2000 June
+ Bungoma
+++ with side trips to Masai Mara and Mt. Kilimanjaro
+ 13 team members
+++ involved in 4 houses
+++ bricks, gravel, cement, roofing
Trip Itinerary
| 11 June | Begin flight to Nairobi |
| 14 - 24 June | Build in and Around Bungoma |
| 25 - 28 June | Masai Mara |
| 29 June - 6 July | Mt. Kilimanjaro |
| 6 - 11 July | Await return flight from Nairobi (missed the one on July 6th) |
| 12 July | Back home |
From a letter home dated 19 June 2000:
Nothing here is as I thought it would be. The work is hard, the conditions are often miserable, and the scenery is neither stunning nor spectacular. Yet I feel so comfortable, at ease, and gratified. It is an exceptional experience.
Today five of us packed into a matatu and headed for a place named Kimilili, about an hour away. We then took bota-botas (bicycle taxis) to the homeowner’s property where we began construction--digging a foundation with hoes and shovels or breaking rock to make gravel--back-breaking work. We had a great time. I know it makes little sense, but we had a great time.
And that is the puzzling reality of this trip. It makes little sense to be in a strange place, away from loved ones and familiar comforts, yet feel so at ease with people you just met, gratified about work with which you have no skill, and accepting of customs and behaviors that might otherwise seem abhorrent. I wish I could bottle this up and keep it. But perhaps I shouldn’t try, because that would tear apart things that simply and naturally stay together...I don’t know.
I do know that the sun has come up today, my muscles ache, I will avoid using what passes as a "toilet," hundreds of people will stare at me, children will chant "how are you?" as I pass, and the work will be hard. And for some reason, I will gladly do it all again tomorrow.
From a letter home 26 June:
Bungoma, Kimilili, and Mlembe seem a world away. And in fact, they are. The people there cannot even imagine a life that includes the leisure we now experience. It feels a little weird to have so many wazungus (whites) around who are obviously tourists, looking and acting exactly as I did just a few short weeks ago. I wonder if I am becoming that person once again.
But one cannot help but feel like a tourist in the Masai Mara. It’s a vast, open, sweeping grassland that suddenly and surprisingly presents you with more wildlife than you could imagine. The first thing you notice are the Maasai -- incredible people who roam the land outside of the park with their herds of cattle and goats, wearing distinctive red cloth and using long, loping strides.
Climbing Kilimanjaro - the Machame Route
| From our tour itinerary: | What the tour itinerary left out: |
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June 30, 2000 Depart from hotel in Moshi to the Kilimanjaro National Park at Machame. From here you trek through lush forest to the Machame Hut (10,000 ft/3,000 mtrs). Stay and camp overnight. |
June 30, 2000 Mud! I don't remember reading about mud anywhere. Gaiters are a must, and trekking poles aren't a bad idea either. This is a rainforest, and you have to get through the clouds to end up above them... |
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July 1, 2000 Leaving the lush forest, the path follows a steep ridge, passing through heather and open moorlands, and crossing a large gorge to reach Shira Hut (12,500) ft/3,800 mtrs). Stay/camp overnight. |
July 1, 2000 I wondered what a moorland was. It's pretty impressive being above the clouds. It looks as if a fire had moved through here within the past few years. Some of us have started to feel the effects of altitude. |
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July 2, 2000 You turn eastwards and continue ascending through the dry landscape before dropping again to reach Baranco Hut (13,000 ft/3,900 mtrs). Stay/camp overnight. |
July 2, 2000 Up and down, up and down. It's a little discouraging to make some tough progress up and then drop down 1,000 ft as we traverse the mountain. We decide to push on past Baranco and head up "Breakfast Wall" (where people often lose their breakfast) to camp somewhere in the Karanga Valley. |
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July 3, 2000 The path climbs steeply out of the Baranco Valley, crosses the Karanga Valley, then turns north to reach Barafu Hut (15,500 ft/4,600 mtrs). Stay/camp overnight. |
July 3, 2000 The idea is to camp above Barafu, at just above 16,000 ft to give us a better chance at the summit. It starts raining/snowing as a few of us get to Barafu, so we set up the tents and call it a day. |
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July 4, 2000 A long day and an early start to reach the crater tim at Stella Point in time for sunrise. Then to Uhuru Peak (19,340 ft/6,8696 mtrs), the highest point in Africa. Afterwards to Gilman's Point and on down to Mweka Hut. Stay/camp overnight. |
July 4, 2000 Early start means 12:30am, headlamps illuminating the way. The stars are amazing! Because I lost track of my water, I become dehydrated, disoriented, and confused; stumbling the whole way down. I wish I could tell you more about the summit, but I don't remember too much. |
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July 5, 2000 Descend to Mweka Park Gate, and back to hotel in Moshi. |
July 5, 2000 Back through the mud. Knowing it was coming didn't help. If anything, it caused us to swear at it more. |
Postscript
With unemployment at about 60%, a drought going into it's 3rd year, and all the social, political, and economic consequences such conditions have, I was continually amazed at how upbeat, friendly, and gracious people were. It was quite humbling.
As most of probably already know, I've got a few hilarious stories that don't translate well to the written word. Eating with the wiping hand, blowing-out like a rhino, mzungu bota-bota, fear of drowning along with 7 others packed in a Datsun B210 during a storm, Steve's Junior Dome on Kili, blackout in Bungoma, professional nail-benders, attempting to fulfill the prerequisites for becoming a chief, Papa mzungu, the evils of Red Bull, scaring kids by brushing teeth, and, of course, the seemingly endless tales involving personal hygiene (shower or latrine, take your pick). In any case, choose your topic and a story will emerge.
Things Learned and Affirmed
Probabaly the most valuable thing about this experience was that a number of principles that I have tried to live by, or at least refer to, were affirmed as true. That is,
1. You'll always go further being nice, than by being a jerk.
2. A smile is the greatest greeting you can give or receive.
3. Laughter is infectious.
4. Endeavor to understand, rather than to be right.
5. Assume that everyone wants to do the right thing.
6. A matatu is never full. There's always room for one more.
7. No rules are absolute...
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