Saturday's Critters ~ Another Exotic Adventure

 

This  is my post for Saturday's Critters.  If you came for Skywatch Friday, please click here.

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In several of my trips to Kenya, I travelled to some very small villages to the east of Marigat, Kenya. 

The first two photos are of the small town of Marigat.

 

I've circled two areas in the map below. One is the town of Marigat which you see in the photos above. The second is the approximate area of where we travelled (click on the map for a larger view) and which are captured in the photos below.

On this particular trip we were headed to a very dry area to learn about the water needs of the people. They wanted to show me the area and explain the vision for the project to bring water to the community. I don't know why they thought I could help as I am just one person.  But as I believe in a good God, I gladly accepted their invitation and went to visit them.  After we explored the area we prayed over the area and for the needs. Sometimes you just have to step out in faith, take the first step and not worry about how things will get done. Just believe that they will and do what you can and let God do the rest. So it was that day.

Along the way, I also did some sightseeing at Lake Bogoria and Lake Baringo before we reached our final destination. One thing I learned early on in my Kenyan travels is that if you are going somewhere you better be prepared for a very bumpy ride.  You also need to start out early in the morning say by the break of day since it isn't advisable for foreigners to travel after the sun goes down.  The sun rises and sets like clock work each day and the sun goes down about 6 p.m every day.  the other thing to bear in mind is that it takes a lot longer to travel shorter distances than it does in North America.  I think this is due to heavy traffic and frequent traffic jams, road blocks and road checks by police, unforeseen roads conditions and so on.  Since my first trip to Kenya in 2007, the highway infrastructure has been very much improved.  But those improvements don't extend to the backwoods and back roads. Starting off early and getting to your final destination by 6 p.m. is still advisable. Otherwise be prepared with a place to spend the night.

In the first photo we are driving eastward out of Marigat and into the back country. Notice the road and we are not even out of town boundaries.

 

Despite how dry the area obviously is I found it quite beautiful.  It was very slow to travel and very dusty because we were travelling over the land and not always on roads. The earth was also very soft.

The man in the white shirt in the next photo is the local pastor, my host and escort for the tour of the borehole area.  The man in the blue shirt is my driver. They were discussing whether we should cross the stream.  In the end I walked across since the water wasn't that deep and I wanted to cool my feet.

I am absolutely fascinated by how a place can look uninhabited yet people will seemingly come out of nowhere. I'm also fascinated by where and people live and you see homes dotted everywhere in what seems to me like unlikely places but the people have probably been living there for centuries.

The inhabitants of the hut in the photo below had just done laundry and laid the items outside to dry.  It is the practice in the rural areas of Kenya to lay freshly washed clothes on the bushes and on the grass to dry rather than on a clothes line.  In the city they hang the laundered clothing on the line.  It doesn't take long for the clothes to dry in the heat. All over the countryside you will see people's washed clothes lying on the bushes or grass to dry.

I went into one of the thatched huts and was very impressed by how cool it was despite the blazing heat of the day.

The walls of the hut were decorated with news paper cut outs, the first I'd seen in a village home. Often I did see newspaper lining the walls like wallpaper, but not hung loosely as a decorative elements with the cut out designs.  I can tell by the items hanging on the wall like the kerosene lamp, the calendar with pictures, the alphabet letters and shopping bags, that this person really cared for her home. The hut was very small inside and was one round room.  It was also very cool inside.  What a relief it was to be out of the intense heat for few minutes on that very hot, dry day.

I am always delighted to see the local animals, both wild and domestic. I am not sure what kind of cows these are.   There appears to be several varieties of cattle in these photos.

 

After my visit to this area, I spent a few years trying to help these people get a borehole. Through my contacts in Kenya we found a consultant to produce a report to locate where the water was and identify where to build the borehole. 

All of this was rather expensive and I could not progress much further in the project with just my own finances.  I tried unsuccessfully to find donors through the local churches, including my own and also through my blog. I was finally able to find a group of service oriented Christians in Jamaica.  The Jamaicans travelled to Kenya for their own reconnaissance mission and the Kenyans thoroughly enjoyed hosting them, meeting them and travelling with them. The Jamaicans committed to getting the borehole completed and they were in fact able to move it along but they ultimately did not complete the project. I believe it proved too expensive for them and the major donor they were counting on in their church had to draw back. It took time and persistence but the local community in Kenya finally managed to get a group of believers in Israel to step in and bring the project to successful conclusion.

This huge ostrich was running around in the village. You don't want to get to close to an ostrich. I understand they have a very powerful kick.
 

I don't have an updated photo of the borehole as I was not directly involved at that stage of the process.  I was an interested person from afar and Pastor Jonah kept me generally updated through his contacts in that community.  I was unable to travel to the community again in my last visit to Kenya due to being very sick for much of my time there.

 

 

I did have one other connection to the pastor and his wife a few years later when they were in hospital ready to deliver their new baby, a first child. There were some complications and high medical costs and it was my privilege to be able to assist at the time. Since then most of the missions efforts have been focussed on assisting individual with the exorbitant medical costs they incur when seeking medical treatment.  The needs are very great and the available helpers is very small but the helps are extremely necessary.

In conclusion, I am very happy for the people who got their borehole after years of struggle and belief.  They have so little in the way of material things but now they have water and their daily lives have improved.  I am also happy that I didn't run away from such a big need and project. Though I cannot say that I did a lot;  I did what I could and I believe that big things come from small beginnings.  The people needed someone to listen to them, hold their hands, believe with them and try to find supporters for them so that they could one day have water. I was able to do some of those things and get them the consultant report which they really needed.  In the end, it was their sheer persistence, dogged determination, faith and their prayers and the many prayers of others, that helped to complete the project.

This is a post for Saturday's Critters.  It became about much more than the animals after I realized that the cows I was going to post about were a window into a much bigger story and I could not let the story go untold.

I hope you enjoyed it and that it inspires you to branch out in your dreams and visions of helping people.  Even small things are a huge help to someone.

 Thank you for stopping by. Have a safe weekend.

 

Lakes Bogoria, Baringo and Nakuru in Kenya

The waters of several Kenyan lakes in the Great Rift Valley have been rising and in the process flooding many hotels, farms and residences.  Thousands of people have been flooded out of their homes and many businesses have lost their livelihoods. 

The flooding follows many months of unusually heavy rain but illegal deforestation and climate change also contribute to the problem.  What is happening is very alarming and threatens not only the people but the wildlife.

Lake Baringo is freshwater and Bogoria is salt water. At one time these lakes were one about 12.5 miles (20 kms) apart but now are so close together that experts fear they could contaminate each other and further threaten wildlife and the people.  The lakes have risen at least 30-40 feet and are rising daily.

Even Lake Nakuru adjacent to which Kenya's 3rd largest city, Nakuru is situated, is flooding.  I read from one tourist who said that the Baboon Point I showed you about a week ago (see this post) shows that 75% of the park has been flooded. This seems totally unreal to me.

Attacks on people by crocodiles and hippos have escalated, many schools and hospital have been flooded or cut off from their student and patient groups and wildlife has had food supply affected.

Given the back drop of all this sad news it makes my memories and my photos all the more important to me. I may never get another chance to enjoy and experience what I enjoyed in earlier trips.  Many of the pelicans and flamingos have disappeared from the lakes and I'm not sure where they have gone.

Here is a video for those interested in seeing the rising lakes. In the first few minutes you will see a huge building with thatched roof. That is the Soi Lodge located on the shores of Lake Baringo and where I stayed when I visited the area.

This is a photo toward the lake from the Soi Lodge.

 

I was greeted by ostriches at the entry to the lodge.

 

Here are a few photos of pelicans taken at Lake Baringo and the last photo of flamingos was taken at Lake Nakuru.  I had never seen flamingos or pelicans before and it was a real treat.

I am linking with Eileen and others at Saturday's Critters.

 

If you missed my Skywatch Friday post, click here.

Beautiful Soi Safari Lodge on Lake Baringo, Kenya

In my last post, I shared part of my boat tour on Lake Baringo. My stay was at the beautiful Soi Safari Lodge. 

This post continues with a brief peek into the interior of the reception building and surrounding areas. My next post about this area will show some more of the wildlife and views from the lake.

I hope you enjoy the tour! 

These grey crowned cranes seem to be resident birds greet you as you enter  Soi Safari Lodge.

I've read that though these cranes are widely distributed throughout Africa, their existence is threatened by development and degradation of the wetlands. 

The resident ostriches want to welcome you too!

The doors helpfully open automatically as you enter the reception area.

This statue of an African woman also stands at the outside door to the lodge.

I love the reception area of this lodge because of  the African themed furnishings and knick knacks.

The wood used throughout the lodge is very beautiful. I'm not sure what it is but I absolutely love the ceiling.

 

I made my way up to this area to have a massage given by the magical fingers of Pettie. After my visit I hear she went back to Mombasa her home area but since then she has gone to Dubai for work. She posted a very short update to me around Christmas. It is very difficult for Kenyans to find work at home and thus they often end up far away from home.

Restaurant with lovely wall murals

Looking out from the restaurant windows. I ended up purchasing a bag just like the one hanging on the wall.

This path led the way to cottages where I stayed.

The cottage area. You can also stay in a multi-level building which is more like a traditional hotel.

Beautiful garden near the pool area.

Several of these unique roofs exist on the property.

Swimming pool area which I enjoyed on the morning of my departure.

  

Manager  of the lodge. I met him working on his lap top in the bar area and we had a lovely chat.

This is the fantastic view from the bar area.

This lodge is my idea of a wonderful place to stay. Rustic yet very comfortable and with amenities like swimming pool, massage, bar and gift shop. From Nairobi It is a long journey to this very dry area of the country and a place that many foreigners never get too. Tourism in Kenya has been very badly affected since 2008 due to terrorism and insecurity in the country. However it is my view that the country is still safer than being in some large cities of the world.

Joining in with Our World Tuesday this week.

Beautiful Kenya

Hi friends,

I hope you are all having a pleasant week. I've been enjoying the warmer, sunny weather but as of today it was back to a bit of gray skies and very light rain.

Spending time with a friend and helping him study for a big exam tomorrow hasn't left me with a lot of free time for blogging. But I have spent a little time to clean up computer files.  I've also been looking for photos I want to share  with you.

These photos are all of Lake Baringo in Kenya.  The island in the middle of the lake is called Ole Kokwe Island.

There is a camp on the island; fittingly called Island Camp. I never spent any time there but I've heard that it is a nice place to stay.

I think the setting here is very beautiful. It was also very hot.

 

I took a tour out on the water with the very personable guide, Sylvester. I didn't intend to take a tour.  But Sylvester was pleasantly persistent, not annoyingly persistent.  I decided at the last moment to go on the tour and I'm glad I did.  It made my time in the area much more interesting and gave me a lot of memories and photo opportunities.

This is my boat tour guide, Sylvester.  He surprised me by speaking several languages including French.

The gentleman in the blue uniform (whose name escapes me) is actually from Ole Kokwe Island. He grew up there in a large family.  He now works on the mainland at Soi Safari Lodge. I  met him again when I made another trip to Kenya and stayed at Soi's sister hotel, The Bontana, in Nakuru City.

The fellow wearing the red cap is my driver. I hired him to take me to several different places in and around Marigat and Lakes Baringo and Baragoi. The reason he is in the boat and not waiting in the vehicle is that we were ready to heat out but the guide Sylvester gave me a great deal on the tour because I had a limited time. I thought why not give my driver a treat since he had a very late night the night before driving me around and then had to make his way home again (hours away) before returning to get me.  Though there are many affluent people in Kenya, there are also many others that cannot afford the things that tourists do. It pays to treat them with kindness and consideration for they toil under difficult circumstances to try and make a living and raise their families. When you hire them for the day, technically you do not need to give them meals and refreshments. However I cannot in good conscience enjoy eating, drinking and sight seeing while my driver takes no refreshment or rest.  It isn't right that I should enjoy myself while they watch me and bake and go thirsty in the heat.

I saw many things while out on the water but I can't share them all in one post.

We made sure we didn't get too close to these hippos.

I relied on my camera's zoom feature to get a close up.

You can see the mountains in the far distance and a boat entering to the top left of the photo.

 

The boat comes closer.

And closer.  I also zoomed in for a close up.

It turns out these men are from the island and they are bringing their cattle to market at Marigat. I would see them the next day in town after they sold their cattle. They have to transport the cattle through the water because there are no roads or ferries to the island.  If you stay on the island you will be transported to the lodge in a boat.

On my trip to the area I stayed on the mainland in a beautiful hotel called Soi Safari Lodge. I enjoyed my stay there. I also stayed in another area hotel at Lake Bogoria called Lake Bogoria Spa. I will write more about these two hotels later and show you some of the scenes around both of them.  So please come back soon.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.