Adventures in East African Road Travel - Part 3

We made it to Kisii just after dark, and once again in the rain. The hotel/guest house we planned to stay in was too full, but they directed us to another. When I got out of the car to go to the reception desk I noticed there was no lighting on the path and that it was very muddy and slippery from the rain. I called back to the car to warn Carrie and Aaron and the kids to be careful not to slip. No sooner were the words out of my mouth than I was slipping myself. Thankfully I caught my balance and avoided utter humiliation, but they all still got a good laugh out of it.

When I checked in I asked what types of beds they had so I could figure out how many rooms we would need for all seven of us. The young man behind the counter told me that they had rooms with two small beds or rooms with one "big" bed. I asked for the rooms with the "big" bed and later found out that what he meant by "big" was 4'x6' as compared to the small bed which is 3'x6'. So we played musical rooms for a while so that we could all have a place to sleep and the kids wouldn't have to sleep alone and far from their parents. Because of the types of rooms/beds, it costs a lot more than just one or two rooms in the States with two queen beds. Kenya is just more expensive that Tanzania to begin with.

So after bringing up our bags and figuring out who would sleep where, we headed down to the dining area for dinner. The food took A VERY LONG TIME (TIA), but while we were waiting I noticed two great things. First, they had 500ml Cokes! YEAH! The second thing I noticed was the food they had just brought to some other guests. It was chicken... but it was huge and cooked in some sort of sauce that smelled really good and reminded me a little bit of BBQ sauce. I was so anxious for the food to come now.

When the food arrived and they put it in front of us, I felt just like my right rear tire... punctured, deflated, broken. The chicken was tiny and rubbery (just like Tanzania), and the sauce was a different one with little to no flavor. I was so bummed, but also so hungry that it ultimately didn't matter. We ate and went to bed. We were very tired.

The next morning we got up and had the complimentary breakfast (undercooked scrambled eggs and bread) before heading to town to try and find a tire (spelled 'tyre' here) to replace the one that disintegrated on the road the day before. I found a shop quickly and purchased a used tire so that we'd have a spare. That cost me 9,000 Kenayn Shillings (about $140). Ouch! I really needed all new tires, but that would have cost me about 100,000 Kenyan Shillings (over $1500). I just couldn't bring my cheap self to do it... yet another bad decision.

By late morning we were off for Nairobi. The area around Kisii is absolutely gorgeous. It reminded us of Kauai, Hawaii. It was lush green and covered with fields of sugar cane, corn, bananas, and trees. We were truly amazed at the beauty of the area. The narrow roads and FAST moving buses and trucks made it difficult to enjoy the scenery from the driver's seat, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

Eventually we dropped down a bit to the east and entered a more arid climate. Then we reached Narok, where the road turned into a system of potholes connected by small scraps of asphalt. Once through the town, the road ceased to exist. There were some signs that said the road was being worked on for the next 10 kilometers... LIES! The road was torn to pieces for about the next 80 kilometers. Some of it was decent dirt, but it appeared the work was being done in random sections: some here, some there, some on the right, some on the left, and some in middle. It was crazy and made for a slow trip, but I was driving slow anyway, because of the terrible wobble in the wheel and the side-to-side instability I was feeling in the car.

It took most of the day, but we made it to Nairobi after 3pm that day. I pulled into the first shopping center that I found on edge of town called 'ABC Place'. I called Dave, the pastor of CC Nairobi, and told him where we were so he could direct me. He decided to meet us there and let us follow him. He said to park and meet him at the Java House there in the center.

Java House... blessed Java House. I don't know if it's actually better than Starbucks or if my judgment is tainted because I've been in Tanzania for some time. I'm leaning towards the former. Great coffee! Great food! Good service. Horrible prices (about the same as California). It was after 3pm and we hadn't had lunch yet, so eating at Java House was doubly pleasing. We stuffed our faces with burgers, roast beef sandwiches, soups, sodas, and ice cream. It was a little piece of heaven on earth. That wouldn't be the last time we ate at Java House.

Dave met us there and we followed him back to the FRM (Far Reaching Ministries) guest house and carried the luggage up. It was good to be "off the road" so to speak. We were greeted by our friends Arie and Nasiema, Dave's wife, Twinkle, and some new friends (Hannah and the Rees family).

We settled in and unpacked and got some rest. At this point I have to clarify something that I was previously confused about. I had thought that because there was no malaria in Nairobi that meant that there were no mosquitoes. WRONG. There are tons of them, they just don't carry malaria. Go figure. So we didn't get the break from the mosquitoes that I thought we would, but we got a break from the threat of malaria.

(Caleb feeding a giraffe at the Giraffe Center - notice he can't help but to stick his tongue out in mimic of the giraffe)

The next day we took the kids and Aaron and drove to an area of Nairobi called "Karen" (named after Karen Blixen of "Out of Africa" fame. There's a place there called the Giraffe Center. We went in and were able to pet and feed the giraffes and take lots of pictures.

(Kevan feeding a giraffe at the Giraffe Center)

(Carrie with Jada feeding a giraffe at the Giraffe Center)

It was fun. Aaron even fed them by putting the food pellet in his lips and letting the giraffe "kiss" him to get the food. It was cool and the kids had a great time.

(Aaron "kissing" a giraffe at the Giraffe Center)

One funny thing that happened while there was when a van full of teenage school girls arrived. They came into the giraffe center and saw me (Jon) with Jada. They asked if they could take a picture with Jada (I thought they were here to take pictures of the giraffes!). I said yes and they took her and walked off to find the best spot for photos. Then they proceeded to take turns taking pictures with Jada. One by one they each got their photo with our daughter like she was a pet monkey. It was hilarious. I should have charged them for it.

While there we met with our friend Jacob for a few minutes. He just moved to Nairobi to teach at a Bible College and minister at a church, so we have a lot in common. It was a nice visit.

Afterwards we headed back to the guest house where the team there was waiting to take us to Ethiopian food. YUMMMMM.

(Our plate of Ethiopian food)

Ethiopian food is awesome. All of us really liked it. The whole group sits around a common table where they place a huge platter in front of you. Dave did all of the ordering and got all the right things. I can’t remember what most of them are called and couldn’t pronounce them if I could remember, so I won’t try. I know several of them were beef-based, some were goat, and some were vegetable and ghee based (ghee is some sort of animal fat… I think. Like an expensive butter and really good). They also bring you a basket of alcoholic bread. NO, NOT REALLY. I just called it that because it’s a sourdough-like concoction and so it has that fermented smell to it. It’s really flat and a bit bubbly and rolled up. Basically, you unroll a bit of the bread, tear it off, and then used it to pick up some of the meat, goo, veggies, or whatever, like you would use a paper towel to pick up some goo you spilled on the floor.

(This pictures shows the "bread" - the white stuff top right, the goat - the meat bottom right, the ghee - the orangish goo top middle, and the platter on the left.)

My favorite was “the spicy one in the middle”. Again, I can’t remember if it was beef or goat, but it was covered in some red sauce that made it a little sweet and spicy and it was good. There was another one I like made from beef and 42 spices (in the first picture above it's the one with the hard-boiled egg in the middle). It was sweet and very tasty! The kids mostly ate the roasted goat with ghee on it. That’s good too. Did I mention that the food was really good? Not only that, but the way you sit around as a group and partake together from the same platter while fellowshipping was awesome. Aaron and Carrie and I all made comments about how this was the best way to have a meal.

(Aaron and his Red Bull in a glass)

After the meal they brought Ethiopian coffee which was also VERY GOOD – not to mention strong – which is just the way I like it. They bring it along with a bowl of burning frankincense to add to the atmosphere and mood.

(Jon, Dave, Aaron and Arie having Ethiopian coffee amidst the smoke of the incense)

It was a great time of food, fellowship, and fun for the kids, who ran around the restaurant property burning off the goat and ghee they just ate.

After dinner we hurried back to the guest house to get Aaron’s bags. Carrie and the kids said their tearful goodbyes as Aaron did his best to appear unaffected. Then Dave, Arie, and I took Aaron to the Nairobi airport for his flight back to the U.S. On our way there we were stopped at the typical police checkpoints (here it’s the opposite of the stereotype in the U.S. of DWB… instead it’s DWM – Driving While Mzungu. If you don’t know what any of that meant then just move on, it’s not important). Eventually we made it to the airport and got Aaron and his bags out of the car and loaded onto a cart. We all prayed with him and for him and said a final goodbye. After we got back in the car and began to drive away from the terminal it suddenly hit me (not that I hadn’t thought about it before, but never deeply) that I was losing the only likeminded brother I had in Kigoma. I commented out loud to Dave and Arie that I didn’t really have any problem or emotions about the idea of Aaron leaving until that very moment. I said that it must be a guy thing. They both laughed in sympathy and understanding and responded that they could imagine how I was feeling under the circumstances. Anyhow, Aaron eventually made it home safely.

Stay tuned for Part 4…