The Road to Nanyuki

Nanyuki is a city four hours north of Nairobi and a pit stop on our way to Mpala.  It’s four hours north of Nairobi if you take there is no construction on the super highway.  It takes six hours if there’s construction on the super highway, causing you to have to take a detour around and through the Nairobi slums on a Saturday.  Guess which one we had to do?  YOU GUESS CORRECT!  We spent two hours in Kenyan gridlock before getting to the highway and spending another four hours on open road until getting to the unpaved road that leads to Mpala (after an hour).  I’ve gotten in the habit of using the catchphrase:  “we’re in no rush.”  I used it at the airport when we were going through the Visa line.  I used it while we were waiting for our bags.  I’ve used it a gazillion times, and I used it again the other day as we took one full day to travel from Nairobi to Mpala.  But, I have to say, this drive was an eye opener.  Driving through the slums gave me a picture of what another part of Kenya looks like.  I’ve seen upscale Nairobi (where our hotel was), semi-arid rural Kenya (Mpala) and low-scale Nairobi (the drive).  It was cool.  Every road was lined with shops or roadside market stands.  Men were making furniture and pool tables.  Women were selling fruit and vegetables.  It was slightly scary when our driver told us to roll up the windows or else someone might come by and steal our cameras; but better safe then sorry (another commonly uttered phrase here).  There were two highlights of our drive.  One:  while driving around the shantytown area, three little girls were standing and laughing.  One looked at me, so I waved and smiled at her and she waved and smiled back.  She started dancing and I gave her a thumbs up.  Then all her friends joined in.  It was so cute!  All along the ride, while I wasn’t sleeping, I was looking for children to wave at.  I guess I just love children.  At one point on the highway, we passed a truckload of dancing teenagers advertising for one of the presidential candidates.  WHY DOES THIS NOT HAPPEN IN AMERICA?  I would totally load up into a truck with a bunch of friends and go driving around blasting the Obama preferred playlist and dancing.  It might work…

When we finally made it to the dirt path (1 hour from Mpala), we (the car I was in and the other car full of students) for the car driven by Dustin (our professor) to arrive as well.  He drove slower, he claims, because the car can’t go above 80 kph.  I believe it’s because he’s not from here and thus drives slower.  As we waited along the side of the road, our driver, Joseph from Mpala, let the top up on our VAN.  That’s right.  We were driving in a CONVERTIBLE VAN.  I don’t know how much more bad a** you can get.  I crawled out the top and sat on the back of the van as my comrades (other students) got out and explored the ecosystem of the side of the road.  We saw this tomato-like vegetables that Professor Rubenstein (Dustin’s father) told us about yesterday.  They look like little yellow tomatoes, but if you eat them you’ll die in a matter of minutes.  They are toxic, wild, tomato-like fruits.  The cool thing about them is that this species is most likely the progenitor of the edible tomato.  That means, somewhere where this species grew in the past, an early modern human found a bush of non-toxic fruit (maybe he/she noticed animals were eating it and they weren’t dying) and cultivated it.  Thus, TOMATO.  You can thank that modern human every time you eat pizza, ketchup, or a tasty salad.  Also, I couldn’t help but think of The Hunger Games as I heard about these toxic tomatoes.  There should definitely a Hunger Games:  Africa.  As I just wrote this, I realized how not PC this could be perceived.  Maybe I’ll write some fanfiction…

So as I sat on the back of the van, a few comrades also went over to a group of goats herded by three boys.  They proceeded to take photos with the kids, who we decided were an entourage akin to Tracy Jordan, Dot Com, and Grizz.  The next hour we spent driving down a bumpy, dirt road to Mpala. 

At Mpala, we’re staying at the River Campsite.  Some of you might be hearing campsite and think:  “OMG… she’s camping for 3 months.”  Well, yes and no.  The campsite is what I would describe as a luxury campsite.  But it’s no Tom Haverford luxury campsite with a TV and DVD player.  We do not have electricity.  Lanterns sit outside our tents and on the dinner table at night.  Let me reiterate:  WE DO NOT HAVE ELECTRICITY.  About everyday we drive to the research center and spend time charging our electronic devices, but only so we can work on our reports and read/reply to emails.  So, my question is:  why did the packing list say bring DVDs?  I brought like 10,000 DVDs.  This took up a lot of space in my suitcase and now there is no power for me to play my DVDs.  Whatever.  Being free from electricity can be nice at times.  I just wish I hadn’t brought a gazillion DVDs!  So you’re probably thinking:  “Erisa, how is this a luxury campsite?”  There are beds in the tents!  YAY!  Also, we make our own showers, which I think is really cool.  Water is heated in an oil drum, then we put the hot water into a bucket attached to a spigot, then we hoist the bucket above our heads and pour the hot water over us.  I actually love it.  I don’t know why I love making my own shower, but I do.  I’m considering using this type of method in my own home.

My major concern with the campsite was midnight bathroom trips.  The bathrooms (flush toilets thank goodness) are about 50 paces from my tent.  When you add in the fact that COBRAS and OTHER SNAKES and LARGE MAMMALS WAITING TO KILL ME (elephants, jaguars, ) could be lurking in the bushes as I walk lackadaisically to the bathroom, this becomes a more difficult task then previously imagined.  I mean, freshman and sophomore year, I didn’t like super close to my bathroom, but I wasn’t worried I was going to die walking there in the middle of the night.  The first night, I was too scared to pee; I slept horribly.  Last night, I was like:  “F-it.  I need to PEE!”  And I did.  And as I got out of bed and looked out the window I thought it looks kind of bright outside.  It turns out, that was the moon.  Without light pollution, the stars here are AMAZING.  I can’t even describe them.  Last night, I saw the moon just above a few trees across the river.  The shimmering light on the river mirrored the shimmering of the stars and Milky Way galaxy.  It looked almost like a screensaver, but a picture does not do it justice.  Now I look forward to my nighttime bathroom breaks.  (Just kidding.  I don’t want to get bitten by a cobra.)  UPDATE:  Last night I say two eye shines as I was walking to the bathroom.  Wild dogs waiting to eat me?  Perhaps.  There are also still TOO MANY BUGS in our tent at night.  This needs to change.  I don't know if I can do this for 3 months...

At first, I didn’t like the campsite.  I think it’s just one of those things that takes a while to get used to.  Now that I somewhat have, I’m starting to enjoy the little things it offers.  Animals chill across the river all the time (monkeys, elephants, hippos, gazelles).  The food is wonderful (SO MANY BEANS) and the staff are extremely nice and helpful.