoleum, or concrete floors filled with all the possible appliances you could find in a house, with the exception of a washing machine. They do all their laundry by hand. This being India, all appliances and electronics are dirt cheap, so everybody has them all. The residences were surprisingly nice, though still small. Still, a far cry from the beds crowded into a small shack like the ones I'm used to seeing in Mlolongo.

One of the last areas for us to visit was the market. At one particular corner, people gather to sell produce. Then down the way, there is the fish market. Dharavi also has a few schools, as well as churches, mosques, and temples. Even with the wide variety of religions in close proximity to one another, there isn't any conflict within the slum. Our guide, a resident of the area, said the former First Lady spent a lot of time in Dharavi working at building it up as a community instead of allowing religion to divide it up, and it worked really well.

While Dharavi is a very condensed slum (1.2 million people in 1.7 square kms), it wasn't very crowded this morning. India was playing Pakistan in the semi-final of the Cricket World Cup, so many people took a full or half day of just to watch the game at 2:30. Even the stock exchange closed at 1pm.

We watched the game of course. We even bought India jerseys for 100 rupees a piece (~$2.25) to wear during the game. I read up on the rules of cricket before arriving in Mumbai, knowing very well I would be watching a game or two. I was able to follow the game, and after seven and half hours of play, India beat Pakistan and moves on to the final versus Sri Lanka on Saturday. The streets turned into a party tonight. On our way home from Dean's friend's house, where we watched the game, we saw people dancing and playing music in the streets and setting off fireworks.

The many sights of Mumbai

I am exhausted. We have just come back from a 14 hour day of touring the amazing city of Mumbai. My belly is full from the vegetarian feast we just had. The restaurant we went to served an all you can eat Thali. See plate full of food below... and it just kept getting refilled.

You can see strawberry basundi in the bowl on the left (strawberries and cream pretty much), then a yogurt curry, the sweet dal, then some good potato and pea dish, then something I didn't eat much of, then spicy dal. The green bowl off the plate is spinach soup which was delicious. The bowl in the middle of the plate was a dessert, it was some bread thing that was soaked in sweet syrup. It was also very good but I could only handle a small bite. The breads include chapati and something made with cumin spices, and all the other stuff on the plate I can't remember the name of. But it was all very delicious. We got two varieties of rice with this too. The glass in the upper left corner is filled with spiced buttermilk... yuck. I did not enjoy it.

To fill you in on yesterday, my cousin Sandra and her three friends, Carleigh, Kathryn, and Lindsay, arrived from Kuala Lumpur early in the afternoon. The four of them have been teaching in Bangkok for the past year and are now on summer break and travelling around Asia. We spent the day eating more crab curry, taking care of errands nearby, and doing a short road tour of Mumbai. We went for dinner and spent 110 rps a person... about $2.40 for a full meal. Yay, India. We spent the rest of the evening at Dean's and he called in an order of chilled Kingfisher beer from the beer store (they deliver ANYTHING in Mumbai, even McDonald's).

Now, back to today...

Our long day began at 8am when a car picked us up and drove us into downtown Mumbai. Our first stop was at the Dhobi Ghat, a massive outdoor laundromat. Men wash clothes by hand all day. Each one does a specific thing then tosses the clothes to the next person. It's a very physical task as we saw men whipping clothes in and out of the water to wash and rinse. As you can see below, there are just rows and rows of clothes hanging out to dry. There is apparently a textile company behind the Dhobi Ghat that has a lot of its items being washed there. This was on the Amazing Race one year, so you may remember it if you watch that show.

Stop number two was at Mani Bhavan, Mahatma Gandhi's house from 1917 to 1934. It is now a museum to tell the story of his life, and his room is also preserved.

We then arrived at the Gates of India to board a ferry to the Elephanta Caves. The caves are a UNESCO World Heritage site that were carved out of stone in a mountain to honour the god Shiva. We passed many oil rigs and ships on the way to the caves, as the navy base isn't too far away. Once we arrived at the docks, we had to walk down a long jetty to finally reach the island. The air was thick and hot and completely stagnant. No reprieve from the heat by a wind, just the air from the speed of our walking. Once we reached the gate, we had to journey upwards on slippery stone steps. Those who didn't want to make the climb could hire four strong Indian men to carry them in a chair attached to two poles. We saw a couple of people going up and down in them though the ride seemed pretty bumpy.

There were five caves. The main one was the most impressive. They date back to the 5th and 8th centuries, but had to be restored in the 1970s. There are carvings of gods in the walls and columns throughout the cave. You can see some of it below.

Wall carvings in the main cave

The outside of cave 2. The names of the caves aren't very interesting: Main Cave or the Great Cave, and Caves 2, 3, 4, 5.

The view of Taj Palace (left) and the Gates of India (right) from the boat to Elephanta.

We stopped at Leopold's cafe after the caves to meet with our tour guide for our upcoming trek in northern India. Dean led us through about 7 blocks of pure market shopping to get to the cafe. It was torture for us girls who have yet to spend a penny on purchases in this city. Dean then took us around to see Mumbai University and the High Court, then to the Victoria Terminus train station.

I've already mentioned the over-stuffed trains that I see passing by on the other side of the field in front of Dean's house. Well we went into the busiest train station in Mumbai. It was a constant blur of people going in every direction. When a platform was announced on the screen for a particular line, a rush of people headed in that direction. We had to hang on to each other to avoid getting lost.

Central Station from the outside. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

People going everywhere.

One of the platforms inside Mumbai's busiest train station, Victoria Terminus.

There are 18 million people in Mumbai... well that's registered people. Dean estimates it to be more. The real estate is ridiculous. Property is so expensive that young people cannot afford to purchase, so they are forced to live at home for a long time or they have to rent a condo from someone else. There are no real apartments or any one-story houses left. It's all condos here. A full floor unit like the one I am staying in now is very hard to come by these days. Most floors have several units and can be quite small. Something like where I am staying now would easily go for $1 million, and we're about a 35 minute train ride to downtown (longer by car, depending on traffic).

I'll let you know about another kind of real estate in Mumbai after we visit Dharavi tomorrow, one of the largest slums in the world. Population: 1.2 million. Area: 1.7 square km.

Taste of India

I'm finally here. I've been looking forward to coming to India for quite some time now. I arrived Saturday morning at 5 am and was greeted by Dean and two of his friends. This was my first time meeting Dean - he is from Mumbai but have been living in Winnipeg for four years now. He is friends with Carleigh, a friend/schoolmate/colleague of my cousin Sandra (sorry if this gets confusing). Carleigh and Sandra arrive on Monday (the day I was originally scheduled to arrive in Mumbai) with two other girls who they have been studying/working with in Thailand for the past year. All six of us will tour Mumbai until April 1st when we go on a Northern India tour for two weeks. After that, we are flying down to the southern province of Goa to enjoy the beaches.

When I got off the plane, it didn't smell bad as I was expecting. There was a distinct change in the air however, and I could feel the humidity in the air immediately. The biggest difference I noticed between India and Kenya... air conditioning. Something Kenyans don't quite believe in, whereas Indians love it. Yay for me. I seem to be handling the heat better than Dean though, who arrived the day before me from Winnipeg. My two months in Kenya acclimatized me to the heat.

After being welcomed by Dean and his friends, we got in a small, old-school Fiat cab and headed to his place. As we drove out of the airport, my nose was hit with an awful stench that lasted for a minute or two, but dissipated as we drove further away from the airport. The streets were not busy at that hour, so within 30 minutes we were at Dean's apartment. Their unit is the entire second floor of a 5-story complex. It has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, kitchen, and a nice size living/dining room. The living room windows look out on a small, sandy sports field where kids play cricket and soccer for most of the evenings and weekend. On the far side of the field are the train tracks. Trains pass every two and a half minutes heading either way. They terrify me because I know I will have to ride one and every one that passes by looks like it have about a thousand people too many in it. There are people filling up every available space, and more hanging out the doors.

After sleeping in all morning, I got up to find Dean had left to run some errands. It was just me, his grandma, and two cousins in the apartment. They offered me chai and bread with butter which I accepted. Dean's grandma sat next to me the whole time and just watched. Intermittently, she would ask me a question in her broken English which she often had to repeat once or twice. She thought it was strange that I only had one slice of bread and she also seemed confused when I poured myself a glass of water and drank it before finishing my tea.

Once Dean returned, I went with him and his sister, Elna, to run some more errands and check out a market. We rode in a rickshaw, one of the 250,000 that drive around Mumbai. The driving here is crazier than in Kenya, though people don't go that fast, so in a way, it feels safer. After coming back from the market, we hung out until it was time for Elna's going away party. She is moving to New Zealand where her husband is on the 30th.

The party was at a Catholic sports club next to the field across the street. There was a big screen with the England vs. Sri Lanka cricket match on. The room was full of club members having dinner and watching the game. About 25 people from Dean's family were at a table at the back. It was such a fun night and so typically Indian. Aunts, uncles, and cousins filled the table. They peppered me with questions all night and laughed when I found a dish too spicy. Even the 3 year old next to me was chowing down on the hottest dish on the table while I was chugging back my glass of water. The food was great though. Everything had at some kick to it, but only one made me choke.

Today, I went out again with Dean and Elna to visit a couple friends. One of them lives in a nice, new apartment in the suburbs of Mumbai. It's not much different than the rest of Mumbai except there is a bit more space between buildings and much more greenery. On the way back, we saw a car accident with a small mob of people in front of the cars arguing and fighting each other. Dean's mom made crab curry for lunch. It was my first time eating crab straight from the shell. They also made me eat the curry and rice with my hands. A little messy, but a lot more fun than using a fork.

Day 67: Out of Africa

Today is the halfway point of my travels. Once it's all over, I will have made a complete circle around the world. Today, I continue east to Mumbai, India.

Today is my last day in Kenya. I'm up early as usual. This morning, the sky is blanketed in clouds, but I can already see it breaking up to make room for the sun. Within the hour, it will close to the usual +30 degrees Celsius that I've grown accustomed to over the past 9 weeks.

The days have been cooler as we head into the rainier part of the season. It's been a lot more bearable, though I was very much spoiled by the air conditioning at Diani Beach that I now have a hard time getting myself to go out in the sun.

It's been a challenging 2 months. It took me the first couple of weeks to adjust to the heat, dust, and homesickness. I remember my first day here; we were in Mlolongo doing a mobile testing event and it was over 30 degrees, sunny, and I was surrounded by strangers, users, and piles of burning garbage. All I could think was, "Is this what the next 2 months are going to be like," and "What did I get myself into?"

Of course, things got better. The strangers turned into friends, the users were still users but I learnt how to deal with them, and the piles of garbage became a symptom of the picture of a very big problem. Though I never learned to enjoy the heat. As I found out more about the problems of Mlolongo and the neighbouring towns, I developed a sense of hopelessness for the cause. The government corruption, cultural differences (i.e. much slower pace of doing things, traditions), and onslaught of problems made me feel none of it could be improved with our two hands.

As I continued to observe the way the centre worked and what they did on a daily basis, I realized it was about giving people the power to live better lives by feeding them proper knowledge. There is a lot that can't be changed from the ground level, and until some major governmental shift happens, this will still be the case. But joy still exists in the lives of these people who live in such miserable, hard-up conditions. And by giving them tools and assistance to either improve or extend their lives a bit more, we're helping.

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As I prepare to go to India today, I am expecting Mumbai to be like Nairobi on steroids. I found Nairobi to be hot, hectic, and packed full of people. I can only imagine Mumbai will be hotter, more hectic, and have a LOT more people. But I am very much looking forward to it. Except for the smells... their reputation precedes them. I keep thinking of comedian Russell Peters' bit on the Mumbai airport, "It's as if they hired a guy to shit in front of every plane door." ... Great. I'll let you know how it goes.

Diani Beach: Round 2

What I can I possibly say about the last 5 days? After returning from safari, we unpacked and repacked before heading out to the coast the following morning. We were originally supposed to take the $13 overnight bus to Mombasa, but opted for the $55, 45-minute morning flight instead. It was a great decision and money well spent. Especially since Tom had a small bout of sickness the night we were supposed to be leaving. But he was able to sleep it off and we headed out in the morning without any issues.

We walked out of the plane in Mombasa and were greeted by a thick wall of hot hot heat and humidity. I had forgotten how warm it was there but was immediately reminded by the sweat that started to bead on my forehead as I made my way across the tarmac.

We were the same group of six that were on the safari. We headed toward our resort in a very pleasantly air-conditioned van only to be greeted by a tall Kenyan man in a traditional African costume with a tray of welcome drinks for us. As we slurped them up in record time, half of us (Tom and I, and Deb) were told we had been upgraded from our original standard rooms to cottages with views of the Indian Ocean, and a bathroom fit for a king. Milanne and her parents had not been upgraded but had paid more than the rest of us for an ocean-view room that didn’t show much of the ocean at all. So after some chats with the manager and some pacing from Doug, they also ended up in a cottage with an awesome deck and view of the water.

Once we had all settled into our rooms, we headed for the beach and the pool and ordered a round of drinks. The scenery was a far cry from Mlolongo and we were in paradise. After an afternoon of relaxation, Katie, Josh, and Josh’s parents came over from Beachalets (the place we stayed at during our first trip to Diani Beach) for some pre-dinner drinks. After hanging out on Deb’s patio, we all went out for dinner to Ali Babour’s Forty Thieves restaurant for dinner right on the beach.

The following day was pretty much the same, except us ladies started off the day with a visit to the hotel spa. A really, really far cry from life in Mlolongo. That night, we met up again with the foursome again and the 10 of us headed to the sister restaurant of Forty Thieves, called Cave. It is a restaurant set inside a coral cave that is over 120,000 years old and used to be completely underwater when the coastline used to be about 5km further inland. Needless to say, the setting and atmosphere was spectacular, and the food was phenomenal. Looking up from our table, we could see the moon peeking through the gaps in the cave’s ceiling. The only way in or out of the restaurant is by a magnificent dark wood staircase that winds down into a dimly lit lounge.

The third day, all 10 of us met up again in the morning to board a glass-bottom boat for a round of snorkeling. Having tried it last time and not quite enjoying it, I opted out of the actual snorkeling and enjoyed the view of the marine life through the glass window in the floor of the boat. Once we reached the sandbar, we all sat amongst the shallow waves with beers purchased from the man with the cooler strapped on a surfboard.

We were brought back to shore around noon and after a short camel ride for the 5 other ladies (I didn’t join in since I’ll be getting my fill of camel rides in India), we walked along the beach back to Forty Thieves for a long afternoon lunch. It was Katie, Josh, and Josh’s parents’ last day at the beach, so after lunch, they headed back with us to our resort until it was time to head to the airport.

All of us in our group of six were enjoying ourselves so much that everyone except for Deb decided to extend our stay by an extra day. Deb is Winnipeg-bound today so she needed the extra day in Mlolongo to pack up. But the rest of us were able to get the same rooms at the same rate so with a quick change of flight, we were set.

Friday was our last night in paradise. There was a special beach barbecue at the resort. Tables set up in a big, beautiful alcove on the beach with live entertainment and a giant feast. Big metal grills featured at least 5 different kinds of meat and tons more sides and salads and desserts. After dinner, we watched an impressive acrobatic show. There were even free camel rides for guests.

After 5 days of feasting and sloth-like behaviour, we packed everything up, got a few more hours in the sun and pool, and hopped back on a flight to Nairobi. This time we exited the plane under cloud cover and some spitting rain. This soon turned into a complete downpour as we headed into downtown Nairobi for another dinner with the whole gang. The rain was quite refreshing after the heat and humidity of Diani Beach.

Deb is leaving Kenya today, followed by Tom on Tuesday, then Milanne’s parents on Wednesday. Then I’m India bound on the 27^th. One week left in Africa.

Slums and Safaris

It's been a busy week. Tom got here late Tuesday night, completely wiped, so we took it easy on Wednesday so he could get somewhat adjusted. It was neat to watch someone else take everything in on the first day and think about how I reacted during my first week. He was experiencing some major culture shock and temperature adjustment. I think he drank about 14 gallons of water in the first 2 days.

If adjusting to Mlolongo wasn't hard enough for him, on Thursday we headed to Kibera, the largest slum in Nairobi and the second largest urban slum in Africa. 170,000 people in an area just 5km from Nairobi's city centre. The first thing we saw was a stretch of houses that had just been burned down the night before. We navigated through the streets with the help of our guide, Octo Pizzo, a now famous rapper in Nairobi who lived in Kibera up until 2 years ago. He still owns a house in one of Kibera's 13 villages, which he took us to. On the way to his place, we passed many horrible sights and smells; makeshift gutters with dark brownish-grey water, dogs with just skin and bones digging for scraps, and piles of burning garbage. The people were friendly of course, waving and saying hello as we passed. After working our way down a dirty drainage slope, we reached a bridge over the "River Shit". When the sun goes down, a lot of the villagers head to the river to relieve themselves because they don't have toilets or the money to use the public toilets (a tin shack with a hole in the ground).

Octo's house was a small 8' x 12' shack with metal walls and roofing. He keeps it for his brother who is away at boarding school, so he can stay there when he is not at school. He wants him to live in Kibera so that he will mature faster.

The most surprising thing to me about Kibera was how functional it is. With that many people in the slum, it seemed to be working like a regular city, just on a much lower income level. It was a lot less destitute than some of the other slums I've visited. Something Tom noticed immediately was the amount of mobile phone stores and "kinyozi" salons there were (barber shops). Its strange to think about what people will spend money on even in such disparaging conditions. It also got me thinking about the impact that communications and technology improvements have had on even the most remote and desolate places in the world. Our safari guide was getting phone calls on his cell to tell him where the interesting animals were, and the people of the traditional Maasai tribes were walking around in their shukas and would suddenly pull out a cell phone. But they still drink cow's blood and live in houses made of mud.

After almost 3 hours in Kibera, we made our way back to Mlolongo and packed up for our 4-day safari. 6am Friday, we were up and ready to be picked up by our guide. They showed up in an old Nissan van with a pop-up roof. The 6 of us (myself, Tom, Deb, Milanne, and her parents Doug and Michele) climbed in and headed on our way. We drove about 6 or 7 hours through the Great Rift Valley toward Maasai Mara National Reserve, stopping along the way at lookout points and for lunch. It was close to 3 when we arrived, so we unpacked and relaxed for an hour before heading on a game drive. Our accommodations were pretty cool. There was a U-shaped line of army tents on concrete pads with thatched roofs on top. Each tent had 2 or 3 beds and a half-circle bathroom off the back with toilet, shower, and sink. There was a main dining hall that was open on three sides where we spent our evenings relaxing.

At 4pm, we headed into the reserve to check out some animals. We saw loads of zebras, buffaloes, giraffes, Thomson's gazelles, and impalas during our drive. We even caught a glimpse of the illusive leopard and a pride of lions taking a snooze in a ditch. Out of the Big 5, we managed to see 3 in our first few hours. (The Big 5 are: Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant, Leopard, and Lion... leopard often being the hardest to spot and the one most people don't get to see).

After a delicious dinner, we called it a night and headed for our beds. In the middle of night, we could hear the howls of hyenas off in the distance. Apparently, they weren't too far out. There are a couple Maasai tribe members who walk the perimeter of the campsite to keep watch for any hyenas trying to come into the camp.

The next morning, we headed out around 7:30 for a full-day game drive. This time we headed much further into the reserve, heading as far as the Tanzanian border where were could see the Serengeti. On the way, we passed many more animals, the usual zebras, gazelles, buffaloes, and giraffes, but we also saw our first few elephants. There was 4 of them and they got pretty close to us. We managed to see the leopard again, this time it a much better view than before. It was walking around so I got a couple good pictures of it. We also stopped at a river loaded with hippos. There must have been about a hundred of them in various parts of the river just sitting below the water with their eyes and ears poking through the surface. We walked further down the river to where the crocodiles are, but none of them surfaced. We only saw the back of a baby croc a little way down the river.

After a picnic lunch where a monkey stole Deb's sandwich right from her lap, we headed back. It was a long drive but we saw some more animals here and there. I took a nap in the back and woke up to another small herd of elephants nearby. As the drive was winding down and we were getting closer to the gate of the reserve, our guide John got a call on his phone and stepped on the gas. Something good was going on. We pulled up next to another van of the same company and saw a cheetah, fresh off the chase of a Thomson's gazelle. He was hiding in some shade behind a tree stump with the gazelle at his feet. We could see his narrow chest heaving in and out as he worked to catch his breath. We waited a good 5-10 minutes until he finally started to dig in on his catch. Starting from the rear, he tore off some skin and dug in under the ribs. He started to pull off one of the back legs and we could hear the bones crunching between his teeth. Occasionally, he jolted upright and took a look around, worried about another animal coming in to steal his meal. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. We weren't more than 15 feet away from him, and when our driver turned on the van to head out, the cheetah felt threatened and gave us a bit of a growl. That's when I sat back in my seat and slid my window closed.

Our 3rd day on safari started out early at 6am. We went back into the reserve for the final time. This time, we saw a pride of 16 lions. They were scattered in the tall grass near the road, having just finished eating their morning kill. We saw one of them still chomping on a leg of some sort. After a few minutes, they started to stir and got on their feet. They walked toward the row of safari vans on the road and wove in between them, coming right up to where we were. A few of them looked up at us and kept going, another trailed behind with the leg still in his mouth.

The afternoon was spent in our van heading to Lake Nakuru. We got there in the early evening, waited around in the lounge until dinnertime, then headed for bed. This morning, we headed back out on the road for a drive around Lake Nakuru National Park. We saw a few more animals, some monkeys who tried to sneak into our van to steal some food while we were in it, and a few baboons who jumped into another safari van (not ours!) at a lookout point and stole some bananas. We saw the final of the Big 5 - the rhino - though off in the distance. Aside from that, it wasn't terribly exciting. We saw loads of pelicans and flamingoes, but they didn't really compare to the cheetahs, lions, and elephants.

After lunch and another 4 hours in the van, we arrived back in Mlolongo. Tomorrow morning, we fly out to the coast for 4 days and 3 nights in Diani Beach.

Kakamega Rainforest

I'm exhausted. 3 days, 17 hours on a bus, 12 hours of hiking, and not enough hours of sleep. Our adventures to Kakamega Rainforest, about 400 kilometres northwest of Nairobi, began Friday evening when Katie and I hopped on a matatu to Narobi. We had a quick dinner then headed to the bus station for 7:30 to catch our 8pm bus that left at 9:10pm. The ride wasn't too bad until about 2am... once we hit one bump, they just never stopped. We arrived at the Kakamega bus station around 6am where our taxi driver was waiting to pick us up... I'm guessing he had an easier time finding us than we had trying to spot him since we were the only 2 white girls in the crowd. We drove another 45 minutes during sunrise to the Kakamega Forest Station where we got into our room and slept until about 9am when Milanne, her parents, and Deb arrived (these high rollers took a plane).

Oh yes, I should backtrack. Milanne's parents, Doug and Michele, arrived Thursday night. They came bearing 3 suitcases full of gifts. It was like Christmas: Round 2. Two suitcases were full of toys and clothes for kids from the orphanage and in town. The last suitcase had gifts for Beautiful, Benson, and Salima. Some home baked goods and candies and other snacks from home that have been almost demolished by now.

So back to Kakamega. After our short nap, we laced up and headed on a river walk with our guide Nancy. It was a great walk through the forest with a lot of up and down. I started to get tired out after an hour and a half and my steps got sloppy. I had to force myself to pick up my feet to avoid slipping and rolling down a cliff into the depths of the forest. After a couple hours of hiking, we reached the river. There was a small stretch of rapids that we relaxed by. Katie and I climbed onto some rocks in the midst of the rapids and washed our feet in the water. It was fun until we couldn't figure out a way back to the shore. I had to take off my shoes and trudge through the water, but I managed to step on a thorny twig the second I slipped off my shoes.

We pre-ordered dinner at the reserve's canteen - a small wood hut with 2 picnic tables inside and a notebook to write down orders. We each ordered chicken, rice, and vegetables. The vegetables were a plate of potatoes, kale, and tomatoes. It was delicious. The rice was a massive bowl that would have fed about 3... we ordered 6 of these. The chicken was a gamble. Some of us got hearty pieces, while others got small drumsticks. Either way, it took all of us about 30 minutes to chew one bite... Michele couldn't eat hers with the roosters running around her feet. The chickens even got into a fight and provided us with some after-dinner entertainment.

After dinner, we looked at the menu to order breakfast for the next day. Having learned our lesson with the rice at dinner, we asked about portion sizes for breakfast. Turns out this was a very smart move as one order of toast turned out to be an entire loaf of bread. We paid about 3 dollars for 3 eggs, the loaf, and some butter to feed 6 people.

That night, we were in bed by 6:30pm. We even beat the sun to bed. It was much needed as I slept solid until our 4:30am wake-up call. We were on route by 5am. We rounded up 13 British teachers who arrived too late the night before and had to place to sleep so they slept on the concrete floor of the rangers' office. So the 20 of us headed out in the darkness with our flashlights for an hour and a half walk. The last 20 minutes was a steady uphill, and the last stretch was pretty much a climb. The sky was bright by then and the air was thin so we were all huffing and puffing and scraping our way up to the top of the hill. I was the first one up to the top because Katie diverted onto the wrong path and disappeared for a bit while accidentally taking a much more challenging route.

Once we recovered at the top, we sat there for a good 45 minutes enjoying the sunrise and taking in the view of all of Kakamega's 240 square kilometres. There was steam and fog coming from the rivers and lakes within the forest. We were at the highest point in the forest and it looked endless.

After a much easier trek down the hill (except for the first steep bit down that made a few of us slip), we headed back to the canteen for breakfast for our loaf of bread and eggs. We were joined again by our feathery friends... you can probably guess that Michele didn't have eggs either. Then we relaxed (...napped) for about 90 minutes in our rooms before heading off on the "intro hike"... which we did last... ? But it turned out to be a great idea because it was mostly flat and Nancy showed us a lot of plants and monkeys in the forest. So there wasn't much effort involved, which was nice since we were all beat at this point.

We only last about an hour and a half on the last walk. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the deck of our guesthouse facing the forest. A huge thunderstorm came through and I was in all my glory. After it cleared up, we headed to a nearby retreat resort for dinner. It was a much fancier place than where we were staying and they're geared towards religious retreats. We had 2 hours to kill before we were able to eat so we sat in their garden drinking tea and listening to Doug complain about them not serving beer at this place. At 6, we went to the dining room for the set menu dinner. Leek soup, then roast with potatoes, snap peas, and carrots. And gravy! We were very happy... especially when they came around asking us if we wanted seconds. I made sure I got my 1,200 shillings worth (~$15 CDN). They even had bread at the table... something I haven't seen since leaving Canada.

The next morning, Katie and I got up early again and headed out as the sun was getting up to catch our bus. We opted for a more.... hmmm... let's say, local bus. It was a massive and very worn bus with 5 seats in a row. It made frequent stops during the first 2 hours. Kids going to school got on and off, as well as many others. One very smelly man sat next to Katie and we had to open the window and almost stick our heads out to avoid smelling him. Luckily, he got off at the next stop and we could go back to breathing easy. That's when the lady with the chicken in her arms got on and sat there with it on her lap. I think there might have been another chicken in a box under the seat a couple rows ahead of us. It was another 6 hours from there, with one pit stop on the side of the road. I decided I could wait until Nairobi instead of using nature's washroom.

At 2pm, we finally got dropped off in Nairobi, except not in the spot we thought we would. We were tired and in completely unfamiliar territory, so we found a cab and made our way to the house. Finally.

Quick Update

I'm sitting in the kitchen with watery eyes from the onions Milanne just chopped up. We're making tomato sauce for dinner tonight. Actually, I'll correct myself. Milanne is making tomato sauce while I play the role of DJ. I crushed some garlic and already let it burn... whoops.

Milanne's parents arrive tonight and will be joining us on our adventures for the next few weeks. We are heading to Kakamega Rainforest for the weekend, then spending a few days in Mlolongo before heading out on safari the following weekend.

This afternoon, Deb, Katie, Milanne, and I went to visit Lynda and baby Cedric at her house. I got to see her house for myself this time. It couldn't have been much bigger than 10' x 12'. Two foam beds on the floor with a blue mosquito netting strung above. She has a high ceiling but there are gaps between the pieces of corrugated metal that could easily allow water to seep in when it rains. There is a small 1' x 1' window with a screen stapled on and wooden door attached to block the light. In comparison to the other places I've seen, her place was actually quite nice. Size aside, the walls and floor were clean and looked new. That being said, her entire house is about the size of my parent's closet.

House Visit

This morning, the 7 of us volunteers headed to Kitengela for a house visit. Josh used to do these regularly and is starting them back up again. We go to various houses to check on families living with HIV or AIDS.

The woman we visited this morning, her name is Rose. She is 24 and has AIDS as well as Tuberculosis. She's had TB for two years and can't cure it because the AIDS makes her too weak. She was in considerably good shape today, sitting up and talking with us. The TB gives her a lot of trouble breathing, and Josh said she is often lying on her bed wheezing when he comes to visit. The medications for both the AIDS and TB take a big toll on her and she has to deal with a lot of side effects, like fluid build-up in her legs.

She is a very frail looking woman, I could see all the bones in her chest and arms. Her oversized shirt hung off her like it was on a hanger. Her husband Brian is HIV positive and works at a rose farm in Kitengela since he can't find work as a stonemason. She has a daughter, Beth, who was away at school during our visit. Beth is also HIV positive and has TB. Sasha, Rose's 13 year old niece, lives with them. Her mom died with AIDS, but fortunately, Sasha is not HIV positive.

The house is not unlike Lynda's, though I was told it's almost double in size. They live in a small compound with about 20 houses. Calling them houses seems a little ridiculous, as they are one room places no bigger than 10' x 20'. We walked into the small compound through a door and stepped on some rocks and dodged a milky looking puddle as we stepped onto the concrete walkway. It was an open hallway between the rows of doors on either side. We walked the straight and narrow path dodging puddles below and wet clothes on lines above. Rose's door was the second-last one on our left. The door was open and there was a sheet for some privacy hanging in the doorway. Inside the room, there was a couch, two twin beds, a small coffee table, and not much room for anything else. The one corner that wasn't taken up by furniture had water jugs and some miscellaneous items, as well and some intricate knitting of Rose's that she made from the yarn Josh brought her for Christmas. There was a sheet hanging from the ceiling to give privacy for one of the beds. On the walls there hung some signs and posters to cover up the corrugated metal walls and wood frame. There was thick string criss-crossing the ceiling to hold up cardboard, perhaps to lower the ceiling and make it a little more cozy and homey. I couldn't even imagine spending a night in that place, yet this family lives there day after day.