Nairobi in November

Some catching up to do. 

With all the time that I was spending in Mogadishu in November and early December, I nonetheless was able to catch a number of events in Nairobi as well. This is the time of year where things pick up and there is often a delicate balancing act when prioritizing what you do. For example, last week there were parent-teacher meetings. I try to attend them as much as I can but often they happen when I am traveling. This time I was in Nairobi, but I had some conflicting meetings. One meeting was scheduled exactly in the middle of the time that we were to be bouncing from meeting to meeting, one teacher at a time. The school unrealistically sets these things up a bit like speed-dating. Seven minutes per meeting. Obviously, it would require some serious discipline to pull this off in reality, both on the part of the teacher and the visiting parents. Neither possess such discipline and the result is chaos. It's the repeated fantasy that this might work out at some point that bugs me.

Retreat

I attended a men’s retreat in November. It took place in a hotel/conference facility outside of Nairobi. I’ve been to this place several times and, even though it’s not far from the city, it feels very different. It’s nestled in the midst of tea plantations and, at 2,240 meters (7,280 feet) its altitude makes it considerably cooler than Nairobi. In fact, in the evening it can get cold, even this time of year as we are entering “summer’ in the southern hemisphere.

A Bit about the Location

In 1914, a farm began in the green hills of Tigoni. A place infamously known as “nothing but mist,” Tigoni was a sanctuary for vibrant wildlife and dazzling forests. Progressing from its beginnings as a farm, wartime getaway and golf course into an environmentally-aware hotel and conference centre, Brackenhurst has spent over a hundred years reconnecting with the tremendous beauty of its natural surroundings. Known as “Three Trees Farm” due to the three large muna trees left standing on the property, Brackenhurst was begun with the intention of creating a coffee farm. However, with the start of World War One, the owners of the farm soon found themselves providing holidays for battle-weary British soldiers. This marked the beginning of Brackenhurst’s heritage as a centre for hospitality. Surviving several decades, an earthquake, and a well-concealed leopard, Brackenhurst Hotel was bought by the Baptist Mission of Kenya in 1964. It began to use its beautiful grounds for team-building, conferencing, and adventuring. In 2001, Brackenhurst developed a strong relationship with Plants For Life, an NGO focusing on environmental conservation. As a result, a vast indigenous forest grew on Brackenhurst soil for the first time since 1914. The forest provides a habitat for the restoration of some of the natural wildlife that once abounded in Tigoni.

The first evening we had a bonfire under the stars. As we were chatting, we herd the cracking of what sounded like a tree falling. There was no wind or rain, just a tree deciding that it was time to call it a life. On my way back to my room, I walked past the damage. The compound has several buildings, parking areas, etc. What was amazing was that, though it grazed the side of a building, there was no major damage.

before

after

The other interesting thing was the efficiency with which the staff were able to clean it up the next morning. And most of the chopping was done by machete. Within a couple of hours, you never would have known it happened except for the light-yellow shredded trunk left behind.

Something About Mary

On the first afternoon, I was sitting in the main building doing some emails and a woman wearing a Kenya track suit was sitting one table away from me. I’m not an expert in track suits but this looked like the real deal and she was sporting some high-end running shoes. She also had a bit of an entourage and it led me to think she might be someone of importance. A Kenyan friend of mine said he wasn’t sure but thought that she was an Olympic runner. Kenya has no shortage of those so I wanted to see if I could figure out who she was. Sure enough, after some searching, I figured out that it was Mary Moraa, Kenya’s amazing 800-meter star. She won the bronze medal in Paris and I remembered that we watched her run in the qualifier and in the final last August (in between chores at my parents’ place).

I texted my family and my daughter (who is a big fan) urged me to get an autograph for her. I’m not keen on bothering famous people and I didn’t have a pen on me, but I thought I would maybe see about getting a selfie with her (for the sake of my 11-year-old). By the time I finished texting, she had disappeared. I wasn’t sure where they went, but I thought that I would see her later in the weekend. I know she was still around because her name was on a reserved table in the dining room that evening. Alas, I never saw her after that.

A Burundi Reunion

A Reminder of Key Events

We were in Burundi from 2010 until September of 2016. It was an interesting and eventful chapter in our lives. When we arrived, we didn’t have children. I hadn’t lived and worked in a French-speaking country for about ten years, but language ended up being one of the easier aspects of the transition. Priya and I had been to Burundi once prior to moving there – a weekend trip to visit friends in 2009. At the time I had no idea we would be moving there the following year. For some reason it felt comfortable to me early on. I’m not sure what it was, but when it came time for us to move, it seemed like a natural transition. I had been working with Burundian refugees in Tanzania and shifting to working on their return and reintegration made sense. Plus, I already spoke French.

Our first child was born in 2011 and life was changing quickly. Child number two came two years later. I was traveling a lot, not only back and forth to Rwanda (also part of my remit), but to New York several times for meetings, Kampala, Amman and Rome. We went on vacations to India, Singapore, the Seychelles and the UK. Professionally, the organization was growing and we were doing some exciting work.

But things in the country began to unravel in late 2014 and early 2015. There were rumblings of a government militia training in the Congo, a lethal force that would eventually be deployed in Burundi with impunity. Suppression of the opposition was on the rise. The sound of gunfire and grenade explosions became a near nightly affair. Hopes that the country would shake off its turbulent past faded. By May 2015, the situation would come to a head. The country that by some measures was considered the poorest country in the world, would plunge into chaos. A failed coup attempt by opposing forces would result in an amplification of violence and the exodus of the vast majority of the international community, including my wife and children for a period of time. 

With two small children, we knew our time in the country was coming to an end. It took some time to sort out the transition but by the following year, arrangements were made for my move to Kenya and the Somalia program. For the family, it was a natural transition that has worked out well. For my work, it was sort of out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Over this period, we developed many friendships. This line of work is transient in nature and the international community often don’t stay for long periods of time. We stayed longer than most so we saw many people come and go. The events of 2015 had the biggest impact on our social lives, including our children, as many friends disappeared almost one day to the next. Even some of our Burundian friends were forced to flee the country.

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Now in a Different Setting

Last weekend, we reunited with several of our friends from the Burundi days. Nairobi has a certain gravitational pull for people who are connected to humanitarian and development work. It’s an East African hub of increasing importance and one that is attractive for many families.

One of the families organized the barbecue at their home on the outskirts of the city. It was such a wonderful setting and a far cry from our rather annoying urban environment. For the grown-ups, it was a time to catch up and fill in the gaps of what has transpired over the past several years. The kids, for the most part, had little or no memory of each other. Most were quite young when they played together in the lush compounds of Bujumbura. But they seemed to have fun anyway.

It was a bit like university class reunion. Aside from our Burundian friends, we were a bunch of people living in a place that we all knew would be temporary. We embraced it during the time that we were there, experienced some life-changing events, and then we all moved on. There was some effort to stay in touch but not too much – enough that we were able to reconnect in Nairobi.

It’s rainy season so they rented a tent, tables and chairs. We were a big enough group that it made it easier to host. In the end, the rain held off and it was a slightly cool but nice evening. Over dinner we shared stories. It was interesting to compare and contrast memories. It wasn’t that long ago but so much has happened to all of us since then. One thing that we had in common was the fond memory of life in Burundi. Sadly, in spite of its beauty and wonderful people, the country’s leadership continues to fail its citizens and it remains one of the poorest places on earth.

One person raised the point that after so many transitions, countries, friends, memories, etc., it’s sometimes difficult to piece together one particular chapter. There were some nodding heads when she said this. It’s something I have struggled with over the years. I’ve lived and worked in eight countries on three continents (I don’t count tour guide work in France and Italy, but I do count Rwanda and Somalia where I have had established residences). It's one of the reasons I started this blog almost twenty years ago. It's a way of documenting all of this and hanging on to some of these memories.

I have had hundreds of friends come and go over three decades of living overseas. I want to stay in touch with good friends and then time and space create a wedge.  It’s been sad to say so many farewells over the years. We often say that we’ll stay in touch but we usually don’t. It’s just not possible. But when you’re able to pull off an evening like this, it’s pretty special. 

Nairobi National Park

As the girls’ break was coming to an end, they had inquired about one last little adventure to Nairobi National Park (NNP). We hadn’t been for a while and it’s amazingly accessible from where we live. I’m not sure why we don’t go more often. Anyway, it was an easy yes.

Our drill is to load up thermoses of coffee and hot chocolate, throw some snacks in a bag with binoculars, our wildlife handbook and a camera and get an early start.

shiny, colorful starling

NNP is a mix of tourists and locals (including foreign residents). Given its location, some travelers in transit in Nairobi can squeeze in a quick 2-3-hr. safari in between flights if they are well organized. I would.

You would think that, with its location adjacent to a major city, there wouldn’t be a lot to see – sort of like a massive zoo. While it’s small compared to the other national parks, it’s larger than you might think with lots to see. One big difference is that it doesn’t have elephants, unfortunately.

* * *

I’ve mentioned before that it’s a mixed blessing being your own guide. The big challenge is that you don’t have a VHF radio where you can communicate with other guides about animal sightings. This is particularly important in larger parks where the distances are greater. In this place you can get by with a combination of instincts and watching for other vehicles, particularly those with guides. The ideal is to happen upon interesting or exciting things on your own. But there are times when you see a grouping of vehicles and you have not choice but to go check it out.

Our day was a combination of the two. Frankly, it was just nice to be out in the park, away from the dramas of our daily lives and enjoy the scenery. It’s one of my favorite things to do. Thankfully, my family enjoys it as well.

The weather was cool and mostly cloudy. There hadn’t been much rain so the roads were dry. Mud can be an issue on some of the lesser traveled roads (which I am drawn to for some reason) where you can either get stuck or it can force you to turn around in tight places or reverse for long distances. I’ve never been stuck on safari but I have experienced the other two.

Fairly early on we came upon a pride of lions on the side of the road. It was a group of females with one cub. We stayed with them as they slowly made their way up a hill to a picnic area. We’ve been to this area many times and there are almost always baboons hanging around. It made it interesting when the baboons saw the lions coming. They were making loud noises which, I assume, was a combination of warning their peers and threatening the lions. 

hoping the little one catches up to the rest

It was quite the scene as the baboons can be quite aggressive. One would start to approach a lion who would slowly turn around as if daring the baboon to approach further. The baboon would then back off. This repeated several times.

stare down; we've had them jump inside the vehicle so I'm keeping my window up

We pulled into the picnic area at the top of the hill and parked, watching the events unfold. A baboon jumped on a dumpster next to me scanning the container for something edible, all the while tracking the movement of the lions. We’ve had them jump in our vehicle windows before so I promptly rolled mine up.

they sort of look like they need a good meal

As the lions moved their way into the brush, we moved on. After a few minutes we saw a group of vehicles on the horizon. We turned on a side road and headed in their direction. As we approached, we saw that it was three rhinos. That’s one of the great things about NNP is that there are more rhinos relative to its size than in most other parks.Weird looking, rare animals but wonderful to see.

After about three or four hours, we were ready to move on. To be honest, I could spend all day there, but duty called.