Eldoret,Kenya to Kampala, Uganda

A call of nature wakes me at 1AM. As I step out of the tent a giant bolt of lightning splits the dark Kenyan night. The trees above me are illuminated in a stark silhouette against the sky above. Shortly a rolling peal of thunder portends the rain that will soon follow. While I take care of business several more bolts spaw n a chorus of deep rolling thunder that seems to penetrate my very being. I crawl back into the tent as the first rain drops patter against the canvas. The patter soon turns to a steady drumbeat and then intensifies to a tropical deluge. The deafening sound against the roof of the tent makes sleep difficult. Several more flashes of light illuminate the tent walls and the almost angelic face of Deborah, sleeping in a lump next to me. I drift in and out of sleep for the rest of the night and wake before the 6AM alarm that will sent us out into the dripping morning. Deb and I quickly dress, pack away our sleeping bags and then make the discovery that this tent, like is predecessor is not exactly waterproof. In fact, one of the sleeping pads has the dark stain of water saturation across half of the mat. The mat is nylon covered foam and as I lift it from the pool of water on the tent floor it drips its sodden load. There is no remedy but to roll it up and hope for a dry camp tonight. We step out under a leaden sky in the predawn light. After a quick trip to the bathroom we strike the tent and roll it up along with a few gallons of water.

It is raining steadily but Deb and I stay dry in our new ponchos (thanks Chris). The water streams down our bare legs and fills our sandals but it is not the cold rain of the mountains of northern California so we don’t mind so much. We walk over to the dripping kitchen palapa and are soon filling our plates with sausage, eggs, potatoes and beans. We top it off with hot tea and fresh Kenyan papaya. There is a rush to get the dishes done, load the truck and head down the road to the Ugandan border and its capital Kampala; our destination for the night. Our soggy fellow travelers climb on the truck and condensation soon blots out any possible views of the passing scenery. The day slowly brightens, the truck dries out and we are soon descending from the highlands to the Great Rift Valley below. As we lose altitude the day warms and we are breezing along with the windows open enjoying the lush green countryside punctuated by traditional Kenyan round bomas with thatched roofs surrounded by natural fences of thorns and cacti. Kesh, our group leader, announces we will soon be at the Uganda border and to have our passports ready. After a surprisingly quick border crossing we are soon zooming through the verdant green Ugandan countryside anticipating our arrival in Kampala.

There is a noticeable difference in the people here. With darker skin and broader faces they make a contrast the fine features of the Kikuyu of Kenya. Shortly we pull off the road and stop under the shade of a pair of mango trees for lunch. I must go to eat and will continue the saga of our African adventure soon.

Nairobi to Lake Nakuru

Our African Adventure is even better than we even imagined. After a week in, we have seen all of the so-called big five and have more adventure than we anticipate. We have fended off wild baboons, bogged in the mud, and braved tropical deluges...all in first 24 hours.

We leave Nairobi behind and after a few hours journey along the edge of the Great Rift Valley we drop down into Lake Nakuru National Park. The park’s main feature is , not surprisingly a huge lake; one of many shallow alkaline lakes that dot the Great Rift Valley. As we enter the park we can see the large expanse of the lake in the near distance through towering acacia trees with green mottled trunks capped by a broad flat crown of feathery leaves. The shore of the lake appears to be fringed in pink foam. A quick glance through the binoculars reveals the pink fringe is in reality hundreds of thousands of flamingos colored by the pink algae in the lake that they feed upon. We quickly pitch our camp of three man dome tents that appear to be deformed mushrooms sprouting beneath the acacia trees. We eagerly gobble a quick lunch of cold cuts and vegetables while fending off a persistent troop of baboons and pile in the truck for our first safari. The sky is now obscured by dark grey clouds that threaten rain as we drive out to the lakeshore. As far as the eye can see the shallows of the lake are blanketed with flamingos in every shade of pink. Intermingled amongst the flamingos are African Pelicans that stand over four feet high. Perched in the acacia trees near the shore, grotesque Maribou Storks seem to preside over the scene but in reality are scavengers with vulture-like features.


A water buffalo idly gazes at the mini van loads of tourists that frantically click away with their digital cameras. The dark clouds now start to drop their wet load and we reluctantly pile back into the truck to continue our safari.

In short order we come upon a small herd of Zebras dressed in there striated coats. They graze unconcernedly again to the sound of digital cameras frantically clicking. We continue on to find a giant tortoise ambling through the forest followed by gazelle of every size and description. We see Thompson, McDonald, and common gazelle. We also see a water buck which looks like a gazelle on steroids. A short way further on we spy three white rhino in the distance but they are too far away for a clear view or camera shot.


The rain starts to come down in torrents and we drive along without seeing much of anything other than the beautiful acacia forest that thins into a half mile wide meadow to the shores of Lake Nakuru. As we turn to head back to camp we come upon a few giraffes. A bit further on, we see a whole herd or tower of giraffes. Our trip leader quickly identifies them as the more rare Rothschild giraffe. The final thrill of the day was provided by two white rhinos posing by the side of the road. The rain intensified as we drove the last few miles back to camp and we knew we were in for a wet dinner and night.

The rain cooperated briefly for us to get dinner on our plates and we retreated to the truck to at least eat in a dry environment. Shortly after dinner, I was done for as the combination of jet lag and lack of sleep due to a flooded bathroom in N the night before had overwhelmed my normal stamina.

I went to turn in for an early night to discover my tent had leaked and our sleeping pads, which were a good imitation of a sponge, were soaked. Our trusty guide Pesh provided us a new tent and sleeping pads and in short order I was down for the night.

We were up before dawn the next morning for a quick nosh and game drive. Through the moisture clogged morning air a deep orange sun rose over the lake back lighting the widely spaced acacia forest. A large herd of water buffalo with nostrils steaming in the humid air amble towards the lake and a day of grazing on the lush green grass. We drove on a bit further and John, one of our fellow travelers, spied a leopard lounging in a tree. Our truck spooked him but we all got a good view as he wandered off into the undergrowth.



As the morning wore on we saw several zebra, water buffalo, a variety of gazelle, and even a family of wart hogs. We drove along a half mile wide band of forest and meadow bracketed by the steep escarpment of the rift valley on one side and Lake Nakaru on the other. We had the good fortune to get a sighting of the more rare black rhino browsing through the brush on the slope above. A huge troop of baboons numbering in the hundreds kept us entertained for a while. After a brief rest stop at the eastern entrance to the park we headed back for camp and brunch. Our hunger and plans were thwarted by an unplanned for stop in two feet of mud. The driver quickly managed to spin the wheels on one side into the mud up to the axle. After several fruitless attempts to dig out and drive up onto the sand mats the driver finally called for help. Two hours later another truck arrived to pull us out and we raced back to camp with brief stops to view another tower of giraffes, assorted rhino, and gazelle. A final bonus lion spotting capped the drive.



We finally arrived back at the campground to break camp followed by a late brunch while continually being harassed by the aforementioned troop of baboons who wanted our lunch as much as we did.


We quickly packed up and hit the road after a quick stop in Nakuru town for supplies. Next stop Eldoret.

To Africa in Five Days or If This Is Tuesday This Must Be Belgium

Not to mislead regular readers of this blog; we are not going to Africa in five days...it just took us five days to get here.

Lounging in a small guest house in the suburbs of Nairobi, Kenya trying to recover from a five day trip to get here, yes I said five days. The lure of a cheap ticket out of LA convinced us that the 600 mile drive to LA from Mt Shasta was worth the $800 savings. It was a fortunate decision as a few days before we were scheduled to leave we were informed that our lovely little cabin in the desert had been burglarized. This disturbing news prompted us to step up an already hectic schedule to include a drive to secure our cabin and take an inventory of our loss. In our usual marathon driving fashion, we drove most of the 750 miles to our cabin in one shot to spend the night in the desert town of Barstow. Since Barstow does not have much to recommend it, I will leave you, dear readers, with the advice to just avoid it if possible.

Up at dawn to beat the heat, the next day we drove the last hour and a half to our cabin. While our worst fears weren't realized, we were disheartened to find most of our collection of antique furniture and Mexican pottery taken and the rest of the cabin literally turned upside down.

Fortunately, the burglars had not destroyed anything getting in and out so in short order Deb inventoried while I dashed to town to get some new and stronger dead bolts for the doors. Next it was on to LA to drop our car and catch a ride courtesy of Deb's friends Patti and brother Mike (thanks Patti and Mike) to make it to the airport the next morning. After driving 1000 miles in two days, about 8 hours sleep total, and a panicky feeling of, "Oh my God I am not ready for this," we got on the plane.

Hangin' with da moose in Montreal

After a flight to Brussels via Montreal, we stumbled off the plane bleary eyed, staggering under what was a mountain of luggage for us, to find no sign of our next flight to Nairobi. We flailed around the transit lounge that contained absolutely no sort of information booth to direct us to our flight. Finally we accosted a security worker who directed us to terminal T. After a 45 minute trip through security where our bags were x-rayed, searched and x-rayed again we wandered through the labyrinth of a terminal. After walking for what seemed several miles staggering under the aforementioned mountain of luggage we found a man sitting behind a desk for Brussels Airlines who informed us our flight had been canceled and we would have to retrace our steps to a service desk to work out our next move. So it was back through the labyrinth of miles of terminal to the service desk. Now, more exhausted than ever and dying of thirst we waited in line for the next 2 1/2 hours to be told the flight would not leave for 24 hours but we would be put up in a hotel for the night. After receiving vouchers for the hotel and food, we were now almost crawling with fatigue and jet lag but made it across the street to the hotel. We had to "suffer" through a night in the Sheraton. ( Actually, the hotel was quite nice and we really did not suffer at all.) We immediately crashed on the luxurious bed now having been traveling steadily for the past three days. We woke a few hours later and determined not to waste an opportunity, jumped onto a train into the center of Brussels and spent the next few hours wandering around the old part of the city admiring its ornate gold plated Rococo architecture.




We jumped back on the train to arrive back at the Sheraton to find that we had missed the buffet dinner provided for stranded passengers. After complaining to the management we were seated in the hotel restaurant to dine in a quite civilized manner on locally grown roast chicken and salad Nicoise.

We retired to our room to wake several hours early and went back to the airport for the final flight to Nairobi. The flight to Nairobi felt like a night on a street corner in Harlem with several of the passengers bopping around, greeting friends, drinking wine and just generally having a good time. It was a rare chance to be involved in a true cross cultural experience as we chatted with some of our fellow passengers.

The 10 1/2 hour flight seemed short and soon we were in Nairobi to be met by a driver sent by our guest house and drove off into the African night.