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.