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Kenya Calling the Wonderer Home

By Rita Cook

For me, Kenya rouses a place in my mind that I haven’t gone in years – namely Karen Blixen’s “Out of Africa,” but that’s really not all.  I also love to role the word Nairobi off my tongue – it’s a word that sounds vaguely familiar even before I had ever visited the continent, I feel I have been there in spirit all my life.

That is what has surprised me the most about Africa and my trip to Kenya specifically.  I have found that people either love it or hate it – never in between – the passion of Africa will not allow that.  For me, I’m a lover. I feel the earth, the energy, the existence of the place from deep within and I get a sense of knowing like I have never found anywhere else in the world.

I flew into Nairobi late one night almost afraid of what to expect.  Haven’t we all heard stories.  I was just married three days prior, yet leaving my husband behind so already the destination had an otherworldly feel – so far away from home and “real” life.

Real life came to me though and the people in Kenya are what you will notice first, even before the stunning landscapes that touch your soul and the awe-inspiring wildlife viewing in the Masai Mara or other parts of far-flung Kenya.  At my first stop in Loisaba  I didn’t see any lions, showing some disappointment the owners looked at me rather curiously and laughed that the flora, fauna and relaxation was what Loisaba was all about and besides, I’d be stepping on lions in the Mara no need to worry.  I did have a wonderful view of Mount Kiliminjaro up Loisaba way, and for first-timers you can be cool and call the mountain Kili, another word that just seemed to role off my tongue so easily.

I hate it when people are “so” right, but the owner was right about the Mara  - lions everywhere – giraffes, elephants, zebras, hyenas, wildebeest. you name it.  Since my favorite African animal is, in fact, the lion however, these were the experiences that were more than surreal for me on my journey.

I stayed at Governor’s Camp for a few night, a luxury tent situation and you do hear the hippos outside walking through the camp and you do hear the wildlife all night long (the sounds or at once disturbing, yet it lulls you to sleep) and you do find big spiders (the biggest I had ever seen) in your tent, but not to worry because the watchman who is always just a scream away, will come fetch it for you as needed.

Waking up before dawn also has its highlights, namely that you get out on the Mara and wake up with the animals, albeit the lions have probably been hunting all night and are quite lazy – they were as we approached in our Land Rover.  I couldn’t help but to stare beguilingly as we had several lion experiences.  Under my breath I also had to chuckle at the newbies who were completed terror-stricken as the lions approached the jeep.  They won’t attack since the jeep is bigger than they are and they see it as one “bigger” animal.  However, one morning we accidentally cornered a male lion heading home from a late night and as he was walking right toward us, his stride never faltering, we wondered if he were going to jump in the jeep with us as he was pinned in by a second jeep behind.  Just as quickly however he adverted just inches behind the jeep and kept walking never taking his eyes off his final destination.

On one game drive we saw two, “persnickety” I must say, male lions chasing the hell out of one “lone” lion that had accidentally walked onto their turf.  Talk about territorial.  As the lions approached us after the chase they were sweating and panting like the most agile and muscular athlete I had ever seen – Michael Jordan has nothing on my lions out on the Masai Mara.

One morning as we had just left camp we saw one of the big male lions sitting on a hill just resting, but quite alert.  As we drove closer I thought to myself how I wished he would roar as I have never heard that before close up and personal.  As if on cue (but remember, he was not) he gave me my wish.  Opening his mouth (I couldn’t believe those teeth) he let out a roar that rocked the jeep and the landscape around us, King of the Jungle, you better believe it – he was calling his pride home.  After a minute of waiting, he rolled his eyes, looked at us and dropped over and went to sleep – shows over as if to say.

The shows never over in Africa though and on one particular afternoon there were about 15 baby lions lounging around after lunch when their mother started coming toward them from over the hill (or sister or grandmother).  The babies all jumped up and started running toward her – frolicking is the right word here – so welcoming as if just happy to see her familiar face.

Nothing compares to a pack of wild hyenas gathering for a pow wow behind the jeep either or a herd of larger-than-life elephants grazing to the backdrop of the rising sun.

Zebras are a bit skittish and the crocs quite lazy, but the Mara will not disappoint as Kenya never would never allow it.

You won’t be disappointed in the people, the tribes, either.  I had heard most about the ever-wondering Masai and the Kikuya.  In Lousaba I was taken to a Kikuya village where the people danced and sang for hours.  The children come up and offer gifts and the most important thing – their little hands.  They take your hand into theirs with a big smile and all is right with the world.  They don’t want anything, but to welcome you to their little piece of the earth.

The Masai tribe is a bit more complicated as they never stay in one place long and they can be quite fierce.  In the Masai village we saw one man dressed in lion skins because he had killed the lion, dangerous to this tribe and remember, the man does not always win.  Selling their wares, the tribe is all too aware of globalization and has some great gifts to offer for prices you can’t pass up.

My final stop was right outside of Mombasa at a villa called Alfajiri – right on the ocean – and yes you can get a wicked sunburn.  Driving through Mombasa with my driver on my way back to Nairobi and then home I did feel like I was not a part of this world at all.  I was the light-skinned woman who was so out of place among the Moslem women in this brimming seaport of a town.  My long red-hair made me quite self-conscious – a woman traveling alone.  However, my love affair with Africa was still intact and even though I had missed my new husband I knew I would just as surely miss this Africa as much or more when she were only memories in my mind in the not too distance future.

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