Day 33, Thur, Feb 16th
The
New Arusha Hotel to Merrueshi Maasai Village, Kenya, 266 km
We
leave Arusha in convoy due to traffic and an uncertain waypoint. Out of town it
becomes and enjoyable ride away from the traffic and working through some
great twisties , likely the best yet. We skirt
counter clockwise around Mount Kiliminjaro which is 19,000 feet rising from a
floor of about 5,000 feet, pretty impressive.
We get to the turn off and head right on a dirt track to the
Maasai camp where we will be staying for two nights.
It is a bit of a hairy ride and I am feeling tired when I
come to a largish kids boarding school of 400 aged 8-14. I have an extra
ball so stop on my goodwill mission; lots of excitment, the head guy all
dressed up and waving a scary stick all over the place. It is a nice interlude.
I keep going and discover that the slippy slidy stuff is
getting a bit easier and actually make the camp without incident.
The camp is headed up by a U.S. educated (Washington
State)Maasai man called Kakutu and his brother Tom who are good friends of
Helge's from 16 years ago. They cater to groups like us interested in Maasai culture.
We
get a general run down of stuff and head out for a two hour late afternoon walk
to scout out the local animals, what their crap looks like, how to track them
etc, very interesting. We return for dinner and drinks and walk out again
around 10 pm to check out the local swamp only to get skunked.
Day 34, Fri, Feb 17th
Merrueshi Maasai Village, 0 km
Up at 6 am for a quick snack and out again for a 3
hour walk; it is exhilarating to be on a walkabout, no noise, tracking the
animals with the Maasai guides, learning about animal habits, the local bird
life, really cool stuff after the noise of a vehicle safari.
We return for breakfast and then all get motorcycle tire
tread sandals made by a local expert for $10 each plus tip; zero gets wasted.
The guy is a real craftsman and can make three pairs out of one tire.
Following that we have a long session with two tribal elders
we guess to be in their mid 70's via an interpreter. Some rough notes as
follows:
-Chipwe about 75, going blind, has 6 wives and doesn't know
how many children
-elders chosen by age seniority and qualities of wisdom;
there are many elders
-there are no women elders, men are superior, God created
man first
-Maasai originally came from Tanzania with their cows
-they have very useful and proven herbs originating from
plants and tree bark which they boil in to a broth to assist with ilnesses
-kids are changing and moving away due to drought and
difficulties of life
-wealth measured by number
of cows and number of children
-no divorce allowed, can
have as many wives as they please or can afford
-warriors fighting other
tribes means excess of women more than men
-circumcision happens at
15 and is an initiation in to manhood and warrior status, quite a ceremony
obviously
-one of the initiation
ceremonies was the killing of a lion with a spear, stopped 25 years ago
-Maasai do not believe in
an after life
-believe elderly should be
cared for by extended family to end of life so they can die happily and
peacefully
-they see big changes
ahead
Following lunch we get visited by 10 lady elders all dressed up in their garb
-women get married off at
15-18; usually the father finds a husband for her; this process is in the midst
of change due to modernity
-honeymoon is over after
the first night
-respect for your husband
comes first, hopefully love comes later
-none of them can read;
estimate ages 40's to 60's
-notice they all have
lovely white teeth when they smile; men chew some kind of aphrodisiac so their
teeth look pretty rotten and awful
-typical day starts at 4
am and finishes at 10 pm; prepare tea, milk cows, release cows and goats, take
donkey to get water, get bush for firewood, get kids off to school, do laundry
and house work, prepare meals
-when asked what the men
do answer was bring home money and food, in other words not much, lots of
sitting around
-wish the men would fetch
water and help with laundry but never would
-unfairness part of their
culture
-nature controls how many
kids they have
- young boys help with
herding, girls with sweeping and housework
-school 7 am to 3 pm
includes the walking
-Hiv has not come here yet
-boys and girls are
increasingly choosing a mate on their own by passing the older custom
-families in the process
of becoming smaller due to drought, fewer cattle and the expense of schooling
Evening walk to a Maasai village, most interesting; we go
into 4 little homes, shacks really, take pics, ask questions and generally get
a great insight into their lifestyle. Helge has lived right here in this
village for a month back in 2001. While we are first time visitors and a
little taken aback by the rudimentary way of life he has a different
perspective from long years of experience travelling in Africa. He feels that
the people are doing just fine, they are coping well, living simply but happy
and uncomplicated lives. He is an enthusiastic supporter of their lifestyle.
Serious problems could be on the horizon though. The
terrible years long drought is eroding their ability to make a living which is
based on raising cattle and goats and the more the better. However, it is very
difficult to continue this tradition in the present circumstances.
To make matters more difficult, the tradition of having as
many children as possible is coming in to jeopardy because of the demands and
costs of education. While a Maasai's wealth is measured in how many cattle and
kids you have (but you can't ask them how many of each or what their age is
because it is bad luck and they apparently don't know!!??), this whole concept
will be undergoing a profound change in the next generations.
One last neat little anecdote. Out of nowhere comes this
sweet, sweet little girl, 12 years old (she will be married off at 15-18 for
goodness sakes to a much older man) speaking near perfect english. Mister, are
you the soccer ball man, yes, well we need another ball, why, because the big
kids have gone off with the one at the school and the little kids need one too.
How do you say no to that so my second to last ball was donated right there.
She was a precocious little thing with great eye contact, determined and has a
future in sales for sure.
Day 35, Sat, Feb 18th
Merrueshi Maasai Village to Serena Mountain Lodge, Kenya,
319 km
Could not leave without giving Kakutu an important tip. He
is married to a white Seattle girl and they have a 17, 11 and 6 year old living
there so he travels back and forth. I said you
need to invest in a slow cooker. The meat is so tough and chewy and I can't
stand the stuff. If he cooked it long and slow in a stew it would be just fine!
Kakutu agreed 100% so I hope he follows up on this for the sake of his future
customers. I also invited him and his family to come to Victoria for a visit
some time.
The journey is not long but we hit traffic like you wouldn't believe, bumper to bumper and a Saturday to boot. You get good at maneuvering up the center lane or taking the the pedestrian side when things get really slow. Several times I had to hit the brakes hard and be prepared to ditch the bike with oncoming traffic getting a bit too aggressive.
The closer we got to Nairobi (we were on the Mombasa to Nairobi highway) the worse it got. You just have to adjust and get on with it. My bike is screaming quick so you can get places fast between convoys, actually quite fun.
Circling Nairobi and thank goodness we did not have to go right in, we kept running in to these huge speed bumps right on 3 lane divided highways for petes sakes! Vehicles have to slow down to a crawl on 70 mph freeways which is crazy with huge back ups and my panniers are too wide to negotiate in between lanes.
The Serena Mountain Lodge is an idyllic place way up in the mountains and we will be here two nights and explore tomorrow.
With all of the traffic
and congestion and inning and outing I only got here an hour and 19 minutes
before Simon (Peterson), Waan and the chase vehicle.
Big news today is that Chris Banks and Jackie are joining us for dinner and two over nights from their home in Nairobi so really looking forward to that and I have a Globeriders 'T' shirt for him. I am hoping that he can take Waan to the airport for her late evening flight back to Bangkok (bringing 15 socccer balls, wanted 30 but they are pretty expensive here at 20 bucks US a pop).
We have had a superlative time with the piped in girls who have meshed very well with our group. Danielle (Aaron), Carolyn (Mac), Lisa (Helge) and Waan have really added to the joy of our trip and given poor, out numbered Debbie (Harrison) a good break from all of the male companionship! I cannot really describe in words how important it is for a team to jell well together. We were doing great before they arrived and they just added immeasurably to everything.
A few comment about the
riders:
-Harrison, always jovial and cracking jokes and light hearted insults,
keeps everyone in stitches. He spent 3 years logging in Liberia until there was
a big change in government and he had to bail so tons of stories about that. He
has been on just about all of Helge's trip after not even starting riding until
2005; they keep two bikes in Germany and ride all around Europe so
would like to follow in those foot steps too.
Debbie, married to
Harrison, just a terrific gal, rolls with the punches, adores the ground
Harrison walks on, good rider, good story teller, great to have on the trip.
Gary, 74, big guy,
ex-ships captain, loves to laugh and tease, been on lots of Helge's trips,
delightful man and really puts the pedal to the metal and refuses to admit his age.
Dean, 71, Japanese
American in the event business, expert hang glider been to 14,000 feet and
about 3500 flights, quiet man but very stable and loves to enjoy the repartee
from the sidelines.
Mac, 69 on Monday, just
joined us from Nairobi, was on the Silk Road with me and says I am the reason
he is on this one as we had a lot of fun together and love to kibbitz; Mac is
a good rider and has been on lots of Helge's trips.
Tom, 58, one of our best
riders, loves to go fast; he is the hare of the group, always late for
meetings, intelligent, speaks his mind, lots of fun to have around; he came
late to the Maasai elders meeting and his first question to the old guy way
what's that hanging from your ear, snuff, okay you better have a sniff, okay
fine, 3 big sniffs later he is almost passing out from the high up his nose;
obviously a good sport!
Steve, 58, best off
roader, quiet, thoughtful, considerate, serious, steady, some medical issues
but fights through them, a bit of a loner, sees things from a different angle,
great roomate and guy to have along, steady as they go type.
Aaron, 48, all dressed in
yellow from top to bottom, handles our bar bills (considerable!) in an exemplary
manner, great rider, very mellow guy, free thinker and wants to settle for a
few years in every country we have been to, loves Africa.
Joe, 42, big guy, very
cerebral, loves his reading material and I have shared all of mine with him
that he gobbles up, great rider, quiet, thoughtful, has everything thought
through including making his bike into an almost stealth vehicle, ready for all
eventualities.
So there you have the gang all in a nutshell and you have heard enough about Helge. I am not necessarily the worst rider just the least experienced.
Day
36, Sun, Feb 19th
Serena
Mountain Lodge
Yesterday
was a largely uneventful day but still newsworthy!
After
breakfast we went on a nature walk until just before lunch. We were treated to
all sorts of fascinating insights into the rain forest surrounding us right
below massive Mt. Kenya- fig trees and how they germinate and slowly strangle
their inside tree with its massive vines; all sorts of dung droppings and how
various insects make use of it. Our leader was very well informed and
accompanied by a guard armed with a high powered weapon for protection.
The rest of the day was relaxing and pleasant. Late in the afternoon Chris Banks, our chase vehicle guide Simon Peterson and I were sitting up in the viewing area having a beer and chatting. Simon at 29 is wise way beyond his years, gifted really. Chris has an encyclopedic knowledge of wildlife and all things Africa. For over an hour I was enthralled listening to them trade stories and ideas back and forth. It was a special moment for me.
Then,
suddenly, there were two (giant eagle) owls in the trees at a distance of maybe
200 feet; then they were mating, wow and we were the bystanders! Simon has this
Canon 65X zoom camera and I was able to look at them close up. The crowning
moment was when one of them flew closer down to the waters edge of the pond. He
had a large frog in his mouth! Then, simple as can be, he flips it lengthways
in his mouth and swallows it whole! It was a another neat moment.
Last
thing. Early morning about 4 am we awake to hear and watch 14 elephants at the
watering hole outside our bedroom window. There they are all grumbling, eating,
drinking and one or two roaring at each other, pretty cool.
Day
37, Mon, Feb 20th
Serena
Mountain Lodge to Nomad's Trail Hotel, Marsabit, 409 km
The
girls have departed, Carolyn, Danielle and Waan back to Nairobi courtesy of
Chris and Jackie. Waan will catch a midnight flight to Bangkok approx 10 hours.
They all had a blast.
We
started at 7000' and 12.5 degrees and worked our way lower and an increase in
temperature to low 30's. It was a nice road, a little windy and I saw my first
camels. I stopped to leave a bottle of water for a woman with her kid and take
a quick pic of their colourful attire.
Also
went by the equator which was kind of a small thrill.
A little further on I stop again at the 'supposed' Merille River and it is completely dry which is evidence of the deplorable drought conditions up here.
A little further on I stop again at the 'supposed' Merille River and it is completely dry which is evidence of the deplorable drought conditions up here.
We
get to this flea bag place and now I know why Helge told us to bring sink
stoppers, lucky we are only here one night and I may sleep in my clothes!
Tomorrow we cross the border into Ethiopia which is an exciting prospect.
Day
38, Tue, Feb 28th
Nomads
Trail Hotel, Marsabit, Kenya to Yabello Hotel, Yabello, Ehthiopia, 450 km
Woke
for the call to prayer at 5 am but did not participate; it was about time to
rise anyway; after a quick snack we hit the road heading for the border and I
make the following observations:
-lots
and lots of police security up here in the north - checkpoints and armed people
-tons
of livestock on and off the highway with a lot of women looking out for them
-camels
in the majority, seems to make sense with the scarcity of water- apparently
used for meat, milk and work related
-many
sad villages with abundance of circular yirts with various colours of plastic
attempting to provide shelter from the elements (thatch timexed)
-donkeys
coming and going laden with large water jugs
-no
power in villages
-due
to lack of water very few bugs
-it
was windy again but the road is new and first rate
We
get to the Ethiopian border and chaos ensues, tons of people everywhere; we
actually got through quite quickly except for one problem: they have our
'carnet de passage' which we need to enter and exit every country as proof of
continuing motorcycle ownership on our journey.
As
Mac says 'welcome to somewhere'!
Altho'
the pasage through the border was relatively smooth we got held up for over 4
hours with the Carnet; arrived at their office to find they were closed for
lunch until 2; we then had to go through laborious paperwork and bike
inspections in the hot sun with gawkers all over the place.
We
got away at 4:30 in the nick of time to make the 200 km journey to the Yabello
Hotel before dark- due to livestock on the road in the late afternoon it is not
advisable to travel after dark.
I
screamed down the great road at 140 keeping pace with fast Joe; it was lots of
fun to zoom. However, there is risk associated because animals wild and
domestic can snooker you in a hurry and your ability to maneuver at high speed
is much reduced.
I
got to the hotel feeling great and 7 minutes later Gary shows up. He has a BMW
800, chain driven, can only make an honest 120. That sold me for good and what
I already knew. Racing around at high speed really doesn't get you very far
very fast. Why take the risk for a few lousy minutes?
I have to relay the Gazebo story; it would make the funniest home videos for sure it was that funny. I was there early with Aaron and Joe, lots of gawkers, bike location looks sketchy; Aaron decides to drive his bike down a narrow pathway to his room and gets stuck. Zoom, zoom, zoom behind a tree, what's the noise about, we go look and he is stuck in a deep hole spinning his back tire like bejesus to get out, feeling embarrassed. I help him reverse and he jumps the hole and heads along to his room only to come face to face with this 1" tubing metal gazebo so in he goes. Quick as a flash he is stuck again perfectly, can't go forward, can't go back. We all laugh like hell at his predicament! Finally he removes his panniers and gets himself released.
Our
new guide is Fasil and the driver is Abebe.
Day 39, Wed, Feb 22nd
Yabello
Hotel to Awassa, Ethiopia, 295 km
It
feels great to be in this lovely country and we are all excited about it; only
trouble is, there is no gas around, most of the stations are empty and we don't
know why.
I found out about a black market village outlet and head up there at 6:30 am and buy 10 liters out of 2 litre plastic jugs; very interesting watching this sleepy little village waking in the morning with all the goings on.
This
is a tough tough day due to highway construction. Half the trip is on amazing
highway, the other half, well just imagine how bad it could be then double it.
Pot holes, dust, traffic, equipment all over, I left at 7:30 and did not get
in until after 3. We are all filthy and tired but exhilarated and the bikes
performed amazingly on the rough roads, great fun actually despite the
challenge.
Some
observations:
-very
interesting and different termite mounds, literally thousands of them with
long, long chimneys, very complicated and I want to learn more about this when
I get home
-women
do not carry anything on their heads, first country out of seven; they have
nice features and are more fully breasted than further south (sorry but I do
notice!); also some pregnancies observed
-men are taller and darker skinned if that is possible
-like
other country's we see no or very few marked graveyards
-speed
bumps are either non existent or very tame; --due to the lack of electricity,
no traffic signals and traffic police handle busy intersections
-no
one uses head lights, like no one so you can see fellow bikers immediately in
your mirrors
-we
travel up hill to 7000' and down dale in beautiful countryside, absolutely
lovely especially compared to the volcanic desolate northern Kenya
-I
hesitate to say this and it is not everywhere of course but in quite a few of
the villages I do not believe that the residents live much better than the
livestock they tend
-numerous
tall stick dwellings apparently disperses heat well; also, some families live
above with animals below to protect against foxes and hyenas
-there
are many, many (how many times do I have to say many to make my point?) idle
young men around, a crying shame; is it their culture, are they lazy, is there
no work, it is quite amazing how prevalent this problem is- well over half
doing diddly squat
-
our guide is Faisil who you have to listen to closely but actually makes a lot
of sense; he thinks that most of them are layabouts and could be doing
something more useful with their time.
So here we are on in Awassa at this lovely hotel right on a large lake thoroughly enjoying our well earned late afternoon rest before dinner!
Day
40, Thur, Feb 23rd
Haile
Resort, Awassa to Jupiter Int'l Hotel, Addis Ababa, 299 km
Another
day in Ethiopia, one of nine while we traverse this varied topography and
interesting people. Every time I stop there is a surrounding of inquisitive eye
balls, all very respectful. How much, how many horsepower, how fast etc., etc.
Mac
and I head early to the fish market with the chase vehicle, too bad the
others missed out on this local bit of commercialism because it was a beehive
of activity.
Then
we made our way to this art museum headed up by a 65 year old guy called Bandi.
He is recognized as the #1 banana peel artist in the world and it is quite
stunning the colourful stuff he can create. He is a Rastafarian and was born in
St. Vincent Jamaica and has lived here for the past 23 years.
Rastafarian
stands for a way of life, caring and sharing. Bandi is a very gentle sort, very
at peace and I was taken by him and his artwork so Mac and I each bought a little
wall art souvenir.
Emperor
Haile Salassie (1892-1975; ruled Ethiopia 1930-74) came to Jamaica in 1965.
They had had a drought for years and as soon as he arrived the rains started.
He has been hailed as a saviour ever since and credited as one of the founders
of Rastafarianism.
The
day was only 300 klics on tarmac so we were in no hurry and wanted to take in
the available sights. Our next stop up the road was a UN world heritage sight
depicting some 13th century gravesites that are quite well preserved. Along
with a simple museum it was a worthwhile stop but please understand that these
stops are all pretty rudimentary in the scheme of things.
In
closing, let me make the following observations:
-my riding and balance skills are getting razor sharp; whether it is good roads or bad, I am traversing the terrain with increasing skill and confidence. With regard to balancing this 575 lb monster, I can wheel it around by hand with kick stand up with no problem; the key is to not get over confident
-there are more animals on
the road than vehicles by far; just get used to the fact that they own the road
not you; stay patient when there is no passageway through, it will clear up
eventually
-everyone carries a stick
or a whip even when they are not herding animals, almost like an extension of
themselves
-the proverbial donkey is
everywhere, a real workhorse sometimes tethered in twos; taxi, freight hauler,
you name it; I get pretty used to all of this but it is still a sight to behold
when you really think about it
-wrecked cars, buses etc
from traffic accidents are just left exactly where they are to rust away; I
guess too expensive or not worthwhile to move
-quite a few aid vehicles
and UN four by fours racing around, way more than any other country.
It is time to get this on the air waves and I still have pics to add...
NG
PS a quick few numbers to consider
Population. US GDP.
area sq km
Billions
S Africa.
55.4.
384.
1219
Namibia.
2.4.
13.
824
Botswana.
2.1.
14.
582
Zambia.
13.9.
21.
753
Zimbabwe.
13.
10.
391
Malawi.
16.
4.
118
Tanzania.
48.
28.
947
Kenya.
49.
41.
580
Ethiopia.
104.
42.
1104
Sudan.
35. 59.
1879
Egypt.
95. 263.
1001
Total. 394. 878. 9398
Africa
all.
1222. 2200.
30000
Canada.
35. 1800.
9985
Wanted
to add GDP per head but could not find anything reasonable
