Heading Home - March 1st

I have many mixed emotions as I sit here and type.   In many ways, I am ready to be home and sleep in my own bed and at the same time I am very sad to leave Kenya.   I have grown to love this country and its people.   We have been so privileged to meet so many beautiful people who have been willing to share their stories with us.   We indeed have been blessed.

This morning we went to Eastleigh for the last time.  We were able to take a tour of the pottery section of the center.   The Noor ladies were making beads and glazing beads.   It is amazing to see 10 of these ladies make such beautiful creations.   It is inspiring to see them overcome so many odds - they are refugees.   They had the courage to go to school and learn English.  Now they are able to make jewelry and sell it and support their families.   Wow!    We also saw some men make bowls and plates.   It was incredible to watch a lump of clay become a piece of art.

The other exciting aspect of the pottery was hearing about the water filters.    The money that many of you contributed not only made the lives of 50 people in the Eastleigh area healthier but you supported the artisans in the pottery area as well.   They make the ceramic filters inside the water filters.   It was interesting to hear about the process and the difference this group in making in the lives of so many people.

I quickly went to the pottery store.   I wanted to purchase 100 necklaces to bring home to sell.   We are a bit concerned about the weight limit and I was only able to buy 60.   We decided to purchase them for more than what they were asking.   If anyone is interested, I have solidarity necklaces for $10/each.   Anything I receive above that amount, will be forwarded directly to Noor Creations. 

We then headed up to the Iftin class to say good-bye.   I knew it was going to be hard but was not expecting it to be SO hard.   How can one become attached to people in only 3 weeks?   It was heartbreaking watching Micah & Aby.   They did not want to say good-bye.   Farhia was kind enough to walk us to our van.   The kids had tears rolling down their cheeks.   Farhia is convinced we will see each other again, therefore it was not a good-bye but a see you later.  We all had tears in our eyes and we drove away.

I hope that my life will be different when I get back to Winnipeg.   I hope I will be more thankful for all of the things God has allowed me to have.   I trust I will not take our clean drinking water for granted.  I trust I will become even more thankful for our beautiful warm home.  I hope I become a more generous person to those around me.  I do not want to take the freedom and safety that I have in Winnipeg for granted.   I know I will be thankful for my own bed and the laws of the road.   It will be weird to drive on the right side of the road.   I hope Micah's smile remains.   He would never smile for the camera at home and now we see his beautiful smile daily.

Thank you to all of those who have contributed to this trip directly and to those of you who have given money for the programs here in Kenya.   It truly has been a life changing experience for all of us.   I believe we will continue on a journey when we get home.   It will look a bit different but I hope the compassion in all of us will remain.

Malindi - Feb 27

Today we had to decide whether or not to go to an African church to worship.   We decided that we probably could not sit through a 3 hour service with the heat.   We thought it might be fun to share with some of the locals.  We have interacted a fair amount with a few vendors near the beach.   A couple of the ladies have custom made some sandals for us.   Aby bartered with Christine for her sandals.   She paid about $2.50 and in exchange gave away some of her clothes.   We also shared a soda with everyone.  We met Mohammed on the beach and liked him a lot.   We decided to pay him to take us into town on a tuk-tuk.  He was able to show us a lady that makes hats.  He helped us barter with her and she is custom making a hat for the kids.  He then took us to a place where men make many of the wooden African animals we have purchased.   It was amazing to watch them work.   They have very primitive tools and sit in the dirt all day long.   Their workmanship is amazing.   We then went into the warehouse where merchants come to purchase the items to sell to tourist folks like ourselves.   It definitely was an eye opening experience.

Mohammed also helped us purchase some maize for our friends on the beach.   Mark also purchased a soccer ball.   He wanted to play with the kids on the beach.   There were many locals on the beach because it was Sunday.   I thought we better buy some candy as well for all of the kids.   Aby has asked to go on a buda-buda all week long.   Mohammed graciously arranged it for us.  He rode with her because he said “I want to make sure they bring her back home”.

We were able to take the 12 bags of maize to our friends.   We received an interesting reaction.   All week long, they have wanted us to buy some of their items.   We have told them we do not need anymore.   We wanted to buy things just to help them out.   We thought they would have appreciated the maize.    Most of them were very thankful for it.   A couple of the men were upset by our gesture.  So this probably means we need to think more about how we would do this in the future, were we to do this again.   

We also bought a soccer ball.

The tuk-tuks are loud but fun!

One of the carvers.   He is holding an ebony rhino.   He sits here all day, likely 7 days a week.

There were 3 of them on the buda-buda.

Mark visiting with Christine.

I don't know why it came up like this and I can't rotate it.   He is one of the vendors.

Opening the large bag with the maize in it.

Malindi - Feb 25 - Blue Safari

We had been looking forward to going snorkeling at Malindi for quite a while.  And so, all week we had been having discussions with the local beach boys regarding when to go, for how much, etc.  As a family we finally decided that we wanted to go on Friday, and that a fellow named Zirroh would be our guide.  He told us, leading up to today, that there was one other couple from Canada that would be on the boat.

Well, we got to the boat after a wonderful warm croissant breakfast, only to find that we were 4 of 18 on the boat.  This included no other Canadians, but mostly Italians, and 6 crew.  Not much you can do about it, so we got on, and not too far out, was a snorkeling spot.  We all gave it a try, and we could see some tropical fish, but no gorgeous coral reef, so that was a bit disappointing.  This was my first time snorkeling (Mark), so it took some doing try to rid myself of claustrophobic tendencies as I tried to breathe through the snorkel.  Anyway, we did that for a time, with Micah having the most success, and then we all headed away from that spot, and spotted some dolphins swimming around.  We chased them a bit, and then it was time to go to the designated spot.  The water was beautiful all the way along, and not that deep, and we were surprised at times to see how far off the coast the Kenyan snorkelers were.  After about 1 hour or so, we stopped on this huge sand bar, and everyone got off the boat.  We swam, looked at coral, star fish, and so on.  We were told that within an hour or so the water would recede completely from this sand bar, and we would be on an “island” of sorts.  It turned out to be true, and we were also amazed that we were greeted by a whole crew of beach boys, selling their wares.  It was here that we were served a wonderful lunch of different fish, shrimp, and lobster, and it was quite delicious.  The captains of the boats had arranged to bring grills out to the island (no Webers, these), and that’s where our food was prepared.  It was confirmed for me that I still do not like lobster; in fact, in my desperation to rid myself of the taste, I looked for a Coke to wash things down.  We were pleased, in the midst of all this, to meet some wonderful people, including Joy and Alex from Italy.

Shortly thereafter, we headed back.  The water got quite choppy for landlubbers like us, and we went slowly, but eventually made it back.  We went for Gelati with Alex and Joy, and with Zirroh and one of his crew (Justin Timberland).  It was a great time.   We definitely have been amused by the names of some of the locals.

Since Tuesday, Micah has been having a bit of a rash, and yesterday things were quite bad and he itched quite a bit.  So we tried some basic interventions, but it was still giving him some trouble today.  So he and I went to St. Peter’s hospital to see what was going on.  We arrived at the hospital, and much to our surprise, the doctor was standing right beside the administrator, ready to see Micah.  He was given some antihistamines, and 20 minutes and 1300 schillings ($16) later, we were on our way.

We relaxed till supper, making some phone calls and the like.  We went for supper to the pizzeria, and enjoyed our time there.  I checked emails after supper, and the kids and Mary headed to the hut. We retired early, as we were tired from a day at sea.  And what a great day it was!

Malindi - Feb 21-24

We arrived late in the evening on Monday.  I have never been in such a small airport.   It has 2 rooms – departures & arrivals.   You pick up your luggage on the tarmac right off the truck.  Thankfully someone from the Driftwood Hotel was there to pick us up.   There was some sort of mix up and we had 2 huts at the hotel.   Micah is considered an adult because he is 13.   Because it was so late in the evening, they could not get a hut that would fit all of us.   The guys went into one and us girls went into another.   It was surreal to wake up in the morning and see the endless ocean outside of our window.   We quickly ate breakfast and took our first walk on the beach.   I had read about the boys on the beach but did not think they could be as annoying as people said.   Well I was wrong.   My only complaint about the beach is that you are continually hounded by boys asking you to purchase this or that or take an excursion with them.

We were able to check in to our time share @ Coral Key by 11:00.   This place is beautiful.   It has 4 main pools (yes, I said 4) with a bunch of small pools attached to them.   At first, I thought the small pools would be for the little children to play in but it is for the sun bathers.   There are Italians everywhere lying in the sun – partially clothed I might add.   Apparently it does not matter your size or age, if you are a man you wear a small speedo and if you are a lady you wear your bikini to your sun bed.   You only wear it to your bed because many women take their top off (yes there are signs everywhere that state you have to keep your tops on).    Needless to say, it has been an eye opening experience for all of us, especially the kids.

We have walked out to the first reef twice.   We have spotted a few tropical fish.   We have seen spider star fish, obama star fish, and our favorite, the Maasai star fish.   We have seen sea cucumber, sea snakes and even sea brain.   The kids have enjoyed looking for shells.   Micah found enough small spotted shells to have a necklace made for each of us.

The price for fresh fruit is cheap here.   We bought 4 mangos, 3 pineapples and a watermelon for about $8.   I am going to miss eating fresh fruit every morning.   We were able to find a bakery for pastries in the morning as well.   Our kitchen is very tiny.   We are only able to keep cold drinks in the fridge.  There is a lovely pizzeria on site, which we go to for supper each night.   The main waiter, Fred, is our buddy.   The kids love the wood fired, cheese pizza (yep, they are adventurous).   The pasta is amazing.   We usually have some type of leftover pizza that we can snack on for lunch the following day.

There is also a juice bar at the resort.   Buffalo (honestly, that is his real name) has quickly become our friend.   Mark, Aby & I have created our favorite drinks.   It does not matter how much fruit you put in your drink it costs about $3 each.   Yesterday, Mark had apple added to his.   Aby told Buffalo her naughty monkey story.   He went to the back and gave her an apple to eat.  Buffalo appears to enjoy our company.   We seem to be an anomaly to him.  We engage the staff in conversation and have a genuine appreciation for their service.   It would appear to us that many people here demand service.

We are excited for tomorrow to arrive.   After many days of being inundated by the beach boys & some bartering, we have decided we are going with Zirroh (yep, that is his name) for the day.   We are snorkeling and going to an island for a BBQ.   

Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort - Feb 20th

We left the best for last.   Upon checking out of the resort, we headed down the road for our Hippo Safari.    Micah decided in Canada that he did not want to go on this safari.   He knew that Hippos are very dangerous animals.   We encouraged Micah to wait until the day we go before he made his final decision.    I think after seeing the hippos graze at a distance each night, he decided he could overcome some of his fears.   He decided to join us on the safari - I am very proud of him.

We left for the safari around 10 in the morning.  A few of us put sunscreen on our face but that was all, after all it is only the morning sun and we were only going to be on the water by equator for just over 1 hour.   By the end of the safari, our faces were rather pink, and one of the particularly tall gentlemen in our group had flaming pink thighs.   I am so glad Mark had his hat on or his head would be matching his legs.

The safari was fabulous.   We went on a fiberglass boat with a motor.  I know it doesn't sound very safe but somehow you felt safe in it.   We found 2 schools of hippos.   It was amazing to see them huddled up together.   A few of them would leave the others.  I always felt a little unsure when that happened.    We saw one large male hippo very far away from the others.   Some of the males can be rejected by the group and have to live on their own.   There is always a dominant male hippo.   He will sometimes kill the baby male hippos.   The mamma's are very protective of their boys.

We had a hard time deciding what to do for our last afternoon together as families.   The boys wanted to try out go-karting.   We had limited time and were not sure if any of us were up to standing in line in the heat to have our 10 minute turn.    Tristan & Emma were sad they missed the Brazilian BBQ restaurant.    For some reason, we decided we had not eaten enough these past few days and went back to the BBQ.   It was amazing once again.   We convinced our driver to come with us and we treated him to lunch.   They served crocodile this time.    We all decided we should try and a bit.   No one from our family liked it.   I must confess that I am addicted to deep fried bananas. 

We had a fantastic weekend with the Kenny's.   It was a great way to start off our official holiday time.   We have a few hours of debriefing this afternoon and then we are off to Malindi.    We are able to fly because of a great sale. 

Apparently it is safe for these men to fish near the hippos.