OK...I apologize for being off the grid for so long. Internet is quite sporadic in the bush.
Thunderstorms, lorry ride, and stomach bugs....oh!my!
After days of predictions, the heavens have opened up. Our drivers’ incessant complaints about dust on the roads will abate for the time being only to be replaced further on by complaints of being stuck in Kenya’s slick black cotton or mud as we foreigners call it. It is a relentless deluge of rain, wind and thunder. The evenings are no less spectacular with a veritable light show in the cumulus. I am currently tucked away in my office, the refreshing smell of rain, strong in my nostrils. My Canadian jumper and my pot of Kenyan chai, offer me the only relief from the damp air. Everything is at a standstill. This is the best work break one could ask for after days of stifling heat. After months of anticipation by the locals, one can safely say, the short rains have arrived.
After days of predictions, the heavens have opened up. Our drivers’ incessant complaints about dust on the roads will abate for the time being only to be replaced further on by complaints of being stuck in Kenya’s slick black cotton or mud as we foreigners call it. It is a relentless deluge of rain, wind and thunder. The evenings are no less spectacular with a veritable light show in the cumulus. I am currently tucked away in my office, the refreshing smell of rain, strong in my nostrils. My Canadian jumper and my pot of Kenyan chai, offer me the only relief from the damp air. Everything is at a standstill. This is the best work break one could ask for after days of stifling heat. After months of anticipation by the locals, one can safely say, the short rains have arrived.
If anything, the rains have made me grateful that I am now safely settled at Cottars 1920’s Camp. Weeks ago, I found myself the only white female passenger on a large delivery truck heading to camp. So that you are better able to understand my predicament (that is my long journey into the night), imagine being advised of an early departure time of 7am from Cottars Nairobi office, arriving at said time, only to wait the 7.5hrs for the arrival and loading of the lorry. My lesson for that particular day, never skip breakfast. My one reprieve throughout that particular road trip was a quick stop over in Narok, the halfway mark to the Cottars Camp, for “nyoma choma” or bbq’d meat, a local and favourite dish of mine. My truck mates, two burly Kenyans with a great sense of humour, my only other saving grace for the 8.5hr trek. The Spanish Inquisition could not have prepared the sanest individual from the barrage of questions I endured. The main topic of conservation, much to my chagrin, was my love life. By the end of the road trip, I had secured a would-be husband and would-be boyfriend, not of my own choosing of course.
It’s safe to say that I have had many suitors in camp. Kenyans are lacking neither charm nor determination when it comes to wooing this Canadian short stop. To be aggressively pursued is somewhat unnerving at times but the guys in camp mean well and graciously accept defeat. Pests in camp are a different matter altogether. The rats, fleas, ants, wall spiders that frequent my new home are unwelcome visitors in the bed, shower and room and unfortunately do not comprehend rejection. I am a lover of all things great and small but even this lady has her limits. Case in point, as I prepared for bed one evening, a rat migrated up the shower drain and scampered across the bathroom floor as I stood in awe at its brazenness; my only weapon, a soft bristled tooth brush and a tube of Colgate. Such happenings are a common occurrence and make for great dinner time conversation when tourists are NOT in camp.
And now for our top story - the stomach bugs. Yuck! Pests come in all shapes and sizes but these bugs are by far, in my opinion, THE worst. One can hope for an iron stomach and proper hygiene practices in the kitchen but in the end, it is a daily game of Russian roulette. No matter how many times I wash my hands and only drink bottled water, I have come down with the stomach bug twice. Both occurrences have lasted well over three days which in truth is a quarter of the time I already have spent in camp. Unfortunately, work schedules do not allow for time off and one must eventually muster the strength and will power to carry on with the daily tasks. I am glad to say I have an ample supply of both.
Angele Rouillard
Special Assignment, Cottars 1920's Camp, Masai Mara, Kenya
