Kenya’s Soda Lakes

After a lovely two days in the Kisumu area (special thanks to Zool and his friends, as well as PCV Stacey, who hosted me at her site right outside town), I headed to Nakuru in hopes of  seeing some of the famous flamingos that habitat Lake Nauru and the surrounding, smaller soda lakes.

Unfortunately, I committed a terrible solo-young-white-female-backpacker faux-pas in Nakuru: I arrived after dark. There are a million obvious reasons why this is a bad idea, and I paid for my slip of judgment with my amazing camera. As I exited the minibus, I was swarmed by five or six call boys all wanting to get me a taxi and carry my bag. Distracted by the obnoxiously loud voices and very pushy physical behavior of these young men, I failed to notice when one of them slipped open the front pocket of my backpack (which mind you, I was wearing on my front) and stole my camera. For this reason, Nakuru town has left a very bad taste in my mouth and I will not recommend you spend time here.

Where I would recommend you spend time is in one of the many soda lakes that surround the bustling city that took my beloved camera away. Lake Nakuru National Park is the obvious choice, although its hefty entrance fee (70 USD) kept me away. I have had several friends and Kenyan residents recommend the park to me, so if you find yourself in the area and have the money, definitely take a day or two—but stay at a lodge outside of town, where hopefully thieves will not steal your camera.

Even National Geographic only captures a portion of their beauty

Eager to get out of Nakuru, I traveled south to Naivasha (taking in spectacular views of the Rift Valley I could not photograph) to meet up with my friend and former Peace Corps Niger volunteer Andrew, and two recent RPCVs from Cape Verde, traveling down Africa on a route very similar to mine. Naivasha is a much smaller town, surrounded by greenhouses full of flowers that get exported all over the world.

At Fisherman’s Camp, while staring out onto a lake full of beautiful birds, enjoying cold beer and good company, I was able to put my camera incident into perspective-- realizing how lucky I am to have this experience, and get back to enjoying myself on this once in a lifetime trip.

The staff at the lodge explained to us that the famous flamingos popularly known to habitat Lake Nakuru were not, in fact, on Lake Nakuru at the moment. The next day, a local guide/driver took us on a mini day safari of sorts. First stop was Lake Oloiden, a very small soda lake where we took a nice boat ride and saw lots of beautiful birds, hippos, and most importantly: tons of spectacular flamingos. After our boat ride, we headed to a small lodge for a walking safari, which was nice despite the overcast weather. A delicious lunch buffet on the water helped end the day perfectly.

A note for those of you who think only of ugly plastic garden decorations or old ladies with cheap umbrellas when you hear the word flamingo: these birds are spectacular, absolutely majestic. Not only are they absolutely beautiful in their colors, shape, and general presence—seeing a flamingo in flight will make your jaw drop. Flamingos stand perfectly straight and tall on the water, but when they fly, their body, and their wings in particular, arch into a gracefulness that is beyond my limited writing abilities to describe.

When getting in cars with strangers turns into the best decision you’ve ever made

From Uganda I made my way over to Kisumu, my first stop in Kenya. A lovely town on the northeast tip of Lake Victoria, and Kenya’s third largest city, Kisumu has received some negative press in recent months due to violence associated with the upcoming elections—but my visit could not have been more relaxing and enjoyable.

Giraffe at Nairobi's Giraffe Center

I arrived late on Saturday and checked into the Duke of Breeze, which was nice; although for backpackers passing through I would recommend looking elsewhere (best bet is further down on Oginga Odinga Road) for cheaper accommodation.

The next morning, I treated myself to a fancy buffet breakfast at the Imperial Hotel and headed out to take in the town. Having said goodbye to Rita and Sera in Jinja, Kisumu was my first solo stop on this trip, and I have to admit I wasn’t feeling all too comfortable just yet, particularly on this sleepy Sunday.

It didn’t take long for an obnoxious (and very possibly crazy) young man to start hassling me. Although not immediately disturbed, my discomfort must have been pretty obvious on the deserted main street, because before long a car pulled over.

“Miss,” an older man called from the driver seat, “is this man harassing you?”. “No,” I said as the smelly man next to me started screaming louder, jumping up and down. “Miss, please, where are you going? I can take you!” said the friendly man. “Really, it’s ok,” I continued to lie, despite the crazy man’s increasingly loud voice and decreasing respect for personal space. “Just get in the car! He could hurt you!” I hesitated for a moment, but as the man on the sidewalk went in for my arm, I made a quick move for the car.  

“Where are you going?” asked the driver, clearly relieved I had avoided further confrontation with the sidewalk dancer. Since I wasn’t going anywhere in particular, I told my new friend to drop me off on the next block, where he was stopping for some groceries.

National Museum in Nairobi

As we pulled into a parking spot, Zool explained he was buying ice cream before meeting up with some friends for their traditional Sunday grill. “Would you like to join us?,” he asked. Once again, since I couldn’t think of a good answer to my now staple “you’re here, so why not” question; and because food was involved, I enthusiastically responded, “sure!”

The following few hours made up what is now one of my favorite memories of Kenya. Zool, Kenyan of Indian descent, retired businessman, and President of Kisumu’s Rotary Club, introduced me to his friends, who work in the Nile Perch and Talapia export business, and entertained me with stories about Kenya and his family, while feeding me the most delicious fresh fish and chicken, all garnished with exquisite Indian spices, accompanied by cold Tusker beers, and topped off with some delicious ice cream.

In some cases, getting into cars with strangers isn’t such a bad idea after all!   

Tips on Travel in Uganda

Having spent time in 4 of the 5 countries belonging to the East African Community, I can confidently say that Uganda is my favorite. Granted, I spent less time in Uganda than Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania -- and it’s likely that my euphoria was as much influenced by having just finished Peace Corps as it was by Uganda itself—still, I found most Ugandans I met to be very friendly and welcoming; the views and activities to be some of the most interesting; and the experience in general to be one of the most raw and exhilarating.

Alma’s Adventure Highlights—

• White water rafting and bungee jumping on the Nile, in JINJA—absolute must!
• Wandering the busy streets of KAMPALA
• Bird watching on the shores of LAKE BUNYONI
• Saying hi to the hippos in the Nile while on a boat safari inMURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK

If you have more time/money –

• GORILLA TREKKING is possible to do in Uganda’s Bwindi National Park, and the park permit is cheaper here than in Rwanda.
• QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK lies north of Bwindi and straddles the equator. Friends we made on the Murchison Falls safari told us they were able to see big cats here. Red HotChili also offers a budget safari, if you’re interested.
• The shores of LAKE VICTORIA and islands in it are apparently beautiful and easily accessible if you fly into Uganda-- the main airport is Entebbe, right on the lake and a short drive from Kampala. Careful with schistosomiasis!
• MOUNT ELGON, near Uganda’s border with Kenya, has made it onto my to do list after discovering how much I enjoy climbing and how many others enjoy this mountain.

If you have less time/money – Do not leave Uganda without rafting on the Nile, walking down Kampala’s busy streets, and doing a bit of bird watching —which can be done almost anywhere.

Transportation-

From Rwanda to Uganda- we picked up the Kampala Coach bus in Kigali, which dropped us off in Kabale. In retrospect, we probably could have done it more cheaply (we paid around 16 USD) by taking a small matatu bus to the border (Cyanika/Kisoro), crossing over by foot, and then taking another matatu bus to Kabale. Still, Kampala Coach was comfortable, although a friend who met up with us in Kampala later had less pleasant things to say about it after some 14 hours, the problem here being…

The road from Kabale to Kampala­ – it’s awful! Lonely Planet claims 6 hours; people in Kabale claimed 7… it took us 15, including a really long stop in Mbarara to fill the bus up again. If you are trekking gorillas in Bwindi and want to go all the way to Kampala, also be warned. Start as early in the morning as you can. I heard the official Postal Services bus is the safest.

Within Kampala— transportation is plenty. Minibuses were easy to take. Taxis were also easy, although expect the drivers to always need to stop for fuel. The motorcycles are really fun and easy, if you don’t mind near death experiences. Careful trying to get around in the evening (between 5 and 7 PM), the whole city is in standstill traffic.

From Kampala to Murchison Falls – Here we were in private transport thanks to Red Hot Chili, but I can tell you the road isn’t too bad, just long (six hours on private transport).

From Kampala to Jinja—Again, we were lucky to have private transportation thanks to Adrift, but this is a very easy and quick trip (an hour and a half or so on tarmac). If you’re passing through Kampala anyway, I highly recommend this option as opposed to finding your own public transportation. It’s easy, and included in the price of rafting.

From Jinja to Kisumu – The EasyCoach bus (16 USD, around 8 hours) was absolutely luxurious compared to most of the other buses I’ve taken in East Africa. The border crossing was very fast and simple as well.

Food—

All you need to know about Uganda is that their street food is delicious. Don’t leave without ordering a Rolex—a greasy omelet made with tomato, onion, and green pepper, all wrapped into a chapatti. It’s easy to find fried chicken and delicious fish (Nile Perch and Talapia) also on the street. Ugandans seem to really love their plantains, so if you want another local staple make sure to order some matoke.

Lodging

My previous posts about Uganda all include raves about almost everywhere I stayed. Guest houses seem pretty prevalent across the country. If you are coming from Rwanda, notice that most places charge by the room instead of the number of people.

Helpful Hints

• If traveling the Kabale-Kampala road, leave as early in the morning as possible, or break it up into two days.
• Try not to move around Kampala around rush hour-- it's crazy! 
• Make sure you bring snacks, cash, and entertainment if spending a couple days on Lake Bunyoni. 
• If you do a Red Hot Chili safari, bring snacks/food for the trip, the food at their camps is good but can get pricey. 

Reading

Giles Foden's novel The Last King of Scotland, has won several awards and was also made into a movie of the same name, which is very good. The book (and movie) cover Ugandan president/dictator Idi Amin's rise and fall during the 1970's.

I’m dying to get my hands on a copy of The Worst Date Ever. Written by Jane Bussman, a British celebrity reporter turned foreign correspondent, where apparently corruption, child soldiers, and humor mix together.

For those more inclined to academic reading, Aili Tripp has done extensive research on women and politics in Africa, Uganda in particular.