Voi-er

 Most tourists come to Kenya to go on safari. The country is dotted with national parks and conservancies. Once upon a time the country was dominated by wild animals. Reading historical accounts of Kenya is mind boggling. Still, a tourists can still get a taste of that historical wildlife heyday by going on safari. The thing about safari though is that it is a high per person cost and it is an activity that involves long hours sitting in a car. Also I kind of have mixed feelings about the safari culture. On the one hand it is very fascinating to look for animals and it is a thing of my childhood dreams. On the other hand, seems a bit of a nuisance to the wildlife to have jeeps driving around watching their every move. All of a sudden nature becomes a wild zoo - especially as more and more parks are putting up fences to prevent elephants from pestering local farmers.

Animals aside though, I still kind of wanted to see the wild landscape of Kenya. Aurora and I had just read Love, life and elephants which talks in detail about the history evolution of Tsavo East park and it appealed to us to bring those anecdotes to life. Unlike most other countries national parks are a car only experience. After much debate we decided to make it happen our own way. We took a train to Voi and then rented a car for a one day game drive into a park. It was a thrill for some of us and for others it was a lot of time sitting in a car. The best time to see animals are early in the morning and in the evening so our day drive was 12 hours long. Sophia spent the entire day with her head out the open rooftop scanning the horizon while Tova and Zadie spent a large portion of the day reading in the back of the car and popping their heads up when we called out something interesting. Levana both really enjoyed looking for animals and was mesmerised by the slow movement of the lions and had her moments of pure frustration at our endless car ride. 

The Tsavo East landscape was just as vast and grand as we hoped. We saw lots of different animals including zebra, giraffe, oryx, water buck, buffalo, dik dik, ostrich, lions, hippos, monkeys, gazelle, many birds of various sorts and lots and lots of elephants. Tsavo East has the largest concentration of elephants in Kenya and we did not tire of the crowds of elephants. They are beautiful creatures and I could sit and watch them for hours (which I essentially did). Watching elephants at a water hole is far better than any social drama. 

Lion love

They blend in so well!

Why did the elephant cross the road?

Levana always enjoys the breastfeeding animals

Turns out when we were watching elephants this family was watching us - guess we are as interesting as elephants

Giraffe

The focused naturalist

Our little lion

Dust bathing

Beach boys

Diani beach is one of those postcard perfect beaches with white sand and a border of coconut trees. The beach incline is gradual and the reef a ways from shore making for a quiet shallow bright blue lapping. The wind is a constant companion adding to the natural thrum of the setting. It is a place of tranquility and calm. Except for the fact that the beach is covered not only in sand but in beach boys who are desperately trying to make a living off of the visitors. There are Maasai trying to sell bracelets, young men trying to sell coconuts, athletes trying to sell spectacles, women trying to sell massage and fabric, and young men trying to sell boat rides, tour, or anything else your heart could desire. They are a good natured bunch of folk but their persistence is monumental. I decided early on to give them time if I could not give money. Their strategy is to introduce themselves and chat with you until you feel a sense of kinship that compels you to buy something to support them. I made it clear when each one introduced themselves that I would not be a worthwhile costumer. Still, they persisted and greeted me each time they saw me and talked and talked trying to discover what might be lacking in my life that they could sell. In some ways these middle men were miracle men who were eager to meet any tourist whims. In other ways they reminded me of a flock of seagulls - beautiful but overwhelming when there are too many. 

One gentleman walked with me for forty minutes chatting about his life, and Kenya. We stayed on the beach for a week so by the end we were very familiar with the beach boys in our stretch. They were exhausting but still they were all good people just trying to live off an oversaturated role. I am glad I got to learn a little bit about their lives even if I was a disappointing customer. 

Tova of course has a special fondness for the beach acrobats. Here is here impression of the coast:

The beach was really fun there were all these acrobatic groups who would walk down the beach performing for money and at some point we payed them a few dollars to see them and they were very good and we got to do acrobatics with them. Another fun thing was when we went to this beach with big waves and when we went on a boat to go snorkeling where we saw multiple eels and fish and went out to a sandbar which was super fun! Their was also this person who sold fruit called Ali so we would get a coconut each day which was super yummy. 

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THIS IS A WAVE

All the kids in one shot having a good time

Acrobats (picture courtesy of Maria)

Maasai salesman

Kenyan meal: Ugali and sukuma and chapati (picture courtesy of Maria)

Snorkeling (picture courtesy of Maria)

Beach life (picture courtesy of ??)

Church group games

Such talent!

She was mostly afraid of the water but enjoyed playing in the sand

The enigma of Lake Naivasha

Lake Naivasha is a lake North-west of Nairobi in the Great Rift Valley. We were fortunate to get to spend a few days by the lake at a camp that is home to many hippos. Aside from hippos the lake area is full of wildlife conservatories and flower farms. An odd mix of white greenhouses and lush native flora and fauna. Kenya is the world's fourth largest exporter of cut flowers and 75% of that is due to lake Naivasha. Our interest in the area was more the natural flora and fauna. We spent a day on Crescent Island reserve. A small lake island where animals were brought in for the filming of Out of Africa and never taken away. Now tourists can pay to wander among the giraffe, zebra, wildebeasts, impala, warthogs, ostrich and such. It was such a great day of wandering by foot among these animals. We spent another day bicycling to the animal corridor (where animals go from the national park to the lake). The mix of busy road, dusty bumpy road, and then scenic paved road really gave us a feel for the Kenya road life. Our stops by a grassy fishermans launch spot and at a hillside farmhouse were equally representative. 

And I would write so much more about all of it but really somehow my mind has become captivated by a more ecological part of the lake. For the past 10 years Lake Naivasha has been growing. Significantly. Along the shore are rows of dead submerged trees where there once was no water. A whole town has been flooded, greenhouses have been flooded, and the many nature conservancies are shrinking. As the lake is endorheic (no water flowing out), naturally most people will blame global warming for the increase in lake size. This could make sense as there is more rainfall and the lake has no outlet. But this is a simplified understanding. Our driver let us know that the lake was increasing in size as water was entering the lake from below. A guide I spoke to gave me a more complicated explanation involving lake drainage via an under lake crack, tectonic shifts causing the cracks to seal and thus making the lake finally truly endorheic. Add in the increased rain to the lack of drainage and bam you get a bigger and bigger lake. Some think this is an issue that will self resolve. The lake grows and then the lake shrinks. And in fact the lake has shrunk so much in the past that it was a sad two meters deep. Others are doomsday about global warming and feel the lake will continue to grow. Still, once upon a time the Great rift valley was full of water. Perhaps with tectonic shifts, unrelated to global warming, there will be a return to that. The other Kenyan lakes in the Great Rift Valley are also growing in a similar manner. As people and animals shift their lives away from the water's edge, everyone is left unsettled by the mystery. 

Crescent Island

The focused child

Looking good with zebras

Game time!

The explorers 

The best kind of entertainment

Levana sang to me much of the bicycle ride

Imagine living at this farm house!

Grocery shopping (photo courtesy of Maria)

Jambo Kenya

 Africa is a huge continent with 54 countries in it and accounts for 20% of Earth's landmass. There is a lot of adventure to be had in Africa but so far we have not partaken in any of it. So, when we were granted the opportunity to travel to Kenya with a friend and get to know a small part of the continent, we were all keen. Our first few days were full of new discoveries - baboons filling the role of racoons, baobab and acacia in place of pines, ugali and chapati in place of bread and rice. We spent our first few days on the masaai plains south of Nairobi National Park. It was a quiet area that overlooked Nairobi National Park that felt remote as it it was isolated between the park and grazing land. Still, in the horizon the big buildings of Nairobi were always visible, making the landscape a nice tableau. We visited giraffes, went to a cultural show, walked to a glassworks, ate large breakfasts, watched a local version of the Lion King play, and generally had a nice time getting to know a new place and vibe. 

Kenya life (photo courtesy of Maria)

National park border life

Such nice scenic dirt roads to walk along

The path to the glassworks

Looking good with glass

Visiting a sacred tree

The explorers (photo courtesy of Maria)

The perfect travel buddy

Feeding giraffe

Giraffe centre life

Her face after meeting the hyena actors in the bathroom (pretend and real life blur)

To be a child

Bonjour Au revoir in Pau

 That time of year has rolled around again where Aurora and Sophia have to take exams. It has been kind of intense fitting two exam periods into one year but that is just the way it worked out after half a year off to walk Japan. This time around we found a school in Pau, France, which was accomodating to both Aurora and Sophia's exam needs. Also fitting that Aurora has managed to complete the three main exam sets on three different continents. Point for us and double points for the crazy large influence of the British education system. The school in Pau is much different than the last one in Kuala Lumpur. The staff are more laid back and open, with the biology teacher coming to cheer on the students with a giant toy lizard before each biology exam. 

Pau has been a lovely town to relax in. It is beautiful and peaceful. There is always that hopeful view of the mountains on the horizon. There is a palace (Henry IV was born here!). There are lots of bakeries. There is a river.  There are cobblestones and spires. Everything one could hope for in France. Here are a few things that also come to mind. 

The library here is a mediatheque. At first I was dubious of this progressive new title as my interest is in books rather than media. However, in moving with the times I think they pull off the distinction excellently. A mediatheque seems to be a library with perks. A floor dedicated to video, CD, and record loans. A small room for video game play and loans. Access to computers and printers. Finally, a big internal courtyard where there are regular concerts. I really enjoyed sitting in the kids section reading books to Levana on Sunday mornings while the live music drifted up from below. 

The lunches here are epic. Pau really is most alive between the hours of noon and two pm. Shops all open late and most things close early (including public transportation). The middle of the day however by far makes up for the quiet mornings and evenings. People stop work. Kids leave school. Shops close. Everyone piles into the streets for a long, leisurely and social lunch or stroll. How glorious these terrace lunches seem to me. Such a great tradition. With the small caveat that smoking is prevalent on the terraces. 

There are many social rules and norms in France. My favourite, that is universally adhered to in Pau, is the practice of saying hello and goodbye. It is considered quite rude not to greet a person before speaking to them or when entering any building. Similarly, at the completion of any transaction or on departure you must thank the person and say farewell. This holds true even when entering and exiting a bus. It must be much nicer being a bus driver when each person says hello to you and then hollers out their thanks and farewell on departure. Seems kind of normal but it did make me realize that we don't really consistently do this. So the children and I have doubled down on ensuring we always greet and farewell. 

Quiet mornings

 

Mediatheque concert

The river

Just in case we forgot the name

Tova's favourite activity - in the mediatheque lobby

Neighbouring Lourdes

Mountains behind Lourdes

Games at the mediatheque

Baking like the locals - choquettes

Lake in neighbouring Orthez

She made herself a reading nook