Mt. Elgon

July 28 – August 2.  Mt. Elgon.  The last 6 days have been a delightful bit of down time about as far as one could get from the beaten tourist track in Kenya.  We stayed in a guesthouse at the farm of Bob and Bea Andersen.  They have a 1200 acre farm at the foothills of Mt. Elgon (Kenya’s 3^rd highest peak, bordering Uganda to the west).  http://www.mtelgon.com/.  Bob is a 3^rd generation Kenyan and he started a highly successful flower business (first lilies now roses) in the mid 90’s.   Bea is a physician hailing from the Netherlands who has started the most successful private clinic in western Kenya on the farm, serving over 35,000 people per year.  They have over 800 workers and have done an absolutely amazing job helping them help themselves through healthcare, home/farm, ownership and education.  Traci spent a lot of time in Bea’s clinic observing and supporting the staff.  We took the kids to the clinic for a short visit, seeing dozens of people waiting patiently to be seen.   While in the lab viewing and discussing blood samples with a nurse, Sydney turned completely white and nearly fainted.  There is a medical term for it that I’ve forgotten but after having her sit down with her head between her legs and a few alcohol swabs, she regained her color.  Suffice it to say that I think the odds of her following in her mother’s footsteps have narrowed significantly. 

I went to Uganda yesterday.  Not many people can say that.  Well actually there are probably hundreds of thousands of Ugandans and Kenyans that crisscross the border daily that can but as Caucasians we are definitely an oddity in this part of Kenya.  We crossed the bridge over the river that defines the border, spoke to the friendly border guard who was kind enough to set down his AK-47, took a few quick pictures (the guard refused to pose with us), and scooted back to the Kenya side of the river.  It wasn’t exactly the stuff of Midnight Express but given the political instability there, we thought that our one minute visit to Uganda was about the right length. 

A few days prior we travelled about 15 miles to Mt. Elgon National Park.  This took us over an hour as the condition of the roads (the main roads at that) was comical.  The area has been blessed with a lot of rain lately (mainly super cool afternoon thunderstorms much like those in the Midwest) and the roads are a cacophony of enormous ruts, cattle, goats,sheep, light pickups carrying grain and 18 people, bicycles, motorcycles and pedestrians.  We may have been able to walk faster but it was fascinating to see such a realistic slice of life in this area.  The people are all farmers or live off farming, with most farmable land dedicated to growing corn on small plots.  The people live in simple huts built of mud and thatch or aluminum if they are lucky.  We were lucky as it was Sunday and most were walking to or from church and dressed in their Sunday best (most churches appeared to be Catholic).  I felt great pity for them until I realized that I have never seen so many people so quick to smile and wave.  They were so excited to see us traveling by, shouting “muzungu” (foreigner) as they smiled and waved.   We saw about 50 kids with some type of Obama hat or shirt.  Obama’s father was Kenyan and despite leaving him when he was under 2, most Kenyans take great pride in our President and claim him as one of their own.   

So I digress.   Back to the National Park.  Mt. Elgon is the least visited of Kenya’s National Parks.  It is slightly larger than Mt. Rainier National Park.  We went on a Sunday, the busiest day of the week.  There were two cars that came to the park that day:  Ours and the pickup that accompanied us in case we got stuck.   The park was fascinating.   All old growth vegetation (some olive trees that must have been over a thousand years old).  We hiked about 2000’ in all and the kids were troopers.  The most famous sites are the “elephant caves.”  These are huge caves, about 500-1,000 feet deep where elephants and other wildlife go to lick the salt from the minerals in the walls.  They are full of bats and all kinds of interesting rock formations.  We are all certified spelunkers.

I took the kids to the local orphanage our first day here and was incredibly impressed.  A couple (Hannington and Mary) are “parents” to 21 kids from 8-16 whose parents have died from AIDS.  I was not looking forward to it, but was delighted to see a beautiful, bright, clean facility and kids that were super-engaged and respectful.  We put together an ad hoc soccer match and it was like a knife through butter.  These kids were so good that they were able to run circles around my brood (even with a few of their kids on our team) and pretty much score at will despite the goalie (me) taking up most of the goal space.  They were generous, passing to the younger kids, laughing and just having a ball.  It was great to see them making the best of a horrible situation.  Life is really hard here and the kids are super tough and resilient.  Near the end of the week one of my kids was complaining that the apple juice was warm, and they haven’t changed their dislike of some foods that have been on the menu (cauliflower, broccoli, fish).   Any of the locals would kill for what we enjoy at each meal.  Not sure what to expect but seeing so much poverty didn’t seem to have much of an impact on our kids but it was very impactful for Traci and me.