| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Feb 02 2008 : 09:58:27 AM
gosh .. with all the troubles in africa .. i've been reminescing .. going back through my 'journal' .. thankful that we got to see it when we did .. and prayin' for peace.
the above photos was one of the first elephants that 'greeted' us!
i tried to do a blog for my journal .. but it was taking FOREVER to upload the hundreds of photos! someday i'll figure out a faster way to do it .. AND .. i still have to write our TANZANIA part of the journey ..
ahhhhhhhh .. the elusive "someday" xo
True Friends * Frannie
HEAR MY STORIES
come, visit my:
"GATHERING ROOM" ..
http://freedomvalleyfarm.blogspot.com
adopt a 'rag-chile'
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| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Farmtopia |
Posted - Feb 04 2008 : 11:01:52 PM
Hey Ms. Frannie, it is very clear that you love this place that you are showing us, and it is beautiful. Next time you go, bring me along, ok? :D
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View my work:
www.bigtownfarmer.com
www.pumpkinpatchparlor.etsy.com
And Blogs:
www.bigtownfarmer.blogspot.com
www.queenofcrows.blogspot.com |
| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Feb 03 2008 : 11:28:57 PM
more journalings .. lots of photos .. too many to post .. i can e-mail them to you.
JANUARY 13
AFRICA
babboons .. elephants .. cape buffalo and a lazy LION!
SATURDAY 1/13
We meet for early morning coffee and cake .. then head on Safari.
.. this big babboon greets us and thumbs a ride
and check out each other's butts ...
whatta' way to start the day!
we see herds and herds of elephants. They travel in families .. mothers and aunts and babies.
Males are NOT invited .. except at mating times. BOY elephants are tolerated until they are young teenagers .. and then are told to leave! hmmmm .. perhaps humans should do likewise??? (kidding!!!!!!!!!) Elephants travel slowly .. together .. always led by a dominant female.
Male elephants do not have to be related to join 'the gang .. just buddies ..
but females will rarely accept an outsider we are told.
momma elephants surely seem to ADORE their babies!
They cross the road in front of us .. close enough to reach out and touch! An astounding site!
Males travel alone or with a few other males.
Boy elephants will seem to 'challenge' you if you get close.
They do watch us and 'smell' us! They do not seem afraid of the vans we travel in.
We see a lone teen-age elephant that has gotten lost from his family (or shooed away).
He panics .. not because of the vehicles .. but because he can not 'smell' or hear his family. He runs .. sways from side to side .. He is is visually in a PANIC~It is hard to watch his trauma.
~ He trumpets loudly and staggers. He crosses directly in front of us .. running.
We watch as he disappears into high grass. Paul tells us that he can become so frightend and excited that he can faint and become prey to lions. Sometimes so sad to us humans .. this process of nature!
I am sure we saw several hundred elephants today.
Interesting observation: WE seem to be the 'caged' ones in the 'zoo' .. that is our van. The animals run free.
I asked Paul what would happen if someone got out of the vehicle and approached them. He assured me they would be trampled to death. We all STAYED in the van!
It is illegal to get out of your vehicle in the park .. except at the overlook. HOWEVER .. Barbara dnd Priscilla's hats blew off at the same time .. and a passing guide got out and retrieved them from the road and brought them to us. But not without first looking around. Last night we spied two more cheetahs crouched in tall grass!
***
LUNCH: Another meal where we all ate too much. We have some free time for a few hours. I am writing in my journal. Hank, who had good intenitions of sitting outside to watch nature and read .. is snoring happily beside me. What a wonderful time we are having together!
At 3 p.m., we head for the camp of Cynthia Moss in Amboseli Park .. where she has done Elephant Research for 40 years. We drive through thick brush to several large tents. Solar power is being installed in her 'business' tent so Cynthia invites us to sit outside her private/home tent for our discussion.
This is a real treat .. few visitors are invited to meet with her. (YEAH!! Travel Learn! I HIGHLY recommend them when travelling outside the United States .. a wealth of information and education about the areas you visit. We went to GREECE with them and it, too, was a phenomenal trip!) Cynthia tells us many interesting facts .. most I must admit I have already forgotten. A few I remember: elephants travel in 'families' .. females and young females and young males. At about 13 to 14 years of age, the males leave (or are encourged to leave) by their mothers. The young suckle for about 4 years. A momma's boobies are near her front legs so that she does not step on her baby! A mother elephant is VERY protective of her young!! Young female elephants are 'caretakers' .. young boy elephants are troublemakers! (Ha! big surprize!) The boys 'play fighting much of the time. Elephants are fiercely loyal .. scent is their strongest sense. Elephants continue to grow .. ALL of their lives! Bulls from about 30 to 60 years of age are favored as mates .. (the bigger the better says Cynthia). The females have a sense of 'survival of the fittest' and choose the strongest, largest, healthiest bulls to father their offspring. Elephants live to about 70 years of age. Death is caused by olde age, disease, injury but rarely fighting. They are strictly vegetarians. When a bull elephant comes into heat he finds a female family and waits until the females come into 'eustress'. He may very sell 'service' several female elephants in several families. Pregnancy lasts 22 months. The oldest female is almost always the matriarch and is the herd leader. She has 6 sets of molars (teeth) and about every ten years, a set wears down and a new set emerges and push out the previous set. When the 6th and final set grows and begins to weaken .. the matriarch is prepared to die. She often roams from the herd at the end of her life searching for soft food to chew. And the next oldest becomes the matriarch.
******
Today we spot our first lion taking a 'lazy afternoon nap'.
Lions sleep 20 hours out of 24!
Another large herd of elephants pass directly in front of us. There is a very large male with them! (happy times are a-coming!)
*********
Then a huge herd of Cape Buffalo crosses the road in front .. so close we could reach out the window and touch them .. (IF we are stupid enough to attempt this little trick!) Cape Buffalo are the fiercest of animals here .. but appear to ignore us. Any herd of these larger animals would easily be capable of ramming us .. turning us over and turning us into mincemeat pie! They have gotten used to people travelling in tourist vans .. but we are respectful of them!
***********!
Back to the lodge .. oh lordy .. yet another decadent meal. Our lodge serves delicious curries .. and tonight we are served outside .. a barbeque .. always goat is available and pork, beef, chicken and sometimes crocodile and camel. I am still not eating meat here (except for breakfast bacon.) After once again stuffing ourselves, Barbara and I go see a wonderful film about an elephant family. ECHO the matriarch and her son ELI who is born crippled. Amazed at the love and protection and dedication of this little guy and his momma! His knees will not straighten in the front and he has to scoot on them. unable to keep up with the herd.
Finally, the herd moves on .. his mother remains behind with him. His doting older sister is torn between doing the 'natural' thing and keeping up with the herd .. and staying behind with her mom and little brother. Up to now, she has stayed close to Eli's side and encouraged him. The herding instinct finally takes over .. and she hurries to catch up with the rest of the herd. Little Eli ries over and over and over again to stand .. always finally falling over. I am surpized to learn that the woman we met today (Cynthia Moss) made this film 20 years ago. We see a young Cynthia in this film and see the very camp we visited earlier today. Cynthia is from New York .. visited Africa 40 years ago .. volunteered to be an assistant to another elephant reseracher. Loved Africa, elephants and this life so much .. that she returned to America .. packed her suitcase and left for Africa forver.
We continue to watch Cynthia's film as Eli's sister suddenly returns and runs back to her baby brother. A few days later the rest of the family returns and as Cynthia films this miraculous event .. with much continued prodding from other herd members, Eli again, in a very weakened condition .. from hunger, thirst and tiring effort, wobbily gets to his feet .. takes a few faltering steps .. falls again .. gets up again .. and after several more tries .. begins to stumble along. I swear .. you rejoice with the elephant family! I know these are animals and not 'human' .. but you feel their emotions as Eli stands and begins to suckle. Afternote: Barbara tells me there were follow-up films to Echo and her family. Years later, Echo dies and Eli grows to be a very large strong Bull Elephant. Barbara did not remember how Echo dies (but it was befeore she lost her six set of teeth though).
There was a huge elephant skull on both sides of Cynthia's tent today .. I sat beside one and asked her about them. She told me they are the skulls of two of her favorites. I did not ask the names but firmly believe one was Echo.
I also learn that Eli was not 'crippled" (which would have meant certain death for him here in the wild .. but Cynthia said Eli was the largest baby elephant she had ever seen born. and he had been cramped inside the womb which temporarily crippled him.
OH .. we asked Cynthia when we met with her today if she had ever had any dangeorus animal or SNAKE encounters at her campsite. She said the worse was when a six foot BLACK MAMBO (their bite will kill you almost instantly!) had slithered into her tent and was going after her pet 'kitty' .. she screamed and help came and saved her and her kitty. She moved her kitty to the city after this!
There are more than 700 elephants in Amboseli .. Cynthia knows every one of them and has named every elephant. She said there is a high incidence of new born elephants who do not survive so she does not name them until she feels they are strong and healthy. All families receive an 'alphabeet' sassignment of names.
Echo, Eli, Ellen, Eva, Emily, Eric, etc. and she has gone thorugh the alphabeet several times with new familes since living her and doing research.
SUCH a fascinating time we are having!
****
True Friends * Frannie
HEAR MY STORIES
come, visit my:
"GATHERING ROOM" ..
http://freedomvalleyfarm.blogspot.com
adopt a 'rag-chile'
http://sistermercysfoundlinhome.blogspot.com
treasures .. new and olde .. up for adoption:
http://mudpiemanormercantile.blogspot.com
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| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Feb 02 2008 : 10:37:55 AM
IF YOU WISH TO SEE THE PHOTOS THAT GO WITH THIS 'JOURNALING' .. E-MAIL ME .. AND I'LL SEND THEM BY RETURN E-MAIL!
THIS IS AFRICA!
Friday, January 12
I find that the days are so full of activities, events, adventures and learning experiences that if I let even half a day pass without journaling .. much is forgotten! I must refer over and over to our written itinerary to remind me where we were each day!
What an exciting day -- five hour drive through down-town Kenya -- hustle and bustle. Very busy like New York City without the skycrapers. Driving is chaotic to a visitor .. yessss .. even worse than driving in New York City! Very few traffic lights .. no road LANE guides .. drive on left side of road. Constant pedestrians walking between vehicles weaving in and out. NEVER see women in shorts or slacks! Am still impressed with the clothing worn by many .. not expensive .. but layers .. (we Americans would pass out from the heat with the jackets and shawls that are worn over dresses, blouses and skirts. At the edge of Nairobi, hundreds and hundreds of people on the sides of the roads. walking .. sitting. People WALK everywhere! Lady Barbara made an interesting comment:
"People waiting .. waiting .. waiting". We can only imagine .. "for what"?
SHOPPING
all villages were 'dirt' .. grass is seen 'further back' where the homes are.
People are polite. Quite beautiful .. very African .. rarely do you see anyone who is overweight .. must be all the WALKING!
Most cars are either jeep-like or vans .. FULL of people and always in very junky condition. Roads are the worst I have ever seen anwhere .. consistently BAD and ROUGH!
Constantly, you see people carrying large loads in carts, by bicycle .. by hand .. and on their heads (especially in Tanzania) ...
I was amazed every time I saw a bike piled so high .. HOW did this man see where he was going?
PHOTOS THROUGH THIS PART OF JOURNAL
this is a very typical scene that we saw over and over in slightly different variations .. these are 'homes'
Paul says there is no money for materials to repair the roads. Roadside markets EVERYWHERE! Very Third World. Rarely are tourists seen in these places. At times, the people seem very curious about white tourists .. especially as you get further and further away from Nairobi. Often coming up to the car windows attempting to sell trashy little treasures. Politely insistent. Families who can afford to send their children to 'paid school' still live in tin shacks .. but their children are in clean, ironed uniforms. All children (boys and girls) have very close-cropped hair.
We pass through many small 'villages' with tin shack shoppes .. never did see anything resembling a "Wally World"! I understand there are some larger stores in bigger cities though. This is a typical roadside village shopping 'mall':
PHOTOS
the shoppes along the road are wonderfully COLORFUL!
road-side shoppes
many, many carts pulled by donkeys. we once saw two donkeys pulling such a heavy load that their necks were weighted down so heavily that the face of one of the donkeys faces scraped the road
as he walked along. the weights were to keep the donkeys from being catapulted into the air because of their heavy load! no ASPCA here!!!
If you offer candy, a small gift to one child .. you will surrounded by a hundred or more within minutes. Sooo .. you mostly do not offer. how do you choose just a handfull to give to .. and leave out the others?
I thought they would all be very aware of western world culture and "things" but rarely have I seen "American t-shirts or jeans' on Kenyans. I wish I had brought more 'clothing' .. neck scarves, t-shirts, jeans, sweaters (they often seem so 'layered') .. Paul said it is because it is chilly in the morning and evening when they leave and return home. .. we would often pass very small children in the hot mid-day sun wearing heavy coats, wool HATS .. i don't know how they kept from passing out. Paul says they must wear them to keep from losing them as clothese are not easy to come by in these outlying areas. There are TONS of 'flea-markets' selling new and olde clothes .. but families don't have the money to keep buying clothing over and over again for their children because they 'lost' them!
We pass a 'border check' ... simply a policeman and surprsingly to me .. a policewoman standing on opposite sides of a long stretch of empty road. The woman police officer had her gun out and pointed. The first time I saw these police 'checks' I felt a surge of fear. GUNS DRAWN AND POINTED! They looked like MILITARY .. not police officers. Paul tells us that if they hold their hand up .. you STOP or possibly get shot! They did not stop us. (only once on our trip were we stopped and there are MANY 'police blocks' on our trip! And I sit here with 'dry britches' to tell you that I 'bout wet my underoos when I saw that hand and gun go up telling us to STOP!!! At our first sighting of a 'police road block" .. there was literally miles of open road .. no buildings .. no people .. on either side of them on the deserted road. Almost looked like highway robbers.
Small 'villages' or 'stretches of shacks' (shops) pop up all of a sudden here and there as you travel along. We stop at one named(Paradise) as it is proclaimed on a hand-made road sign. I am guessing Paul knows these people and has an agreement to bring tourists there. They are more informally dressed .. and one shopkeeper even wears a Bob Marley t-shirt. There is a very dark hut filled with wood carvings, hand-made (cheaply) jewelry and other african souvenir knick-knacks.
It is uncomfortable looking at something .. or showing any interest in an item. Because if you do .. you are immediately approached .. politely but insistenly by a vendor who wants to sell the item to you. Bartering is a 'given'. A few trinkets are purchased by Barbara and "G" (as a thank-you for using their public bathroom .. which of course .. I do not go near .. would wet my underings first! But Hank declares they were quite clean.
NOW .. bear in mind .. a MAN's definition of 'clean' is usually quite different from a WOMAN's!!!
We cut through a VERY depressed village to avoid going into Tanzania. (Actually, it is illegal to pass thruough without going through a border check .. now THAT will get you shot!) I think of all the towns we went through .. this one fascinated me the most! It felt as if we had crossed over a border into another country. There were quite a few muslim women with veils over their faces. I wanted desperately to take photos .. but we were too 'up close and personal' to the people we passed .. and I didn't want to appear "The Ugly American Tourist'!!
In this village we see our first 'camels'!!!
Soon we enter Masai country and we start seeing nomadic .. tall, beautiful, stately, mahogany-shade men and women walk along the roadside and in the fields and wearing the most incredibly beautiful wraps .. around their waists and over their shoulders.
This is at a Masai Village and Hank is 'hanging out' with the Masai Warriors!
We see young boys wearing BLACK .. Paul tells us they have recently been circumcised .. and they will continue to wear these robes until the next group of young men are circumcised ... therefore entering into man-hood .. then they will pass these black robes to the new young 'men' who are circumcised .. and on and on it goes.
(more on that circumcision thingie later!!!)
We arrive at the gates of Amboseli National Park .. it is fenced to keep most of the wild animals from the people. Some do occasionally get through though .. it is much too massive to fence it all in.
While we wait at the gate, we are approached by about 30 young massai women and young men selling jewelry. A young man offers me a carved bowl for my neckerchief. I do not trade .. not because I don't like the bowl .. but I am fairly new to this bartering thing (my Amrican 'flea market' mentality had not kicked-in yet!) AND .. actually, these people all seemed so poor .. I didn't have the heart to ask them to take less .. and they ALWAYS start waaaaaaaaaay higher than anyone would be willing to pay for an item! AND once you buy ONE thing .. you have a hundred arms jabbed in your face with: YOU BUY! YOU BUY! YOU BUY!
Inside the gates, we see our first giraffes!
PHOTO
FIRST SIGHTINGS are among the most exciting!
~ Suddenly we see two young boys in their masia clothing .. tending goats. There ARE lions in here!! They smile, wave and look carefree. Paul tells us that the government prefers that the Masai do NOT walk in here .. but the Masai claim this as their land .. so .. their roaming is tolerated. He follows up that these children have been here for generations .. they know the dangers .. yet, this is their land .. and yes, they are sometimes killed by wild animals.
I turn and watch until they are out of sight. I am deeply affected at the cultural differences that MUST exist as to how mothers worry about the safety of their children. I believe those 2 young boys .. smiling and waving at us will haunt me forever!
***********
We arrive at the GATED, fenced AMBOSELI SERENA LODGE. As we get out of our van, we are met by smiling Masai .. with lemon-scented warm wash cloths to clean the dust from our hands and faces. As we step inside the lodge .. another Maisi greets us with a tray of papaya juice for each of us.
I am confused about their 'wild ways' of living .. and yet .. some do, indeed, work at these oppulent lodges!
AMBOSELI SERENA LODGE
What a fabulous oasis in the midst of this wild animal kingdom. I am so impressed with the design and primitive paintings on the walls. MUCH money went into this place! Beautiful Masi men stand around .. there is a HEAVY fine for photographing them here. We immediately meet a monkey and are told they can be aggresive.. do NOT approach or attempt to feed them!
The lodge is open to the outside and there are Masai that stand guard to keep the 'many monkeys' from coming into the buffet restaurant.
Our room is delightful! My very most favorite place I have EVER stayed at while travelling! HA! PREVIEWS OF COMING ATTRACTIONS!
(and the lodges just get better and better!!)
Our room is at the very edge of the campground. We overlook the plains .. and I am sure if we sit on the ground-floor veranda long enough, we will see wild animals at dusk or dawn!
Right outside our door is an alarm button with a sign to push it if we sight a wild animal inside the lodge compound!
photo
The entrance to our room .. which is the LAST room before the 'wilds':
The walls of our room are hand-painted with tree branhes filled with birds .. birds in flight and African designs.
PHOTO
I just LOVED these birds .. so 'folk arty':
PHOTO
Around our bed is a wonderful netting that totally encloses us .. but does not make you feel 'closed in". Above the bed is a recessed pit (in the ceiling with a constantly running fan (no air-conditioning .. for that fact, there is no electricity here .. except that provided by generators! The fan recess has birds in flight which seem to be actually flying as the blades of the fan turn!
The door handles to both the room and the bathroom are African spears. The light shades are all painted and drilled gourds.
I do not understand all this oppulance surrounded by massive poverty .. but find myself grateful for it!
*******
Safari .. and my thoughts flow faster than the ink from my pen or than my hand can move in writing.
We meet a 'dusk' -- 4:30 p.m. to take a 'safari". Oh .. the days are so full that .. I almost forgot to write of the most exciting thing we saw this morning! Just before we reached our lodge today .. we took a side road where two cheetahs have been cited. (ONLY A FEW MILES FROM THE SMALL BOYS TENDING THEIR GOAT-HEARD!)
Breath-stopping to see cheetahs 'on the prowl'. A large wildebeest sees them. He follows them rather than running. Paul tells us that Wildebeest have poor eyesight and they will stay with the Cheetah .. never taking their eyes from them .. to keep the Cheetah from circling him and attacking from the back.
We also see vultures devouring a zebra carcass. Nature is so amazing!
This evening, Paul took us for a 3 hour ride .. we spot hippos in the distance in a river. He says they are very dangerous! Hippos kill more humans in Africa than any other animal. And they can run VERY fast on land. (UNBEKNOWNST TO ME AT THIS POINT IN OUR JOURNEY .. WE WILL RIDE A SMALL BOAT IN A HIPP-FILLED RIVER BEFORE OUR TRIP TO AFRICA ENDS!!!)
We spot our first elephant .. all alone .. shoulder high in a swamp. We see giraffes .. so regal and comical at the same time. We see many gazelle .. and more zebra. And HUGE and very dangerous Cape Buffalo!
This young fella' whipped around to check us out!
photo
The spread of their 'horns' can be magnificent and huge!
Many, many birds .. my favoritre being the bird of Uganda .. the Crown Egret with a puffy pompador. At the end of the road on our dusk safari is an observation tower. We are IN the park with the wild animals .. and we are allowed to get OUT of the van and climb about 50 large stone steps to the top of a hill. Wildebeest are not far from us but Paul assures us that the animals rarely go up this hill to eat anyone! We do know that VERY poisonous snakes live here .. and I watch every step I take
Breathtaking view of snow-capped Mt. Kilamanjaro at the top!
PHOTO
watching the sun set over Mt. Kilamanjaro
PHOTO
PHOTO
and SUNSET at the top of the hill!
*******
We return to the lodge to yet another incredible meal! Paul regales us with stories and information about various African animals. An early bedtime .. as we meet at 6 a.m. tomorrow for a 'dawn' safari. (Dawn and Dusk are 'mealtimes' for most animals and they are most active at these times. I wake every hour on the hour in excited anticipation of tomorrow's adventures!
And as you look over today's events .. remember ALL this was seen and experienced in just ONE DAY in AFRICA!
================
IN YOUR E-MAIL TO SEE THE PHOTOS .. PLEASE THIS:
AFRICA ... JANUARY 12
True Friends * Frannie
HEAR MY STORIES
come, visit my:
"GATHERING ROOM" ..
http://freedomvalleyfarm.blogspot.com
adopt a 'rag-chile'
http://sistermercysfoundlinhome.blogspot.com
treasures .. new and olde .. up for adoption:
http://mudpiemanormercantile.blogspot.com
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| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Feb 02 2008 : 10:27:59 AM
BOYS TOWN
We arrive at "Boys Town" .. oh how SHOCKING!!! The 'name' sounds almost 'romantic'. In the midst of a field separated from the nearest city of Nairobi are more rusty tin huts! These are the 'classrooms' and the 'dormitories.'. I could write for pages and pages of what I saw and how I interpreted this visit. The Headmaster .. well dressed and groomed .. met us with several of the 'boys' .. all teenagers in their late teens. The classrooms, the "office" .. are FILTHY .. in disarray and extremely dirty and dusty. There is a mule standing nearby on the walkway between the tin schoolrooms. We stop in a classroom and take seats at the wooden home-made desks and learn of the plight of young boys who have no home .. or are abused .. or even criminal.
Grades range from age 8 to 19. One young man who has just turned 19 .. came to the school a few years ago. For years, he lived on the streets and got into much trouble .. he could not read .. had had NO schooling. He told Hank that his mother had left him on the streets at age 3. We learn later, his name is Daniel.
We all ask questions. The land and a tin building was donated by an American couple. The school is owned and run by the Catholic church.
I ask what the boys do in their 'free time'. Just hang out, listen to music and dance I am told. I laugh and ask if they have girlfriends. They slyly look at each other and respond "NO .. we're are not allowed to .. and they laugh!
The headmaster tells me they dance alone .. no girls. I ask if they would show us their 'moves'. The boys say "Daniel Dances". I grab Daniel by the hands and tell him "let's boogie"! "Show me what you do .. and unless you stand on your head and spin .. I'll keep up! Daniel grins and starts dancing .. I follow step for step .. move for move .. gyration for gyration .. feet flippin' .. arms flappin'!! Everyone laughs and claps!
PHOTO
Dancin' in the cow pasture .. with the 'boys' of Boys' Town
That's ME in the red shirt .. Daniel is in the white t-shirt on my left.
The 'headmaster is in the blue shirt' .. and their 'teacher' is holding books on the far right.
We then walk to the young boys dormitory .. they are not here today .. it is a weekend and they are in town. I am appalled but try not to show it! filthy, dirty, peeling paint, busted windows, rusty, cheap dirty mattresses stacked up .. some are simply thin pads of foam. and I swear .. our dogs at home sleep on the same foam and they are cleaner than what these boys have to sleep on! I am speechless!
More teen boys have now joined us. We are ready to leave .. I present our gift of school supplies and I take out a $50 bill and give it to the headmaster and tell him to treat the boys to a hamburger.
(Priscilla tells me when we get back into the car .. that the boys will probably never see a dime of that fifty! This saddens me ... but I hope for the best.)
We are now ready to leave .. I give Daniel a hug and thank him for the dance. We all get into our van .. waiting for our driver .. and suddenly Daniel appears at the window by my seat .. his eyes are imploring. He says: "I wish I knew you" and asks would I please write to him. I promise him I will. He stands there holding my hands through the window and tears start rolling down his cheeks. I take his face in my hands and kiss his cheek. He looks as if his heart will break .. This chokes the breath from me. For a moment in time, I felt as though I was the mother's love this young man has yearned for all his troubled, lonely life. I cannot bear it as we drive away.
We return over the bumpy roads .. past profound poverty back to our opulent Nairobi Lodge and to yet another sumptuous meal!
On our ride back to town .. I get very angry .. at the condition of "Boys Town". I complained that there are 160 boys who live there .. so WHY is there such filth and messiness! The Headmaster was dressed clean and immaculate .. yet his office was messier than a junk yard dog's kennel. School books and papers torn, laying in the dirt on the floor. Filthy walls, floors! WHY does he not set an example .. and require these boys to aspire to more!!! WHERE is the Catholic Church? Why have they not donated paint, paintbrushes, cleaning rags and products? Boys Town is in DIRE need of a WOMAN's touch!!!
I find myself being 'judgemental' .. and realize i do not know all the facts .. this is not my life .. i have not earned any rights to judgement! my judgement turns to tears of sadness.
I gaze out the window at the filthy rusted out tin shacks where mothers live with their children and wonder WHY?
Different cultures, different values .. and yet, if they do not change their thinking, I believe poverty, crime, disease and death will follow them all their lives!
How do you eat an elephant?
ONE bite at a time!
Flash forward to the decadent meal we tourists have followed by an incredibly talented group of young African men and women dancers at our lodge. I swear, these young dancers are as gifted as ANY I have ever seen anywhere in the world!
If only all had these opportunities!
(TO BE CONTINUED)
In which we travel across the Athi Plains, home of the proud Masai tribe, to Amboseli, one of Kenya's best-known game parks. We see the snow-covered peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain and stay at the beautiful Amboseli Serena Lodge.
We see our first WILD ANIMALS!!!
True Friends * Frannie
HEAR MY STORIES
come, visit my:
"GATHERING ROOM" ..
http://freedomvalleyfarm.blogspot.com
adopt a 'rag-chile'
http://sistermercysfoundlinhome.blogspot.com
treasures .. new and olde .. up for adoption:
http://mudpiemanormercantile.blogspot.com
|
| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Feb 02 2008 : 10:22:03 AM
We visit the Kenyan Museum (which is tucked away behind tall gates with barbed wire and guards) .. lots of construction is going on .. it is quite dirty and poor looking. We watch a very out-of-date film on a TV screen .. Richard Leakey "The Making of Mankind" .. then we visit the 'snake area' of the museum where we see HUGE PHYTHONS and DEADLY "BLACK MAMBOS' and PUFF ADDERS .. both will kill you within moments of biting you.
(HA! I am more bothered by the mosquitoes buzzing around me .. all I can think of is bringing home a little case of MALARIA!)
After the museum, we have lunch at an opulent restaurant in Nairobi .. mostly meat~ No one really eats heartily!
We head out of town on the worse roads I have ever traveled (HA! .. previews of coming attractions!) .. we actually had to turn around several times to take road that are more 'worn paths' than roads .. traveling through what I suppose is people's 'yards' .. past goats, cows, people. The incredible poverty is indescribable to me .. each person you see is a human .. as precious in God's eyes as any other on earth. Yet in comparison to the majority of Americans .. their paths in life "seems" so hopeless to me. But of course, I am seeing this from my own life's viewpoint and experiences and value systems.
wish i had time to post ALL the photos that go with these journalings!!
True Friends * Frannie
HEAR MY STORIES
come, visit my:
"GATHERING ROOM" ..
http://freedomvalleyfarm.blogspot.com
adopt a 'rag-chile'
http://sistermercysfoundlinhome.blogspot.com
treasures .. new and olde .. up for adoption:
http://mudpiemanormercantile.blogspot.com
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| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Feb 02 2008 : 10:19:44 AM
at this same plantation .. i came upon one of the big surprizes of africa for me .. incredibly beautiful POINSETTA trees!
a breath-taking moment!
True Friends * Frannie
HEAR MY STORIES
come, visit my:
"GATHERING ROOM" ..
http://freedomvalleyfarm.blogspot.com
adopt a 'rag-chile'
http://sistermercysfoundlinhome.blogspot.com
treasures .. new and olde .. up for adoption:
http://mudpiemanormercantile.blogspot.com
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| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Feb 02 2008 : 10:17:51 AM
we had lunch at a very elegant plantation .. and i took a 'stroll' ALONE among the gardens and came upon these sleeping WARTHOGS! i crept closer and closer and ever so closer with my camera .. LORDY! why was i not scared to death .. these are all WILD animals!
they suddenly ..
.. HEARD ME .. and LEPT to the ground .. NOW .. i was SCARED! but luckily .. they were even more frightened of me .. and ran in the other direction. i was not more than 7 or 8 feet away when i snapped this photo!
True Friends * Frannie
HEAR MY STORIES
come, visit my:
"GATHERING ROOM" ..
http://freedomvalleyfarm.blogspot.com
adopt a 'rag-chile'
http://sistermercysfoundlinhome.blogspot.com
treasures .. new and olde .. up for adoption:
http://mudpiemanormercantile.blogspot.com
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| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Feb 02 2008 : 10:13:13 AM
HUNGRY CROCS!!! thank goodness these were in a 'fenced enviornment' .. i would not want to meet them on their own turf with little space between us .. they are VERY fast and VERY powerful!
oh lordy .. in tanzania .. we had to walk across a very tiny, rickety bridge up above water that had crocs in it .. that was one of my scariest moments in africa .. but mostly because of the FIGHTING ARMY OF BABOONS jumping wildly from tree to tree and SCREECHING blood-curdling cries!!
True Friends * Frannie
HEAR MY STORIES
come, visit my:
"GATHERING ROOM" ..
http://freedomvalleyfarm.blogspot.com
adopt a 'rag-chile'
http://sistermercysfoundlinhome.blogspot.com
treasures .. new and olde .. up for adoption:
http://mudpiemanormercantile.blogspot.com
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| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Feb 02 2008 : 10:11:07 AM
the young elephant gets closer and closer to us (yes!! we ARE inside a jeep-van .. with the top popped .. we could have reached out and touched him .. which, of course, would have been a VERY foolish move!)
here .. we are told he is simply 'smelling' us .. and if he does not feel threatened .. it is a welcome.
True Friends * Frannie
HEAR MY STORIES
come, visit my:
"GATHERING ROOM" ..
http://freedomvalleyfarm.blogspot.com
adopt a 'rag-chile'
http://sistermercysfoundlinhome.blogspot.com
treasures .. new and olde .. up for adoption:
http://mudpiemanormercantile.blogspot.com
|
| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Feb 02 2008 : 10:08:08 AM
i have never had an adventure quite as remarkable as this in my travels .. and don't know that i will ever experience such a profound visit to any other country in the future.
This is how my 'journal' of my 'journey' began:
THIS IS AFRICA ... from my personal viewpoint of the experiences as seen from my perspective. The stories I tell were told to us .. most I hope were told in truth .. some I suspect were told "with a motive" (give the tourists what they want to hear .. elicit pity for financial donations ... and other human reasons behind the stories people tell.)
The sites I witnessed and write of are purely from the heart and mind of ME. I have tried not to be too judgmental, but upon re-reading my stories, I sometimes see my own cultural beliefs behind the words. I also sometimes see in 'hind-site' with a different perspective. I will mostly quote my journal as I kept it .. perhaps from time to time 'reflecting back' on the re-writing of it here.
As an American and with my own upbringing and lifestyle ... "shock and awe" are what first hit me like a perfectly aimed missile .. after hours of seeing the same poverty (almost) everywhere we traveled, I believe I disconnected at times .. not becoming jaded because of the overwhelming immensity and seeming helplessness .. but more as a 'protective shield' to my own vulnerability that "but for the Grace of God .. there go I".
Ahhhhh yesssssss .. there is one of those 'judgments I tried not to do .. but .. I cannot write as individual Africans might tell their own story and their viewpoints because I have not walked a mile in their sandals (and quite often bare feet).
Oh AMERICA .. fall on your knees, kiss your native soil, thank God and do all you can to protect this Holy Land of ours!
I have had many names for my Journal as I traveled .. OUT OF AFRICA (hmmmmmmm .. I think that one is taken!) THIS IS AFRICA .. a term I heard both before and during our trip. I really liked: "
From KENtucky to KENya"
.. but my travels started out in Washington, D.C. where I was born and therefore .. those "citified" perspectives also enter into my observations and thoughts .. AND .. we also traveled to TANZANIA.
so the title for this, my journal, is still like the 'elusive leopard' .. lurking out there somewhere yet to be discovered!
And oh yessss .. I will from time to time 'ramble' and jump forward and backward in my stories .. as is 'my way' when I get excited about something. One thing reminds me of another and another and another .. and I am off and traveling down many paths .. hopefully, to return to the 'circle' from which I started. And I have noticed in re-reading that sometimes I repeat a lesson learned or something seen that registers deep within me.
I took over a THOUSAND photographs .. each a 'moment in time' .. many moments are just memories as the camera is not faster than a quickly passing moment or sites seen from a moving van or the speed of a wild animal passing into and out of view.
I will attempt to choose a few photos that are most representative of what I am trying to tell you about. IF the photos become tooooo much for the slower down-loading computers, just let me know, and I'll add you to the STORIES ONLY listing of my True Friends.
I would ask that you please not duplicate my words or pictures without checking with me first. But please do feel free to share them .. and I would surely love to hear your views .. remembering that this is only 'the Gospel According to Frannie'. I am very interested to learn of different perspectives of those of you who have traveled to Africa and seen these things first-sight.
********************
Hank and Frannie Meshorer traveled to Kenya and were on SAFARI with an organization called: TRAVEL LEARN .. January 10 through January 23.
Mid-day on January 23 .. we crossed over the border from Kenya to Tanzania and were on Safari there until January 29.
We then flew to Amsterdam where we spent three lovely days and then 'home sweet home' back to America.
True Friends * Frannie
HEAR MY STORIES
come, visit my:
"GATHERING ROOM" ..
http://freedomvalleyfarm.blogspot.com
adopt a 'rag-chile'
http://sistermercysfoundlinhome.blogspot.com
treasures .. new and olde .. up for adoption:
http://mudpiemanormercantile.blogspot.com
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