16 October 2009

Lamu – Masai Mara 5 – 16th Oct1



Lamu was an amazing place and we found a great hotel (a little removed from Stone Town in Shela village). We had our own suite, complete with open-air rooftop lounge/dining area, where we were served breakfast each morning. There was also a pool to cool off in because, boy, was it hot!!! Our first evening there, we took a sunset cruise in a dhow, and Lionel tried his hand (very successfully, I might add) at sailing a dhow. The island, being without vehicles of any sort, is full of donkeys, and now I know where the saying ‘beasts of burden’ come from! Those poor donkeys carry everything from sand to huge stones, and anything else that is required of them. The muezzin call to prayer every morning (4.30am) was accompanied by the hee-haw, hee-haw chorus of donkeys and there is an official picker upper of donkey manure twice a day in the narrow passages. Every evening we would go to the smart Peponi Hotel, on the waterfront, and have a really delectable meal………there is a limit to how much local fare we can handle!

We had planned to go to Amboseli Game Park near Nairobi, but were told that if we wanted to see dead and dying animals that that was the place to go. Masai Mara seemed like the better option, and although extremely dry and dusty we managed to see close-ups of the ‘big 5’ within 3 hours. We saw huge numbers of wildebeest and zebra massing to migrate, but only saw a couple of mini crossings. Fat, giant crocs are a common sight, as are the healthiest looking hyenas ever!!

The whole of Kenya is in the grip of a drought, and driving through from the Masai Mara to Arusha was like a nightmare!!! Besides the carnage on the roads, due to reckless and irresponsible driving there are some parts, that have not had any rain for 3 years. If there is no rain, then there is no grass for the cattle to eat. The cactus plants are shrivelled and limp and mature trees are dying. We saw 4 women trying to lift a cow that had just collapsed from hunger, and I have never seen such skinny cattle. The odd few people that we saw, were dusty, skinny and desperate-looking and the children waved us down and asked for water, their gaunt little faces pinched and dry, their clothes hanging in rags off their filthy bodies. There is so much hardship. Poverty, drought, hunger, unemployment and hopelessness (along with corrupt officials) is an ever-present feature of life here. Men, women and children walk, or cycle miles every day for a few litres of water for their cooking, etc. People, crows, cows, dogs, cats, goats and donkeys all scavenge for food on rubbish dumps and litter is everywhere that there are people. I fear that Africa is wearing us down and sometimes we find it hard to sleep at night. (Incidentally, Lionel is snoring as I am typing this.)

The town where we are staying now, Mto Wa Mbo, (a tourist town close to the Ngoragora Crater and Lake Manyara), is in stark contrast to the neighbouring areas. There is greenery, tall trees, agriculture and most of the people are moving around with purpose. (Trying to extract as much money from us ‘mazungu’s’ (whites) as they can, shoving necklaces, bananas and curio’s in our faces as we walk.) .

We have decided not to go to Uganda as the roads are bad and Lionel is very tired of potholes, dust and having to get off the road everytime a tanker or bus drives towards us, as in Africa, life is cheap, power rules, and there is no regard for the rule of the road.

We are now homeward bound and that is very a nice thought………there are still a great many places to see along the way but we will be closer to home and civilisation with each passing day with Zambia and all that it offers, awaiting us………………………

4 comments:

  1. Homeward bound . . . I know what that feels like. Enjoy every moment! So when do you imagine being back then? Still December?

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  2. From the weather report on TV this morning it looks like the rains are finally on there way to where you are (hopefully for those poor people and animals)!!
    In Zambia, about 10 yrs ago,driving back from Southern Luangwa Nat Prk in our old Landrover, we had rain like we had never seen!! When we hit those potholes(when we could see them that is)the water and mud shot up through the floorboards and on to the roof drenching us all in the process(memories are made of this)!!
    If you do go that way,S Luangwa Prk is a fantastic place to visit.
    Africa is a harsh place and not for the faint hearted-I take my hat off to you both for doing what we all wish we could be experiencing!!
    Go well and keep us posted!
    Luv Chris & Pete.xxx

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  3. A travel writer once said that what seems exotic travel at first, turns out to be what the locals have been desperately trying to get away from for ages. After a while the traveler also wants to get away from it!

    Safe travels all the way home
    Peter

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  4. Now that I'm home and caught up with outstanding matters,I've just done a marathon run catching up with your travels using my map to get the full picture. Great, and, yes, harrowing, stuff!
    My grandchildren are all well. Great to see the three older ones again. Cole surprised me when I got back at how much he'd grown, and new Kyro is a treat. He's tiny but looks much older than his two months.
    Love to you both and save travels.
    H

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