Week 11

This week I finished the classes I was scheduled to teach. Two courses have written exams and in the other the professor I am co-teaching with has some topics he wants to complete. In April I will be giving a series of four seminars on model building. The rest of the week was quite routine.

On the weekend we had another wonderful excursion, this time to Mount Elgon National Park. Mount Elgon straddles the Uganda border. Mount Elgon Park’s vegetation varies considerably with the altitude and is quite different than what we have seen elsewhere. On Saturday we went to see the caves. We walked about 300 metres into one cave to a place where the salt mining elephants come at night to lick salt off the stones all around the cave walls and ceilings. A few of us tasted the salt but it was very mild. The hike to the caves was steep in a few places but well before we got there Grace was exhausted and gasping for air. She had hiked similar terrain two weeks ago for a much longer distance and, although she got tired there, it was not nearly as extreme as this. I believe the high altitude was a significant factor.

The picture below shows the entrance to Makingeni Cave with a waterfall cascading the front of it mixed in with tree roots. The second picture was taken at the Mount Elgon Resort, where we spent the night.

On Sunday we rose early to climb Mount Elgon. Wagagai Peak at 14,177 feet is recognized as Kenya’s second tallest mountain despite the fact that is in Uganda. We drove about two hours from the Park entrance before we began our hike. I am not sure of the distance but driving two hours under the road conditions was probably only 25 – 30 km. From the end of the “road” we took an 8 km hike to the Koitobos peak, the highest on the Kenyan side. I have had much rougher climbs (including Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina) but the lack of Oxygen made this by far the toughest climb I have ever attempted. After any significant increase in elevation, I was fighting for air like Grace had been Saturday while going to the caves. Many times I told myself that when we got to the top of the next climb, I would quit. But then the whole group rested and by the time they moved on, I decided I would keep going. Finally, I did quit at the point in the picture below while the rest of the group continued a trek along the base of the peak shown. They did not scale this peak but did continue on for a few more good views. The next picture shows me standing beside some of the giant lobelia with the Koitobos peak in the background. The following picture is at the base of the Koitobos peak. I went as far as the base while the rest of the group hiked around the base and did go a bit higher, but not much.

While waiting for the group to return I enjoyed the view. The only hindrance to a 360º view was the Koitobos peak. I also decided to do some of my shoulder physiotherapy exercises. I was only able to do half the repetitions that I regularly do in Eldoret. That gave me a good idea about the effect of the altitude. The hike back was difficult because our legs were tired and there was very little margin for error on the rough terrain – any misplacement of the foot and you were liable to stumble and fall. I probably stumbled about 6 – 10 times but fortunately the worst was stepping into  “thistle” patch and having to pull out some “thorns”.

We did not see any elephants but shortly before we left the park we saw this fellow right beside the road with his mate in the background.    

Week 10

On Wednesday we went to visit Testimony Faith Homes in Eldoret. John Green began the home in 1972 with Matthew 6:6 as his motto: “pray . . then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you”. They have operated the orphanage for 40 years without asking anyone for money. Currently they provide a home for 140 children. The first picture shows their first home, a mud hut built in the late 1800s, well before John Green arrived They began their own school when they had trouble getting their children accepted at other schools. Many other children soon wanted to attend there as well. Currently they have 600 – 700 children attending their school, reputed to be the best school in Eldoret. Tuition fees pay for the operation of the school. Amazing story!

For the weekend we went to Kerio View Hotel at Iten, a small village about 35 km from Eldoret. Kerio View is in a quiet place with a beautiful view over Kerio Valley. We primarily relaxed, visited, read and ate. In the picture you can see a plateau far below Grace. At the edge of that plateau there is another steep cliff to the valley well below the plateau. In the distance you can see that there are also steep cliffs on the opposite side of the valley. There always seems to be a haze above the valley and the far side does not show up well in pictures.

Iten is the home of a High Altitude Training Centre. Many athletes come here from all over the world for months at a time. Now they are training for the Olympics. Of course, Kenya has won many gold medals in marathons and other running events. The picture below shows me with David Rudisha (holding his daughter), the current world record holder for the 800 m dash (1:41.01). On the right is Thomas Kipkurgat, Moi’s International Development Officer. Thomas was also a runner in his younger days. He has run a mile in under 4 minutes and completed a marathon in around 2 hours and 13 – 16 minutes.    

Our friends at home in Winnipeg are forecast to have temperatures in the mid twenties for a couple of days. We have had highs between 25 and 27 almost every day we have been here. It cools off nicely at night so we are really enjoying the climate. We had one week of cloudy weather with brief periods of rain on about three days. They say the period of the “long rains” should begin in the next few weeks. 

Week 9

Aside from our usual teaching assignments, this week provided a few special activities. On Tuesday evening Jim and Jane Sang had a farewell supper for the two Danish gals staying in our home with us. The five people in our home, the five Swedes staying in one room units behind our home and Thomas Kipkurgat (on the left in the photo below - Moi University’s International Development officer) were all invited. Dr. Sang is the Chief Administrative Officer at Moi U and Jane is a bank manager at a downtown bank. Thomas and the Sangs have treated us all very well. We are living in Sangs property.

On Thursday we went to the Eldoret National Agricultural Show. In many ways it was similar to Canadian Ag shows – many displays of farm machinery and other things related to agriculture. In many ways it was different – there were many educational institution displays. Also, the farm machinery was much smaller. It was interesting to see differences in Canadian and Kenyan agriculture and farm shows.

Because the Danes are leaving on Monday (March 12) we decided to postpone our trip to Masai Mara and spend part of the weekend with them. Saturday a group of 13 of us went to Kakamenga Forest National Reserve, the only tropical forest left in Kenya. It is a rain forest but this is the dry season so the foliage, while mostly green, was not as lush and moist as it might have been. That probably made it easier for us to complete the 18 km hike through the dense vegetation, to a view point with a bird’s-eye view of the forest canopy, and finally to the Isiukhu Falls. Some of the terrain was quite rocky and steep so Grace ran out of steam before we got back and I asked for the van to pick her up for the last 4 km.

Here is our tour group taking a break at an interesting tree. There were two Americans (on the left), three Canadians (Paige from North Bay, Ontario is sitting in front of Grace), five Swedes, two Danes, our Moi University guide (in yellow shirt, second from right) and one Tanzanian (Grace on the right - she lives in one of the three bedrooms in our home).

There are two trees in the photo below. The parasite tree wraps itself around the host tree, eventually killing it and creating cavities for animals to make homes.

Here is one view of the forest canopy. It was a tough climb to get here so we had a good rest, enjoyed the view and ate some lunch.

Resting at Isiukhu Falls. If you look closely you can tell Grace is flushed and quite exhausted by this time. We never went "in and out" to anywhere so she had no opportunity for a long rest while the rest of us continued our hike.

Two of my courses are finished except for exams. One has been written and needs to be marked. Another exam will be written on Wednesday, March 14. After that I expect to schedule a special series of seminars or lectures. However, I will have more “free time” – not that I have been overly busy.

Week 8

This has been a quiet week and weekend, an interlude between a great weekend last week and a planned trip to Kenya’s most celebrated wildlife game reserve, the Masai Mara. It is just across the river from Tanzania’s Serengeti Plains. More about that next week.

Recently we toured Rivatex, Moi University’s textile plant. We watched the whole process from cotton balls entering the factory to the finished product – fabric and clothing. The third picture below shows us modeling some of the clothes we bought at Rivatex. From left, Ingeborg, Grace, Sinne, myself and Grace. Grace is a PhD student from Tanzania. The five of us have shared a three bedroom home here in Eldoret. Ingeborg and Sinne are from Denmark. They have also been travelling with us the last few weeks. They hope to go with us to the Masai Mara but after that they will be travelling elsewhere in Kenya and Tanzania for several weeks before returning to Denmark. We will miss them a lot. We have had a lot of fun with them. Many evenings we played some card games with them.

This week after her class at the elementary school down the street, the principal called Grace into his office. He had walked by her class, saw her teaching the class, but had no idea who she was or what she was doing there. It seems nobody had told him.

I have told you a little bit about the roads in Kenya. The following picture shows one of many locations on the main highway connecting Mombasa, Nairobi, Eldoret and going to Kampala in neighbouring Uganda. Notice the deep ruts in the pavement. These are commonplace where there are steep hills or at speed bumps near towns where the heavy semis need to slow down. I have seen ruts that must be up to six inches deep. They are able to throw cars and vans off their intended paths. I have seen ridges that must be 6 inches high.

Last week on our way to Hell’s Gate National Park we passed rows and rows of greenhouses. Kenya has many roses but they also are the world’s largest exporter of roses and have many greenhouses to grow them.

One of my PhD students asked me to look at and comment on his study of tea production factors in Kenya. One factor he sites is the high cost of plucking labour which constitutes over 25% of the cost of production for small farm holders. He goes on to state that the Kenyan tea industry pays it’s labour an average of $2.58 U.S. per day. According to his sources, only South Africa ($4.16) and Sri Lanka ($3.00) pay higher daily rates. Three nearby African countries have average daily rates of less than $1.00.

Next week’s blog may be late as we do not expect to return from Masai Mara until Monday or Tuesday evening.