December 21, 1999 Nairobi, Kenya - Downtown Hotel The flight arrived at 2:30pm. No visa was required for a 30 day stay. I pulled out some Kenyan Schillings from the ATM. Exchange rate is 73.3 per US$1. Found a hotel of far greater value than anything in Abidjan. For 900KS, got a nice large clean bed with mosquito net, desk, armoire, telephone, private bathroom with hot water. Plus the location is superb. First impressions of Kenya (Nairobi), This country is far richer than any yet visited in Africa. The culture makes me feel more at home for several reasons. Everyone speaks English and Swahili, which they are taught in school. The mother tongue depends on which of the 43 or so tribes they are from (Kikuyu, Masai, Luo, etc... Gudjarathi) December 22 Spent the morning checking out safari options for my sister and I. She was arriving Christmas eve. In the afternoon, I hung out at the cyber cafe... I was walking in a crowd. One tall guy missing a tooth turned his head, and seemed to notice me from behind as he did a double take. He gave a slight wave as if he just recognized me, and asked if I remembered him from the hotel. He said the lady took me to the hotel yesterday. He had a generic face that didn't look unfamiliar. I thought he could have been the guy who showed me my room. However, I said, "I'm sorry, but I don't remember you." He said, "I'm not in uniform like I was yesterday". He said he was working in the restaurant below today, and went out to get some bananas when his car wouldn't start. He was wondering if I could give him a hand push starting it." "Sure, I said." We walked over to a group of cars. He asked if I had misunderstood him. His car is out of gas, and he was wondering if he could borrow 540 shillings to buy a gallon of gas, which he would pay me back when he was back at work at the hotel. Everything seemed fishy. I didn't remember the guy. I asked him what the woman's name was (Maggie) who he saw me with at the hotel. Despite acting as though he was familiar with her, he didn't know her name but said it was in the books. He didn't mention the name of the hotel I stayed. He didn't say the name of the restaurant that he worked at below the hotel despite my asking two times what it was. His answer was "The one below." He wanted to buy a gallon of gas. I thought... didn't they use liters like the rest of Africa? He wanted 540 shillings for gas... wasn't that a lot of money for a gallon? Also, he seemed to speak better English than I remembered of the guy I thought he was at the hotel. All of the above suspicions occurred to me at the time, hence all of the questions. But for some reason, I offered him 200 shillings, which at first he didn't want to bother with since it supposedly wouldn't buy him a gallon, but then later accepted it. He asked me if I wanted a ride, to which I refused since I was only a couple of blocks away. When I got back to the hotel, I recognized the bell boy who had showed me the room yesterday.... This was the person I had confused the con-artist with. All of sudden, I remembered hearing about this scam a couple of months ago. I had asked so many questions because of my suspicions, and he failed all of them. I still gave him 200 shillings (US$2.66). Jet lagged, new to the country, new to the culture which was very different from West Africa, and not wanting to be overly pessimistic of the good nature of the people is the only answer I can come up with for my behavior. The monetary value was nothing, but the assault on my pride in being somewhat travel-wise and street savvy, was annoying. Should have had some coffee or espresso for breakfast. Later note: Kenya does sell gasoline by the liter, and it sells for 49 shillings per liter. 13 days later, this same guy came up to me on the street, greeting me. I recognized him immediately. I read on him that he remembered my face but didn't remember the context he knew me from. After we said our Hellos, and civilities, he was speachless and seemingly stumped. He either hadn't remembered why he recognized me, or had remembered and was looking for a way to escape. I reminded him that he owed me 200 shillings. Of course, he said he didn't have it on him now, but said he would tomorrow. He suggested meeting me at this spot tomorrow at 10am. I told them that if I didn't see him tomorrow, I'll see him sometime over the next couple weeks. I know I'll never see the 200 shillings, and I never intended on being there at 10am to collect. I saw him two more times over the next three months... he always approached me.... not remember. The last time I saw him, I reminded him that he still owed me 200 shillings, I suggested I take his ring in hock for 100... he dissapeared. I was just harrassing him. December 23 Paid for the tour this morning, and met Maggie at the tour office. I asked Maggie if she had lunch plans. She asked what I was interested in. When I said Kenya food, she took me to a Louha restaurant. The entrance was not well marked. In fact it looked like the entrance to a movie theater. All the locals new it, and it didn't need a sign saying that it was a restaurant. The restaurant was full of Kenyans in suits eating African food. In buffet style, there was a line. There was a large pot of tripe, another with cubed liver, finely chopped up and well cooked kale, some chipati, and what in Mali was called toe. Keeping my stomach down, and maintaining my outward enthusiasm, I asked for some toe, which they had a different name for. While I remembered that I didn't care for it, I remembered it as being eatable. Also, I was fortunate to notice a plate of spare ribs being passed around of which they kept in the back. I ordered this, and saved face. Maggie had a plate of the diced boiled kale. As is the African style, there is no flat ware... One eats with their hands. The spare ribs were excellent,and the toe agreed with me enough so that I could eat a third of my small portion. The restaurant was an excellent cultural experience. This is were all of the local business men eat. It was very alive and fast moving. Despite what the food was, the ingredients seemed of high quality. I was interested in taking a 4 week vacation from travelling next month, so I priced tickets. After January 15th, round trip tickets drop considerably. However, I didn't want to wait so long, so I booked an Egypt Air flight from Nairobi to New York, It cost me an extra 30% to get home earlier. To get from New York to Chicago, I booked a TWA flight. I went to a really dinky travel agent that was owned by a friend of Maggie's. I would be surprised if they ever booked an intra US flight before. An interesting thing about this was on my return back to Kenya, the TWA check-in clerk said "I don't know if you do this on a regular basis, but one of these days you're going to get nailed." I asked what she was referring to. Apparently the ticket I had bought was for non-US citizens. Because when I bought it I had done some serious price checking on the web, I knew that I hadn't saved a penny buying this ticket that, unknowingly to me, was for non-US citizens. Fortunately the TWA clerk was just warning me. An Interesting note about the Egypt Air portion was that when I priced the same flight for Sharon, it was twice the price. That is, the same flights with passenger starting in the US costs twice as much as starting from Nairobi. The woman who booked my flight made a memorable impression on me. She was a Uganadan woman who was married to a Kenyan. She was very bright, and worked very fast and efficiently. She was more considerate and polite than necessary, and seemed to take her responsibilities very seriously. She always had a big smile and a positive personality. I left wondering what the heck is she doing here... Attempting to engage her in light conversation, I found her to be very opinioated about certain things. These include: Kukuyus are very lazy. They retire early... unlike Louha (like her husband) Politeness and manners is fundamentally important. She instills into her children the importance of courtesies. It's very difficult to make it in Uganada because people don't have a business sense. It's all very short term thinking. In the evening, I went to dinner at the carnivore restaurant. The main motivating factor being that this is where I had made reservations on New Years eve, and they seemed to be needing some monetary backing on the reservation, with a choice of seat. I apparently had miss-heard the price for the night... To dine on this particular spatial-time coordinate that happens to owe a great deal to the fact that our society is on a gregorian calendar, a decimal system, and that the starting event in my particular society of recorded time happened on a rollover of all significant digits, made the price of dinner on this particular evening quite expensive. 7,500 shillings (US$100) was the price for tickets. However we get a glass of Champagne when we walk in and again at midnight, and this includes an all-you-can-eat breakfast if we make it until 4:00am. Catching a taxi to the carnivore restaurant, I hopped into a 1950's vintage English built Rover which are common in Nairobi. I had negotiated a fare of 350 shillings ($5) to the Carnivore, and got in the taxi. Through the window I could see that the begger woman, who had accosted me and I wouldn't placate, was busy telling me to fuck off, in between sincere looking pleading friendly smiles. The taxi owner wound the starter over and over. I was surprised at how much power his battery had, as it wound for more than a minute. Unfortunately the engine diesel wouldn't even sputter. When the battery started to fade, the taxi driver asked the other highly competitive drivers to push start it. No way would they do that... business is war. I hopped out. By now my persistent begger woman with Teret's syndrome had already told me to fuck off for the fourth time, but was still pleading with her hand fully extended and a pleasant smile. I negotiated a price of 400 shillings with an '82 Toyota Corolla driver who stood off in the distance. There was almost a fight among the drivers as tempers flared since my new driver had dropped his price quickly while the others around me were still haggling at 450-500 range. With so many aggressive for business drivers, it was a bargainers delight. The Carnivore restaurant is an upscale all-you-can-eat of wild game animals. A man comes around wielding a skewer of grilled meat in one hand, and a large knife in the other hand. If the diner indicates interest, he cuts off a chunk, and will likely suggest one of the 7 sauces sitting in a carrousel on my table. This is the way my dinner went. pork ribs - delicious... but a stomach filler since I'm hear for unique African wild game. beef sausage- delicious... same as above. zebra - most like a dried pot roast, not particularly flavorful. not gamey at all. I can imagine prepared at it's best might substitute for a mediocre beef. Oryx antelope - much like beef. very minerally tasting... like bloody juices, however the juices have been cooked out. second time around ... very good but just overcooked... very lean, flavorful. no gaminess. does not remind me of venison, but more like beef. best when seared with fat. it's very lean, and an inner piece is more like an extra lean inner roast beef. ostrich - easily my favorite. incredibly flavorful. Most like the best of beef, but more flavorful. The seared ends are wonderful... very lean red meat, best cooked medium rare (or less?) seared on the outside, and with red wine. passed on the chicken drum sticks crocodile - like a cross between a sweet white fish and chicken breast, however the meat was not tender at all... like everything else, it may have been overcooked... best with the garlic sauce. warm, it's like a fatty white fish, with a lot of bones. lamb - had the lamb gaminess that drives people to put mint jelly on top. Here they recommended a parsley vinaigrette sauce. Each time When they brought around the ostrich, I filled up.. All were cooked medium well... which didn't do much for flavor, but given that they are wild game animals and ?possibly? prone to all sorts of diseases like schistosomiasis (bilharzia), intestinal worms, hook worm, etc. ----------------------------- Nairobi is one of the richest cities I've seen in Africa. However if one subscribes to the belief that poverty is a relative state measured by the disparity between rich and poor, then there is a great deal of poverty in Nairobi. In some places it's seediness oozes. Many people I meet warn me to watch out. A man came up to me telling me was going to the California Institute of Technology. I asked when, and he said in January. He wanted to ask me about my country... however I had no time, and no intention of yielding. As we walked he asked me about racial problems in California, and about discrimination, and some anti-black movement in the US. Of course it seemed strange that he was so openly concerned as to ask a foreigner on the street, and not more well informed having committed to leaving in a week. He wanted me to stop, and talk to him some more. At the next verbal pause I was about to excuse myself and head upstairs to the office I was going to, when one of the safari solicitors I had met two days ago approached. He calmly and politely said with a serious face, "May I talk to you a moment over here." I readily obliged as I had an idea of what was coming. He asked, "What does that man want from you?". "Nothing yet", I said, "I recommend that you go away from this man and not talk to him". I appreciated the confirmation of doubts. He then asked me if I had booked my tour, to which I told him I had. A moment later, Cal-tech guy came up to the safari recruiter issuing several insults and threats including breaking his jaw if ever he saw him again. Static... wheh.. After Cal-tech guy took off the safari recruiter excused himself. It seemed as though he was heading off for a private confrontation. I was thinking, wow, that's two talented con-artists I've encountered in just three days. This town must be loaded with them. However, in other similar sized cities I've had some immunity because of the language fluency barrier. It's hard for a con-artist to sell a story and weave any trust if the communication is limited. On the way to the airport, I heard about the coup in Ivory Coast. From what I could hear, the coup happened today and/or last night. Apparently the airport was shutdown yesterday, which has left me wondering if Jim got out in time. He would have been flying during the last 24 hours the airport was open. The bikes had been shipped out the day before the airport was shutdown. Apparently the military has overthrown the unpopular ruler. There is a 6pm to 5am curfew which effectively means no one on street while it's dark. That was close.... Later Note: Jim said that he had flown out about an hour before they shut down the airport. Good thing his flight wasn't delayed. I picked up my sister, Laura, at the airport. Her Air France flight arrived on time. December 25, 1999 Masai Mara, Kenya - Mara Sopa Lodge At 8:30am, we were ready for a 7 days safari booked with Savuka tours, that was to take us to Masai Mara game park, Nakuru lake, and Samburu national park. On the way to Masai Mara We drove through the rift valley and along the edge. Beautiful area. ....flat planes surrounded by mountains. Just off the road we passed several ostrich... zebra, Thompson gazels. There was a troop of baboons crossing the road. Our Driver, Won Jow, said that he couldn't stop or the baboons would storm the car and climb into the windows, unfortunately they had been human fed before, and learned this behavior from passing tourists. The right rear tire of our Nissan safari van went flat. The tire was changed in 10 minutes. Passed many Masai walking down the road. The men have large pierced ear lobes, sometimes with huge brass ear rings., usually wearing red plaid, and almost always with a weapon, either a long narrow spear or a teak wood club. This is for protection from the wild animals. We saw several groups of Masai giraffe eating from the tops of trees. Groups of grazing Thompson gazelle, and slightly larger Grants gazelle, and groups of wildebeest crossing the road. The wildebeest sometime hung out with the zebra. Apparently, the symbiotic relationship is that the zebra have better eye sight, and the wildebeest offer more safety in numbers. We saw small groups of impalas. Running for cover into the bushes were tiny Kirk's dikdik which is a tiny antelope that looks like a mini deer. Of the birds, we saw flocks of helmeted guinea fowl running along the ground. A secretary bird walking away from us. a bateleur bird flying away. Herd of bachelor impala... one male has a harem of 50-100 females, so the other males end up in impala bachelor herds Yellow fever tree... thought in early days to cause malaria... later it was found that by boiling the bark and root, quinine was extracted which then treated malaria. Masai are more afraid of elephants and buffalos than they are of lions. Generally they are not concerned at all about lions. The Masai put a red ocher on their head which apparently is considered an olfactory repelent for the lion. The Masai's cattle, which comes into villages at night pick up this scent, and are rarely hunted by the lions, despite that the cows roam amongst all of the other wild animals. Another theory is that because the Masai hunt down any lions that eat their cattle, it's a learned or extinguished behavior. [Later Note: Lion repellent? Sound like B.S.? Apparently it is... Won Jow, the source of this info is Kukuyu. Talking directly with a Samburu (type of Masai) said that the choice of red has to do traditionally with looking fierce i.e. looking like they are fresh from combat, covered in blood. The Masai I talked with had no idea of the relationship of ocher and the lion] We were told that, lions in the wild usually just ignore humans. If a lion is encountered, never run from a lion. If you run, the lion will think you must be something good to eat. Just like a house cat will pursue something moving quickly in front of it... It's best to walk slowly and quietly backwards away from the lion. The driver dropped off the other 5 safari goers at the savuka camp sight. I was surprised that the camp sight looked nicer than it did in the photos, and was feeling a little unsure about my decision to stay at the Mara Sopa Lodge. The driver sternly told the campers to be ready at 6:30am for pick up. The driver then drove Laura and I to the Mara Sopa Lodge which was a half hour away. Dropping us off, he suggested that we take our breakfast at 7:00am, and be ready around 8:15am. "Don't be rushed if you aren't finished by then, we'll find you and let you know when we arrive. I don't know if the campers will be ready on time." We arrived at the Mara Sopa Laura and immediately any doubts were swept away. It was a five star lodge set on a hill overlooking small valley. The guests stayed in luxurious round stone huts/bantus, thatched for aesthetic reasons, with built in cobble stone fireplaces. Each hut had a veranda overlooking the valley below. The huts and lodge were set in lush vegetation with flowering trees, all connected under the vegetation canopy by outdoor paths built of cobblestone. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, of course they had electricity and hot water, as if it wasn't even a question. We were greeted with at the entrance with a fruity orange drink. After checking in, the clerk informed us that at 7:00pm there was Christmas carolling, at 8:00 dinner would be served, at 9:30 Masai tribal dancing, and at 10pm, a nighttime animal feeding. Laura conked out, and missed the 8 African christmas carolers singing a mixture of wonderful African tunes and traditional western christmas carols. The African songs they sang made for a perfect atmosphere as I could faintly hear it while walking around the scenic grounds. The five course dinner was delicious. We were greeted at the door of the dining lodge with a glass of wine. fried breaded eggplant with a cheese sauce was my first course, while Laura started with a papaya covered with papaya wine (a local wine). We were eating so slow, We both forgot about our salad course which was a help-yourself at the salad bar. Laura had a fresh black-eyed bass, while I had a breaded veal cordon-bleu. They called desert a bread pudding, however I would describe it as a wonderful rum fruitcake-like/mintsmeat-like mixture with a rum vanilla cream sauce poured over the top. It was wonderful. We had taken so long eating, that we could hear in the other room, the Masai dancing starting. I had expected a corny reproduction for tourists, and was surprised at how interesting it was. With no instrument, the group of 12 would chant, tonally grunting in harmony creating a rhythmic hypnotic chant. One MC would sing or rap to the chant. As all Masai seem to do, all of these had spears and or clubs as they danced. During one of the dances, one person would go to the center of their ring and jump straight up several times in sink to the rhythm then letting someone else take over. All of their dances were incredibly energetic enough to tire an aerobic instructor. It wasn't corny at all. After they left, the animal feeding began on a terrace down the hill from the swimming pool. The hotel had chairs arranged on a terrace safely above the feeding area. People sat down quietly. Two men came out below and dumped a large pot of food onto a metal tray below. They banged on the pot as if it were a dinner bell. Immediately eyes began to appear everywhere. A pack of about nearly a dozen spotted hyenas appeared. The largest ate first. With their round ears and face, long neck and stubby body, they looked like a cross between a bear and a dog. Their long necks looked very powerful as if they were use to ripping meat off an animal. After the hyenas left, an animal arived on the scene, not in my guide book... looked similar to a large weasel, but white and fluffy. possibly called a white faced mongoose. December 26, 1999 Masai Mara, Kenya - Mara Sopa Lodge Our ride arrived about 9:15am. They had a few problems. Our driver arrived red eyed, and with hydraulic oil sprayed all over his shirt. He was doing something with the hydraulic jack, and the previous user hadn't put the screw in correctly, and it sprayed hydraulic jack fluid into his eyes and on his shirt. The second van of Savuka tours which had broken off from us yesterday, had three flat tires after we last saw it, and then something in the engine broke down. The passengers had to walk 20 minutes to their camp. Fortunately, it wasn't in the park where walking without a weapon Masai escort is considered potentially dangerous. [Forward Note: Regarding the information on animals behavior, the source of information was our guide Won Jow. While he was excellent at identifying and seemed to know an awful lot, I was suspect at some tidbits of info written below. On the second safari that I went with Sharon, I brought along Richard Estes' "Behavior Guide to African Mamals" which is a highly respected book on this topic. I would take any notes on animal behavior in this file with a grain of salt.] Animals seen, and tidbits learned from our guide: topi herd of 5 elephants.. they communicate with 58 different sounds... some are not audible... much larger ears... gestation period 22-23 months. The young elephant stays with parnet 10-12 years... average life span 60 years, but recorded up to 108 years giraffes... because of their high blood pressure due to their height, are very susceptible to death by fright from a lion. Often its the pursuit by a lion which kills it rather than any fatal blow. Jackson's Hartebeest Ground Horn bill - bird about a dozen Masai giraffe four male giraffes together... one of them confused and attempting to copulate pair of jackels Topi pair of warthogs by the creek more elephants.. mother with two calves. more warthogs by a mud hole... ran into the bush as we approached. warthogs seem very shy. They often run with their tail up in the air. female lion... it was about 15 feet away resting under a bush in the shade... couldn't care less about us. male lion in a ditch under a bush with three trucks around it the closes being about 10 feet. wouldn't cooperate much for a photo... didn't care at all about the humans surrounding it and gawking at it with clicks and dings coming from the video and still cameras... giant Eland huge bull elephant that overshadowed the van. He would mossy on over to the van, and the vans would move away. The vans were always left with the engine running while around these elephants, since this bull could easily toss a van over in one blow. Fortunately, he was a slow mover, and didn't seem disposed to charging. We stopped at the Keekorok lodge... it was quite full, and not nearly as aesthetically pleasing as the Mara Sopa Lodge. I bought some film, as I had used up already 3.5 rolls in the last 20 hours. Price was almost double what they were charging in Nairobi. While standing around outside, I saw a fully decked out Masai man wearing many strands of beads, large Masai ear rings, head pendants, and sandals. He was standing next to his new Toyota land cruiser pressing the radio remote control lock/alarm switch built into the key while in the other hand, he held his weapons, a long stick and a teak club. At the river that runs through the park we saw about a dozen hippos all together. They were floating near the surface of the water, usually submerged, but often sticking their head out of water to breath. Occasionally a large volume of gas would rush to the surface. I was glad to be up wind. Across the banks in the mud, was a small crocodile (probably 2 meters) sunning himself, not moving at all. There was a green monkey hanging around the banks that seemed quite use to humans. We found a leopard sleeping high up in a tree. Below him were 5 vans of gawkers snapping photos and aiming video cameras. He couldn't care less. single spotted Hyena 3 male lions... each one had a couple bite marks/scars and scabs around their rear.... Surmised that because it's three guys these are the losers of any dominance struggles. The stud lion is off with all the chics. herd of ten Defassa Waterbuck Spotted two crowned cranes along the side of the road. cool looking birds with their yellow mohawk plume There was a large troop of olive baboons that just hung out along the side of the road. Several had plastic numbered ear tags as if they were being studied. Occasionally we would see one or two large marabou birds either by themselves or in a small group. saddle bill stork Hartebeest - named because it's antlers seen head on appear to form a heart. Spotted a black rhino off in the distance, one of the rarest animals to see in the park. We found two cheetahs relaxing in the grass. They had been spotted, and every tourist van with a radio had been notified and closed in on them. I counted eleven vans and land rovers surrounding these cheetahs. The cheetahs didn't seem to mind, and lightly slept as their photos were taken. herd of zebra herd of African buffalo During the nocturnal feeding, the spotted hyenas came out, however they didn't stick around long due to the noisy french tourists whistling, and clapping. Later a lone white faced mongoose(?) came out after the hyenas took off. Notes: information gathered about the balloon safari. We were quoted a price of $385 per person. This for an hour and twenty minute ride followed by a nice breakfast that every solicitor says "includes champagne!" The pick up is at 5:00am, with a launch around 5:30am. Sunrise is around 6am. Like the rest of the tourist industry over the millinea, they are having few takers, and have reduced their price to $275 per person... (special this week). Two tourists that we asked about their experience mentioned seeing quite a few animals. They said the animals were scarred off when the balloon would flare, however they often didn't hear or sea the balloon descending upon them. December 27 Masai Mara, Kenya - Mara Sopa Lodge Picked up around 9:15am, we resumed our safari. Heartebeest have a good sense of sight and Topi have a good sense of smell, so they hang out together forming a symbiotic relationship elephants.. matriarchal society.. females in charge, males hang out on the outside of the herd. sometimes there are bachelor herds with just males, usually controlled by a dominant male. Sometimes there is a male that doesn't like being controlled in the bachelor herds, and will just wander alone. These lone male elephants are the most dangerous. They are often the most aggressive. When male and female lions stay together they are usually on honey moon. They copulate for 2 seconds about every 15 minutes. This goes on for two weeks... according to our guide. Lions live on average up to 18 years, but have been known to live up to 23 years old. We drove up to a herd of water buffalo (100-200) that were just standing around, some grazing, some chewing cud, most of them just standing looking at us. Small birds (red beaked ox-pecker) would climb all over the buffalo looking for ticks and other bugs. The birds would look in the ears, around mouth, eyes, backs, underside, etc. The buffalo didn't seem to mind. Sometimes, a single buffalo might have 2 or 3 of these starlings feeding on it. We pulled up to a male female pair of lions. Won Jow said they were on their honeymoon. They were sleeping in a bush, as four vans full of people peered at them. They didn't seem to mind a bit. Jow said that whenever lions are pared up like this, they are on their honeymoon. They copulate for about 2 seconds on average every fifteen minutes for 7-14 days. Afterwards, honeymoon is over, and they return to the pride? The female lion woke up and started to walk away. The male followed her. Jow followed the lions, driving ahead of them. They just continued to walk sometimes passing within a 4-5 feet of the van seemingly not to care. After awhile, I heard the male lion growling, and asked Jow if it's possible we might be annoying them. I had my window down and was easy game for retribution. He said, "No problem." Saw two Bohor Reedbuck resting in the grass. Jow said these are unusual to find in this park. They look like small deer when they are fully grown, and have two short straight horns growing out of their heads. There were a group of 6 African White-backed vultures circling above, flowing across the landscape with the wind. Spotted a Newbian(sp?) vulture perched in it's nest at the top of a tree. Lions can take down animals twice it's weight. They can weigh up to 250kg. a swipe by a lion is about 200lbs... they attack by wacking the hind quarters, and dislocating the hip... buffalos are the preferred food. gazelles are too fast, and just a snack. the buffalos feeds a pride of 6. The lions typically eat once a week. buffalos can sometime surround and trample a lion, of course the buffalos take the scratches. The herd will surround the lion, and maybe break its leg. In the afternoon, we had lunch at the lodge, and just rested the rest of the afternoon there. Dinner During out 5 course meal, We had a bottle of papaya wine with dinner which was surprisingly palatable. While the nose gave it away as papaya wine, the taste was very much like a dry white table wine most similar to a savignon blanc. It went especially well with the main course of veal with a papaya wine sauce. As Laura and I were walking back, a large cat jumped on the screen of one of the huts. It was very slender, longer than a large house cat, and very energetic. It had a black ringed tail, and large black spots on it's back. Later Note: it was a Genet. December 28, 1999 Nakuru Lake, Kenya - Lake Nakuru Lodge Masaii village drove most of the day The others were dropped off at the campground in town. The perimeter fence, and watch tower at the gate brought out comments of being on Hogan's Heros. They were informed that no showers were available since something was wrong with the water pipes. However, they could get a bucket of water to splash About 6pm, we arrived at the Lake Nakuru Lodge. We brought our own wine to dinner. The wine master noticed it was South African, and was impressed. It wasn't one on their mostly Kenyan wine list, and he wasn't familiar with it. Laura pointed out that we bought it at a gas station. I followed up with the comment that it was a very prestigious gas station. Laura and I were snickering, and I could tell the somale (sp?) missed the joke.... and didn't seem entirely confident that he wasn't the butt of it. December 29, 1999 Sumburu, Kenya - Sumburu Lodge 8 ostrich... 3 grey females, and 5 black males. baboons Defassa waterbuck African buffalo white rhino with a baby Rothchild giraffe Burchell Zebra 2 adult white rhinos (Jow said there are 58 in this park) 100's of pelicans 100's of flamingos African Jacana (?) 2 more white rhinos Theories on Japanese/Chinese interest in the Rhino horn... When the male mounts a female, they usually mount for an hour or more, and during that time the male horn appears to twitch. The association between the long mating and the horn twitching may be the reason why rhinos are hunted.... I wonder if the inventors of viagra considered that they might be bringing the rhino back from the brink of extinction. camorants birds.... several standing next to each other. group of 8 Groups of pelicans (10-20) swimming together in a tight cluster. Groups of pelicans flying together... each one following the one in front.... The leader would dive and then rise then dive...making a wave. many warthogs left Nakuru and drove North to Sumburu. We passed over the equator several times (3-5?). We drove through coffee and tea plantations growing on the hills. The soil in this area is very red. Stopped off at Thompson falls which drains a swamped in area into a deep gorge. The last portion of the road (44km?) to Sumburu, the road was in bad shape.... rutted dirt road. Our driver was worried about making it into the park early enough. There is a gateway where one cannot pass after 6:00pm. Fortunately we made it on time. Saw a reticulated giraffe while coming into the park Sumburu lodge turned out to be a very nice lodge. Owned by Block Hotel chain which is owned by Sheraton. Stayed in a nice roomy cottage with a veranda overlooking a wide flowing forest canopy covered river. There is a crocodile feeding every night at 7:00 where they feed chickens to 16 crocodiles. Two of the crocks sat completely motionless with their mouth open as if they expected some meal to crawl in. During dinner, one of the waiters returned to the open air restaurant with a weapon wielding Masai warrior. The two of them opened a cabinet, and then looked under the clothe draping from the serving tables. It was obvious they were looking for a creature in the dining area without alarming the clients. Laura and I guessed a snake. While eating, again we saw a common genet. (similar to a cat) This one was different than the one we saw in Masai Mara. December 30, 1999 Sumburu, Kenya - Sumburu Lodge I woke up early and sat on the veranda overlooking the river. It sounded like a jungle. Unidentifiable bird and animal calls eminated from all directions. Vervet (green) monkeys descended and climbed trees nearby. Superb starlings fluttered down and hopped around the cabin. Monkeys and attractive birds surround the cabin. monkey would steel the sugar bowls from the restaurant. Red-billed hornbill yellow-billed hornbill monitor lizard Impala many many impala lilac breasted roller Kori Bustard 2 dikdik tawny eagle oryx heard (~100) of female impalas with a single stud male. Egyptian geese (4) in the river running impalas ~15 helmeted guinea fowl walking along the ground. ~30 vulturine guinea fowl walking along the ground 2 yellow necked spaf fowl (sp?) running on the ground desert rose tree.. flowering with red flowers up top. Huge thorns that are curved upward giraffe neck gazel Drongo bird grey headed thrush crocodiles baboons 1 greater kudu amongst a small herd of female impalas, 1 male. 6 reticulated giraffe each with a red billed ox-pecker for preening the ticks herd of beisa oryx ... continuously flapping their ears to keep the flies away herd of elephants single Grevy zebra herd (~30) Beisa oryx 8 dwarf tail mongoose living in a termite mound small red squirrel type creature The safari stopped at noon, the reason being that it was too hot in the afternoon, and most of the game would be hidden in the shade. My altimeter is reading 930 meters, and it is noticeably warmer. In Masai Mara, I was reading around 2150 meters. I was sitting on the bed resting while talking to Laura, and I noticed an elephant was in view from my window. It was standing in the shallow river. I looked closer, and saw that there was actually a herd of elephants on the other bank. Sumburu dance. At 4:00pm, our safari game drive resumed. There was very little to be seen. We saw a herd of elephants, which by now, had ceased to impress us. There were a few antelopes. It was nothing like the drive in the morning where the plains appeared to be teaming with animals. We seemed to keep running into the same Ambercrombie and Kent vans, There were four running about, however only two had tourists. I suspect the other two were acting as scouts. A leopard was spotted, and all of the vans descended upon the area. The leopard was walking slowly in one direction. It came across a large tree, climbed it, and then perched itself ready for a nap. We returned back to our lodge in time for the crocodile feeding. The crocodiles knew what to expect, and had already gathered around waiting for their chicken dinner. The crocodiles could easily mistaken for stuffed. They can lie entirely motionless. I did catch a larger one that was facing me vibrating his head from side to side. I suspected this is was so it could see.... Lacking an occipital lobe, I seem to remember they only see moving objects or scenes herd of elephants spotted from the window of the cabin In the evening, the lodge hosted a Samburu cultural talk given by an educated Samburu. factoids: Samburu and Masaii and another group are closely related in culture. They use the same language with a slight difference in dialect. Samburu traditionally used the red ocher from inside a termite mound, however now they use an iron oxide material sold as makeup. boys become men at 15 when they kill a lion, and then are circumcised. They become of marrying age when they are 28-30, and have proven themselves. bartering is the main monetary system, and someone's wealth is determined by the number of cows he has rather than the amount of money. An expensive bride costs 8 cows, while a cheap one would cost 1 cow. 6 goats equals one cow. The highest mortality rate for males is between the ages of 15-30 while they are still trying to prove themselves, and acquire enough wealth to marry. Despite Kenyan government attempts at intervention, the Samburu still circumcise their girls days before marriage. Girls get married between 12-14 years of age. Generosity and politeness are the virtues most sought after when marrying a Samburu bride. Culture is carried on with the female. i.e. a Samburu man marrying a kukuyu woman would be expected to be kukuyu. A Samburu woman marrying a kukuyu man would be expected to become Samburu family. Tribal wars still happen. The most recent subjugate a T_____. The woman of this group married the Samburu, and now they live together peacefully. Former members of that tribe prefer to now be called Samburu, as the race and culture is assimilated into Samburu. "Samburu" is the name given to this group by the Masaii, and is based on a reference to their nomadic tendencies that allow them to survive. Despite Won Jow's (who is a kukuyu) information, the Samburu and Masai do not put wear red makeup as a lion repellent. They use it traditionally as a human repellent. i.e. The blood like color makes them look like they just came out of battle, and thus more fierce. It is meant as a fierce tribal warfare deterrent. Sammy said that contrary to the info from the kukuyu that the red color has more of an agitating affect on the lions. Sammy takes great pride in his culture. Weapons carried by the Samburu are primarily carried as protection from other tribes, and secondly as protection against animals. Guns are having an affect on traditional weapons. December 31, 1999 Nairobi, Kenya - The Downtown Hotel Walking in the morning... Again the ambient sound was teaming with the sounds of birds insects and mammals in the canopy. The cobblestone trail of the Lodge has clearly marked boundaries that make it clear the animals in the area are dangerous and that the lodge takes no responsibility for guest being eaten. It's not clear to me what stops the crocodiles from coming up to the cabin or trails since they are along the river. I went down to see the crocodiles. Three had remained from last night's feeding, while the other 12 slipped back into the river. Two of the crocodiles seemed to be missing the end of their tails as if it might have been mistaken for chicken. The crocs just totally motionless with eyes open... To me this makes them more dangerous due to their ability to surprise. However seeing their movements during feeding leads me to think they are slow short spirit animals. A maribou crane took off in the canopy above my head. The wind from it's huge wings create a surprisingly loud whooop whooop whooop sound. monkeys crawling in the tree canopy above crossing from tree to tree and not having to touch the ground. Drove back to Nairobi... In the evening we went to the carnivore for New Years. We were back at our hotel by 4:15am, and had a good time. The zebra was excellent tonight. Salad was wonderful topped with smoked salmon. Wonderful soup. The rose champagne they served was ok. We also had a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine. Later for desert we had a champagne sorbet which was made of the same champagne. For desert, they served a miniature computer made of hardened frosting. The screen said, "Not Y2k compliant, please open lid..." Inside contained bugs made of chocolate and hardened frosting. cute. Just before midnight, we stepped out of the restuarant. The hot spot to be was there. They had set up what looked like a rock concert that was packed with Kenyans. Afterwards, a guy came around with a selection of cuban cigars. Laura and I each had a Romeo and Julietta, and some cognac to go with it. Also, they served a cream liquor which is made in Kenya called Amarulla. It's similar to a Baileys Cream liquor, but rather than a coffee flavor, it has a slightly sweet fruity flavor. It was nice. Thinking the cigar and drinks were, included, we were a bit shocked when they presented us with a bill later. They wanted $26 per cigar, and $13 each for the drink... That was an unexpected $78 Y2k gouge. ---- Dave Thompson http://www.roadkill.com/~davet/worldtrip ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com