transport and all that.

I'm back in Nairobi. I spent this week trekking around Mt. Kenya. It was really beautiful... I would recommend the trek to anyone. I, unfortunately, did not make it to the top because I had crazy blisters that were infected. From boots that I've had for 3 years. Sad, but I'm getting over it. I actually feel that I've matured a little. In the past, I think that I would have gone anyway despite the searing pain on my heals. I also attribute most of this maturity to Petey, who is my voice of reason... Does it really matter if I make it to the top? In any case, the region was absolutely incredible. I loved hiking on a volcano... so many cool rocks and beautiful vistas. And it was quiet, really quiet. I spent the days hiking with 4 jongens from Holland. They were really nice people with a great sense of humour. It makes me wonder if I get my sense of humour from my dutchie parents.
Speaking of dutchie-land, I'm leaving for Holland tomorrow night! I'm quite excited to come to a wet, cold climate. Just like Mt. Kenya :).
I've had quite a lot of time to think on this trip (like all my trips) and this country certainly gives me a lot to think about. I find that Kenya really, really makes me think about the differences between rich and poor. Hanging out in Nairobi with a lovely crowd that works for the UN, makes me see what rich really is... when it so closely borders the absolute misery of the african shanty towns. I've been staying with Jason in Runda, a neighbourhood in Nairobi that compares to Rockcliffe Park in Ottawa or Rosedale in Toronto. Jason even says that parts of Runda are like Rosedale on steriods. And then there are the shanty towns... How, what, where, why?? I don't know...
I feel that my only real connection with this other Kenyan world (the poor one) is taking public transportation. I absolutely love it. I take matatus (14 seater toyota mini vans) that are each completely different. Some have dvd players, almost all have music blaring. There are almost always more than 14 passengers. They are reputed to be owned by the mob... It costs 25 cents to go many kilometers... My friend Peter was just hit by a matatu so hard that he hit the car in front of him and so on (4 cars were smashed in total). On the way back from Mt. Kenya, we had a near miss with a goat. It seems that most people who work at the UN would never, ever take a matatu... Many of these folks own Land Cruisers, Land Rovers, Subarus, etc... Apparently a Toyota is not a good car to own since it mainly shady characters own them (like the matatu drivers :)). Peter told me this, of course... he tries to explain the real Kenya to me. The other part of transport, is the roads. Once you leave Nairobi, the roads are a bit of a nightmare... except the road to Mt. Kenya, which I just learned is Kibaki's (the Kenyan president) neighbourhood. They are currently resurfacing the main highway across Kenya. It seems that the roads people unsurface ALL the road before they resurface it. For example, the ride to Mombasa... about 2 hours outside of Nairobi is basically a hayride of swinging back and forth. On the way to Mombasa, on the night bus, there was a traffic jam, at midnight... where our bus driver decided to take things into his own hands and off road on the Savannah for while. It was slightly absurd, from a Canadian perspective.
I'd better get going... I'll see many of you soon. There are a few more things that I'd like to talk about... so maybe I can post soon.