Day 25 - Kenya

I could write a book about my 31 hours in Kenya. The magic, wonderment and charm of the nation took my breath away.

I have never had any desire to go to Africa. With my image of a baking hot sun over a wasteland of sand, wild animals both dependent and separate from each other, and a rough, ragged feel in the air, I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to visit such a place. This truly was my impression of the majority of Africa before Kenya.

The first day of Kenya marked a quarter of my trip finished, so something about it already felt momentous. The idea that I have already been traveling for 25 days seems so surreal. It never really feels like we are moving on the boat. Or better yet, we are moving but not going anywhere. The ship has become a makeshift home, and I guess I will never get my mind around a home that has plans independent of me. At any rate, after our longest stretch at sea thus far, six days, we docked at Mombassa, Kenya, the largest seaport on the east coast of Africa.

I guess most of the problem is that I do have all these preconceived notions about what Kenya, and by extension, Africa, would be like. For example, I didn't expect paved roads, or freeways, crisp blue skies, rain, green grass, or warm, kind-hearted people. The day we arrived was cool. It had been pouring rain in the morning, so the sky was this impossible shade of blue, and the grasses had this lush, wet green look to it. The temperature was incredibly mild, and I would put the day in the category of perfectly comfortable in every way.

In nearly all ways, I really was on a safari, and had adventures of classic proportions. Technically I was working the entire time, as this was an English Safari, where all 17 teachers traveled with 60 passengers encouraging usage of English, and cross-cultural communication and interaction. We all traveled in 10 safari vans, the kind where the roof can pop up so passengers can stand and peer out at animals in a "safe" environment.

My van was...uh...special. During the three hour dive out of Mombassa to the wilder parts of Kenya, most of our van fell asleep. This in it of itself is not particularly outrageous, but our driver started speeding, and got well ahead of the other vans. Again, not such a big deal, until you add the fact that he didn’t actually read our itinerary.

First, we missed our rest stop. After three hours in the van, and with two geriatrics in tow, let's just say we were all in a precarious state. The driver pulled over, and we all answered natures call in nature's backyard. The passengers in my van were surprisingly lighthearted about the situation until elephants started to creep up behind some of my more...uh...exposed students. Can elephants creep? Well, apparently they can...and they scared the living daylights out of my students. She screamed.

I'd like to take a minute to remind everyone that it's not like we are at the circus or zoo or local amusement fair. We are in the outback of Kenya. These are not trained, tamed, or domesticated animals we are dealing with. These are wild animals that hunt, prey, and feast on other animals. Usually smaller animals. And we, my friend, are smaller than elephants.

I am sure that this elephant scared my student, but it was nothing compared to how scared she felt once the elephant screamed back. Thankfully that is as exciting as this part of the story gets, but as you might expect we all made our way, rather quickly, to the van. Our driver told us we were very lucky, and went on to recount numerous stories of tourist deaths. Evidently, tourists are dumb, and they die pretty regularly. Climbing out of vans to get a better snapshot, throwing this at the animals to make them more interesting, going to the bathroom in the wild, feeding the animals, and other such shenanigans have proven time and time again to get your average tourist killed. No joke.

Anyway, once back in the van, relieved both in bladder in spirit, we started heading towards the lodge...or at least we thought we were. Five u-turns, three cell-phone calls on the side of the road, and a stop at a gas station later, we found the gates to the Ngutuni Lodge. If you ever get the chance to stay there, do. It’s perfect in every way.

The lodge has one main "building," though I use this term loosely. It has no walls, but is huge...the size of a high school gym, and has a main dining area and other normal hotel amenities. The far end opens out to a patio and about 30 yards off is a watering hole. There are two main wings of stunning rooms, each with a balcony overlooking the watering hole. Within moments of arriving at the lodge, a family of elephants had walked over and started drinking. It was the most magical thing I have ever seen. It was like watching the Discovery Channel, except all the colors were better, and, this is going to sound stupid but, everything seemed more real. That is, of course, because it was real, and not a TV show, but it was almost as though the images weren’t even in my pictorial vocabulary. It was such a foreign, almost alien sight I was completely overwhelmed. Many people even cried at the spectacle. It just felt impossible. Watching these enormous creatures dance and play, wash each other, interact like a real family, and just be was out of this world.

After having lunch while watching the elephants we headed out on our first safari at the Tsavo East National Park. There we got to witness more magic in the making. It started with impalas, giraffes and baboons, and progressed to zebras, elephants and lions. We watched them all gather at the river to engage in a little twilight snack before calling it a day. They all really do coexist out there. They travel in packs, with families of the same breed. Mothers always close to their young, and adult males leading the way and warding off enemies. Incredible.

Back at the lodge we were in for yet another treat. Kenyan permormers had come to teach us how to sing in Sawahili and how to dance like the Kenyans do. It was so much fun. After the humongus buffet dinner, we danced for hours into the night working off all the calories so recently consummed. Then, tired and glowing from our magical day we went out to our balconies and watched shooting stars with wine or Tusker beer in hand, telling stories and jokes, and in all ways content.

The next morning we were less content. We got up at 5:00 am both to watch the sunrise and to go on a breakfast safari, when all the animals would be up to eat their own. While I was quite bleary eyed, the sunrise was the most intoxicating I have ever seen. Ever. Bar none. It reached impossible shades of red, orange and yellow, and it was everything I imagined it would be.

The breakfast safari, too, was surreal. Cheetahs, warthogs, elephants, giraffes, ostriches, zebras and assorted deer-like creatures were all up and finding the day's nourishment.

The day culminated with a herd of waterbuffalo (over 60) came to drink from our watering whole 20 minutes before our departure. I can honestly say, they are one of the strangest creatures on this planet. With almost plastic looking headgear, and a hive-like mentality, they almost felt other-worldly.

I have to go back to Kenya...I didn't get enough.