Blogs from Rift Valley Province, Kenya, Africa

My previous blog submit turned into posted in a hurry due to the fact a worm the period of my middle finger flew thru the window carelessly, leaving Alice shivering like a little toddler on the couch even as Erick, the 4-yr-antique at Sure 24, eagerly chased the worm and tried to hit it with several pencils. I become afraid it would devour its way through the paper or sting me thru the paper, but I subsequently controlled to capture it in a jar and included it with a bit of paper! It seems that the day past, a 12-year-old boy killed one and captured it in a tissue (reputedly reappearing in big quantities). The purpose for the put off in blogging is because I do not have much or costly net get admission to; however, ... read more

As a part of our college journey today, Alice and I led a religious education lesson approximately the delivery of Jesus, sang Silent Night in March (do not worry, it changed into just for mastering), assisted with a spelling bee, and watched out the school room door as a substantial, near-knit hearth broke out within the dry grass. Making spag bol for the lads for dinner became Katharine and Jojo's smart concept, however it ended up being a LONG day of laboring over a fireplace in a completely smokey kitchen! However, it was a triumph; the men loved the same old meal. All we required to feed fifty humans for approximately 10 pounds.....Jamie Oliver, take a bow, those women have perfected mass cooking! It became wonderful to watch the lads revel in themselves so much that ... read more

And honestly, we’re a bit done with it as well. But watching animals waits for no man, so we don our trusty ponchos and toughen up…and sit in the jeep. The drive from Mara camp was long and muddy and we got a bit of African makeup but we were happy to arrive and have some rest time before lunch and some more rest time. Off on our first game drive at Lion camp in the Olare Motorogi conservancy. Even though they’re only 2 hours drive away (which, given the state of the roads is probably only about 40k), the country surrounding Mara and Lion camps could not be more different. While still very green and underwater, Lion camp was characterised by open fields and rolling hills. The grass was particularly long due to the lack ... read more

"I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills." This is the famous opening line of Karen Blixen's (pen name Isak Dinesen) book Out of Africa, made even more famous by the lush and romantic film adaptation starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. Kenya also has a romantic allure for anyone, such as myself, who has read the short stories of Ernest Hemingway, a fervent lover of Africa. Having already traveled to the African countries of Morocco and South Africa, I finally arrived in Kenya in mid-August 2023 for a private 10-day safari (which means "journey" in Swahili) that was organized by the travel company Adventure Life. The first stop on the itinerary was at Karen, a well-to-do suburb of Nairobi where Blixen's farm was located. Her home and some land around ... read more

20221103 Maasai Mara Part 2 Thursday About mid-day, we pulled up in a scruffy barren area. I was wondering why when someone exclaimed that a small concrete monument marked the border between Kenya and Tanzania. Shaken out of our somnolence, we leapt out of the vehicles. A solemn plaque forbade entry into Tanzania, although Lucas assured us that a twenty-metre grace was allowed; beyond that anyone, particularly poachers and smugglers, could be prosecuted if found by rangers. We took silly photos across the imaginary line. Large birds stalked across the landscape, presumably finding insects and grasses to their taste. Sometimes the ostriches pecked almost continuously, and sometimes they just strolled aimlessly. Seen in the wild, their incongruous shape seems quite natural. From a distance, the full feathered body could be mistaken for a termite mound. The ... read more