County Fair

Went to Kisumu's version of the 'county fair' today. See photo gallery by clicking title above.

Bike It

We actually got our bikes out and went bike riding this morning! First time since before Max was born. It felt great. I can see we will (hopefully) be doing it more often. Only a short ride; to Dunga Beach to watch the fishing boats come it. Just us and the cows on the road. Beautiful countryside. This is the way to really see things. Here are some phone-photos:

Max Scissorshands???

Last Friday morning, under the cover of sleepy parents, Max decided he needed a haircut. Yes. He found his scissors and before you could say ‘hmmm, it’s awfully quiet, wonder what Max is doing?” he had performed the deed. A snip here, a snip there, a patch of scalp here, a pile of hair there. Sorry no photos. I didn’t have the heart. But it sort of looked a lot like an 80’s punk haircut. He and I went to the barber the next day. He now has a sort of skinhead look. For his liberal democratic parents this is a little disconcerting but we’ll see if it creates a lasting effect on how he votes

She Did It!

Ok, all you who don't have kids can skip this post.

BIG news today folks, Esther actually used her potty! She was very proud as were we. The end of the diaper is in site!

Mombasa, Trains, Planes And Prawns

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We have just returned from a long weekend trip Mombasa. Three families flew in to Mombasa for the weekend and took an overnight train back to Nairobi then flew back to Kisumu. It was a lot to do in one weekend but we had a great time! LOTS of new photos in the Photo Gallery.

DAY ONE: Friday

We flew out of Kisumu in the afternoon to Nairobi with Mary, her son Benny and her daughter Yala, to meet her husband Danny and Bob and Juliet and their kids Isadora and Roxanne. Then we all flew together to Mombassa. Arrived at 7pm to find the transport to the resort the dreaded Matatu! For those who don’t know about Matatu’s they are Nissan minibuses. There are literally hundreds of them roaming Kenya working as a very loose configuration of bus travel. They usually have nine seats for passengers, way too many of course. The drivers can be reckless, and way worse than any NY cabbie (sorry David). So all 12 of us plus luggage squeezed into this thing for what turned out to be a 1 ½ hour trip to the Diani Beach area. Arriving around 10pm with cranky, hungry kids. We found a meal waiting, cooked by the chef we would employ for the weekend, whose name is Msaiti, who would be later know to us as “Mr Amazing With Fish”.

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DAY TWO: Saturday

After a good nights sleep we awoke to find we were living in paradise (see photos). Can I retire here next to the Indian Ocean, please? We ordered enough fish, calamari, squid, octopus, prawns for lunch and dinner for the next two days from a fisherman who came to our door in the morning.

This was such an easy place to be. The kids had a great time, especially with each other; at the pool, on the beach. People are friendly and welcoming. Basically we just ate and drank and swam for two days! A perfect place for a second honeymoon…hmmmm

DAY THREE: Sunday

Turns out the manager, an Australian, writes musical theatre and is working on an interesting project combining traditional Kenyan instruments and music with western conventions. A kindred spirit! He was showing me some of the instruments he has had made (photos).

Alas, time to leave, dang it! The Matatu ride to the train terminal was a little easier to take going back, maybe because it was daylight and we could take in some of the landscape. Arriving at the Mombassa train station where it felt like we should have been wearing period clothes from the 30’s, where’s my pith helmet! The rail system looks like it hasn’t changes much since then either.

All are aboard and a guy with a mini xylophone walked up and down the very very narrow corridor to announce time for dinner. Of course we are all on second seating and it gets later and the kids get crankier and we get drunker before we can eat. Food is, well, even though we are traveling first class you have to lower your expectations a bit, it wasn’t bad food just not what you have come to expect. But what the hey, we are here for adventure so fill that wine glass and that chicken starts to taste a little better!

DAY FOUR: Monday

Most everyone slept well on the train. I didn’t, woke a lot. Woke up for good around 6:30am to watch the sun come up over the most mysterious and beautiful looking landscape. Miles of grasslands stretched out as far as the eye can see. A few minutes later we see herds of gazelle, giraffe and zebra hanging out by the tracks as we roll by.

We hired our favorite taxi driver, Freda, for the day in Nairobi since our flight to Kisumu isn’t til 7pm (Kayla is staying in Nairobi for another two days while I fly back with the kids) and, hmmm, what to do for the day? I know, go to the mall! Since we don’t get to go to an honest to goodness western style mall any more it was quite a treat actually to go shopping. The Village Market is as big and ‘American’ as any mall in the US.

Kayla is off to work and we three are back in Kisumu.