Glen (valley) near our hostel in Ben Nevis
Glen Coe
Dramatic hills and valleys in Glen Coe
"Lost Valley" walk Grant and I went on in Glen Coe between the "3 sisters"
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Glen Coe pics
Glen (valley) near our hostel in Ben Nevis
Glen Coe
Dramatic hills and valleys in Glen Coe
"Lost Valley" walk Grant and I went on in Glen Coe between the "3 sisters"
Scotland, Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis Peak, tallest peak in Scotland: 4,406 ft.
Grant and Claire at the top of Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis trail
Ben Nevis
Scotland, Isle of Skye pics
Grant and Claire in front of Eileean Donan Castle on drive to Isle of Skye.
The "Old Man of Storr" in Isle of Skye
View from Hostel in Carbost, Isle of Skye
Black Cuillin Mountains in the distance.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Scotland, Isle of Skye
Grant and I safely made it to the UK (my emergency passport worked!!) and have spent the last week traveling in Scotland and visiting family relatives.
After spending a relaxing two nights at our cousin Cam's apartment in Edinburgh and eating Chinese take-away food (oh, I love comfort food!) Grant and I drove our rental car (or should I say Grant drove) 7 hours to the west coast of Scotland to an island called Isle of Skye. This is what our guide book said about the Isle of Skye: " The Isle of Skye has the greatest concentration of scenic splendour and variety in Britain...the spectacular Black and Red Cuillin Mountains are all about strain and challenge...and to the north the Trotternish peninsula has an undulating spine of crumbling escarpments and pinnacles." We were so excited to experience this island!
The first priority while on the Isle of Skye was to visit The Talisker Distillery, Skye's only malt whisky distillery. I don't enjoy tasting whisky as much as beer and wine, but it is a fascinating timely process using ingredients like peat and needing to be aged for at least 10 years. After the distillery we quickly checked into our hostel and then set off for a short walk (I had been in the car way too long!) We hiked to the Old Man of Storr, one of Scotland's iconic landmarks. The cloud level was very low that evening, which created for an eery hike (see pics below), but I guess that was the sort of scenery we were imagining in Scotland.
We stayed at a "bunkhouse" hostel where we shared a room with 6 other smelly guys. The hostel was surprisingly lovely (despite the smelly guys) with the dining room upstairs and overlooking a beautiful loche (lake). There was a group of 14 Scots from a mountaineering club who was staying at the hostel for a week. After Grant and I had our first night's dinner with this group, we were both motivated and excited to set off hiking the next morning, especially since the weather was supposed to be sunny and warm. We had decided to hike the Red Cuillin Horeshoe, a 7.5 mile hike with a total ascent of 1207 meters (the Red Cuillin mountains were more rounded than the jagged Black Cuillins). However, part way through the hike I got nervous about the steep scree slopes on the ridge where we were hiking (loose rocky paths). We were ultimately safe, but it was beyond my comfort zone, so thankfully Grant was patient with me and turned around after 2 hrs into the hike. My ego was bruised; however, it allowed us to go on another beautiful hike to a beach. Grant reminded me that hiking doesn't always have to be about conquering! It can also be about the journey. He is so true!
However, my ego was restored the next day when we left the Isle of Skye and drove 2.5 hrs inland to one of the most spectacular places I have ever seen... the Glen Coe. It has dramatic valleys (glens), loches (lakes) and both rounded and jagged grassy mountains starting at sea-level. I would want to be a geologist if I lived in Scotland! Back to my ego being restored...we had decided to climb Ben Nevis, the tallest peak in Scotland (4,406ft). As a result of not finishing the hike the previous day I was slightly nervous how this day would go. However, when we saw a group of older men (maybe early 70s) climbing, I regained confidence. 2 hrs and 40 min. later we were standing on the peak of Ben Nevis! My calves and thighs were screaming, but it was worth the effort!
Once again we stayed at a lovely hostel outside of Fort Williams...except this time Grant and I stayed in our own room! Pure luxury!! The owner was great and had a very sarcastic and dry humour--like from the Monty Python. He told us about two other hikes we had to do in the Glen Coe: one to a beautiful waterfall and the other to the Lost Valley. There are no words to describe what we saw. I will try to do them some justice by showing you the beautiful pics Grant took.
From the Glen Coe we drove south 2 hrs to small town on a peninsula near Glasgow, called Clynder. We spent the night with one of my dad's old college friends from Cambridge. It is so nice to have family connections! Here we had to remember our proper English manners!!
From there we traveled 1.5 hrs east to Sterling, where my cousin Tessa and her husband Lon live with their beautiful girls Orla (5 yrs old) and Mele (2.5 yrs old).The true Scotland weather returned while we were in Sterling: grey, cloudy, and drizzling. Lon and the girls took us to the east coast of Scotland, to St. Andrews, where the famous golf course and college is located. We built sand castles on the sandy beach, but after an hour, we were all bitterly cold and thus retreated to a coffee shop to have hot cocoa. Lon then decided to take us to the "Muddy Boots Farm." It is a farm where kids can ride toy tractors and bounce on giant air-filled pillows (like a bouncy castle without the castle), and feed goats and pigs and chickens. However, the best part was the over-5 year old section of the farm. This is where Grant and Lon and I excelled! We had competitions with peddle-powered off-road go-karts (Orla and I won!!) and lawn sledding (red sleds with tank tracks)...it is still under discussion who was the fastest! We saved the best for last... foam-ball air-powered cannons--like American Gladiators. The two little girls collected the foam balls for us as we tried to shoot one-another. It started to get a little dicey when 4 other 10 year old boys wanted to play and started chucking small plastic balls (like found at Mc Donald's play grounds)-- Mele and I decided to escape that scene. However, Grant and Lon both came to life-- I guess there is a time where all guys need to become little boys again!!
We left Tessa and Lon's house this morning and returned the rental car back to the airport (Grant did and awesome job driving!) We have 2 more days in Edinburgh, staying at cousin Cam's apartment, before we fly to London. Grant takes his teaching test for Philadelphia in London on Saturday, so please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. We will be staying in London at our cousin Joanne's flat for 3 days before we get on a train to go to Swansea, Wales where my Nana is from.
I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. Only 16 more days left in the UK!!
Much love,
Claire and Grant
Grant and Claire in front of Eilean Donan Castle, on the drive to Isle of Skye.
The "Old Man of Storr" on the Trotternish Penninsula on the Isle of Skye
The Black Cuillin Mountains in the background on the Isle of Skye.
Sunset in front of our hostel in Carbost, on the Isle of Skye.
After spending a relaxing two nights at our cousin Cam's apartment in Edinburgh and eating Chinese take-away food (oh, I love comfort food!) Grant and I drove our rental car (or should I say Grant drove) 7 hours to the west coast of Scotland to an island called Isle of Skye. This is what our guide book said about the Isle of Skye: " The Isle of Skye has the greatest concentration of scenic splendour and variety in Britain...the spectacular Black and Red Cuillin Mountains are all about strain and challenge...and to the north the Trotternish peninsula has an undulating spine of crumbling escarpments and pinnacles." We were so excited to experience this island!
The first priority while on the Isle of Skye was to visit The Talisker Distillery, Skye's only malt whisky distillery. I don't enjoy tasting whisky as much as beer and wine, but it is a fascinating timely process using ingredients like peat and needing to be aged for at least 10 years. After the distillery we quickly checked into our hostel and then set off for a short walk (I had been in the car way too long!) We hiked to the Old Man of Storr, one of Scotland's iconic landmarks. The cloud level was very low that evening, which created for an eery hike (see pics below), but I guess that was the sort of scenery we were imagining in Scotland.
We stayed at a "bunkhouse" hostel where we shared a room with 6 other smelly guys. The hostel was surprisingly lovely (despite the smelly guys) with the dining room upstairs and overlooking a beautiful loche (lake). There was a group of 14 Scots from a mountaineering club who was staying at the hostel for a week. After Grant and I had our first night's dinner with this group, we were both motivated and excited to set off hiking the next morning, especially since the weather was supposed to be sunny and warm. We had decided to hike the Red Cuillin Horeshoe, a 7.5 mile hike with a total ascent of 1207 meters (the Red Cuillin mountains were more rounded than the jagged Black Cuillins). However, part way through the hike I got nervous about the steep scree slopes on the ridge where we were hiking (loose rocky paths). We were ultimately safe, but it was beyond my comfort zone, so thankfully Grant was patient with me and turned around after 2 hrs into the hike. My ego was bruised; however, it allowed us to go on another beautiful hike to a beach. Grant reminded me that hiking doesn't always have to be about conquering! It can also be about the journey. He is so true!
However, my ego was restored the next day when we left the Isle of Skye and drove 2.5 hrs inland to one of the most spectacular places I have ever seen... the Glen Coe. It has dramatic valleys (glens), loches (lakes) and both rounded and jagged grassy mountains starting at sea-level. I would want to be a geologist if I lived in Scotland! Back to my ego being restored...we had decided to climb Ben Nevis, the tallest peak in Scotland (4,406ft). As a result of not finishing the hike the previous day I was slightly nervous how this day would go. However, when we saw a group of older men (maybe early 70s) climbing, I regained confidence. 2 hrs and 40 min. later we were standing on the peak of Ben Nevis! My calves and thighs were screaming, but it was worth the effort!
Once again we stayed at a lovely hostel outside of Fort Williams...except this time Grant and I stayed in our own room! Pure luxury!! The owner was great and had a very sarcastic and dry humour--like from the Monty Python. He told us about two other hikes we had to do in the Glen Coe: one to a beautiful waterfall and the other to the Lost Valley. There are no words to describe what we saw. I will try to do them some justice by showing you the beautiful pics Grant took.
From the Glen Coe we drove south 2 hrs to small town on a peninsula near Glasgow, called Clynder. We spent the night with one of my dad's old college friends from Cambridge. It is so nice to have family connections! Here we had to remember our proper English manners!!
From there we traveled 1.5 hrs east to Sterling, where my cousin Tessa and her husband Lon live with their beautiful girls Orla (5 yrs old) and Mele (2.5 yrs old).The true Scotland weather returned while we were in Sterling: grey, cloudy, and drizzling. Lon and the girls took us to the east coast of Scotland, to St. Andrews, where the famous golf course and college is located. We built sand castles on the sandy beach, but after an hour, we were all bitterly cold and thus retreated to a coffee shop to have hot cocoa. Lon then decided to take us to the "Muddy Boots Farm." It is a farm where kids can ride toy tractors and bounce on giant air-filled pillows (like a bouncy castle without the castle), and feed goats and pigs and chickens. However, the best part was the over-5 year old section of the farm. This is where Grant and Lon and I excelled! We had competitions with peddle-powered off-road go-karts (Orla and I won!!) and lawn sledding (red sleds with tank tracks)...it is still under discussion who was the fastest! We saved the best for last... foam-ball air-powered cannons--like American Gladiators. The two little girls collected the foam balls for us as we tried to shoot one-another. It started to get a little dicey when 4 other 10 year old boys wanted to play and started chucking small plastic balls (like found at Mc Donald's play grounds)-- Mele and I decided to escape that scene. However, Grant and Lon both came to life-- I guess there is a time where all guys need to become little boys again!!
We left Tessa and Lon's house this morning and returned the rental car back to the airport (Grant did and awesome job driving!) We have 2 more days in Edinburgh, staying at cousin Cam's apartment, before we fly to London. Grant takes his teaching test for Philadelphia in London on Saturday, so please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. We will be staying in London at our cousin Joanne's flat for 3 days before we get on a train to go to Swansea, Wales where my Nana is from.
I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. Only 16 more days left in the UK!!
Much love,
Claire and Grant
Grant and Claire in front of Eilean Donan Castle, on the drive to Isle of Skye.
The "Old Man of Storr" on the Trotternish Penninsula on the Isle of Skye
The Black Cuillin Mountains in the background on the Isle of Skye.
Sunset in front of our hostel in Carbost, on the Isle of Skye.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Lea Toto: Kibera
Grant and I visited one of Nyumbani's Lea Toto sights: Kibera, a slum on the outskirts of Nairobi that houses more than 1.2 million people (stats from 2003!) in about an area smaller than Central Park in New York. It is the 2nd largest slum in all of Africa! And they deal with all the destitute problems that come with a slum: no toilets (except a few government toilets in the central part of the slum where they have to pay 3 Kenyan shillings--the same price as 5 gallons of CLEAN water!!), no sewage pipes, no roads, no electricity, and only clean water if you pay for it, etc. HIV and malaria are also rampid in Kibera.
Lea Toto, Swahili for “to raise the child”, is a community-based outreach program providing services to HIV+ children and their families (addressing both people "infected" and "affected" by HIV) in the Kangemi, Waithaka, Kawangware, Riruta, Mutuini, Ruthimitu, Kibera and Kariobangi communities of Nairobi, Kenya. There are also 4 other new Lea Toto sights opening in other surrounding slums. Recognizing that the Nyumbani children's orphanage was unable to provide direct support to the growing number of HIV+ children in the Nairobi area, Nyumbani launched the Lea Toto Program in 1998. In 1999, with funding from US AID, Lea Toto became a full community-based care program, and now is supporting around 3,000 children with HIV and their families. Kibera alone currently supports over 500 HIV+ children and their families!
At Kibera, Grant and I went on 5 home visits with a social worker. Two of the homes were locked b/c the caregivers were working; at two of the other homes only the kids were there: one 6 year old boy who was an orphan and being looked after by his aunt-- his eye was swollen and on malaria meds and was getting more sick...he was at home by himself and states that he sleeps on the floor of the home and also mentioned that he gets wet b/c the roof leaks! The other house had a 3 year old taking care of the 1.5 year old who has HIV. The caregiver was at work and left the 3 year old in charge!! Eek! At the last home the caregiver was at home and the child that Lea Toto was following was at school. The caregiver mentioned that 10 people live in their small 10'x10' home-- the mom also had HIV but was on medication and looking healthy.
It was an eye opening experience walking through the sewage-filled mud paths b/w the tin-roofed shacks-- people's homes! I believe in Lea Toto's motto of "raising a child" and keeping them in their home or a relatives home versus abandoning them and giving them to an orphanage. This organization also doesn't just treat the HIV+ children, but they also take into consideration the needs of the family. For example, do the kids have a bed to sleep on, does the roof leak, what are the food rations like, what is the family's safety situation, how clean is the home, and are the children going to school? I am impressed in how they treat the "whole person."
The US AID funds most of Lea Toto, but in order for them to go above and beyond the medical needs of the HIV+ children, they are in need of outside donations. One of their goals is to make sure all the children they see have school $$ to go to school. If you are searching for a way to support an amazing organization, you can sponsor children in primary and secondary school by going to the website: http://www.hotcoursesfoundation.org/.
Grant and I leave Kenya tomorrow, Friday May 28th (as long as I am given my "emergency passport") to the UK where we will be traveling and seeing family for a month.
I hope everyone is doing well. We love hearing from you all. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.
Until next time,
Claire
Kibera Lea Toto clinic
Kibera Slums--in the upper right hand corner of this picture you can see high-rise apartments with red roofs that the government built to move people out of the slums. However, bureaucratic red-tape has delayed this process and only a few people have been relocated out of the slums!
Sewage-filled mud paths b/w homes. Many people grow Kale (sukuma wiki in Swahili), a staple part of Kenyan's diet.
Kenyan's take pride in how they dress and present themselves, even when they live in the slums. Above is an example of how they are able to iron their shirts without electricity: an iron heated by charcoal.
Lea Toto, Swahili for “to raise the child”, is a community-based outreach program providing services to HIV+ children and their families (addressing both people "infected" and "affected" by HIV) in the Kangemi, Waithaka, Kawangware, Riruta, Mutuini, Ruthimitu, Kibera and Kariobangi communities of Nairobi, Kenya. There are also 4 other new Lea Toto sights opening in other surrounding slums. Recognizing that the Nyumbani children's orphanage was unable to provide direct support to the growing number of HIV+ children in the Nairobi area, Nyumbani launched the Lea Toto Program in 1998. In 1999, with funding from US AID, Lea Toto became a full community-based care program, and now is supporting around 3,000 children with HIV and their families. Kibera alone currently supports over 500 HIV+ children and their families!
At Kibera, Grant and I went on 5 home visits with a social worker. Two of the homes were locked b/c the caregivers were working; at two of the other homes only the kids were there: one 6 year old boy who was an orphan and being looked after by his aunt-- his eye was swollen and on malaria meds and was getting more sick...he was at home by himself and states that he sleeps on the floor of the home and also mentioned that he gets wet b/c the roof leaks! The other house had a 3 year old taking care of the 1.5 year old who has HIV. The caregiver was at work and left the 3 year old in charge!! Eek! At the last home the caregiver was at home and the child that Lea Toto was following was at school. The caregiver mentioned that 10 people live in their small 10'x10' home-- the mom also had HIV but was on medication and looking healthy.
It was an eye opening experience walking through the sewage-filled mud paths b/w the tin-roofed shacks-- people's homes! I believe in Lea Toto's motto of "raising a child" and keeping them in their home or a relatives home versus abandoning them and giving them to an orphanage. This organization also doesn't just treat the HIV+ children, but they also take into consideration the needs of the family. For example, do the kids have a bed to sleep on, does the roof leak, what are the food rations like, what is the family's safety situation, how clean is the home, and are the children going to school? I am impressed in how they treat the "whole person."
The US AID funds most of Lea Toto, but in order for them to go above and beyond the medical needs of the HIV+ children, they are in need of outside donations. One of their goals is to make sure all the children they see have school $$ to go to school. If you are searching for a way to support an amazing organization, you can sponsor children in primary and secondary school by going to the website: http://www.hotcoursesfoundation.org/.
Grant and I leave Kenya tomorrow, Friday May 28th (as long as I am given my "emergency passport") to the UK where we will be traveling and seeing family for a month.
I hope everyone is doing well. We love hearing from you all. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.
Until next time,
Claire
Kibera Lea Toto clinic
Kibera Slums--in the upper right hand corner of this picture you can see high-rise apartments with red roofs that the government built to move people out of the slums. However, bureaucratic red-tape has delayed this process and only a few people have been relocated out of the slums!
Sewage-filled mud paths b/w homes. Many people grow Kale (sukuma wiki in Swahili), a staple part of Kenyan's diet.
Kenyan's take pride in how they dress and present themselves, even when they live in the slums. Above is an example of how they are able to iron their shirts without electricity: an iron heated by charcoal.
Lea Toto
Grant and I visited one of Nyumbani's Lea Toto sights: Kibera, a slum on the outskirts of Nairobi that houses more than 1.2 million people (stats from 2003!) in about an area smaller than Central Park in New York. It is the 2nd largest slum in all of Africa! And they deal with all the destitute problems that come with a slum: no toilets (except a few government toilets in the central part of the slum where they have to pay 3 Kenyan shillings--the same price as 5 gallons of CLEAN water!!), no sewage pipes, no roads, no electricity, and only clean water if you pay for it, etc. HIV and malaria are also rampid in Kibera.
Lea Toto, Swahili for “to raise the child”, is a community-based outreach program providing services to HIV+ children and their families (addressing both people "infected" and "affected" by HIV) in the Kangemi, Waithaka, Kawangware, Riruta, Mutuini, Ruthimitu, Kibera and Kariobangi communities of Nairobi, Kenya. There are also 4 other new Lea Toto sights opening in other surrounding slums. Recognizing that the Nyumbani children's orphanage was unable to provide direct support to the growing number of HIV+ children in the Nairobi area, Nyumbani launched the Lea Toto Program in 1998. In 1999, with funding from US AID, Lea Toto became a full community-based care program, and now is supporting around 3,000 children with HIV and their families. Kibera alone currently supports over 500 HIV+ children and their families!
At Kibera, Grant and I went on 5 home visits with a social worker. Two of the homes were locked b/c the caregivers were working; at two of the other homes only the kids were there: one 6 year old boy who was an orphan and being looked after by his aunt-- his eye was swollen and on malaria meds and was getting more sick...he was at home by himself and states that he sleeps on the floor of the home and also mentioned that he gets wet b/c the roof leaks! The other house had a 3 year old taking care of the 1.5 year old who has HIV. The caregiver was at work and left the 3 year old in charge!! Eek! At the last home the caregiver was at home and the child that Lea Toto was following was at school. The caregiver mentioned that 10 people live in their small 10'x10' home-- the mom also had HIV but was on medication and looking healthy.
It was an eye opening experience walking through the sewage-filled mud paths b/w the tin-roofed shacks-- people's homes! I believe in Lea Toto's motto of "raising a child" and keeping them in their home or a relatives home versus abandoning them and giving them to an orphanage. This organization also doesn't just treat the HIV+ children, but they also take into consideration the needs of the family. For example, do the kids have a bed to sleep on, does the roof leak, what are the food rations like, what is the family's safety situation, how clean is the home, and are the children going to school? I am impressed in how they treat the "whole person."
The US AID funds most of Lea Toto, but in order for them to go above and beyond the medical needs of the HIV+ children, they are in need of outside donations. One of their goals is to make sure all the children they see have school $$ to go to school. If you are searching for a way to support an amazing organization, you can sponsor children in primary and secondary school by going to the website: http://www.hotcoursesfoundation.org/.
Grant and I leave Kenya tomorrow, Friday May 28th (as long as I am given my "emergency passport") to the UK where we will be traveling and seeing family for a month.
I hope everyone is doing well. We love hearing from you all. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.
Until next time,
Claire
Kibera Lea Toto Nursing Clinic
Kibera Slums--in the upper right hand corner of this picture you can see high-rise apartments with red roofs that the government built to move people out of the slums. However, bureaucratic red-tape has delayed this process and only a few people have been relocated out of the slums!
Sewage-filled mud paths b/w homes. Many people grow Kale (sukuma wiki in Swahili), a staple part of Kenyan's diet.
Kenyan's take pride in how they dress and present themselves, even when they live in the slums. Above is an example of how they are able to iron their shirts without electricity: an iron heated by charcoal.
Lea Toto, Swahili for “to raise the child”, is a community-based outreach program providing services to HIV+ children and their families (addressing both people "infected" and "affected" by HIV) in the Kangemi, Waithaka, Kawangware, Riruta, Mutuini, Ruthimitu, Kibera and Kariobangi communities of Nairobi, Kenya. There are also 4 other new Lea Toto sights opening in other surrounding slums. Recognizing that the Nyumbani children's orphanage was unable to provide direct support to the growing number of HIV+ children in the Nairobi area, Nyumbani launched the Lea Toto Program in 1998. In 1999, with funding from US AID, Lea Toto became a full community-based care program, and now is supporting around 3,000 children with HIV and their families. Kibera alone currently supports over 500 HIV+ children and their families!
At Kibera, Grant and I went on 5 home visits with a social worker. Two of the homes were locked b/c the caregivers were working; at two of the other homes only the kids were there: one 6 year old boy who was an orphan and being looked after by his aunt-- his eye was swollen and on malaria meds and was getting more sick...he was at home by himself and states that he sleeps on the floor of the home and also mentioned that he gets wet b/c the roof leaks! The other house had a 3 year old taking care of the 1.5 year old who has HIV. The caregiver was at work and left the 3 year old in charge!! Eek! At the last home the caregiver was at home and the child that Lea Toto was following was at school. The caregiver mentioned that 10 people live in their small 10'x10' home-- the mom also had HIV but was on medication and looking healthy.
It was an eye opening experience walking through the sewage-filled mud paths b/w the tin-roofed shacks-- people's homes! I believe in Lea Toto's motto of "raising a child" and keeping them in their home or a relatives home versus abandoning them and giving them to an orphanage. This organization also doesn't just treat the HIV+ children, but they also take into consideration the needs of the family. For example, do the kids have a bed to sleep on, does the roof leak, what are the food rations like, what is the family's safety situation, how clean is the home, and are the children going to school? I am impressed in how they treat the "whole person."
The US AID funds most of Lea Toto, but in order for them to go above and beyond the medical needs of the HIV+ children, they are in need of outside donations. One of their goals is to make sure all the children they see have school $$ to go to school. If you are searching for a way to support an amazing organization, you can sponsor children in primary and secondary school by going to the website: http://www.hotcoursesfoundation.org/.
Grant and I leave Kenya tomorrow, Friday May 28th (as long as I am given my "emergency passport") to the UK where we will be traveling and seeing family for a month.
I hope everyone is doing well. We love hearing from you all. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.
Until next time,
Claire
Kibera Lea Toto Nursing Clinic
Kibera Slums--in the upper right hand corner of this picture you can see high-rise apartments with red roofs that the government built to move people out of the slums. However, bureaucratic red-tape has delayed this process and only a few people have been relocated out of the slums!
Sewage-filled mud paths b/w homes. Many people grow Kale (sukuma wiki in Swahili), a staple part of Kenyan's diet.
Kenyan's take pride in how they dress and present themselves, even when they live in the slums. Above is an example of how they are able to iron their shirts without electricity: an iron heated by charcoal.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tanzania or Bust.....we went with bust.
For our next blog the goal was to show beautiful pictures of Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara. That was the goal. We left Nyumbani and Kenya on Thursday on traveled the 6 our bus ride over the boarder into Arusha, Tanzania. Our first sign of trouble came at the boarder when we were told that a visa into Tanzania for US Citizens is $100 each...not the $50 that they listed online. We tried unsuccessfully and, with the worry of them not letting us in, half-heartedly to point out that this price is not what was listed online before shelling out the $200 to get into Tanzania. Upon arriving in Arusha we were soon picked up by Father Ephram who is one of the three priest at the Ngarenero Parish in Arusha, and where we had planned to stay during our travels in Tanzania. Another priest, Father Simon Tenges, is friends with Father John Frances Mole of Shaw Island who insisted that we visit his parish while in Africa. Claire and I had also arranged another safari through a director of the Parish, Mr. Kimati.
Father Ephram showed Claire and I to the hostel on the parish where we would be staying, toured us through the parish, and then left us to explore the town before meeting again at the father's house for dinner. Arusha is a town of roughly 1 million people (think Everett but with 1 million residents), that has really expanded over the past decade due to tourism (climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru & Safari's through the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and other close Wildlife Parks). This is a very lively town, with wonderful markets, "tricked out" Dala Dalas (minivans packed with people, subwoofers, neon lights, and air horns that drive specific routs and act like miniature buses, they are called a matatu in Kenya), and residents wearing very traditional clothing while carrying baskets on their heads. It was a very warm sunny afternoon and Claire and I very much enjoyed touring the city. After a wonderful meal Claire and I retired to bed with plans of exploring Arusha and the surrounding area the following day.
After breakfast, which in Tanzania and Kenya is instant coffe, milk tea, and white bread with margarine, Claire and I met with Mr. Kimati where we planned to meet after lunch with the safari guides to finalize plans and make the first payment for our safari. We then toured the St. Elizabeth's Hospital, which is part of the parish, with Sister Phyllis. At this point Claire and I went back to our room at the parish hostel to retrieve our ATM cards so we could withdraw the needed money to pay the safari guide. After opening both locked doors into our room we relized that Claire's purse was not where she left it on the desk in the room. Because we had just passed through the boarder Claire had moved all her valuables into the purse, including her Passport, Credit Card, ATM Card, Drivers Liscense, Health Card, our Bus Ticket back to Kenya, and both Tanzanian Shillings and US Dollars. Nothing else in the room looked like it had been disturbed. We searched under the bed, through our bags, in the sheets of the bed, in the bathroom, and every square inch of the room and we could not find her purse...we then looked at the window.....it was barred, but the lock was broken on the glass and it could be moved aside allowing a person to reach a stick in and grab a purse off of the desk. We found father Ephram, Father Simon, and the Sister in charge of the hostel who came into the room and they came up with the same conclusion of Claire and I. Her purse had been stolen and all items inside where gone.
The troubling part of the situation was that this window opened into a small walled/gated courtyard that only a guest or an employee of the parish would be able to get into, and with over 40 beds in the hostel the person had to know which room we were staying in to even consider looking into our room.
After realizing that Claire's purse had been stolen our next concern was my passport and credit cards which were zipped into a pocket of my backpack sitting directly below the window. They had been left undesturbed. We also had copies of all of our important documents that Claire could use as proof of identity.
Now the fun begins. We were returning to Kenya in one week to fly out and the only US Embassy in Tanzania was in Dar es Salam, which is a 9 plus hour bus ride out to the coast. The nearest US Embassy was in Nairobi Kenya, only a 6 hour bus ride away, of which we had already paid for a round trip ticket (which had been stolen with Claire's purse) but this meant we needed to get through the boarder and Claire had no official documentation.
Father Simon and the sister in charge of the hostel stayed there and questioned staff and visitors to see if anyone had any information about what might have happened to the purse, while Claire, Father Ephram, and myself went to the Police Station to file a Lost/Stolen Item Report. Don't worry, all of the stereo types of African corruption were very much evident at the police station. We never actually bribed anyone while at the police station but Father Ephram said that they were very much waiting for them to help us move the process along.
We had realized that Claire's purse was missing at about 11:30 am and it was around noon before we arrived at the police station. The first thing you do is tell an officer at the front desk that you need to fill out a Lost/Stolen Items Report and they give you a number and tell you to take it up to the accountant so you can pay a fee (YES, YOU HAVE TO PAY TO REPORT TO THE POLICE THAT YOU WERE ROBBED!!!) of 500 Tsh (something like $.50, nothing to us, but half of a days wage to a Tanzanian). The accountant's door was locked and we were told that she was at the bank and we would have to wait until she returned.
At this point we went outside and I called the US Embassy in Dar es Salam to report that Claire's passport had been stolen. This was around noon on a Friday, they were closed, but I could get through if it was a life or death emergency. Being that neither Claire or myself had lost a passport before, especially in a foreign country we did not really know what all we needed to do so I put myself through as a life or death emergency and was instantly connected to a gentleman with an Americna accent, finally we are getting somewhere. "I'm sorry, this line is for people with a life or death emergency, you will need to call back on Monday when we are open and an embassy officer can assist you at that point." So much for that. We were planning on being back in Nairobi by Monday so we could go to the US Embassy there, and start the process of getting a passport for Claire before flying out to the UK. So no point in calling thier embassy at 8 am Monday morning, when we were planning on being at the Nairobi US Embassy at that time.
Back up to the accountant, still closed, now what? A gentleman outside of the police station suggested to Father Ephram (by the way we could not go more than 5 minutes without father knowing someone) that we go to the Tanzanian Immigration office just down the street. When we arrived at the Imigration Office Father Ephram instantly struck up a conversation with the gentleman behind the desk (no surprise they knew each other), and he told us exactly what we needed to do in order to get an Emergency Travel Document that would allow Claire back into Kenya. After filling out the police report we needed to return to the Immigration Office with the following items: Police Report, Copy of Passport, 3 passport photos (of which we had to get taken because we only had 2 passport pics), travel itinerary (didn't know that we needed it, but when we returned he asked for it and luckily we had it), and 5000 Tsh (under $5).
We then returned to the police station, accountant door still locked.
Back to the parish, passport photos en route, to get a quick bite to eat, call credit card companies (couldn't get through because the parish had not paid their phone bill), and then return to the police station to fill out report and take it to the Immigration office before they close at 3:30.
We returned to the police station at 2:15 and the accountants door was still closed. As we began walking downstairs we saw a gentleman exit the accountants office so we quickly walked in and requested for her to take our money so we could fill out a Lost/Stolen Item Report. The next few minutes were all in Swahili so I can only tell you what I understood from actions, the few words that I know in Swahili, and what Father Ephram told us. The accountant informed Father that her office hours end at 2 pm and she could not take or money. Father informed her that we had been there three times between noon and 1 pm and she was not there so she needed to take our money. She said no. He told her how Claire's passport was stolen and she needed this report to return to Kenya. She said no. Okay...change of plan. Instead of arguing with her he pleaded with her and she came around, took 20 second out of her busy day (so busy she could spend over an hour at the bank...as you will find out this is actually a very reasonable amount of time to spend at bank) to fill out the receipt and take our money.
We then went downstairs to fill out the report. A young man found a copy of a blank report document and told father that he needed to go to a market to get a copy made. We watied at the police station while father ran to get a copy made (you will find out this this is a reacurring theme). One he returned the officer took us into a room (this room was a mess of files thrown everywhere, falling of shelves, and covering tables. He then took the report to an office next door where a lady behind the desk seemed to question the report before stamping it and giving Claire the stamped copy (another tense moment).
Now it was close to 2:30 and we booked it to the Immigration Office. This time another gentleman seemed to question the first gentleman about whether Claire could get the needed document but after some persuation by Father Ephram in Swahili he came around and they filled out some paperwork with an account number that we had to take to a specific bank in order to deposit 5000 tsh into the account and return with the receipt. They don't have their own accountant (and by the treatment of the accountant at the Police Station this was for the best). The bank was a 5 minute walk away and it was about 3 pm by this time. 30 minutes before the Immigration Office closes. We asked the gentleman if we would be able to deposit the money and return in time to finish the paperwork and he seemed less than optomistic.
As we walked into the bank my fears had been relized. Banks in Kenya and Tanzania are painfully slow, and there were about 6 lines all with 20-30 people waiting in them. There was no way that we could deposit the money and return to the Immigration Officed before 3:30. As we walked in a man with a bank shirt walked up to Father and shook his hand. Another person he knew. Father explained the situation, and the man took the paperwork, the 5000 tsh, and returned in a couple of minutes with the stamped receipt.
We now almost ran to the Immigration Office, returning at about 3:15. At this point the officer took our paperwork and informed us that we need to go to the market next door and make copies of all documents. So about 5 minutes, and three trips by Father Ephram to the market, later the Immigration Officer began writing Claire's Emergency Travel Document.
All around us Immigration Employees were closing windows and doors, and leaving to go home as it was now 3:30. Once the officer had finished the paper work we saw him looking around for the officer who needed to sign the document and she was not in her office. She had just walked out the door and left for the day. He ran out to the front of the building by the street, talked to someone, and then slowly walked back into the office. Had we really just gone through all of that only to not get the document because the one person who could sign the document had just left. Seriously!
A few minutes later the woman slowly walked into the office, signed the document, and left. The office then called Claire and I over from the bench where we were sitting, gave us the document and informed us that we can now travel for one month with this document. Meaning that we can get to Kenya and the UK, but before returning to the states we need to get Claire a new passport.
We all leave the Immigration Office feeling like we are on cloud 9. So many things had to go right (the accountant letting us pay late, Claire and I having copies of all important documents including travel itinerary, and the bank employee taking our deposit for us) in order for us to get that document in time for Claire and I to get back to Kenya by Monday.
After this everything started to fall into place. We went to the bus company and they had a record of our ticket and were able to switch us to an earlier bus so we could get back to Nairobi by Sunday, we emailed Nyumbani who graciously have allowed us to return while working on Claire's new passport, we were able to contact our banks and cancel the stolen cards (my ATM card has a different number so it can still be used, and I have two extra Credit Cards that were not stolen that I can use),we spend saturday touring Arusha, the fathers gave Claire and I extremely thoughtful parting gifts, we returned to Nyumbani in time for me, Grant, to play soccer with the boys, on Monday morning sister Julie of Nyumbani needed to go to the US Embassy to add pages to her passport so Claire and I were able to hitch a ride with her, and Claire has been issued a temporary passport, which we pick up on Friday morning, that she can use for three months before needing to replace it (at no extra charge - who ever heard of the U.S. government allow us to do something for free...we figured we would have to pay for the temp passport and a new one).
Anyway, sorry if reading this has taken up a chunk of your day, but I thought it was an interesting story that needed to be told in its full detail.
Claire and I are doing well, are happy to be back with the children and Nyumbani and are looking forward to our trip home via the UK (British Airways strike and volcano willing).
We miss all of you and have you in our thoughts and prayers.
Catch you later,
Grant and Claire
Father Ephram showed Claire and I to the hostel on the parish where we would be staying, toured us through the parish, and then left us to explore the town before meeting again at the father's house for dinner. Arusha is a town of roughly 1 million people (think Everett but with 1 million residents), that has really expanded over the past decade due to tourism (climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru & Safari's through the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and other close Wildlife Parks). This is a very lively town, with wonderful markets, "tricked out" Dala Dalas (minivans packed with people, subwoofers, neon lights, and air horns that drive specific routs and act like miniature buses, they are called a matatu in Kenya), and residents wearing very traditional clothing while carrying baskets on their heads. It was a very warm sunny afternoon and Claire and I very much enjoyed touring the city. After a wonderful meal Claire and I retired to bed with plans of exploring Arusha and the surrounding area the following day.
After breakfast, which in Tanzania and Kenya is instant coffe, milk tea, and white bread with margarine, Claire and I met with Mr. Kimati where we planned to meet after lunch with the safari guides to finalize plans and make the first payment for our safari. We then toured the St. Elizabeth's Hospital, which is part of the parish, with Sister Phyllis. At this point Claire and I went back to our room at the parish hostel to retrieve our ATM cards so we could withdraw the needed money to pay the safari guide. After opening both locked doors into our room we relized that Claire's purse was not where she left it on the desk in the room. Because we had just passed through the boarder Claire had moved all her valuables into the purse, including her Passport, Credit Card, ATM Card, Drivers Liscense, Health Card, our Bus Ticket back to Kenya, and both Tanzanian Shillings and US Dollars. Nothing else in the room looked like it had been disturbed. We searched under the bed, through our bags, in the sheets of the bed, in the bathroom, and every square inch of the room and we could not find her purse...we then looked at the window.....it was barred, but the lock was broken on the glass and it could be moved aside allowing a person to reach a stick in and grab a purse off of the desk. We found father Ephram, Father Simon, and the Sister in charge of the hostel who came into the room and they came up with the same conclusion of Claire and I. Her purse had been stolen and all items inside where gone.
The troubling part of the situation was that this window opened into a small walled/gated courtyard that only a guest or an employee of the parish would be able to get into, and with over 40 beds in the hostel the person had to know which room we were staying in to even consider looking into our room.
After realizing that Claire's purse had been stolen our next concern was my passport and credit cards which were zipped into a pocket of my backpack sitting directly below the window. They had been left undesturbed. We also had copies of all of our important documents that Claire could use as proof of identity.
Now the fun begins. We were returning to Kenya in one week to fly out and the only US Embassy in Tanzania was in Dar es Salam, which is a 9 plus hour bus ride out to the coast. The nearest US Embassy was in Nairobi Kenya, only a 6 hour bus ride away, of which we had already paid for a round trip ticket (which had been stolen with Claire's purse) but this meant we needed to get through the boarder and Claire had no official documentation.
Father Simon and the sister in charge of the hostel stayed there and questioned staff and visitors to see if anyone had any information about what might have happened to the purse, while Claire, Father Ephram, and myself went to the Police Station to file a Lost/Stolen Item Report. Don't worry, all of the stereo types of African corruption were very much evident at the police station. We never actually bribed anyone while at the police station but Father Ephram said that they were very much waiting for them to help us move the process along.
We had realized that Claire's purse was missing at about 11:30 am and it was around noon before we arrived at the police station. The first thing you do is tell an officer at the front desk that you need to fill out a Lost/Stolen Items Report and they give you a number and tell you to take it up to the accountant so you can pay a fee (YES, YOU HAVE TO PAY TO REPORT TO THE POLICE THAT YOU WERE ROBBED!!!) of 500 Tsh (something like $.50, nothing to us, but half of a days wage to a Tanzanian). The accountant's door was locked and we were told that she was at the bank and we would have to wait until she returned.
At this point we went outside and I called the US Embassy in Dar es Salam to report that Claire's passport had been stolen. This was around noon on a Friday, they were closed, but I could get through if it was a life or death emergency. Being that neither Claire or myself had lost a passport before, especially in a foreign country we did not really know what all we needed to do so I put myself through as a life or death emergency and was instantly connected to a gentleman with an Americna accent, finally we are getting somewhere. "I'm sorry, this line is for people with a life or death emergency, you will need to call back on Monday when we are open and an embassy officer can assist you at that point." So much for that. We were planning on being back in Nairobi by Monday so we could go to the US Embassy there, and start the process of getting a passport for Claire before flying out to the UK. So no point in calling thier embassy at 8 am Monday morning, when we were planning on being at the Nairobi US Embassy at that time.
Back up to the accountant, still closed, now what? A gentleman outside of the police station suggested to Father Ephram (by the way we could not go more than 5 minutes without father knowing someone) that we go to the Tanzanian Immigration office just down the street. When we arrived at the Imigration Office Father Ephram instantly struck up a conversation with the gentleman behind the desk (no surprise they knew each other), and he told us exactly what we needed to do in order to get an Emergency Travel Document that would allow Claire back into Kenya. After filling out the police report we needed to return to the Immigration Office with the following items: Police Report, Copy of Passport, 3 passport photos (of which we had to get taken because we only had 2 passport pics), travel itinerary (didn't know that we needed it, but when we returned he asked for it and luckily we had it), and 5000 Tsh (under $5).
We then returned to the police station, accountant door still locked.
Back to the parish, passport photos en route, to get a quick bite to eat, call credit card companies (couldn't get through because the parish had not paid their phone bill), and then return to the police station to fill out report and take it to the Immigration office before they close at 3:30.
We returned to the police station at 2:15 and the accountants door was still closed. As we began walking downstairs we saw a gentleman exit the accountants office so we quickly walked in and requested for her to take our money so we could fill out a Lost/Stolen Item Report. The next few minutes were all in Swahili so I can only tell you what I understood from actions, the few words that I know in Swahili, and what Father Ephram told us. The accountant informed Father that her office hours end at 2 pm and she could not take or money. Father informed her that we had been there three times between noon and 1 pm and she was not there so she needed to take our money. She said no. He told her how Claire's passport was stolen and she needed this report to return to Kenya. She said no. Okay...change of plan. Instead of arguing with her he pleaded with her and she came around, took 20 second out of her busy day (so busy she could spend over an hour at the bank...as you will find out this is actually a very reasonable amount of time to spend at bank) to fill out the receipt and take our money.
We then went downstairs to fill out the report. A young man found a copy of a blank report document and told father that he needed to go to a market to get a copy made. We watied at the police station while father ran to get a copy made (you will find out this this is a reacurring theme). One he returned the officer took us into a room (this room was a mess of files thrown everywhere, falling of shelves, and covering tables. He then took the report to an office next door where a lady behind the desk seemed to question the report before stamping it and giving Claire the stamped copy (another tense moment).
Now it was close to 2:30 and we booked it to the Immigration Office. This time another gentleman seemed to question the first gentleman about whether Claire could get the needed document but after some persuation by Father Ephram in Swahili he came around and they filled out some paperwork with an account number that we had to take to a specific bank in order to deposit 5000 tsh into the account and return with the receipt. They don't have their own accountant (and by the treatment of the accountant at the Police Station this was for the best). The bank was a 5 minute walk away and it was about 3 pm by this time. 30 minutes before the Immigration Office closes. We asked the gentleman if we would be able to deposit the money and return in time to finish the paperwork and he seemed less than optomistic.
As we walked into the bank my fears had been relized. Banks in Kenya and Tanzania are painfully slow, and there were about 6 lines all with 20-30 people waiting in them. There was no way that we could deposit the money and return to the Immigration Officed before 3:30. As we walked in a man with a bank shirt walked up to Father and shook his hand. Another person he knew. Father explained the situation, and the man took the paperwork, the 5000 tsh, and returned in a couple of minutes with the stamped receipt.
We now almost ran to the Immigration Office, returning at about 3:15. At this point the officer took our paperwork and informed us that we need to go to the market next door and make copies of all documents. So about 5 minutes, and three trips by Father Ephram to the market, later the Immigration Officer began writing Claire's Emergency Travel Document.
All around us Immigration Employees were closing windows and doors, and leaving to go home as it was now 3:30. Once the officer had finished the paper work we saw him looking around for the officer who needed to sign the document and she was not in her office. She had just walked out the door and left for the day. He ran out to the front of the building by the street, talked to someone, and then slowly walked back into the office. Had we really just gone through all of that only to not get the document because the one person who could sign the document had just left. Seriously!
A few minutes later the woman slowly walked into the office, signed the document, and left. The office then called Claire and I over from the bench where we were sitting, gave us the document and informed us that we can now travel for one month with this document. Meaning that we can get to Kenya and the UK, but before returning to the states we need to get Claire a new passport.
We all leave the Immigration Office feeling like we are on cloud 9. So many things had to go right (the accountant letting us pay late, Claire and I having copies of all important documents including travel itinerary, and the bank employee taking our deposit for us) in order for us to get that document in time for Claire and I to get back to Kenya by Monday.
After this everything started to fall into place. We went to the bus company and they had a record of our ticket and were able to switch us to an earlier bus so we could get back to Nairobi by Sunday, we emailed Nyumbani who graciously have allowed us to return while working on Claire's new passport, we were able to contact our banks and cancel the stolen cards (my ATM card has a different number so it can still be used, and I have two extra Credit Cards that were not stolen that I can use),we spend saturday touring Arusha, the fathers gave Claire and I extremely thoughtful parting gifts, we returned to Nyumbani in time for me, Grant, to play soccer with the boys, on Monday morning sister Julie of Nyumbani needed to go to the US Embassy to add pages to her passport so Claire and I were able to hitch a ride with her, and Claire has been issued a temporary passport, which we pick up on Friday morning, that she can use for three months before needing to replace it (at no extra charge - who ever heard of the U.S. government allow us to do something for free...we figured we would have to pay for the temp passport and a new one).
Anyway, sorry if reading this has taken up a chunk of your day, but I thought it was an interesting story that needed to be told in its full detail.
Claire and I are doing well, are happy to be back with the children and Nyumbani and are looking forward to our trip home via the UK (British Airways strike and volcano willing).
We miss all of you and have you in our thoughts and prayers.
Catch you later,
Grant and Claire
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