Deja Vous

Back here again, where it all started. This was where we spent our first night, although I was ill at the time so it's all a little hazy. My tent didn't leak too much more last night, so woke in the morning toasty warm and dry. A few people got wet, though, and Rob is promising to 'kick Boyo's arse' (since Boyo's in charge of the tents, apparently). We spent an hour in Nakuro, where I double-checked on flights and stuff. I can get a direct flight from Zanzi to Nairobi, but the timing means I couldn't fly the same day so I'd have to stay in Nairobi over night. No thanks. Rob also reckons a flight from Dar is more reliable, since there are no 'coastal weather' issues. So, next time I'm near a computer I'll book that, then plan to spend the night before in Dar somewhere.

We reached camp around 2pm. Tomorrow, we have the choice of either Crater Lake or Hell's Gate. Both are national parks. The majority of the group are going to do Crater Lake, but I and a couple of the others are going to do Hell's Gate. It's unusual in that you're able to explore it without an enclosed vehicle, so the trip is going to involve some mountain biking and hiking, all through herds of giraffe, gazelle, etc. There's nothing too dangerous there, obviously (visions of hapless Japanese tourists being wrestled from their bikes by lions and leopards.), but it'll be a tad more strenuous – which is just what I could do with right now.

However, it looks like I'm going to need antibiotics again. I think the infection, while gone from my wisdom tooth, has migrated to my ear. It's really sore, although ibuprofen's controlling it. Sadly, I didn't realise how bad it was in Nakuro, since I could have obtained some more drugs. It's two days to Nairobi now, so I'm not sure what's going to happen. Literally, right now I'm feeling very odd and 'spacey' indeed. Not sure if that's the ear thing affecting my balance...

Soldiering on, we went on a 'village walk' this afternoon. After the two very odd experiences in Southern Africa, I'm a tad dubious of this sort of thing, but with nothing better to do, most of us headed out with a couple of local blokes as guides. This was very interesting indeed. They first took us to a local village (although I suppose you saw that one coming). The first thing that struck me was the litter. It was just everywhere, half buried, hanging in bushes. There were plastic bag fragments and polythene everywhere, of the sort that's bleached because it's been there so long. The guide heard us talking about the litter and explained that the government is doing something about it and trying to encourage people to too. He did say, though, that he thought the government was the main problem – completely missing the fact that it has to come from the people. It also wasn't surprising considering both guys had pulled the plastic seals off their bottles of water and tossed them casually on the road earlier. It's been ingrained into me from such an early age, to watch them litter so casually really, really jarred with me. I know some of the others felt the same.

We walked further into the village, children came running. Lots of children. We could hear their shouts – unintelligible to us save for the peppering of 'Muzungu!'. They loved to see themselves on camera screens, and a crowd of them soon gathered around Jen, demanding to have their photograph taken – a sort of 'inverse paparazi'. Even some of the mothers screamed with glee to see themselves on camera. It would be wonderful to somehow send them some prints, but I'm not sure how it could be done. The village itself consisted mostly of concrete buildings interspersed with litter and open channels through which sewage flowed. Everyone was friendly – the children, in particular. 'Hau-waar-yew', they repeated over and over again. At some point, they've learned that 'how are you?' is something mazungus often say when they meet someone, and it's been corrupted as it only can in the hands of young children. The parents are, of course, more cynical, although we often got a wave or gentle smile from them. 'John' and 'Marcus', our guides, seemed to know everyone in the village. John told us several people had asked, 'why don't the muzungus give us money?', to which he replied,

'No, they won't: they're from the church.'

That seemed to end all discussion on the subject. They also showed us a half-completed long-drop. This must have been about twenty feet deep. Apparently, the diggers are paid roughly 2USD per foot. What a way to make a living.

We walked out of the village towards a small masai settlement. The children turned back at this point, apparently frightened of the masai. John told us we shouldn't take pictures because the masai would demand payment. He told us they think the camera steals their soul. 'But the soul can be returned with a small cash payment?', I asked. John and Marcus were cynical enough to find this funny. This area is somewhat of a transit camp, and a UN refugee camp recently closed. The masai camp seemed fairly deserted, with only a few solitary figures. We didn't go in, merely looking from a distance.

Continuing down to another small village, they took us to the 'pub'. This was a square of benches under a tree at the edge of the village. They wheeled out a bottle of 'Changa'a' – a clear liquid in a plastic water bottle. This, you could use as fuel. From Lonely Planet,

......

It smelled a little like schnapptz, but slightly more medicinal. We all took a small sip. They warned us we shouldn't drink too much if we weren't used to it, as a glass would 'put us on the floor'. As we stood to leave, Marcus necked the rest – equivalent of a triple.

Back at camp, the conversation turned to elephants – specifically a visit to an elephant orphanage. This has become a bit of a ‘cause celebre’, and is causing complaints far out of proportion. Specifically, the documentation says we go to an elephant sanctuary, but Rob and Boyo say they don’t. It’s really not a huge deal, but it’s just getting ridiculous. Anyway, I’m staying well out of it. More later on the whole thing, anyway, as the group dynamic is fascinating.