Mt. Elgon

Mt. Elgon is the second highest mountain in Kenya, and it sits on the border of the Kenya/Uganda border. It is only about a 2.5 hour drive from Eldoret so it was a perfect weekend trip.

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We left Saturday morning and arrived at the campsite around lunch time. We were greeted by some water bucks and zebras...










After some delicious homemade tuna sandwiches, we went to explore two famous caves in the national park.
First stop was Kitum cave, a favorite spot for elephants who often come to the cave to lick the salts from the walls. Also, for those of you who have read The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, a true story about two visitors who went to a cave in Kenya in the 1980s and died shortly after from Ebola virus...this is the cave! The outbreaks led to an extensive US military investigation to find the vector, but after sampling many animals in the cave, the virus was never found!












Makingeny Cave












We went to bed early after enjoying chili and smores by the campfire. On Sunday morning, we drove up the mountain to the Koitobus peak trail.












The hike took about 6.5 hours roundtrip, but it was well worth it.
We were led by our armed guard to protect us from any leopards or Ugandan rebels (although I think it's just a great way for the park to make more money since there have not been any reported problems in years...).












The start of the hike...












As we climbed, the landscape began to look as if we had stepped onto another planet!












The climb to the peak was steep and cold, but well worth it once we got to the top. (The top of the peak in the background was our final destination!)
























The group at 13,248 ft












More pictures

A Kenyan Wedding

My Kenyan roommate from the July Fogarty orientation in Washington, DC got married on Saturday, and she invited me to Nairobi for the event. The wedding was beautiful and incorporated both Western and Kenyan traditions. The ceremony was like any other Christian one in the States. The bridal party walked down the aisle, followed by the bride and her parents. Vows were exchanged, rings were carefully placed, and prayers were said. Even the pastor's sermon felt very familiar except for the one part when he went on about the key to a healthy marriage is to understand that the woman is the subordinate and the man is the captain of the ship. This touches on some interesting cultural differences that will have to be a separate blog post in the future.












Many of the women were dressed in traditional Kenyan clothing and I couldn't get enough of the different patterns and designs.












A 3 hour reception followed the ceremony. It took place outside the church and there were several large tents set up with a center table displaying the cakes (yes there was more than one!).

























After we ate, the bridal party came back from taking pictures, and they were escorted to the reception by a bongo quartet and many singing and dancing guests.











Then came the speeches. Each parent shared their blessings with the bride and groom, and the grandfathers provided their words of wisdom to the guests.

This was followed by more dancing and singing at which point I decided to give African dancing a try!

























All in all, another fabulous weekend in Kenya!

As always, additional pictures are here

Kakamega

A group of people from the IU compound headed to Kakamega National Park this weekend. It is only a 1.5 hour drive from Eldoret.

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I was excited because it is the first tropical rainforest I have ever visited, and it's a bird and butterfly watcher's haven.
We arrived on Saturday and went on an afternoon hike to the Yala river.
























This is a black and white casqued hornbill and can only be found in equatorial central and western Africa.














One of many butterflies













On Sunday morning, we woke up at 5am and went on a sunrise hike.
The view of the canopy was absolutely gorgeous.












We relaxed for the rest of the day on the hotel grounds. I have been experimenting more with the manual features on my camera and photo editing. Below are some pictures I took on the hotel grounds.




































For more pictures, please go to the picture albums page.

Lake Nakuru

After 4 weeks of being in Eldoret, I decided that it would be a good idea to get out of town for the weekend. Some of my short term friends are leaving soon so I joined them on one of their last trips.

We headed to Lake Nakuru...

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We found a hotel that was supposed to be 'a 15 minute drive from the park entrance'. Well after getting lost a bit in town, our safari driver finally figured out where we needed to go. It turned out that we were actually about an hour from the entrance in the middle of nowhere.

Not too shabby for the middle of nowhere though!

























Some animal highlights....





























































On Sunday morning, a few of us went on a guided bike ride near our hotel. This is my favorite picture from the weekend...













And on the way home we stopped at the equator!