Coastal Adventure

This past week Laz and I went to Mombasa for a little beach vacation.  I had never been to Mombasa before, so this was a big adventure for me.  We received a lot of advice prior to going about which areas were safe and what to avoid, so I felt really safe there the whole time.  It felt much safer than Nairobi most of the time!

We decided to take the night bus from Nairobi to Mombasa so that we could sleep and wouldn’t waste precious vacation time on the 9-hour trip.  I decided we needed to sit in the big fluffy seats in the front row so I could look out the huge bus windows, which ended up being a huge mistake because I was freeeeeezing the whole trip.  By the time we arrived in Mombasa around 8 on Tuesday, I welcomed the heat and humidity with open arms.   After we attempted to eat breakfast (it is HARD to eat when it is so hot out, especially when the local cuisine focuses so heavily on all things fried), we decided to try our luck at getting into the hotel early, with great success.  Tourism is way, way down on the coast due to security concerns, so the hotel was nearly empty.  I made best friends with the AC and bed in which I could be fully horizontal. (what?  I don’t have to sleep in a chair again?)

It was a little misty and rainy, so we decided to explore Mtwapa, a nearby town which is essentially Rongai with palm trees, and then stop at the mall for room snacks.  There was a Coldstone at the mall, which was very fantastic.  A major feature of the mall is a row of those leather massage chairs that you lay down in, and they seemed to be incredibly popular, hilariously. 

Upon return to the hotel I got to fully explore it.  Although it is a bit worn down, as most Mombasa-area hotels are these days, it is really nice.  The rooms were thankfully updated recently with super comfortable beds and awesome showers, my two favorite things.  Laz really liked the big TV.  The room also had a private balcony that monkeys liked to come visit.  It was all private, actually, because the room was the top floor of a tiny little cabin.  Most of the hotel was your average block of room after room, but scattered in the middle were these cute little cabins with spiral staircases, so I felt really lucky.   There were two pools and one even had a little waterfall, plus a huge dining area, and a “swing bar” on the beach surrounded by comfy swinging benches.  The best part was the beach, of course.  It was amazingly devoid of people and beach boys, so it felt very isolated.  The first living creature I saw on the beach was actually a camel named Charlie Brown who I took for a little spin.

The second day it was raining again, so since the pool was out of the question we headed into Mombasa to visit K and see Old Town.   To get there we took a matatu to the post office, then a tuk tuk to Fort Jesus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It was built in to 1590s by the Portuguese, which means I am probably pronouncing it incorrectly in my head as I type this.  It is quite lovely to look at, though some hooligans have decided to add a touch of graffiti to some of the walls.

Since this is a tourist attraction, there is plenty of shopping to be done in the area, and boy did I go all out.  I am the shopping queen, young and sweet, spending loan moneyyyyy.   Thankfully Laz and K have been through this before and were very patient (6 sisters on one side, dating Sonia on the other).   When the rain just got to be too much, we returned to base to warm up.

The last day was beautiful and sunny, so I got to enjoy the pool/beach and a little tanning time.  Due to my shopping extravaganza, I also had to go buy a new duffle bag to tote home all my treasures.   By the time the night bus rolled around, I was so content and tired that I actually slept all the way back home.  A trip well taken I say.

FUNemployment: I need your advice friends!

Well, I have been done with my internship officially for two weeks, and this weekend I finished all the remaining work I had with SAIDE.   I also completed the bulk of my Master’s Paper, so now I am free to have some fun.  I am trying to explore the things that Kenya has to offer and create some really good memories.  I just came back from the Mara, and next week I’m off to (a safe place slightly north of) Mombasa.  So here is my question for friends and family, since I know many of you are travelers:  what should I do in Nairobi?  What can I not miss out on?  Looking forward to your insight.

The Maasai Mara Adventure

This past week I went on arguably the best trip of my Kenya stay.   I spent two nights in Kenya’s famous national park, the Maasai Mara.  The Mara is separated by the national border from Tanzania’s famous Serengeti and is home to the yearly Great Migration, when tens of thousands of wildebeest, topis, zebras & friends travel from one park to the other for fresh grazing land. 

Mara Serena Lodge

The whole trip is an amazing adventure, but can be a very, very, luxurious one.  You can camp or whatnot, but I chose luxury.  I chose hot showers and prime rib over a true wilderness experience because, ya know what?  After 8 months of bucket baths and dried out beef I am ready for a little luxury in my life.

Even traveling to the Mara is an amazing experience.  From Wilson airport you board a cute little ten-seater airplane and fly 45 minutes (note: it takes 45 minutes to get to Wilson airport and 45 minutes to fly to the Mara, followed by a 5-minute drive to the resort.  Even with lines and security, I GOT TO THE MAASAI MARA FASTER THAN I CAN GET TO THE MALL IN NAIROBI).  As you fly in, you can see herd of elephants, zebras, and wildebeest hanging out below.  From the airstrip a big no-nonsense jeep carried me to the Mara Serena lodge resort and all of a sudden I was in paradise.  The place is low and unassuming until you walk in the big front doors and are greeted with a stunning view of the Mara.  You are also greeted with a eucalyptus scented hot towel and fresh passion fruit juice, which is quite nice.   My bags were whisked away and suddenly I was in my private room with a balcony overlooking the Mara, a massive bed and a very luxurious bathroom situation. 

a bunch of lil cabins

Lunch.

Meals.

Buffet.

For me, the food was just as special as the accommodation and, um, seeing rare and beautiful creatures in their natural habit.  Am I a bad person for this?  Whatever.  I don’t care.  As many of you know, the inability to cook and order out (aka eat what I want, when I want) is one of my biggest annoyances here.  I don’t require fancy food, but having my meals chosen by the hostel I stay at can get pretty tough for me.  Enter the Mara Serena Buffet.  Kenyan food (yes, I ate that, too), Indian food (I had palak paneer), and a variety of meats and pastas every day.  I’m not talking average buffet meats.  I’m talking perfectly cured gammon with a chef slicing perfect bits off for you.  I was in heaven.  Did I mention the CHEESE TABLE and DESSERT TABLE?  I think they made a note by my name to not allow me unlimited food if I came back again…

Twice a day I got to go out on a game drive with Andrew, the amazing guide, and a couple and their baby.  I had expected a packed bus of people, so lounging in the huge jeep with a whole row (easy access to both windows) to myself was very nice.  I also expected animal sightings to be rare but HO BOY was I wrong.   We saw zebras by the hundreds, wildebeest, and antelope within the first ten minutes.  All that was exciting but my companions had a very firm goal: They wanted to see the Big 5, see them fast, see them efficiently, and go home.  They had an eleven month old child with them, so I get it, but… come on guys, lets enjoy this!  They were pretty firm with Andrew: today we will see a lion on the hunt.  We didn’t see the hunt, but we did see a whole pride of lions!  There was mama and about 7 2-year-old cubs who were so freaaaakin’ cute!  We followed them for quite a while and got pretty close, but they totally ignored us.  I was pretty impressed by this until the drive home, when we oh-so-casually drove past a herd of elephants, including a very sweet baby. 

patient zeebs

Day two started with a very early drive at 6:30, which I was not happy about.  Why couldn’t we just go at 9 or something?  Well, because the early hours are when big cats hunt, that’s why.   After a lovely sunrise, we were greeted by a big surprise: thousands of zebra, topi, and wildebeest were preparing to cross the Mara river to graze on new grass on the other side.  This is a sight not often seen outside of July and August, during the famed Great Migration.   It was so neat how the zebras guided the “very confused” wildebeest across the river.  Led by a single zebra, they can stand for hours, all facing the river together to wait for the perfect moment.  But oh- the topi had other ideas.  They crashed through, running across the river in a huge beautiful group.  The Nile crocodiles meandered over to look for breakfast.  Suddenly the topi broke off and quit their crossing, but the confused wildebeest carried on, only to meet two hungry female lions waiting on the other side.  I watched a lion increase speed RAPIDLY (dear god- how close did we get to them yesterday??) and snag a wildebeest.  Another lion got an antelope, and out of nowhere a bunch of little cubs came out and feasted.  It was quite the sight.

We sat for a while and watched the zebras in their steadfast vigil, when suddenly they gave up and turned away.  “Nah, this is not our day,” the lead zeeb (presumably) said.  What could prevent them from crossing?  THAT WOULD BE A LEOPARD, GUYS.   He was far away, across the river, but with some binoculars I was able to see him (or was it a female?) really well.  Very cool.  Big 5: 4/5

After a wonderful nap in a bed so big I could have gotten lost in it followed by a gourmet lunch, we headed out for the p.m. game drive.  After such a crazy morning, it could have been a let down, but we quickly checked off our big five with a sighting of three rhinos.  Compared to 900 lions, there are only about 25 rhinos in the whole park, so this was quite the feat.  On the way home we hung out with some elephants, including a tiny baby who trumpeted and attempted to charge us while the mama looked on proudly.

 

mama

On the final morning drive, the other couple decided to sleep in, so I got a private drive with Andrew.  For a long time it seemed like we would see nothing, until we happened upon a large pride that had just taken down a zebra.  I watched the whole fam-dam-ily, including two large male lions, devour this thing in about ten minutes.  It was oddly cute.  I do not know why.  Maybe the little bloody-pawed babied reminded me of Nick and Lewis.  It was a great way to cap off the trip. 

The Mara is awesome.  Everyone should go.

Introducing MJ

Over the past week, I have partially adopted a little kitty cat named MJ.  She won't be able to come back to the US with me, but she is still a very special lady, and I am happy to have her in my life.

Mj's little kitty life has been traumatic.  She was found by my neighbor about two months ago abandoned by the side of the road.  She had a pretty bad injury on her leg, but he took her in and bandaged her up.  He really liked her, but this guy just wasn't ready for a cat.  No de-worming, no vet trip, no cat food.  The cat just ate his leftovers and then cried a lot.  He disappeared on a long-weekend bender last week and left her locked in his room without food.  We could all hear her cry all weekend, but there was nothing we could do with his deadbolt locked.

I DEMAND SUSTENANCE

When he came back-SURPRISE-she had peed on his favorite shoes.  What does one do with a kitty that made a mistake?  Well, you hit her and then carry her into the hyena field at night and set her free, that's what.

"Seriously, bro?"

I was really sad for a while, then on Thursday I heard some cries outside of my window.  I was confused because I live on the fourth floor, but after some exploration with my handy flashlight, I found the wee baby in the sewer outside.  I coaxed her out, took her inside, and she proceeded to eat my entire dinner while I washed sewer off of me.  After a very intensive bath for her, we were back in business and it was cuddle time.

MJ has basically been on my lap ever since, and seems to have some feline anxiety from her second abandonment.  Thankfully, after a few days she has settled down a bit, and is now mostly into kitten things like snoozing and farting.  She does need to be touching me at all times, however.  I am a little afraid because I leave for a trip tomorrow and she is moving in with her adoptive father who agreed begged to take her in when I leave for the US.  With her bag of treats and cute pink collar, I think she is ready to take on the world.

MJ snoozes with her pops