Stuck in the Desert

Elam's desert is a combination of short thorn trees and sand.  There a little other scrub brush, and you will see dry river beds, mountains jutting up at times, and very little wildlife.  We saw small groups of 2 to 5 Rendille along the way, more often it was just the camel or goat herding boys--mere children.  And the ever present dust devil.  Look close in the middle of this picture and you will see the wind blowing up the dust devils. 

Elam - when I think of it - I am reminded of getting a skin burn on my face, arms, and bottoms of my legs which I couldn't shade with my skirt.  I remember getting mouthfuls of dust and dirt as the wind blew it up unpredictably.  I remember Sherri getting burnt to a red tomato crisp which eventually caused her to cover up with a beautifully colored African cloth to protect her very Victorian white skin.  But, she didn't cover up until after she had walked to a kora (a coral made of thorn branches) to visit with some women--with whom she couldn't communicate with due to language barriers.  And she didn't stop until after she walked with a mama and her children back into the mud, almost falling again, to try to laugh and cut up branches of the thorn tree together.  Sherri was a trouper--encouraging us during this part of the trip to enjoy it and expect that somehow we were going to come out of this thinking we had the experience of a lifetime.  Indeed, it was the experience of a lifetime. 

My skin felt as cracked as this mud.  My psyche was quicky losing it, when I couldn't see a way out of the desert.  I took to taking pictures of anything and everything including close-ups of manure and pictures of the sand where we urinated.  It sounds insane, but trying to keep creative can take it's bizarre turns. 

Mostly, when we got ready to leave, I almost teared up at the incredible care we received from people who had only the clothese on their back, their herds of goats, camel, and donkeys.  They milked a camel to make our tea, and they slaughtered a goat for us to eat the next day when we had no other food.  They gave their best in terms of skins to lie upon and a coral for us to sleep in.  This was genuine hospitality.  A lesson in life I never will forget and hope to have learned from.  Click on the Elam page for more good stuff to see!  Some of you have wondered why this trip was life changing.  The five of us who were stranded, adopted, and experienced life with no predictability at Elam can only begin to say a little of what that experience was like.  Elam!

We Knew Nothing!

We had spent 2 days in Nairobi prior to setting off for Northern Kenya.  We had gathered supplies, food, water, and batteries for running medical equipment which were needed on the trip.  Here you see Tom Kamau, Sam Wilson, Steven Loysanis (spelling -- I'm not sure), myself (Joy) and Sherri Wilson in her famous pink hat.  We paused here for our first photo shot against some of the most magnificient mountains I've ever seen.  In the background you see the wonderful tarmac road which the Chinese built.  President Kibaki is known as the "Roads President" because under his presidency, roads have been built to places where only pot holes big enough to swallow your land rover in awful dirt roads existed.  Wow--has this opened up the country.  Industry, construction endeavors, and technology are booming.  We left this behind once we left Isiolo.  Now the journey into what I call the "We Knew Nothing Territory" begins.  Click on the Isiolo page to see more about our journey. 

We see our first Samburu Warrior at this photo op! 


Take a look at the beads on this young child's neck!  Pretty spectacular huh?  I'm pondering on the beauty of these children, the contrasts in their clothing, the idea of where in the world did they come from?  There was no village that we could see anywhere near us.  It was a curious, friendly bunch of youngsters who appeared out of nowhere as we stopped to take a picture of the mountain.

Chai & Samosas

One of the first things I thought when I boarded the plane to Nairobi was that soon I would be enjoying Kenya chai and samosas.  Mmmmmm.  Indeed I can say that I enjoyed samosas from Nakumat to local hotelis where ever possible.  The sweet taste of tea and the meaty spicy taste of samosas somehow is unlike any other combination of flavors.  Along the way, we commented that samosas are Kenya's fast food (sort of like a McDonald's hamburger).  Who would have thought that Nairobi Java House's giant samosas could surprise us.  When the samosas (which were 3 times the size of a normal samosa) arrived, we finally understood the bemused expression of the waiter who had taken our order for 8 samosas.  Samosas and chai, chai and samosas, either way it's only the beginning of the tastes and flavors of Kenya.  Stay tuned for more adventures of our trip and how it has changed us forever.   Joy