Revelations After 3 Months

Once again, I've let myself get so backed up in relaying my story that I don't know where to start. This is going to be a long one so feel free to make some popcorn before you get started

I believe I last wrote in Nairobi. I was enjoying a few days of rest without any real definite plans or time constraints. I can't say that I've had that same sort of experience at all since then. In fact, I don't believe it's possible to fit more travel into the last four weeks than I have. I'm finally going full steam and loving every minute of it.

I want to offer one quick perspective on Nairobi before I get too far... It's not as bad as you would think. The city has a certain charm after a while and you feel like you've really accomplished something once you can get around and use the transportation system. I split my time here staying with my friend Muthoga in 'Eastlands' and with Rebecca in 'Westlands.' Eastlands is where the Kenyans live. It was nice. the apartment was big enough to share the bed and we lived behind a series of steel doors and padlocks. They made me feel safe, yet wary of why they might be neccessary. I experienced more culture shock in Wstlands than anywhere else. The upper class white people live here behind their gates, banana trees and butlers with killer dogs. Rebecca and I crashed a party that we were indirectly invited to (I'm still not exactly sure how). We had filet mignon and everything else that we could fit in our pockets. The other guests at the party told me all about their chateaus in Switzerland and their homes in New Delhi. Suffice to say, I was the only one wearing zip off pants. I think the affluence was more shocking at the time because of what it was surrounded by. Most people in Africa live hand to mouth and we were eating bacon-wrapped beef. But, that is just part of the story. To sum things up, I felt completely safe the entire time in Nairobi. Although, I never went out after dark and I was pickpocketed for my cell phone once. Oh, and a corrupt police officer with an AK-47 threatened to arrest me if I didn't give him 1000 shillings ($15 USD)... I did. You would too. Maybe the feeling of safety is just an illusion, but I was happy in my dreamworld.

Now on to the fun stuff. I was fortunate enough to return to Naro Moru with Rebecca and her coworker Mike, this time as a tourist. We climbed Mt. Kenya together over the course of the next few days. I could write this entire post about that mountain alone. It was beautiful. But, I'll limit the details to the summit day for the sake of keeping all of your interests. We hiked toward the peaks for three full days and endured the elevation related sicknesses to set ourselves up for the big summit push on day 4. The idea is to start early in the morning so you can reach the summit in time to watch to sun rise. We left at 2:30 AM. I was wearing everything I own and using a headlamp to light the way. Our guide managed to lose the trail for a half hour and we ended up crawling on a 40 degree scree field for a small stretch. There wasn't much of an incentive to stop, though, because it was so cold. But, the milky way was beautiful and I can check "hiking at 1600+ feet" in the dark off of that life list now. We were the first to arrive at the summit by 20 minutes, even with the small detour. The view was spectacular! It was one of those moments where you get to sit back and watch something truly beautiful unfold. I should say that I'm still an agnostic, but seeing something like that will definitely make you take one step closer to God's side.

Mt Kenya was more fun than I ever would have expected. Maybe it was the lack of oxygen, but I've never laughed more in the small period of time than I did on that trip. Anyway, we finished successfully and parted ways with Mike. He was on his way back to meet his dad at the airport and rebecca and I were onto the next mini adventure in Lake Naivasha... But we had to take a few more matatus (minibuses) to get there. It was basically the same story I've told before... I still had to pee and we spent the day fending off hawkers and corrupt bus conductors trying to scam us out of our money. One man asked for my shoes... I was wearing them!! But, I found a nice way to relay this message and we moved on. There was one point, though, where I looked around and tried to memorize the scene. It was a stuffy bus in the middle of nowhere. The road was bumpy and our driver was playing static over the radio full blast. Here's the best part, it was raining and the passenger in front was traveling with over 500 punds of onions. Who does that!? And what am I doing here for that matter. It was not the first time I felt that way and probably not the last.

Lake Naivasha was worth the trip. We camped at on the lake and enjoyed a "backpacker style" atmosphere for the first time since my arrival in Africa. The lake itself is surrounded by electric fence. It's about three feet high and they say that it will keep you safe when the hippos come out of the water to graze. That's right... I said hippos. In my opinion, the small electric fence (regardless of the voltage) will not stop a hippo if they want to get through. Apparently it didn't. We heard they a camper had been killed the previous year.

But enough details about that. The reason why a person would want to risk his life and stay near the hippo lake is so they can go to Hell's Gate National Park. We rented bikes and split up for the day. In the shortest possible explanation, I rode my bicycle next to galloping zebras and waited patiently for giraffes to finish crossing the rode. It feels a little different not to be inside a big safari van. You find yourself looking for lions in all the tall grass. I've heard that human meat is delicious. And we loved the chance to make our own way. You hardly ever get a chance to do things without a guide in Kenya.

I said my goodbyes to Rebecca after two more days of fun and caught a bus back to Nairobi to meet my new traveling partner. Her name is Annie and we worked together at Eldora last season. She's the only person I knew that was crazy enough to meet me out here (she just read my blog for the first time and called it lame btw. But, I forgive her). In a way, Annie is the reason why I've made it this far without giving up. She bought her ticket back in May so I've known all along that going home wasn't really an option. But enough about that. She was finally here, which meant that I was coasting to the finish line of my days in Africa. We've spent the last three weeks traveling like actual tourists and enjoying a relatively organized trip itinerary. I didn't want to scare her off from traveling to the "developing" side of the world so we went straight onto safari the day after she arrived to see the great wildebeest migration.

It's hard to describe what a wildebeest looks like to someone that hasn't seen one before. I guess you could say they're in the horse family. But, they look like God scraped all the extra body parts into one creature when he was done. For the sake of saving time, I'll just say that they travel over 1000 miles through Tanzania and into Kenya during the dry season. They also provide subsistance for every carnivore along the way. I had aspirations of seeing something epic. Maybe something involving crocadiles fighting lions over a kill... it never happened. But it is worth it just to see over 10 million wildebeest in one area. It was great team work along the way too. Annie took the pictures and I drank the beer.

We finished the safari and made our way back to Tanzania to get ready for Mt Kilimanjaro. It was my chance for a victory lap through the old stomping grounds in Moshi along the way too. I loved it. We rode the mini-buses and stayed with one of the local volunteers in town. It was exciting to see all of kids at the orphanage and at Kilimahewa Secondary School. I was worried that they would remember me (the little ones at least), but it turns out that I had nothing to worry about... I was swarmed. Annie was a little less enthused and I don't blame her. She'll probably kill me for telling the world, but she caught travelers' diarea the day before we started to climb Kilimanjaro.

I would say that the major difference between Mt Kenya and Kilimanjaro is that one is fun and the other is a test. I thought that I would have been prepared after Mt Kenya... I was not. There is no way to prepare. Climbing up and down a 19,300 ft peak over 6 days is not as easy as it sounds... Now imagine climbing it while having to use the bathroom every twenty minutes. I'll just say a few words about the summit push in the interest of saving time. We hiked all day and reached our camp at about 14,000 ft. This left us about 5 hours to eat dinner and rest before setting out again to the summit. I tried my best to sleep, but I'm not sure that I did. Anyways, we "woke up" again at 11pm and set out in the dark again. 7.5 hours of climbing straight up with a headache and your stomach in knots is not as fun as it sounds. I was within minutes of giving up (something I thought I would never even consider) when we finally made it for the sunrise. I'm not ashamed to say that I cried a little. Watching the sunrise from the top of the world is truly moving. We spent about 15 minutes on the peak and made our way back down into town. I've decided to omit a few interesting stories from the hike. Mostly because this post is already too long. Just know that there is more to tell if you ever feel like buying me a beer sometime down the line.

So the work part of the trip was over and it was time to relax. Is there a better way to do that than lying on a white sand beach? We made our way to Zanzibar Island and did just that. We stayed in a little bungalow and the most exciting part of the day was watching the tide go in and out. I couldn't have been happier. Beaches have a sort of universal discription to them. My favorite part was that ours was uniquely African in a way. We would watch the women wade into the water as the tide went out and tend to their "sea weed farms." They would fill up their bags with all they could carry (which is a lot... these women are strong), and carry it on their heads in a huge sack. Watching people finding a way to live off the land while we read books and were pampered creates a certain feeling of displacement. I'll never truly be able to understand what that might be like no matter how long I stay here.

6 days in paradise and we were traveling again. I went from the beach, back to Nairobi, then to Dublin in 24 hours of straight travel. I said goodbye to the continent that touched my life, and a traveling partner that I'd gotten used to. Then I saw my dad... it was an overwhelming mix of emotions.

It's been almost a week now and I should be writing about Ireland. I'll do my best to bring some closure the my experience in Africa. Here's a list of things I will not miss:

1- Traditional Dances: I'm a terrible dancer they always make me participate. Plus, you see them everywhere you go.

2- Being a public spectacul: I'm freak here. I make babies cry and people stare with no shame on the street.

3- Hawkers: No I would not like a haircut, or your tee-shirt. I will not give you my shoes and I don't have any candy.

But I will miss this:

1- The smells: I never realized that I grew up in an odorless country. For better or worse, I'd rather things smell the way they should.

2- Women with stuff of their head: I just thought this was a great way to travel. I wish I was coordinated enough to do it.

3- Colors: Not much explanation necessary. They wear them, and we don't.

Here are a few deep revelations:

1- African people pick their nose a lot: They do. Probably because there is no tissue

2- Actually that's all ive got.

So there you have it nicely organized. Sorry again about the length. I probably could have omitted more than I did. As a sidenote... Ireland is nice and I'm living like an old man. Our daily excitement comes from deciding which golf course to play or which Bed and Breakfast to stay... Yep, life is good.