Kisumu pics

Leaving Nakuru, where the Kikuyu are in the majority, we went past tea plantations, coffee fields, and, after coming down from the hills, sugar cane fields until we got to Kisumu, on the eastern shore of Lake Victoria.  Kisumu is in the Nyanza province, where the majority of people are Luo with minorities of Kisii and Luyia people, among others.  The tribes don't have anything to do with these pictures, but I should mention them because one's tribe is an important part of the identity of most Kenyans, although less so with each passing generation.  Children grow up speaking their tribal language (the mother tongue) and then learn English and Kiswahili, Kenya's official languages, in school.  Kiswahili (oftened shortened to just Swahili) is heavily influnced by Arabic, and is spoken up and down east Africa although regional accents vary enough that two Kiswahili speakers may not understand each other.

Wheelbarrows, a plow, and a milk can for sale in the hardware department at Tusky's in Kisumu.  Also for sale are solar panels, barbed wire, gas-powered generators, and water tanks.  I love the practical nature of this stuff.

Guys working on a car in the mall parking lot, just as you might see here.  But the thing is, they're replacing the engine, which is on the ground near that fellow's leg.  How they're going to put it in without a hoist I don't know.

Luo food -- ugali (the corn dish) and a talapia that was swimming in Lake Victoria this morning.

At the door of our hotel room we could see the laundress drying the linens, her washtubs, and a big tank that collects rainwater from the roof.

Three colors of bougainvilla

A lizard basks atop a fence around a compound.  (Click any photo for an enlarged version.)

Mollie looking great

We visited Mollie's friend Carol and her baby girl.

We rode around Kisumu in this fellow's old pink tuktuk.  We had his cell phone number and used him for most trips because he was honest, reliable, safe, and friendly.  He spoke English and I felt a friendship with him although we exchanged few words.  When we left Kisumu on the 6:00 a.m. bus to Siaya we called this guy at 5:00, as agreed the previous day, and he came right on time -- a big relief because the next bus got to Siaya after dark, and we had 10 more miles to go, and a bicycle to transport in addition to our luggage.  Our whole stay in Kisumu was made better by this man.

A bicycle taxi passes a brickworks.

Near Kisumu we visited Mollie's aunt Nancy's parents.  Here are Nancy's son William, a cousin, Nancy's son Mike, and me.  That's a mosquito net for the bed hanging over my head.

Nancy served pilau and vegetables.  It was great and I did the guest of honor thing and ate a lot.

Nancy's parents grow cassava and corn,

banana (nice little pond eh?),

mangoes,

and papayas, called paw paws, among other things.

A green frog in the pond, in the middle of this shot

I liked this healthy little farm.

Mike

People arriving as the cows relax

Nancy's gracious parents

William and his cousin

Mollie, William, and Nancy as we head back to the road

Some kids come running to say hi.

Here they are!  They smiled shyly and giggled when I showed them their picture on the camera's little screen.

A bicycle taxi man waits for another to come by, so Mollie and I can return to the matatu stop.

Back in Kisumu, this guy stopped walking and posed for me when I took a picture of the Hari Krishna temple.

We bought a bicycle to take to Siaya for Mollie's cousin Dennis.  The matatu driver managed to fit it in for our ride to the bus stop even though it was too early to be awake.

Nakuru pics 2

Flamingos on the shore of Lake Nakuru, seen through some acacia trees.

A pretty bird

Five pics of monkeys at the park entrance

We visited Judith and Stacy again for a great lunch.  Here Stacy helps me read upside down and sideways.  Fortunately it's Dr Suess so I can just make up words, like he does. :)

Judith and Stacy walked us down to the matatus again.  Bye Stacy!

A cow hangs out.

Nakuru pics 1

The upload speed's ok (in fact I uploaded some of these pics back in the USA) so if you click on a pic you should be able to see it in 1024x768 resolution.

In Nakuru we stayed at the Chester which I must recommend whole-heartedly.  They have a good restaurant with good prices.  A big plate of chipos is KES 80 or 100 ($1.20) and comes with a bit of cabbage/tomato/onion salad.  We stayed on the 4th floor over a back entrance to the kitchen.  Peering down we often saw kitchen staff peeling potatoes for the days' chips.  No frozen fries from Idaho in Kenya, just fresh potatoes peeled that morning.

Mollie and the football stadium near the Chester Hotel.

A load of empty water jugs

A tuktuk on Nakuru's main street

Mollie visits with Judith, a friend from college.

Stacy's mom Judith, Stacy, Mollie, and Judith (also) have tea.

We visit Stacy and Judith.  I'm a Stacy fan for the rest of my life.

Stacy walks us to the main road to catch a tuktuk back to the hotel.

Nakuru traffic

Bougainvillea, originally from South America and now beautifying Kenya

Some apartments visible from our hotel window

Mollie takes out her extensions.  I'm a Mollie fan too.  :)  Thank you Mollie baby!

From our window, a view of a fellow that sharpens things, with his grinder on the back of his bicycle

Goats and people go about their business.  Livestock wanders around during the day and knows where home is at night.

In the forground the hotel staff washes and dries the day's laundry.  Lake Nakuru is in the distance.

Children play with tires, rolling them by hand or with a stick.

With only a camera to distract me, I wait in a salon as Mollie has an operation performed on her hair.

A woman and her daughter walk past.  People don't have a coat for every occasion so this girl is wearing what she has.

A crowded matatu drives by while another stops to let off a passenger.

A woman in a skirt sits sideways on a bicycle taxi.

A motorcycle with 4 people on it waits for a truck to go over the speed bump.  Usually the child sits in front of the driver, on the gas tank, but here the driver has scooted forward.

These children greeted us as we walked on towards the entrance of Lake Nakuru National Park.