This past weekend Elizabeth and I joined 4 other people at Kakamega Forest, 2 hours’ drive from Eldoret, for more hiking and nature viewing.
Sign above the park gate. To get in, one needs to pay an entrance fee for the individual, another entrance fee for the vehicle, and a fee for the use of a banda (hut accommodation). The process of paying all of these fees takes 30 minutes -- no joke.
We have arrived at Udo's Camp in Kakamega Forest. The yellow banda (gazebo) is the community kitchen. The 3 bandas beyond (not the tents) are accommodations for our group of 6 people.
We share Udo's Camp with approximately 70 high school students (mostly of Indian descent) and their teachers, who stay in tents as you see here. This group is so rambunctious on their first day and night that the baboons and monkeys stay away from the campsite. Imagine waking up the first morning to the repeated yells, "Time to wake up!" Members of our group talk to the teachers about getting the kids to quiet down, which they do the next day, and the monkeys appear, but not the baboons.
A closer look at our bandas. The community pit latrines and a cold-only (partially covered) shower are nearby. Although the weather is cool, a high-pressure cold shower is appreciated. The latrines are clean but very smelly, and the female students don't like to use them, so they pee on the grass outside the latrines instead, strewing toilet paper on the ground. Members of our group yell at the offending students for their unsanitary behavior.
Inside a banda. Elizabeth and I come with borrowed sleeping bags just in case the bandas don't have blankets. The nights can be cold.
We have all of our meals under a hut like this one.
This is our group of 6: (from left) 1. Anke (a German who works as a pharmacist in Nairobi; she and Elizabeth were roommates in Cameroon), 2. Elizabeth, 3. me, 4. Ute (a German who works as a nurse in Switzerland, she and Anke used to be housemates in Germany), 5. Karen (a German who works as a lab something in Germany; she, Anke, and Ute used to be housemates in Germany), 6. Martin (a Ugandan who works in sales in Dubai for a British bookseller; he and Karen are dating; they met in Uganda when Karen worked there for a couple of years sometime back).
Elizabeth and I bring enough food supplies for 2 days' worth of meals. On our first night, we cook spaghetti with ground chicken. On our second night we cook beef curry. Karen and Martin are vegetarians, so I make sure they have the vegetarian versions. Ute, as seen here, usually does the chopping and peeling of vegetables. She enjoys cooking as I do, and I really like sharing a kitchen with her.
Martin is incredibly helpful. In the kitchen he helps the campsite staff start and maintain the cooking fires, and just hangs around to be helpful to whoever needs assistance. He and Elizabeth boil the water for coffee in the morning.
See the kerosene lamp? It's completely dark when we start preparing and cooking, so we prepare and cook in the lamplight. I haven't cooked with firewood since childhood in Vietnam. The smoke, the inconsistent heat, and the need to be vigilant about the heat level -- all brings back memories. Without Gitau (campsite staff who helps with the cooking fires) and Martin, my attempt to cook would be a disaster. See all of the spices to my left? I've brought them from Elizabeth's house.
Here we are on our first night eating dinner by lamplight, and it starts to rain dogs and cats and continues well into the night. Although we eat under a thatched roof, the sides are exposed, so the wind blows rain against our backs. Umbrellas help shield us somewhat from the cold rain. Still, the experience is adventurous and fun.
The next morning some of us wake up at 5:30 for a sunrise hike with our guide, Patrick.
Look at those low-hanging clouds among the tree tops!
We want a better view, so up we climb to get to a lookout post.
The sun peeks through the clouds.
I take dozens and dozens of photos.
Others in our group also do a sunrise hike the next morning, and they report that the view isn't as spectacular as it is on this day because of lack of clouds.
I take this photo on the way down of our sunrise hike.
After the 2-hour sunrise hike, we eat brunch, then Patrick leads us again on a 4-hour hike.
Poisonous mushrooms!
Aren't these green mushrooms pretty?
A rare purple mushroom.
Ginger bulb.
According to Patrick, these indigo-color fruits can be strung into a beaded necklace.
Roots of a palm tree.
Here's that palm tree with the red roots.
Patrick helping Anke cross a bridge. We cross approximately 15 bridges like this one. Some people are able to walk across. Others and I crawl across nearly every one. Because of last night's rain, these moss-covered logs are quite slippery.
Anke crossing another bridge.
Anke yet again crosses another bridge.
Oops! No bridge here! Patrick gives us a ride one-by-one across the water, except Martin, who switches footwear with Patrick and carries Patrick across himself.
Patrick with his son saying good-bye to us before we leave Kakamega Forest.
Baboon crossing!
We didn't see the baboons the entire time we were in Kakamega Forest, so it is a nice surprise to see them crossing the road, well after we've left the forest behind.
Elizabeth stops the vehicle completely for the baboons to cross the road.
My Adventures in Kenya 