Since I was unable to post about my trip while it was happening I will do a small and late recap of the trip. The following images have a short description of each included so just click on one and it should explain its self.
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Jesse and I spent Monday traveling around with my Dad’s students visiting agricultural sites, listening to lectures and watching PowerPoints, and eating a lot of samosas for some reason. That night we went to the Carnivore – a famous restaurant in Nairobi that serves grilled meats in Brazilian style. They used to serve game meats like zebra, hartebeast, gazelle, etc but news laws only permit the selling and eating of farm-raised animals like crocodile and ostrich.
Tuesday Jesse and I spent the day visiting old friends, our old school ISK and we met with a professor at the University of Nairobi to talk about my future research. That night we went to the Village Market, a popular mall owned by the parents of one of my friends, to have dinner with my friend and one of Jesse’s friends. We were also joined by some other guests who were in Kenya for the Maxi Dash competition that is rock climbing / car race across Kenya (the people in the linked video were the other guests that night).
Wednesday we started our drive across Kenya with my dad and his grad students. Our first stop was Nakuru to visit my dad’s old colleagues, a research sites and to do a little safari in the Nakuru National Park. Nakuru is in the Great Rift Valley which is a very unique geologic region created from the separation of two tectonic plates. Check out the photos above for some great animal shots while in the park.
Thursday was spent driving to Kisumu to visit another research site. Kisumu is a large city located on the shore of Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa. The road to Kisumu was under construction so we were forced to take a crappy rocky bumpy side road that added hours to our journey. That evening we visited the research facility, took some photos of Lake Victory and slept.
Friday morning we visited some test plots and a local lady’s farm. We then drove back to Nairobi so my dad and his students could catch their flight back to the US. Jesse and I spent the night with out friends Prince and Linda.
Saturday was Jesse’s last day and so we had to get all the souvenir shopping and visits to friends before he left. We visited with our old guard that used to work for us when we lived in Kenya. It was great to see him and hear how his family was doing. He also took me to some jua kali work sites and into the bowels of the municipal market to buy Kate some African fabric. That evening we went to dinner at a friend’s house and then Jesse was dropped at the airport.
Sunday I went to church and visited with a few peeps and then spent the rest of the day hanging out with Prince and Linda. Linda is a designer and made Kate a dress out of African fabric (as seen below). And then I visited another family before catching my plane home.
The trip was amazing. It was so great to go back and see how much things have changed. I really hope that I am able to go to Kenya for my PhD research and take Kate to see all the amazing places in Kenya and meet my wonderful friends.