The Cave

**WARNING: Graphic Content**

I apologize in advance for the length of this post. But it is my belief that with an adventure like this, brevity should be compromised.

I spent this past weekend sleeping in a cave with Masai warriors. I’m not sure where to start telling this story so I guess I’ll start with why I spent the weekend in a cave with Masai warriors. I was told by another group of TechnoServe volunteers who also went to the cave that it is one of the most unique and authentic experiences you can have while in Kenya – something that you’ll never forget (though there are portions of the experience you really want to).

So a group of five of us piled into a safari vehicle on Saturday morning and left for a small town called Suswa. In Suswa we met the Masai who would be our guides through the experience, John and Joseph. It was at this point when our streak of bad luck started. John was navigating as our driver, Jimmy, was trying to get us to our second stop, a village just outside Hell’s Gate National Park. Jimmy was convinced he was an expert driver and, despite repeated warnings from John, continued on a path that turned from a little dusty into pure sand. About half way between Suswa and the village our safari vehicle got stuck in the sand. It was a little like getting a huge rear-wheel drive SUV stuck in the snow. The wheels just keep spinning and throwing sand all over the place. As we all know, I’m not the best at driving in the snow, but I do know that spinning wheels won’t get you anywhere.

After Jimmy – who we were all pretty annoyed with at this point – continued to dig us deeper in the sand we decided to get out of the safari vehicle and think more strategically about the situation. By this time both axels were deeply embedded into the sand and our vehicle had sunk at least three feet. We took the only tools we had – an axe and a machete – and began digging out the axels. After about two hours of digging we put the vehicle in neutral and tried pushing it out of the sand. The car got out, but the damage was already done. The gear box and filter were clogged with sand and the radiator had overheated. As a result, we were able to backtrack to a new (more solid) route only to have the safari vehicle break down two minutes later.

So we were stuck once again in the middle of an almost completely deserted area somewhere between Suswa and Hell’s Gate with only three hours until sundown. We were racing against the clock to figure out what we can do. The village was about four hours by foot. We couldn’t stay in the car; once it gets dark, chances are we would either get attacked by robbers or wild animals. The closest towing service was back in Nairobi and would have taken longer than three hours to get to where we were. Just as we were picking up all of our stuff to try our luck at walking to the village, two pickup trucks drove by. We had to pay them quite a bit but they both agreed to help us. One of them helped Jimmy tow the safari vehicle to Naivasha to get it fixed. The other let us jump in the back and hitch a ride closer to the village.

We finally got to the village an hour before sundown. We were covered with sand, sweat, and were exhausted. Despite our appearances, the villagers were excited to see us. I played with the village kids while the guys played some pick-up soccer (I have no idea how they still had energy to play soccer). The kids were adorable and started calling me “banana lady” because I gave them all bananas and biscuits.

From the village we hiked through Hell’s Gate to the cave. This was probably the most intense hike I’ve ever done. It was down a mountain, across a gorge, through bushes and grass taller than me, back up the mountain, and finally to the cave. Now, normally I would have paced myself through this hike but I had to keep up with the ridiculously fast Masai leading us or else I would have gotten lost. It is very ironic, by the way, that the Masai walk as fast as they do, only because everyone else in Kenya walks like they have nowhere in particular to be. Apparently the Masai are a breed of their own.

We finally got to the cave right as the sun was about to set (which is good because you don’t want to be hiking in Hell’s Gate in the dark with all the wildcats, black mambas, and other creatures lurking around). It was then time for dinner and what did we end up eating? The Kenyan staple diet – nyama choma (roasted meat) – what else? Only this time instead of just eating a big heap of goat in a bowl, we watched the process of goat preparation from beginning to end. We watched the live goat get pinned down by the neck, suffocated until its eyes stopped blinking, slit in the throat and sliced open. Then we watched the Masai drink the blood of the goat, bending down and sucking it right out of the dead carcass. They drink the blood for multiple reasons including testing the goat to see if it was sick. After the slaughter, the Masai start up a fire, roast the goat pieces on sticks, and pass around each prepared piece to share with the rest of us – liver, diaphragm, espophagus, and all other pieces of the goat including the hoofs.

All I can say is that I am so lucky that I don’t eat red meat! That one fact gave me a free pass to eat mac and cheese while my other friends had to eat the unseasoned meat with the smell of goat slaughter still lingering and the hollowed out carcass lying right next to us. They managed to sneak some salt and seasoning onto the goat pieces as they were eating so that it would at least taste like something.

The night continued with the Masai (there were eight of them total including three little kids) telling us very non-traditional campfire stories about killing lions, 35 ft. pythons, walking 200Km to deliver messages, etc. while we had s'mores (it was my idea to bring s’mores stuff of course).

Then we went to sleep in our sleeping bags on a bed of sage leaves. I got about two hours of good sleep because I kept waking up thinking that there would be a snake in my sleeping bag, a bat on my face, or a cheetah snuggling with me. We woke up as the sun was rising and had breakfast. The Masai had goat leftovers while the rest of us had bread and Nutella (at this point no one cared about being rude by declining the breakfast goat offer).

We did the same treacherous hike back to the village, this time stopping at some natural hot springs. Then we had lunch in the village before heading back home. We were so tired and dirty at this point that no one said a word the entire ride home and we all marched straight to the shower as soon as we walked into our apartments. All in all, the weekend was something I could have never prepared myself for, even after hearing stories from past cave visitors. I got to experience some of the best things I have ever seen (Hell’s Gate is gorgeous, the kids were adorable, and the Masai were great hosts) and the worst – namely the goat slaughter and the sand/sweat mixture in every crevice of my body. Needless to say, I am more than ready for my next weekend trip to the coastal paradise of Lamu (the exact opposite of the cave). My next blog entry will be about relaxing on the beach, eating massive amounts of seafood prepared by our private cook, and taking sunset dhow rides.

YWE Business Plan Competition

Based on my recent blog entries, you might think that all I do in Kenya is travel. I promise you that I'm working hard too! I thought I should give an update on the progress of my project and what I have been doing with TechnoServe.

A couple weeks ago, I helped out with the YWE Interschool Business Plan Competition (BPC). As I mentioned in an earlier entry, YWE has separate programs for girls who are in school and girls who are out of school. The year long school program ends with an interschool business plan competition. This year, the BPC was held on July 1st at Kenya Institute of Education.

During this event, girls compete against peers from other schools for the best business plans. The top two business plans from each school with a YWE club are represented. The event starts off with business plan presentations by each group in front of a panel of judges. Then, the different panels of judges collaborate to pick the top three business plans. An award ceremony follows, which includes entertainment, speeches from government officials and sponsors, certificates for all YWE girls, and cash prizes for the top three groups.

I was incredibly impressed with the quality of work I saw from the girls in the BPC. The third place prize was awarded to girls who are going to start up a car wash. The second place prize was for girls who are making floor mats. The first place prize was won by girls with an electro-solar laundry business. All of the business plans were well researched and very creative, especially the first place winners. Highlights from the BPC were featured in few publications and the girls are already getting phone calls from people who want to use their business idea. Hopefully they will be able to expand their business ideas and use them as a stepping stone for a future full of economic opportunities for themselves and their families.

I was the unofficial photographer for the event and also helped with the registration process, logistics, and other random tasks. The schoolgirls were very intrigued by me. They all wanted to get pictures taken with me (can you blame them?). The pictures, however, turned out really goofy looking because most of these girls towered over me. One girl even came up to me and whispered in my ear that “we are going to be the best of friends.” Apparently in Kenya, my friendship is in high demand.

Aside from the school BPC, my daily tasks right now revolve around a lot of monitoring and evaluation for the YWE community program. I have been compiling financial data for each of the girls’ businesses on a weekly basis. This data is being used by me and others in the program to tailor efforts for process improvements, marketing and branding, and up-scaling of businesses. I make weekly field visits to the girls' businesses in the slums with counselors to meet the girls, get their stories, and offer my two cents.

Once I compile more stories, I will be sure to write a separate entry on them.

Masai Mara

On Friday we made a seven hour road trip to Masai Mara Reserve (known to most as just “The Mara”). It is the northern continuation of what is called the Serengeti in Tanzania. Visiting the Mara is the culmination of all safari experiences in Kenya (and probably East Africa). Despite several of the same types of animals inhabiting the Mara that are in Amboseli, the two are very different:

First, the Mara is huge. It covers a total area of 1,510 square kilometers. You realize how big it is when you spend almost two hours on a really bumpy road just to get from one end of the park to the other.

The Mara is also a Reserve while Amboseli is a Park. Reserves are owned by local authorities while parks are owned by the central government. As a result, we were able to save a lot of money at the Mara because our Special Passes got us resident rates. Special Passes didn’t do anything for us at Amboseli because it is run by KWS (Kenyan Wildlife Services).

Our accommodations were also very different at the Mara. We splurged and stayed at the Mara Serena. The view from the Serena is like nothing I have ever experienced. The pictures below do not do any justice to what you actually see when looking out at the African Savannah from the pool. The hotel provided full room and board meaning we enjoyed delicious breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

Finally, the most unique thing about the Mara is the Great Migration that takes place between July and October. During the migration, millions of wildebeest, gazelles, and zebra migrate north from the Serengeti. It is known sometimes as the eighth wonder of the world because of how many animals migrate and over such a large distance. On a morning game drive, we were able to catch zebra migrating across the Mara River. Because the migration had already started a couple weeks back, we were also able to see zebra and wildebeest in huge groups covering most of the reserve. It’s really hard to describe the number of these animals you can see when you scan across the Mara during migration season.

I also added a few more new animals on my checklist of animals seen on safaris:
1. Topi
2. Water Buck
3. Vultures
4. Cheetah

(You can take hot air balloon safaris for about $500person/day if you would like a different view of the animals)

The cheetah was a parting gift from the Mara as we chased it down (literally) on our drive out of the park on Sunday. Our driver, Edwin, had heard a tip on the radio that there was a cheetah in the area and he tracked it down for us. This is really hard to do because of how rare and small cheetahs are. They are hardly visible through the tall grass of the Mara. As excited as we were to see him, the cheetah probably hated us because we ruined his cover while he was trying to hunt prey that morning.

My last safari (I’m getting pretty “safaried” out at this point), will be at Nakuru National Park in August. I’m still hoping to see a Rhino (which I heard are a sure thing in Nakuru), leopard (almost impossible to see), and a kill (equally as rare to see). That will make my safari checklist complete. Wish me luck.

Kiambethu Tea Farm

This past weekend I went to Kiambethu Tea Farm about an hour outside of Nairobi. It was a relief to finally get out of the pollution into some clean air. The farm dates back to 1910 and is one of the first East African tea farms.

The tour of the farm started off in a beautiful garden where one of the owners introduced us to what a tea bush looks like. Next, we were taken in the house and explained the process of tea production over our own cup of tea with homemade biscuits. I learned that within a 24 hour period tea goes from being picked off of a bush to ready for consumption. The oxidation process is that quick. I also learned that the quality of tea is dependent on what part of the leaf is used to make it. The tea that we get in tea bags and even most of the loose leaf tea is blended -- it contains different parts of the leaf and leaves from all over the world that are sold at auction.


After our chat, we walked over to the tea fields and were shown how the leaves are picked. Only the tops of the tea bushes are selected (two leaves and a bud are supposed to be picked together in a bunch). To speed up the process, the women who hand pick tea leaves rest a stick (like the one seen below) in the bush and only pick the leaves that stick up past it. The women are paid about Ksh 6 per kg of tea leaves (only good tea leaves are weighed). The average woman picks about 50 kgs per day adding up to Ksh 300 per day (the equivalent of $3.75). It is incredibly important that quality leaves are picked because when you take them to the factory for auction, you might be told to sift through all your bags of leaves again if any poor quality ones are caught in the mix.


After the tea fields, a resident Keyan guide then took us through an indigenous forest with medicinal trees. Most of the trees we were introduced to cure malaria (which makes me wonder why I'm taking a weekly medicine that causes scary dreams of snakes and the apocalypse). I guess if I get malaria I wouldn't want to trek into the forest for special roots, bark, and leaves that I have to boil.

Other remedies that the trees provide are for childbirth pains which the guide showed to us by saying "in old times men go into forest and get roots to boil so that wife could drink water and have less pain. So much work for man in old times..." I don't know about that. I still think the woman is doing way more work. I would rather put on some hiking boots and go find roots than deal with childbirth.



There were several animals we encountered on our tour of the farm: geese, cows, colobus monkeys (as seeen hanging from the roof of the house above), and four dogs that were pretty friendly.

Our meal at the end of the tour was three courses of pure deliciousness. We started with a vegetable soup followed by a main course of corn in a cheese sauce, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, fresh baked bread rolls and garlic bread, homemade butter, veggie cutlets, and homemade mustard. The dessert menu was quite extensive as well: lemon mousse, homemade vanilla and chocolate icecream, cream sauce drizzled over pineapples, raspberries, and other fruits.

The best part was the cheese tray. I think Europeans and Americans are spoiled because of the massive quantities of cheese we consume. Kenyans don't really eat cheese and it is therefore hard to find in grocery stores. Unfortunately for me, the cheese was served at the end of the meal (at a point where I had already eaten my own body weight in cheese-corn and lemon mousse) and so I couldn't eat as much cheese as I wish I could have. I may return to the tea farm purely for the cheese.

I know that I have spent a disproportionate amount of this post describing food, but if you were eating it, you would understand...

Amboseli

Last weekend, I went on my first Safari in Amboseli National Park. The park is in the southern region of Kenya, very close to Tanzania. It is known for two things mainly: elephants (lots of them) and a scenic backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro. I was the most excited out of everyone I went with because it was my first real safari (after going to Amboseli, I have stopped counting the one at Disney World because it can't compare). Everyone else would only get excited to see the predators while I was jumping up and down every time I saw a new bird.

Apparently I was extremely lucky because we were able to get really close to lions on within our first hour at the park while others spend their entire time trying to find them. The pictures below are from our lion encounter:

Other than lions, here's an almost complete list of the animals I saw:
1. elephant (more pics below)
2. monkey
3. hippo
4. ostrich
5. jackal
6. hyena
7. heron
8. zebra
9. wildebeest
10. buffalo
11. gazelle
12. impala
13. giraffe

14. warthog
15. lots of other birds
16. really skinny black squirrel in our front yard
17. black cat in our back yard

(Safari vehicles have detachable roofs so that you can stand up and view the animals)

We stayed at a Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) rest house which was very basic. It had a kitchen full of bugs, electricity from 7PM-11PM only, and plenty of mosquitoes ready to feast on me. Despite all this, we had a great time. We cooked elaborate meals including scrambled eggs with every ingredient you could imagine, butter chicken, shrimp fried rice, our own spin on ramen noodles, and fresh pineapple with Toblerone for dessert. Unfortunately the red snapper we brought for Simon's big birthday dinner did not make it because of the lack of electricity and shoddy cooler, so we didn't risk eating it. We also had an amazing view of Mount Kilimanjaro from our backyard. It was definitely worth the $15/night we spent to stay there.

Overall, the experience has me very excited for Masai Mara (the best safari experience Kenya has to offer) next weekend. Hopefully I will see some cheetahs and leopards there. Stay tuned...

Note: I can't take credit for most of these photos. Simon, another volunteer consultant with TechnoServe, took most of them. His camera and photography skills are far superior to the rest of ours so we basically relied on him to capture all the memories from the weekend.