Last Sunday, one of our staff offered to take we three Wazungus (plural for Mzungu) on a day trip in honor of Jeevan’s final weekend in Kenya. Daniel has been a driver for 17 years at Lalmba and is also cross trained to work as a pharmacist, an immunization technician and an assistant in the treatment room because let’s face it- in Africa nothing goes to waste. Especially not even human potential.
He agreed to meet us in the compound at 7 AM sharp but as all Americans are cynical types, we each placed bets on what time he would actually arrive. We were all pleasantly surprised when he arrived on American time-only 15 minutes late (Jeevan won that bet). Daniel also had planned an ambitious tour beginning with a cave that was an ancient dwelling- supposedly used by humans 1000 or more years ago. To get to the cave we drove the Tanganyka “highway” (a rutted dirt road) to the very end of Kenya where you can throw a rock and have it land in Tanzania. The very last village at the end of the road was actually named something in Luo that means “end of the road”. It reminded Paul and me of our short visit to Homer, Alaska. People in the village were shocked- as they often are- to see not one but 3 white people in their midst. We parked near some large rocks that looked as if they’d been rounded by tumbling through a massive river a million years ago. Daniel asked me if we have big rocks where we live. I downplayed the fact that we live near mountains that are known as “The Rockies”.
As we got out to hike the short distance to the cave, kids came running toward us and then over took us, wanting to lead us to the site. It was a good sized cave that had 2 entrances- we supposed , ideal for fast escapes. The people who lived here 1000 years ago had access to fresh water and fish but rocky land so probably subsisted on fish and other meat rather than grains. There weren't any ancient petrographs on the walls. It was just a simple cave made remarkable by the knowledge of the ancient ones who once lived there. After more photos of the cave and kids we headed off to our next destination on the tour.
Paul and I were riding in the back of the Land Cruiser ambulance. We had the foresight to bring along extra cushions to sit on as every rut and pothole caused some jarring. Sometimes Daniel wouldn’t see a speed bump until seconds before hitting it causing bone-crunching, kidney-busting jarring. To be fair, Jeevan did offer to trade places with us but Paul and I, for some reason I can't fathom now, kept declining saying “no, really, we’re OK”. But I digress…
The next sight on our tour was the “power plant”. This was very exciting for Daniel as is the possibility of having electricity some day. The river Kujo was dammed resulting in 25-30 foot spillway. There was a narrow metal bridge crossing the river that although stable, made scary creaking noises with every step. Our guide was very proud of the progress being made in our region toward eventually bringing electricity to Matoso. It will be life changing in ways that are both good and not-so-good. The one person in Matoso who has power through a generator disturbed our night time peace by opening a bar that shows televised soccer games or DVD movie or just playing really loud music. So imagine when everyone here has that capacity. Oy vey!
The third sight was supposed to be an ancient stone building but after driving on roads that were nothing more than cow paths and across muddy fields for another 2 ½ hours we convinced Daniel to bag it. By now it was already almost 2 PM and so we stopped for lunch in a little “hotel”- which our regular readers will recall is what they call a café- on a dusty street in a modest village near our final sight- the Ruma Game Preserve. The Ruma was the place we had been waiting all day to see and time was running short. As is usually the case, the hotels make 1-2 things every day and that’s what’s on the menu. And as is also usually the case, those 2 items are always the same things- either a fatty beef “stew” or a fried fish, served with sakumawiki greens and ogali- the lump of pasty, tasteless porridge that is ubiquitous on Luo tables at dinnertime. Paul and I declined lunch as we had packed cold pizza, oranges and cupcakes which sounded much better to us. After this short delay we were finally on our way to Ruma.
Although it took us 8 hours to get there, Ruma National Park is only 2 hours away from Matoso. It’s a small- just 120 square km- and infrequently visited game preserve that is home to the world’s only population of roan antelope. We read that just 50 years ago they could be found all over Kenya and today are down to less than 100 animals. It cost we Mzungus $20 each (which is still quite a deal) to get in while Daniel paid only 100 shillings- about $1.30. By the time we paid and entered the park we had only an hour left before we had to start for home. We are forbidden to drive after dark because the roads are too dangerous.
But we made the best of our time there. We very quickly saw a herd of what we thought were hartebeests but later learned were topis- antelopes with dark, almost purple patches on their hind quarters. Just a short distance later we saw the roans. The have a distinctive black facial pattern. And as we continued on we spotted our first giraffes. We ended up seeing a large herd of Rothschild giraffes- caught in the sweet, low light of late afternoon and against the dark sky of threatening rain clouds. That’s when I declared to Daniel “I am now a happy woman!”
We drove home in the waning light, quietly ruminating over the sights of the day and feeling that now we had seen Africa (andcounting the minutes until we could get out of the vehicle).
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