Naivasha

Hello everyone.

I've just returned to Nairobi from Naivasha. It's been one hectic trip. As I'd wished, when Meghan returned from Uganda, I immediately started to feel better, and not so alone. She invited me to visit her orphanage/school, and also to the rest of her week end trips. Ultimately, I have decided not to go on the safari tour. I will go on other weekend trips, that won't cost me 110 US dollars a day.

This weekend, I went to Naivasha, which is just about and hour and a half away from Nairobi. We stayed at a camp for really cheap, and went to Hell's Gate. In Hell's Gate National Park, we went down into the gorge, looking for hot springs and to take in the whole thing.

The entire time, I wish that my father could see this place. I remember the first time my family went on vacation. I was 10 years old, complete with my first airplane ride to Niagara Falls. From then on, all our family trips have been about seeing the wonders of nature, to see what we midwest civilians don't get to see.

I traveled in a group of 5, which is ironic because I have always done that with my family. We rode a matatu to Hell's Gate, then rented bikes to ride around. The bikes were very old and rickety. I really missed my bike back from home. I guess it's not the bikes that made the trip hard, but the fact that the roads were of gravel. Well, the gravel bits were actually mini stones the size of of a computer mouse. And when the roads were down hill, I always thought back to the time when I was going down hill on my bike, flew off, and landed on my face.

Nonetheless, I got to see zebras, warhogs, sheep/goats, and other animals during the bike ride. We then got to the center of the park and decided to go on the 3 hr walk. What meant to be a 3 hr walk turned about to be more like 6-7 hours. All of us were extremely tired from the whole thing at the end, and fell asleep by 10 at the latest.

I'm so glad I got to come here, because I got to travel with such a good group of people. Each one of us brings unique experiences and such to the trip atmosphere. I'm thankful that all of the people I traveled with have been here for at least 3-4 weeks longer than I have. Some have been here for 4 months.

Despite the wonderful trip, I got very tired of people trying to people rip us off. Charging double the price just because we are Mzungo's, crowding around us as soon as we arrive to buy yogurt, strawberries, watches, blah blah blah. The entire trip we were hassled and annoyed. What really ticked us off was the ride into Naivasha town this morning. The guys running the matatus kept trying to give us his number or asking for our number. Then he tried taking pictures of us. :sigh: Then we decided to go to Lake Nkuru to see flamingoes and rhinos. But what happened was the ATM machine ate my debit card. This is not a way that I thought I'd lose my debit card! I don't know how I'm going to get any more for the rest of this trip, if I need it.

Nontheless, i'ts been a good weekend, much more exciting than the last one. After this, I'm going to the Maasai Market with Leigh and Christian to get some souvenirs. I'm glad I'm getting to go, and that I got to meet people before they go back home.

Leigh, Becca, and Christian are all leaving next weekend. It's great timing that I got to travel with them. And of course, it's all the more better because Becca lives really close to me. It's definitely a small world.

Becky