I’m BACK!! It’s taken awhile to post this essay, and I apologize for not publishing until now. A series of events happening since I got back to the states have kept me from posting anything on the blog/website until now. Primarily due to the fact that I finally moved into the condominium I own right after returning to American soil. Just setting up shop there has taken more than its share of time and effort. Not to mention I found myself in a deep financial hole when I first got back, and I’ve been digging myself out of it since getting home. I would’ve preferred to spend that time writing, but unfortunately that doesn’t pay the bills at this point in my life.

Anyway, here’s the final essay about the Kenya trip which took place in April. It’s in three parts, and part II will be posted on June 7^th. To make up for not posting over the past month, I’ll do a second publishing next Friday (5/31/19) of an essay that made it into the local newspaper today, 5/23/19.

As for the Kenya trip, overall, the experience was a great one. Once again, I’m reminded of that old saying, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths a person takes, but by the number of things that happen in someone’s life which takes their breath away.” Lots of take your breath away moments during the trip for this guy.

 

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Kenya Kurudi V

(1 of 3 parts)

 

I should have taken this trip a while ago, but now that it’s said and done and I’ve returned, I can’t say enough about the experience. What an adventure it was too.

Right from the start, I felt a bit guilty though. Since I haven’t traveled outside of the states in over ten years, I’ve grown complacent. When I first stepped off the plane in Nairobi I experienced a bit of shock. Welcome back to the third world with a lot of things that are a bit unkempt and dirty. The place had completely changed from the way I remember it too, and it took a while just to get my bearings. Then again, the feeling of disorientation probably had a bit to do with the fact that I’d just had the obligatory lay-over in Zurich before flying to Kenya. That airport looked like something out of the 22^ndcentury, with its super-modern configuration, ultra-efficiency everywhere, and an antiseptic appearance.

The Nairobi airport on the other hand, was a completely opposite impression. Disregard the fact that I arrived in the evening which in addition to making things seem dark and mysterious, obviously added to my sense of disorientation. Along those lines, it also took the next two hours to pass through border security. Great way to start the trip, eh?

Of course, the organization I’d signed up to participate in an African Safari during my first week in country (“Intrepid Traveler”)hadn’t sent a driver to meet me at the airport. That being the case, I took matters into my own hands and hired a taxi to take me to the hotel where the safari was supposed to start two days later. Followed by booking a room for the next three nights, then moving in for the duration.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that once again, my paranoia kicked in big time. That first night I kept waking up periodically for the next eight hours. Ostensibly, to check on the quality of the hotel mosquito net. Had to make sure none of those persistent little, drone-like, disease-carrying critters could pass through it. Inevitably so they could buzz my ears, which leads to eventual cases of insanity, and future bouts of malaria.

The next morning the Intrepid folks learned of my presence in country and sent a driver/tour guide to take me in and around Nairobi for the next two days. I lucked out on this one as the guy they sent, turned out to be not only a very friendly chap, but the perfect individual to give me that initial impression of the country.

For the next two days, it was just James Mbugu and I as he took me to an elephant orphanage, down into the Rift Valleyand Hellsgate Gorgefor my first animal safari/bike ride, and Tilapia lunch at Lake Naivasha. I felt like a VIP during all these adventures because of the special treatment which I didn’t ask for, but ended up getting.

Then the people participating in our Intrepid African Safari met for the first time that Saturday night. A group of twelve, right from the start I made my political leanings known to all by referring to the U.S. of A.’s president as, “The Mango Mussolini”. I’m assuming this ostentatious maneuver on my part endeared me to the group, but we’ll never know?

Our tour leader was this Kenyan lady named Queeter, but referred to her through the nickname “Q” during the safari. “Q” must’ve done a number of these trips in the past since she had all the trip logistics down to the nearest minute. Over the next seven days everything ran like a precisely tuned Watch.

That first day of the Intrepid Safariconsisted of a marathon bus ride from Nairobi to Kisii in western Kenya and staying at the one and only spot where we slept in air-conditioned rooms. The remainder of our eight-day safari had us sleeping in tents that each of us was required to assemble at night, and disassemble the next morning.

This brings up another point I feel needs to be made about these Intrepid Traveler trips. They’re unlike your standard Air-Conditioned Bus Tour where the staff does everything short of brushing the teeth of its clients after every meal. In addition to the tent thing, we were required to help wash the dishes after our evening dinner, assist in packing up the bus in preparation for traveling to our next destination each day, and lending a hand to each other whenever possible. Everybody was required to pull their weight, and that’s basically the way I like it. Definitely not your standard fancy safari.

Additionally, we also had more contacts with the indigenous people than a lot of tours. This included lunch with the locals at a farm while in transit, the tour of a Kisii-Artisan Stone Making Factory, and a bike ride through the town of Musoma, Tanzania among other highlights. Lots of positives in my book when I’m contemplating another Intrepid trip down the line.

Group Dynamics are so important when thinking back on the overall positive, or negative impressions of these trips as well. Ours was great; a family of four from New Zealand, two girls from Auz., a couple from Canada, a woman from Ireland, and three of us from the states-a black couple from New Jersey, and myself. Because everyone got along so well, I came away from the Intrepid Safari experience with very few complaints, and all of them were minor at that.

Here’s one; When we crossed over from Kenya into Tanzania, the three Americans (including yours truly) were forced to pay $1,000 Kenyan Shillings, and everyone else in our group only had to fork over $500 Ksh. I won’t go into great detail about how offended I became concerning this crime against society other than to say this is another reason why I dislike America’s pretend president. The pay discrepancy was based on a certain Twitter display the guy is responsible for back in February, and the Tanzanian government becoming somewhat offended by it.

The animal safaris were the main objective of this trip though, and the ones I participated in were in a single word, “epic”.Our first was a two day stay at a camp right in the heart of Serengeti National Park, followed by a visit to the inside of Ngorongoro Crater. Two places that need to be on everybody’s bucket list if they’re looking into doing an African animal safari someday. Each day was broken into a morning animal viewing safari, and an afternoon sojourn around sunset. We never ran across a leopard during any of our game viewing treks, but who’s keeping track? We did run across just about every other animal in the African gamebook including a morning game safari through the Serengeti Plain that had us running smack dab into an animal migration in progress. Wildebeest, who by the way make most sheep look like brain surgeons, Zebra, Elephants, various antelope, and the obligatory Giraffe. In my eyes, these long- necked beasts are the most iconic, quintessential, symbol of African Safaris, and a must if one visits the Serengeti.

The seven-day tour ended too soon amidst promises that hopefully all of us would see one another one day, followed by the obligatory exchange of addresses. Only the travel gods know if any of this will ever take place?

The prevailing thought that went through my mind while waiting for my buddy Dickson to pick me up at the hotel in Nairobi the following Saturday, “If the remainder of this Kenya adventure is anything like the “Intrepid Traveler” tour I just finished, then I must be living right with my karma in a really good position.”