Nearly 19 years in East Africa and counting...

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Trip to US Part 1 – St. Paul

"The most dangerous worldview is the worldview of those who have not viewed the world." 
- Alexander von Humboldt

Often when we go to the US we mix it up with visits to see friends in addition to our time with family. It makes our trip slightly more complicated but, particularly if we’re traveling through the city/country anyway, it’s nice to take advantage of it. It’s also a way to experience new places and see new things.
strange children in Amsterdam airport
As such, we made our regular trip to St. Paul, Minnesota, to see our friend Kathy. And use it as a stopover on the way to Louisville.
early morning view of the Mississippi while out for a jog
St. Paul is a city that has been growing on me. We’ve experienced it in the middle of winter and the middle of summer and I have to say, it has a lot going for it. I think I mentioned in the past that Minnesota in the winter would be much more fun if they had some serious mountains. As it is, it’s a lot of cold without the fun. But that’s just me.
Nonetheless, it’s a very livable city and, in looking at property values, I’m apparently not the only one that thinks this. It’s becoming more expensive as the city grows.
We arrived directly from Nairobi (via Amsterdam) with no stopover so, as usual, we had to shake off our jet lag. In the end it wasn’t too bad and we were able to jump into the local time zone pretty quickly.
Very good to spend time with Kathy as usual. We had options for some activities and we sort of played it by ear. Works for us.
We made a return trip to the Cafesjian Carousel. It’s a classic merry-go-round that was built in 1914 and has an interesting history. Worth a visit to anyone who visits St. Paul.
We also took a ride on a paddle boat (pedalo). That is something that I would not recommend to anyone who visits St. Paul. I’ve been on them numerous times, notably when I was living in Switzerland. These boats, or possibly this one in particular, was crap. I’m quite sure that I’m not so out of shape that I could barely peddle the thing. In any case, next time we’ll opt for the canoe.
St. Paul as seen from the Mississippi riverboat
We also took a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi River. This was new to me and I have to say I quite enjoyed it (Kinaya fell asleep instantly and missed the entire thing). It last about an hour and a half and there's a narrator that talks about the storied history of the River as it snakes its way through the St. Paul area. I saw a guy working on his laptop. Apparently they sell season passes and some locals do the trip numerous times. Pleasant way to spend the afternoon.
bald eagle, as seen from the riverboat
Alas, it was a pretty short visit and we were soon off to Louisville…

Monday, August 28, 2017

Weekend at the Lakes

"The most dangerous worldview is the worldview of those who have not viewed the world." 
- Alexander von Humboldt


Wedged between my trip to Mogadishu and my trip to the US on holiday was a quick family weekend to Lake Naivasha and Lake Elementaita. The former is a rather popular destination just a couple hours northwest of Nairobi. We’d been wanting to go for a while but hadn’t been able to carve out the time. Most people in Nairobi to whom I mentioned the trip were a bit appalled that we hadn’t done it prior to now – sort of low-hanging fruit when it comes to exploring Kenya.

We left on a Saturday morning. Traffic wasn’t bad but it’s sort of a pain in the butt driving on these roads. There are lots of trucks and people taking risks to pass them. Even if you’re not in a huge hurry, you still end up needing to get around slow moving vehicles from time to time. It can be exhausting. Then, coming over the pass and overlooking the Rift Valley, we came to a complete standstill for nearly an hour. Still not sure what it was but we heard there was some sort of accident.
nice place to go for a walk
Our first objective was to visit Lake Naivasha though we would not be spending the night. It was just to have a look around before continuing on to Lake Elementaita, which was another hour or so up the road.
waterbuck
We arrived in Naivasha late morning. It really is a beautiful place, highlighted by the fact that there are giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, etc. roaming about. Apparently since they don’t have any predators in this area they are quite relaxed. They don’t seem too agitated by the presence of humans unless you get too close. As such you can pretty much hang out amongst the animals. Very cool.
restaurant with a view
We had a cup of coffee at a small restaurant on the lake, went for a walk and then decided we’d best head up the road and get to our hotel at Lake Elementaita for a late lunch.
our lodge on Lake Elementaita
We checked into our hotel, ordered lunch and went to the upper floor of our hotel for a look at the view. 
beautiful weather; beautiful view
It too is an amazing place, though quite different from Naivasha. The most obvious difference between the lakes is the wildlife. Elementaita has hundreds of flamingos that tend to stay mostly on the southern part of the lake. On the side where we stayed, there were not too many animals other than birds and the occasional heard of cows and goats that roamed by. The wild animals were apparently on a protected area on the other side of the lake. Nonetheless it was a beautiful location.
the hotel with a storm bearing down
flamingos
love birds - monogamous to death
view from the lodge
The girls were less interested in wildlife anyway and spent most of their time on the trampoline or in the swimming pool. We did go for a nice nature walk with a guide who was also an ornithologist. I don’t know if it’s a sign of age but I feel like the older I get, the more fascinated I am by birds (it’s nothing I’ll admit very often though). It’s worth noting that there are more than 400 species of birds recorded in the area. It’s a soda lake and, in spite of the apparent inhospitability due to the high alkaline, it’s a surprisingly productive ecosystem with loads of fish and wildlife.
After two nights at Elementaita, we headed back towards Nairobi. The plan was to once again stop at Lake Naivasha on the way, this time to visit a protected sanctuary called Crescent Island. It appears to be an island from time to time, when the water level is high, but most of the time it’s probably more of a peninsula. Contrary to Elementaita, Naivasha is a freshwater lake. It’s more developed, probably due to its closer proximity to Nairobi. We were told that it was common to go back and forth easily during the day. With traffic nowadays it makes traveling to and from more cumbersome.
Crescent Island
In the 1940s when air travel first came to Kenya en route from England to South Africa, the four-engine Flying-Boats landed on Lake Naivasha and the foundations of the terminal and customs shed can still be seen today on Crescent Island. According to the lady who owns/manages the island, it was Nairobi’s first airport. Unfortunately for us, our visit was shorter than we intended. Both girls had meltdowns and it was all we could do to walk around the island with a guide for a bit more than an hour. We eventually cut our losses and headed back to the car. It was a shame. It’s a pretty amazing place, walking around the animals in such a pretty setting. We’ll need to go back when the girls are a bit older. 

Friday, August 25, 2017

Quick Trip to Mogadishu



In the two weeks before we left for the US, I fit in a trip to Somalia and a long weekend away with the family. I don’t travel as much as I used to but I still spend quite a bit of time moving around.

Mogadishu - June 22
This recent trip to Somalia was pleasantly uneventful. It started off the usual way with the armored vehicle and armed escorts to go from the airport the kilometer or two to the office. Once inside the compound I made the rounds, greeting staff and getting general updates from the team regarding the current situation in Mogadishu. The office was far more empty than normal given that Ramadan was just ending and many had taken time off to be with family. Nonetheless, it was good to be back in country and keep in regular face to face contact with staff.
Africa Union peacekeeping force (AMISOM)
From the office I was off to an external security meeting with other international NGOs. Given that I’m based in Nairobi, it’s harder for me to establish tight connections with counterparts who are based in Mogadishu. For the time being, most country directors for INGOs are still based in Nairobi but over time that is expected to change. Even for us the plan is that by 2020 our headquarters will make the move to Somalia – security permitting. It’s no small feat to make the switch. The international community is a common target for terrorist groups and security is expensive. There are other concerns as well. Logistical support for a multi-million dollar international NGO is complicated in the developing world. It’s an underappreciated part of what humanitarian actors do. Bringing in large quantities of medical supplies, water and sanitation materials (water tanks, bladders, solar panels, etc.) is expensive and unnecessarily complex. Manufacturing these items in country is obviously the ideal but we are far from there yet. If stability were to take hold and the environment for private investment to improve, we will likely to see more of this start to happen. 
tough to take good photos through bullet-proof glass

The security meeting was at a hotel that had been hit by a massive attack in January. Security cameras at the time captured footage of a truck heavily laden with explosives that somehow made it past police checkpoints and then was detonated in front of the gate of the hotel. Such buildings in Mogadishu are heavily fortified and this building, because of its location near the airport (green zone) and the fact that it regularly hosts government and international organization officials, is particularly a target. Given the massive radius of the blast zone (apparently damage as far as a half-mile away), it’s amazing that only five were killed, not counting the terrorists.
the ubiquitous Hescos
Now, the hotel has further reinforced its security. When you enter the compound you go through a maze of walls made of massive one-meter sand cubes (referred to as "Hescos" after one of the companies that produces them) and multiple boom gates as you work your way inside. When you are finally inside, it’s surprisingly peaceful and normal. I would like to think that one day all this security will no longer be necessary but when you look around the world, airports, malls, schools, etc., we seem to be heading the other direction. It’s too bad but it’s likely here to stay.