Entry: 8 March 2010 (Day 146) Place: Omo Valley, North Western Border with Ethiopia
Exit: 3 May 2010 (Day 202) Place: Busia, Western Border with Uganda
It was a long, hard drive into Kenya from Ethiopia.
We chose to go down the Omo Valley, east of Lake Turkana, taking a handful of days over very muddy and very rocky roads. We skidded, we slipped, we splashed, we bounced, we towed, we got towed, we winched, we jacked, we didn’t shower, we hardly ate.
Then all of a sudden we were in Nairobi. It was like a light switch had been turned on as we were suddenly surrounded by modern attractions we hadn’t seen since leaving Europe 5 months ago. Shopping centres, cinemas and rich suburbs all seemed very foreign. However, it would be fair to say that we were ready to relish in some city comforts We even spent St Patrick’s Day in an Irish pub, fully equipped with a big green water fountain, dark brown Guinness and pale white Irishmen.
Once I opened the cover of the book, however, it started to feel all too familiar. I felt like a weight had been drooped back onto my shoulders, as I was reintroduced to some of the aspects of society that I was all too happy to forget by travelling through Africa.
Pretentiousness and self-consciousness were unwelcome old acquaintances. People talked without really saying anything. Unnecessary things seemed necessary. The disparity of wealth didn’t seem right. Trivial concerns were the order of the day, followed by moaning, griping and complaining.
But that’s enough complaining from me!
As always there are 2 sides to the coin. The big, joyful African “Mamas” present in almost every local restaurant were a breath of fresh air. At these types of places we met plenty of interesting characters, laughing and smiling.
It was a new experience to:
Listen to hippos grunting in the night around Lake Naivasha; then look over to a rippling pink sea of gawky, stick-like flamingos in the neighbouring lake
Cycle through Hell’s Gate National Park, where the wildlife was close enough to smell and boiling spring water spurted out of the rock face
Soak up the laidback atmosphere on the coast, with its white beaches and turquoise waters
Help SolarAid help the community in the Lake Victoria coastline village of Mahuru Bay.
I’m glad that I got familiar with Kenya’s unfamiliarity
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