Dipped My Hands in the Equator

Sometime in the beginning of last week I decided to take a little vacation as I have been extremely busy, but more importantly who knows when Ill be back to Kenya and I want to see as much as I can (work permitting). I set my sights on Kisumu in bordering Nyanza province (where Barak Obamas family is from, they love him here). I had heard a lot of good things about Kisumu, it is the closest real city (third largest in Kenya next to Nairobi and Mombassa) to Bungoma. What really sparked my interest however is the city is right on Lake Victoria (look at a map of Africa and it is that huge lake center-right, the equator goes right through it). I finished up some work on Friday to clear the weekend then I set out early Saturday morning to catch the “express” matatu to Kisumu. The express is supposed to only stop at the major towns (Mumias, Kakamega, Kisumu) however in an effort to make as much money as possible the drivers will often stop on the side of the road to cram more people in and let some off. This was the most third world travel experience I have had so far, people were packed into this 14-seater van with chickens and furniture and puking kids (right next to me, only got a little on my shoe though). My shoulder was also wedged right under a roll bar guarding the window, so every little bump we took was a big jam on my arm. The decent into Kisumu City was crazy, we were up in some highlands then you catch the first views of the lake, as big as an ocean. Coming down from the hills the road was terrible, but it was so bad that it was funny, I was laughing outloud, partially because the road was in such bad shape but also out of excitement that I was finally arriving. Finally we arrived in the busy maze of the Kisumu matatu stage. Porters and merchants and cars and matatus and boda boda’s everywhere, lots of music too. I hopped a boda and went off to my hotel.

The hotel I decided to stay at was recommended by a number of people here. When I got there I first had to argue with the Boda that I wasn’t going to pay 50 shillings for a 10 shilling ride, I told him I’d been in Kenya for 2 years and he eventually let up. I got to the hotel, which was gated with a nice lawn out infront, just a little outside the main town area – walking distance during the day. At first I wasn’t too keen on staying there, and I thought I may even head back into town for a less expensive, less nice room (although this hotel was only about $40US a night, its a lot here.) Then I found out breakfast was included and then I saw the room. Wow! It had a huge balcony with nice chairs with an incredible view of the lake. I’ll take it. I think I forgot I have been living in a house made of mud for the past 2 months, I felt like I had my own palace at this place. There was a color TV with more than one channel, free bottled water and a nice queen sized bed. Oh and not to mention a real shower and toilet, which although nice and convenient, was not as incredible as I thought they might be, I’ve become pretty adjusted to my bucket and hole.

After digging my room for awhile I headed back into town. Kisumu is a really nice city. It doesn’t have the same crazy, hectic pace of Nairobi, the people seem to be friendly and it was certainly manageable as far as getting around goes – a fairly distinct town center and of course the lake which provides a good reference point as the city slopes down towards it. First I checked out a park that was right on the lake and met a guy who was a Kisumu local, told me a lot about the town and the lake, I had a lot of questions too. Lake Victoria has a lot of hyacinth (grass/weeds that grow in islands on the water). Apparently sometimes Kisumu bay will completely fill with hyacinth so it looks like a huge grass field. There were only a few scattered patches when I was there. Being back in the hustle of a city was a nice feeling again, especially because it wasn’t too overwhelming. I hadn’t eaten all day so I found a place called Senoritas hoping to find some Mexican food. Although no Mexican they did have a massive menu with a surprising amount of Americano food. I went for a curry chicken which I devoured to the point of people watching me. Then I went down to the lake front of the city. There are a ton of rickety old fish shacks which jut towards the water, people sitting under the long narrow bamboo roofs. I found one that served cold tusker (Kenyan beer) and relaxed. There were tons of people at the water, bathing, washing their cars and bikes and even big gasoline trucks. There were a lot of street kids running around too which provided pretty good entertainment. After some more walking around I called my friend Brent to see where some good places were in the city. He didn’t get back to me for awhile so I went back to the hotel to wash up. Once I got there I realized how beat I was, despite Brent had texted me back saying he was in Kisumu too and wanted to meet up. I ended up just hanging out around the hotel, watched an incredible sunset from my balcony, did some writing and watched some American television.

Day two, I woke up to monkeys! I heard some rustling in the trees outside my balcony. I went to go check it out and there jumping around in the trees were tons of spider monkeys. I sat on my balcony for a while, took in the monkeys and watched the sunrise. I had some errands to run that day, just wanted to check out the Nakumart (kind of like the Kenyan version of Wal-Mart, there are only a handful though). I wanted to see if I could get some good prices on things I needed back in the village. I also found a Chinese restaurant which, although not as good as the Chinese back home, was close enough for me to really enjoy it. At night I went out to a pub called Mon Ami which was playing an Arsenal game on TV (English Premiere League Soccer). There was a lot of shouting which attracted me to the place. I met some Kenyans there and we chatted about football and politics, had some tuskers. Then I decided to take a look at their menu. Cheeseburgers! I couldn’t believe it, I got one with some French fries, it was great. (I’m realizing this trip was marked by some serious food repression). Afterwards I checked out a few more bars. One crazy place called Octopussi with a lot of pool sharks and prostitutes.

Eventually it was back to my room for a great sleep. Then up in the morning, watched the monkeys, one last walk down to the lake and I hopped my more express matatu back to Bungoma. Overall a great trip, I would love to go back although I doubt Ill have enough time.

View from my blacony. Unfourtunantly I didnt get to many pictures of Kisumu itself.