I arrived in Nairobi three weeks ago today. While I’ve written nearly one hundred blog posts in my mind, and have had my finger steady on the shutter, I have yet to actually sit and distill bits of the experience into words and images.
I hope to do so now, as best I can.
It was strange to land in Nairobi at 10pm on a Tuesday evening. The dark of night made the whole experience feel concealed. The city was covered and my experience of being there felt very much the same: unknown and hidden. I was there, but I couldn’t yet see that I was there.
One could reduce it to jetlag. Or the fact that in the modern age we live in, we travel physically faster than my mind’s ability to comprehend transiting from one world to the next. I’d like to report that my first days on the African continent were full of excitement and a readiness to take it all in. But they really were not. I felt disoriented, under confident, and unsure of how to enter in.
Thankfully, the host family I stayed with in Nairobi helped me with this. Steve, a brother to Serah (who I was staying with), graciously showed me the highlights of the city. We spent a few hours playing tourist, knocking off the elephant orphanage and the giraffe center, as well as the Karen Blixen museum, and a visit to Kazuri, an amazing organization that employs women to make jewelry from clay beads - beautiful craftsmanship and so many vibrant colours.
And then Steve told me it was time to experience the real Kenya. We drove to a local butcher and ordered a kilo of goat to be roasted for dinner. We feasted on the meat and drank far too many Tuskers, talking late into the night about life in Kenya and life in Canada; about relationships; faith; the importance of living well, and how that all looked in the mess of life. It was so good to have a new friend. The following day Steve drove me out of the city to see the Kenyan countryside. We hiked down into a valley, passing goats and a number of Massai men and women walking with their cows. It was delicious to get out into the open and quiet after a few days of being in the bustle of Nairobi. I had a few more days at the home stay, connecting with Serah, who years ago had spent 6 months away from Kenya to come to Canada – in the winter! And I had many lovely moments with her little boys, Wallace and William. I’m glad I chose to soften the landing like this – to spend a few days in the company of a local family before heading onward.
And onward I went - to meet the crew of folks I’d be spending the next two months with, making our way from Nairobi to Cape Town. We’re a fairly worldly crew: Canadians; Aussies; Brits; Kenyans; Frenchies, Irish, and one American. To date we’ve driven from Nairobi south through Tanzania, and just this week we’ve entered Malawi.
The initial highlight of the trip was the three days spent in the Serengeti. I’ve never seen anything as majestic as that landscape and the wildlife that inhabits it. The eight hours of driving required to get to the gates of Serengeti Park offered a sense of the tucked-away nature of the place – and subsequent three days of toting around in Land Cruisers gave a sense of the expansiveness of the landscape. It is enormous. In scale. In impression. And in the sense of reverence it invokes – its impact is huge. For days I felt my senses overloaded. The combination of colorful grasses and eternal skies, the graceful movements of antelope - and the ferociousness of witnessing a lion pick apart a wildebeest, the sounds of animals talking through the night, and the spectacular blanket of stars lining the sky after the sun had retired for the day. It was magic.
We saw giraffes, rhinos, hyenas, ostriches, leopards, cheetahs, buffalo, wildebeests, zebras, lions. Oh - and elephants. My favorites were the elephants. On the first night, as dusk was nearing, we drove off towards the horizon to see a herd of forty (yes, forty!) grey giants on the move. I was spellbound. The majestic nature of even one of these animals is enough to deserve your full attention. But forty! I don’t know how to describe it other than to say it stirred up a reverence for the natural and the wild unlike I have ever experienced. It really was magic.
We spent our final day in the Cruisers touring the 20km basin of the Okavango Crater. There were heavy clouds hanging over the first day we had passed by, but the morning we descended into the Crater, the light and sky were magnificent. As was the life we found at the bottom. There were second sightings of nearly all the animals we had spotted in the Serengeti and again, the surroundings moved one to a place of worship for the Creator who had laid such beauty out for our viewing.
Since arriving I have feasted well on beauty. The belly of my eyes are surely satisfied, and yet I keep finding room for another feed. Following the Serengeti we camped at some remarkable locations in Tanzania, eventually pitching our tents alongside the Indian Ocean outside of Dar Es Salaam in preparation for our departure to Zanzibar.
Zanzibar is indeed the post-card pretty island I had been told it was. Arriving in the port of Stone Town was delicious. The texture and colour of the buildings kept me stimulated with my camera in hand for two full days of wandering. The narrow alleyways of the city weave through town bit by bit, inviting you to slow down and be okay with getting lost. It took a time or two before I successfully found my way back to the hotel. But getting lost was never a bad outcome. It simply provided opportunity for new delights to be found.
After two days in town we ventured to the north beaches to indulge in turquoise water and white sand beaches. And indulge I did. I spent nearly two days in the sun, reading, journaling, spending time in the quiet company of the ocean, swimming and taking in as much of the heat as possible. Which, did result in a severe sunburn – turns out I’m not immune to getting scorched by the African sun! But I did manage to avoid the sting of jelly fish and sea urchins – and pay a visit to one of the five-star resorts down the beach for overpriced cocktails and the use of comfortable lounge chairs. One has to find ways to slip out of hostel/backpacker life for a few hours when the opportunity presents itself.
For the last few days we power drove through the highlands of Tanzania, eventually crossing into Malawi three nights ago. I know I have only sampled of Kenya and Tanzania, and while I loved what I tasted of both, Malawi has really won me over so far. The warmth of being welcomed in and the encounters I have had with people since have been amazing.
My first full day in, myself and four of my pals here hired a local to take us on a 30km hike above Lake Malawi to visit the village of Livingstonia. The conversations and viewpoints from the day left me elated. More on that in the next post…
For now, signing off in gratitude. From Malawi, x
To date I have not had an internet connection strong enough to post photos, but you can find a simple feed here:
http://krystalrenschler.tumblr.com
I hope to do so now, as best I can.
It was strange to land in Nairobi at 10pm on a Tuesday evening. The dark of night made the whole experience feel concealed. The city was covered and my experience of being there felt very much the same: unknown and hidden. I was there, but I couldn’t yet see that I was there.
One could reduce it to jetlag. Or the fact that in the modern age we live in, we travel physically faster than my mind’s ability to comprehend transiting from one world to the next. I’d like to report that my first days on the African continent were full of excitement and a readiness to take it all in. But they really were not. I felt disoriented, under confident, and unsure of how to enter in.
Thankfully, the host family I stayed with in Nairobi helped me with this. Steve, a brother to Serah (who I was staying with), graciously showed me the highlights of the city. We spent a few hours playing tourist, knocking off the elephant orphanage and the giraffe center, as well as the Karen Blixen museum, and a visit to Kazuri, an amazing organization that employs women to make jewelry from clay beads - beautiful craftsmanship and so many vibrant colours.
And then Steve told me it was time to experience the real Kenya. We drove to a local butcher and ordered a kilo of goat to be roasted for dinner. We feasted on the meat and drank far too many Tuskers, talking late into the night about life in Kenya and life in Canada; about relationships; faith; the importance of living well, and how that all looked in the mess of life. It was so good to have a new friend. The following day Steve drove me out of the city to see the Kenyan countryside. We hiked down into a valley, passing goats and a number of Massai men and women walking with their cows. It was delicious to get out into the open and quiet after a few days of being in the bustle of Nairobi. I had a few more days at the home stay, connecting with Serah, who years ago had spent 6 months away from Kenya to come to Canada – in the winter! And I had many lovely moments with her little boys, Wallace and William. I’m glad I chose to soften the landing like this – to spend a few days in the company of a local family before heading onward.
And onward I went - to meet the crew of folks I’d be spending the next two months with, making our way from Nairobi to Cape Town. We’re a fairly worldly crew: Canadians; Aussies; Brits; Kenyans; Frenchies, Irish, and one American. To date we’ve driven from Nairobi south through Tanzania, and just this week we’ve entered Malawi.
The initial highlight of the trip was the three days spent in the Serengeti. I’ve never seen anything as majestic as that landscape and the wildlife that inhabits it. The eight hours of driving required to get to the gates of Serengeti Park offered a sense of the tucked-away nature of the place – and subsequent three days of toting around in Land Cruisers gave a sense of the expansiveness of the landscape. It is enormous. In scale. In impression. And in the sense of reverence it invokes – its impact is huge. For days I felt my senses overloaded. The combination of colorful grasses and eternal skies, the graceful movements of antelope - and the ferociousness of witnessing a lion pick apart a wildebeest, the sounds of animals talking through the night, and the spectacular blanket of stars lining the sky after the sun had retired for the day. It was magic.
We saw giraffes, rhinos, hyenas, ostriches, leopards, cheetahs, buffalo, wildebeests, zebras, lions. Oh - and elephants. My favorites were the elephants. On the first night, as dusk was nearing, we drove off towards the horizon to see a herd of forty (yes, forty!) grey giants on the move. I was spellbound. The majestic nature of even one of these animals is enough to deserve your full attention. But forty! I don’t know how to describe it other than to say it stirred up a reverence for the natural and the wild unlike I have ever experienced. It really was magic.
We spent our final day in the Cruisers touring the 20km basin of the Okavango Crater. There were heavy clouds hanging over the first day we had passed by, but the morning we descended into the Crater, the light and sky were magnificent. As was the life we found at the bottom. There were second sightings of nearly all the animals we had spotted in the Serengeti and again, the surroundings moved one to a place of worship for the Creator who had laid such beauty out for our viewing.
Since arriving I have feasted well on beauty. The belly of my eyes are surely satisfied, and yet I keep finding room for another feed. Following the Serengeti we camped at some remarkable locations in Tanzania, eventually pitching our tents alongside the Indian Ocean outside of Dar Es Salaam in preparation for our departure to Zanzibar.
Zanzibar is indeed the post-card pretty island I had been told it was. Arriving in the port of Stone Town was delicious. The texture and colour of the buildings kept me stimulated with my camera in hand for two full days of wandering. The narrow alleyways of the city weave through town bit by bit, inviting you to slow down and be okay with getting lost. It took a time or two before I successfully found my way back to the hotel. But getting lost was never a bad outcome. It simply provided opportunity for new delights to be found.
After two days in town we ventured to the north beaches to indulge in turquoise water and white sand beaches. And indulge I did. I spent nearly two days in the sun, reading, journaling, spending time in the quiet company of the ocean, swimming and taking in as much of the heat as possible. Which, did result in a severe sunburn – turns out I’m not immune to getting scorched by the African sun! But I did manage to avoid the sting of jelly fish and sea urchins – and pay a visit to one of the five-star resorts down the beach for overpriced cocktails and the use of comfortable lounge chairs. One has to find ways to slip out of hostel/backpacker life for a few hours when the opportunity presents itself.
For the last few days we power drove through the highlands of Tanzania, eventually crossing into Malawi three nights ago. I know I have only sampled of Kenya and Tanzania, and while I loved what I tasted of both, Malawi has really won me over so far. The warmth of being welcomed in and the encounters I have had with people since have been amazing.
My first full day in, myself and four of my pals here hired a local to take us on a 30km hike above Lake Malawi to visit the village of Livingstonia. The conversations and viewpoints from the day left me elated. More on that in the next post…
For now, signing off in gratitude. From Malawi, x
To date I have not had an internet connection strong enough to post photos, but you can find a simple feed here:
http://krystalrenschler.tumblr.com