goodbye africa

In our final post, we wanted to say thank you to everyone who has followed us through this two-month journey. We can honestly say that we wouldn't have made it through the challenging times without the love and support of those back home. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. We had the fortunate opportunity to travel and experience Kenya to its fullest after our time in Eldoret. We began by traveling to Zanzibar, a small island off the coast of Tanzania. We then met Lindsay's parents back in Kenya for their 30th wedding anniversary and had a fabulous time on a ten-day safari in Laikipia (in the shadows of Mt. Kenya) and the Masai Mara (one of the top safari areas in the world). Since we haven't updated the blog in a while, we thought it would be appropriate to reflect on our experiences from the last two weeks with a "top ten" list: 10. Listening to Abel, our waiter, sing "pole pole sasa" (slowly slowly now) as he performed his baboon dance by twisting his hips from side-to-side. 9. Watching Erik shave his beard into a hideous 2-month gotee that he thought was hilarious. 8. Watching three cheetah brothers stalk a herd of zebras. 7. Saying goodbye to Sydney, a 3 year-old orphan, who latched onto Lindsay's leg everyday with a smile that spread ear-to-ear. 6. Giving Lindsay's mom and dad the biggest, tearful hugs after driving for three hours in pouring rains to meet them. 5. Being awoken at 3:00 am in our canvas-walled tents by the sound of elephants ripping down trees just feet away from us. 4. Walking the beautiful, white-sand beach of Zanzibar in bare feet with wine-in-hand looking out at the Indian Ocean. 3. Being charged full speed by an aggressive black rhino when we approached too closely with our safari truck. 2. Witnessing the sunrise in shades of hot pinks and oranges as we drifted over the Masai Mara and Serengeti in a hot-air balloon. 1. Coming upon three, full-sized, male and female lions on the hunt for prey in the EXACT spot where Lindsay had peed outside of the truck just 30 minutes earlier. And then hearing our guide laugh about how the lions were certainly watching from the hillside the entire time. The last two months have been life-changing. We have grown in ways the we didn't think were possible, and we will cherish these memories for the rest of our lives. Our time has been full of challenges, suffering, death, and pure happiness. Hopefully we've been able to make a small impact somewhere in this world full of need. Thank you all so much for supporting us.

lake nakuru

What a busy 2 weeks we have had! We have both gotten more involved in the community and the days have flown by. Lindsay started her pediatric rotation at the hospital and continues to volunteer at Sally Test and even gave a presentation to mothers in the community. Meanwhile Erik worked on a micro-finance project to support HIV+ people as well as continued his work with the kids at Tumaini. In fact, he got so involved that he picked up ringworm from one of the boys! The other med students now call him "Ringy". We've even been able to do community service projects together, like volunteer at a local farm that grows vegetables to donate to members of the community with HIV. We will miss all these great opportunities to help back in America! We spent last weekend at the picturesque Lake Nakuru National Park. The lake is known for it's phenomenon of drawing thousands of flamingos. Just look at the picture of the lake that we got from a cliff above! Yes, those are all flamingos! The park is also a hotspot for having almost all of Africa's safari animals. In fact, we had our first encounters with 3 of Africa's "Big 5"! We had the pleasure of getting very close with black Rhinos, buffalos, and even lions! We were a little scared for our lives every time they looked at us. One of the neatest experiences we had in the park was when we were able to sit and watch families of baboons and vervet monkeys (acting like humans) from a couple feet away. The similarities are absolutely stunning but almost scary. But, the highlight of the afternoon came when we went up to the top of a cliff just in time to watch a quick storm angrily take over the lake. It was one of those breathtaking experiences of nature that pictures don't even fully grasp. This was our last weekend excursion before our "real vacation". We will be off to Zanzibar island, then a safari excursion to hopefully see a male lion, cheetah, and wildebeests (all animals we have yet to encounter). Thank you all for your continued support on our journey!

kakamega rainforest

This weekend we visited Kakamega Forest, the only remaining rainforest in Kenya. Overall, we had a fantastic day. We stayed at a tranquil retreat lodge that was surrounded with beautiful grounds that housed several species of monkeys, exotic birds, and insects. We settled in and went on a long, six-mile hike through the rainforest. The most exciting part, besides jumping over packs of safari ants, was our encounter with angry baboons. We saw a group of them ahead of us on the trail, and after they ran around us, they continued to bark, angrily, in stereo. They were convinced we were going to steal all their guava fruit. Massive rainfall came just as we got back to the lodge, as Lindsay said profoundly, "well you can't have a rainforest without rain". Sadly (to some) the rain prevented us from the 5 AM sunrise hike up the mountain. There's nothing quite like sitting on an open porch with Kenyan coffee listening to the monkeys and birds wake up and play. We were not disappointed at all.

neema orphanage

We spent one morning at the Neema Orphanage this week. It houses and schools 39 children between the ages of 3 months and 13, most of whom are HIV positive. We had a fabulous time - Lindsay immediately snatched up a little baby who ended up napping in her arms the entire morning. Erik was the life of the party, teaching kids to climb the walls and swinging them in circles by their arms. One little boy absolutely hated his beard and kept pulling out hairs on his chin. The kids were amazing - they were clean, fed, and most importantly, happy. It was a great place to unwind and remember the utter bliss of childhood.

ol donyo wuas

After a long and emotional work week for both of us, we decided to take a weekend to ourselves in southeast Kenya, the Chyulu Hills. The journey to the gorgeous rolling, green hills overlooking Mt. Kilimanjaro was an adventure, to say the least. As we sat in the twenty-person airport, we joked about the tiny yellow, four-seater plane at the end of the lineup on the runway. As it turns out, that was exactly the plane we took for our one-hour trip to the hills. Erik, being the polite gentleman he is, decided to sit in the very back of the plane. It wasn't 15 minutes into the flight when his entire back was drenched in sweat, his hands were clammy and numb, and his vision started closing in. Had the flight been any longer, he certainly would've passed out in the back of the plane. The hotel was absolutely stunning. Our personal villa was completely open to the elements - only a heavy drape separated us from the monkeys and eagles right outside at night. The outdoor stone shower overlooked a popular waterhole, where elephants frequently came to rehydrate after a day on the prairie. We could've spent the entire weekend, glass of wine in hand, looking out over beautiful hills (and we almost did). On Saturday, we forced ourselves to be adventurous and decided to experience the game reserve via horse. Keep in mind, neither of us has ridden a horse in about 20 years, so we were quite the sight to be seen. Erik, ironically, got the lazy horse who consistently took shortcuts through the thorny brush and snacked on grass at every stop. Lindsay had the fear of death in her eyes the entire time and today is unable to sit on hard surfaces. We did, however, get to photograph animals from amazingly short distances. The highlight of the day was a glass of wine (again) with salted cashews as we overlooked the sun setting behind the volcanic mountains and wispy clouds. We certainly felt as though we deserved it after that terrifying, uneasy walk through the bush. Our trip went without a hitch until this morning's encounter with an angry elephant. On the drive to the dirt-strip airport, we spotted an elephant casually eating in the trees. We turned off the engine of the 4x4 to observe, and before we knew it, the curious elephant approached our vehicle. Straight-backed and holding our breaths, we watched as he slowly came from behind the trees and stopped 5 feet dead-square in front of the car. He stomped his huge feet and flapped his ears, staring us directly in the eyes. After a minute of utter-silence, he finally retreated and walked the opposite direction into the woods. Whew.

we are all connected in the great circle of life...

We just arrived home from an incredibly busy weekend. We awoke early Saturday morning, packed PB and Js for lunch, and headed southeast across the equator to Hell's Gate National Park. The drive along the Rift Valley was long and bumpy, especially in a van packed full of 10 people, a tent, 9 pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags. Along with gigantic monkeys jumping high above our heads in the trees, it took all 10 people to set up the tent at our campsite. Eventually, we headed off to Hell's Gate - the setting of Pride Rock and Mufasa's death in the Lion King. For the first time, we truly felt deep in sub-saharan Africa. We saw zebras as abundant as squirrels, giraffes, gazelles, buffalo, baboons, eagles, and even warthogs (Pumba!). The view was spectacular, decorated with steep rocky cliffs, towering trees, and animals scattered everywhere amidst the dust. In the middle of the park lies The Gorge - a naturally-made canyon full of hot springs and cascading waters. We hiked for about 3 hours - some of the most intense hiking we've ever done. No foot paths existed, so we scaled down rocks, waded through streams, and sloshed through feet of muddy swamp. We were led by a local guide, who initiated us with red Masai warrior clay, straight from the wet rocks. When our hike ended, we found ourselves climbing up the cliff from which Mufasa fell to his death. In the end, it was one of the most magnificent sites we'd ever seen. When we finally made it back to the safari van, we found baboons scavenging through garbage cans and open vehicles...we even saw a mother and baby. The night at the campsite was quite an adventure. We had a lovely dinner under beautiful, golden trees. The camp itself sits on a lagoon off pristine Lake Naivasha. This particular lagoon happens to be the grazing spot for hippos in the middle of the night - there was even an electric fence dividing the few short feet between the lake and our tent. Sleeping was a challenge, as the night was full of interesting sounds. Monkeys played in the treetops above and dropped their food onto our tent, almost as if it were hailing. In the dead of morning, we awoke to the low, echoing call of hungry hungry hippos in the lagoon. Erik was lucky enough to catch a photo as the sun came up. After a cup of fresh Kenyan coffee, we began to pack up the massive tent, only to discover that a swarm of fire safari ants had taken over our tent. Erik was one of the unlucky who was attacked and bitten all over his ankles, butt, and back. We ended up bungee-cording the tent to the roof of the van on the way home. Our last stop before heading home was another view point on Lake Naivasha, where hundreds of beautiful pink flamingos reside. Can't wait to sleep in our bed tonight...away from the fire ants, hungry hippos, and screaming monkeys.