Another "shortcut"; Hippo Habits in Lake Naivasha

On the way from Thika to Lake Naivasha on the back roads, the locals sent me on the "shortcut", thinking I wouldn't want to ride on any unpaved road. It didn't match up with what my map said, but what could I do when 20 villagers are practically pushing my bike down the road? So I ended up in the middle of nowhere (a beautiful one by the way, among tea fields planted on slopes so steep I wondered how one could harvest the young, tender, leaves standing at a 45 degree angle) with no way to get near a town before dark. Fortunately, an American couple (also not on the road they thought they were on), rolled by in their land rover and gave me a ride to Naivasha. They were an amazing pair of missionaries who had spent 30 years among the Pekot tribe in northern Kenya. They had recently "retired" to Naivasha but were just coming home from a two week stay in Isiolo drilling wells for the locals.

Naivasha is home to a huge lake, banked by flower farms. Flower farming is big business in Kenya and much of the coffee has been replaced by huge net greenhouses that grow roses. I had the opportunity to tour one near Thika and it was pretty amazing! They use drip irrigation and hydroponic gardening to grow the roses and any unused water is recycled and used again. I was told that much of Naivasha is employed in the rose business and the pay is quite competitive.

Got the lowdown about hippos in Lake Naivasha from one of the boat drivers. There were a few near shore, hunkered down in the water. They sleep there all day and at night feed on who knows what plants. Can you imagine how much green stuff they have to consume to fill that huge body? They live in small pods with only one male per group. That male claims his "territory". When a baby male is born, the mother has to hide it or the father will kill it. She sneaks around to breastfeed her son and then returns to the harem. When the male grows up, he will fight his father or other male for the territory, inheriting the women I suppose. Hmmm. Maybe we should start a Female Hippo Rights support group.

Somali boys at track meet; Plowing rice in Mwea; Cure for everything

Kim selling rice in Mwea

Coming and Going

I arrived in Nairobi about a week ago and getting restless to be on the road again. I admit, exploring city life is as fascinating as small town life. I invited myself to the YMCA school in Kibera, the second largest "unstructured settlement" in the world (or so I am told). Another word for "unstructured settlement" is slum, which you may be more familiar with. There are a couple of women staying here at the YMCA who told me about the research they are doing in Kibera and how it "works". They tell me that 95% of the structures, made from metal sheets and other cheap materials, are rented. The owners? Recent and past political leaders, wealthy Kenyans, and entrepreneurial citizens who have gotten rich from the poor. The rent is high (about $25 a month) and in addition, one has to pay for electricity and security. Going to the toilet is a seperate charge since there is only one latrine for every 100 people. It may not seem like a lot of money to an American, but to a poor Kenyan who typically survives on $1 - $2 a day, it is a lot, especially since one person is probably supporting many others. I haven't spent much time in Kibera, but met a few people who live there who are happy to show me a bit of their life. I'll learn a bit of Sheng, the street language of Kibera, and teach you a few words! I've also spent a lot of time in Eastleigh, the home of many Somali and Oromo refugees. It reminds me of Merkato in Addis Ababa and one of the only places in Kenya to get good, cheap, Ethiopian injera and coffee. I didn't realize how much I missed Ethiopian food until I took that first bite if tibs, grilled meat with barbare, hot chili powder.

Family around Embu countryside. Preschool teacher and farmer with kids.

Toto drinking camel's milk

Rice farming in Kenya

Just a few miles out of Embu, I stopped to take pictures of a woman harvesting rice. |I had never actually seen rice being grown or harvested except in Asian movies. I also chatted with a rice farmer and stopped at a mill. SO here it is: Rice is not grown in many places in Kenya. The best soil conditions and the sweetest rice come from an area around a town called Mwea, where I spent the night on a mattress so hard that my back hurt for 2 days. But beside that unpleasant night of no sleep, Mwea was an experience. The fields are first plow by tractor, which most farmers hire for their 2-4 acres. After that, a pair of oxen plow it again to mix the nutrients into the rich soil. Rice seedling, which are started in a nursery, are planted. Once the rice is mature, it is cut with a scythe. The women then use baskets to winnow the rice. When they throw it up in the air, the rice kernels separate from the stalks.After the rice is dried in the sun, it is taken to the mill which separates the husk from the rice. The husks and the stalks from the rice are made into animal feed. The rice is bagged and sold. In Mwea, there are dozens of people with small stalls selling rice. When I asked how they could all make a profit with so much competition, I was told that many of the merchants stay out all night, where they do a brisk business with the truck drivers passing by on the main road. Biking beside the rice paddies gave me a peaceful feeling. The paddies are dotted with white egrets, farmers plowing, women planting and harvesting. Unfortunately, the rice paddies only went for about a 10 mile stretch. In a short distance from Mwea, I reached a small,dry town where it had not rained in two years!