Baringo and Bogoria

What a weekend. Let's see if I can get this all out.

We left for the Rift Valley at 6:30 Saturday morning (7am KT). The valley stretches north to south along the length of Kenya, and is home to 6 spectacular lakes: Turkana, Baringo, Bogoria, Nakuru, Elmenteita, and Naivasha. Our destination on Saturday was Lake Baringo.

I don't know how many different ways I can try to describe the landscape here, but suffice it to say our drive there was beautiful. We hired Ashley to drive us again this weekend, and he was very good about pointing things out along the way and letting us stop and take pictures. Our drive took us out north of town, where we soon found ourselves driving along the rim of the Kerio Valley -- the Cherangani Hills and Tugen Hills on either side. There were several vista points that we stopped at along the way to take (a bunch of) gorgeous pictures of the sun rising over the hills, the valley sprawled out below. The drive itself was less than ideal -- lots and lots of steep, hairpin turns on a pot-hole filled road. I had to concentrate very hard on not being ill. At one point Ashley took a speed bump at full speed, I flew up and hit my head on the celining of the matatu and completely hyperextended my neck. The only very bad thing about this weekend was that I spent it with a headache and feeling like I'd been in a car accident.

The drive to Baringo was about 3 hours. Just outside the lake entrance, we stopped in a little town and picked up a Kenyan named Douglas, who was apparently educated at IU and Shawn (from the IU house office) had called to be our guide for the weekend. Ok, fine. Never know who you'll meet in Kenya. It's a good thing he was with us, though, as we soon found out. Apparently about 5 years ago the road into Lake Baringo was completely washed out by a huge rainstorm. Sure enough, where the road should have been, was a huge pile of rocks and dirt about the height of the matatu. So, we had to go onto a worn dirt path, and pretty soon we come to a river. Douglas was able to navigate us across the river pretty well, but I was holding my breath and white-knuckle-ing it the whole time. Luckily the river was considered "low" at the time. After the great fording of the river, we get back on the real road and get to the lake entrance; drive down to the jetty, where a boat (basically a canoe with a 30 horsepower motor on it) was to take us to the island we were staying on.

The boat ride out to Ol Kokwe island was spectacular. It actually reminded me a lot of Lake Tahoe. The lake itself is huge, at least 15 km long and 10 km wide, the water is completely brown from the inflow of river silt, and it is rare in that it is a freshwater lake -- most of the other Rift Valley lakes are salt water. It is also completely surrounded by mountains in every direction, so the contrast of the landscape was just gorgeous. There are 7 islands in Lake Baringo -- only 2 of them inhabited, and we were heading for Island Camp Baringo on the southern tip of Ol Kokwe island -- smack dab in the middle of the lake. It was about a 15 minute boat ride out there, and we loved every minute of it.

When we docked at the Camp, we were immediately greeted by porters to carry our bags and the owner/manager with glasses of fresh pineapple juice. (I should mention that we decided to go for the high end place this weekend, in the name of relaxation and in honor of Dayna leaving tomorrow). We were shown to our tents, which really weren't much like tents at all. Well, they were /actually/ large tents, they looked like about 15 person tents in reality, but they were outfitted very nicely for 2 people, with 2 actual beds, 2 tables, and connected to the back was a cement building that was a REAL bathroom with hot running water. Our tents each had an entry way area with chairs to sit in that faced the lake -- the view was spectacular.

So, the 6 of us got settled in and went about the difficult business of lounging about the pool. The southern part of the island is basically one big hill, with the tents/bandas spread out stepwise up it, and the pool and clubhouse being at the very top of the hill. It was an amazing feeling to swim in the pool, at the top of the island, and be able to look out and see the lake below, the mountains beyond. Big surprise, we took a ton of pictures. After a few hours at the pool, it was time for lunch, which was delicious, and SO much food it was unbelievable. Then a few more hours at the pool, before Douglas met us to go on a short walk through the village on the other side of the hill. In theory this sounded like a good idea, but I was wrong.

From the moment we set foot in the village, it was clear that they were expecting us. Not in itself a bad thing, but we were immediately set upon by children and other villagers telling us over and over again about the 700-plus impovereshed villagers on Ol Kokwe island, whose only source of income is from selling things to tourists. Everything just seemed so...played up, dramatized even. They couldn't afford motors for their boats (oh yeah, except that one we saw like 10 minutes later) or walls for their church, etc etc. They were friendly, for sure, but overly so, I thought. It was just so obvious that they wanted, expected something in return for walking through their village, whether it was buying the necklaces, etc that they were selling (and carried along beside us as we walked) or even Abby getting asked by a man to be his sponsor. Their expectations were so apparent, they were tangible - you could feel them in the air. The whole thing just seemed SO contrived -- even the cats and dogs ran up to us begging for food! Not that I thought their poverty was made up; no, that was quite apparent. Shabby one-room huts, dirty little children in tattered clothing or nothing at all, genuine looks of desperation on the womens' faces. No, that was real. So real. They told us it was ok to take pictures, but I really just couldn't. Some things can't be captured on film, and other things shouldn't.

In the end, we hightailed it out of there pretty quickly. I didn't buy anything. Who knows, maybe I'm just too much of a cynic. Maybe buying something from the village /would/ have been the right thing to do. They very clearly needed the money. How is it, though, that I can feel like I was used by people who have universes less than I do? Is that a selfish way to feel? I really struggled with the whole situation after we got back. Was my denying them anything in return for their "hospitality" a basic injustice and a cruelty toward them? Did I, in fact, owe them something after all? We are told not to cling to earthly treasures, but to store up our treasures in Heaven. But then, aren't we also told to "do to the least of these"? I just don't like the feeling taht every encounter or relationship here is heavy laden with expectations and pre-conceptions about me as a Westerner, right from the outset. But show fault is this? Is it the Kenyans' fault for expecting so much from our white skin? Or is it our fault -- the West's -- as we flaunt our wealth everywhere, exporting our culture and modern ways? No doubt these poor people have had ample opportunity to witness the ugly side of rich Westerners.

So what, exactly, is the answer? SHOULD I have given money to the villagers? If yes, does that mean that the answer to 3rd world poverty is tourism? Should we all travel around Africa, etc spending our money? Something tells me no, that the solution to poverty is not just money. It is such a complex problem, I think, so too is the answer. Besides, I believe that all people have some intrinsic amount of pride, and I know I would not like to pander to the wealthy as a way of living. How could I think so ill of these people who wanted my shillings, as I sat atop my Ivory White Tower (literally -- the Camp [full of white people] sat atop the hill overlooking the village) of luxury, with more food than most see in a month, the sound of the generator that gave me electricity and a warm shower drowning out the sounds of the evening? We've set ourselves as gods above them, in a way, so how can I be surprised when they attempt to gain some advantage from that? Who knows, maybe I was just so uncomfortable sitting there in my absolute luxury, pondering these questions, that what I was really upset about was me.

At any rate, after we left the village we swam for just a little bit more, as all of a sudden a HUGE storm rolled in across the lake. The wind was whipping around us, and from the top of the hill we could look out over the lake and see the storm clouds pouring rain into Baringo, coming directly at us. There was even a rainbow. The storm was short lived, then it was time for dinner. At the pool, where there were tents and candle-lit tables set up, and the most amazing barbecue I have ever been to. Sitting with 5 new friends, eating fresh foods from the island, and looking at the moon behind the mountains, shining over Lake Baringo in Kenya. It was a nice moment.

We woke up at 6 this morning to go on a sunrise boat ride around the lake with Douglas. Fantastic, all around. We bought some fish from a local villager, Douglas stuffed them with balsa wood so they would float, then we drove around the islands, searching the cliffs for eagles. When we found one, Douglas would whistle very loudly, launch the fish into the water, and here would come the eagle -- soaring right over our heads, dipping down gracefully into the water to grab the fish, then back up to the perch for breakfast. It was unbelievable. I got 3 great pictures of eagles skimming the water and even one video. After we fed the eagles, we got sort of a general tour of the lake, and we drove around the only other inhabited island -- Parmalok Island. Also called Teddy Bear Island, because it looks like a teddy bear floating on his back in the water. Douglas told us that one man lives there with his 5 wives and 28 children, which started an interesting conversation about polygamy and dowrys in Kenya. Being somewhat pigheaded and being with 6 girls, Douglas almost got tossed in the water several times. Apparently, if a man wants to marry an educated woman, he needs to give her father about 8 cows (cows not being cheap, about 10,000 kSH each). But, if he wants to marry an UNeducated woman, he needs to come up with 24 cows. The logic behind it is that uneducated women are more likely to stay home, raise the children, help on the farm, etc etc. Which makes sense. But, Douglas said it's also because all educated women do is spend their husbands' money on makeup and clothes. Cue time number 1 of Douglas almost being pushed into the water. This led to more interesting conversation, and I decided it might be a good idea to ask Mike how many cows he thinks I'M worth. So... what do you think honey? 8 cows? 24 cows? More? I'll give you awhile to think about it. I expect an answer when I get back.

After the islands, we went in search of hippo. Which we found! We maintained a respectable distance, as hippos are quite dangerous and territorial, but I got some great pictures of their pink little ears and noses poking out above the water. We also saw 3 or so crocodiles, but apparently they are quite "shy" and wary of humans, so they maintained a respectable distance from US, which I appreciated. The other wildlife we saw was amazing -- the birds. The lake was chock-full of them, of all sizes and colors. At the camp they are so acclimated to humans they will come and perch all around your table while you eat, waiting for crumbs to fall. I got some great pictures of various birds as well.

After our lake tour, we got back to camp in time for delicious breakfast, then we put our minds again to the great task of swimming and sunbathing until lunch. After lunch, we packed up and got back on a boat for the mainland. We met Ashley at the Jetty, where he proceeded to take us the 45 minutes or so to Lake Bogoria.

Lake Bogoria is actually a natural reserve run by the government, so it was just teeming with wildlife. We saw ostriches, zebra, dik-diks (the smallest kind of antelope), antelope, gazelles, warthogs, and some monkeys. The most amazing thing about the lake was its flamingo population. We drove the length of the lake, which took about 40 minutes itself, and the shoreline was completely lined with flamingos. They were beautiful! Every now and then a group would take off, all in a single-file line, and wherever the leader went, the rest would follow, up, down, up, down, then landing again elsewhere in the lake. The other main attraction of Bogoria is the hot springs, a row of about 5 or so geysers of hot water. And I mean hot. This is a popular place to picnic, especially on Sunday, and many people were there cooking their lunch in the springs. We had brought along eggs and potatos, which we put in a bag and cooked in the spring. It was fun.

After eggs and potatos, it was time to head back to Eldoret, which was another beautiful yet hair raising ride through the mountains, and we got back about an hour after dark. I am now at IU house, in the process of working on one of two presentations that I have to give tomorrow. Not the best timing, but well worth the price of the fantastic weekend I had.

Kwa Herini!