Am I ready for Egypt?

So rich and delicious....

I love camels!!! They have this look that in a sly mischievous way says  -  "I know something that you don't and I'm not telling". So contented - they are the Keith Richards of the dessert .... so cool and just taking it as it comes baby. I'm sure I'll have more to say about camels after the trip as I intend to ride a camel to Giza and have a dessert camping experience on one these wonderful 4 legged marvels of modern an ancient transport. In some places in the world this is the only way to get from A - B. Remarkable.....

So the hottest time (mid-40's) to visit Egypt is August but I think my South Sudan and Northern Kenya trips have prepared me well for operating in extreme heat. I'll be in Cairo this time next week and should have many of the sites to myself or at least with very few travelers.

I love the idea of the valley of the Kings first thing in the morning or the top of Mount Sinai at the very end of the day. Sun setting toward my home and at the same time glittering off the Red Sea in the distance.

I've spent the last 6 weeks studying what is a far more involved undertaking than I expected.  Yikes!!!!! My goodness what a complicated history..... though it is the birthplace of civilization....... Well - I fully intend to acquaint myself with it over the coming 15 days and report back. The trip will take me from Cairo all the way south to Abu Simbel, back through Aswan and Luxor to Alexandria before Sinai, the Red Sea and Jordan.... Ambitious? Yea...but you only live once I hear....

 Eiiiiiich Cholera again

 

A quick note on MSF Kenya supply unit. The days are mostly about dotting i's and crossing t's until something serious happens in the region. The KSU team then springs into action. On Friday we got a call at 3:30pm to help with a cholera intervention in Dadaab (300,000 Somalian refugees roughly 400 kms away). It hasn't even hit the news as we load the truck so that by Sunday our field team can attend to those infected. As I write this I suspect we are unloading and continuing the work of dealing with the folks suffering from this nasty intestinal infection. Left untreated 25 - 50% will die. It's particularly tough on older, younger or those with an already compromised immune system. Fortunately a speedy response from dedicated people will mean lives will be saved and those suffering will be made more comfortable.

My role is more ceremonial than practical I'm sorry to say but my hat is off to the team I get to work with and those coordinating the intervention from the field and elsewhere. It's quite a machine :)

And a last word on this tree tomato I have come across....just awesome in a salad....like a lemony Tomato rich in color and flavor. I love that at 53 I still stumble upon things so well know to others and a complete mystery to me. Life is grand!!!

 Thanks for reading - Layno

Care for a spot of Tea?

Tea is for drinking and coffee for selling - at least that was the British adage...

It's freezing!!! Well at least by Kenya and my recently adopted standards. At 14 degrees, Sam (above) and I brave the mind numbing cold and load into a car heading north to the Tea growing highlands of Kenya. We bounce around spilling our lattes (hardened travelers are we) for about an hour moving steadily north and upward. Tea grows high on the mountain ( we are around 3500 meters) and when we reached our destination it is misty, wet, even colder (if that's possible) and fresh. It's a sea of green, lush and endless rolling out over the hills seemingly forever.

Sam's enthusiasm for the combination of the historical and natural beauty is contagious. I've known Sam for about 6 months and we've spent a bit of time running in the Karura forest, hiking around Kenya and the occasional cup of coffee. A fellow humanitarian aid worker, he is intensely committed to making sense of the world around him. His insatiable curiosity is only slightly overshadowed by the thoughtful and generous way he treats people around him and his commitment to the people we are here to serve. 

The Kiambethu Tea Farm is 5 generations of Brits Tea farming in Kenya. Started or "settled" by AB McDonell in 1910 the farm is more a model and historical site than a productive Tea Farm given that the good folks at Unilever have taken over much of the ago-business aspects of Tea farming in the region. The gardens, birds and views are truly spectacular and an astonishing departure from the Nairobi landscape only an hour away.

The 1930's Estate where we enjoyed lunch in the very British drawing room. No Bangers and mash I'm afraid....

That said...and my insidious cynicism and sarcasm aside, during the presentation part of the tour, I learned that the tea really should be harvested by hand to ensure the picked product includes all the right parts but not to much...and that the remaining "table" the tea bush, is able to regenerate the new tender leaves in 2 - 3 weeks. Because that indeed .... makes for a good spot o' tea! The expertly plucked (by yours truly) sprig below shows the parts. The Pekoe (pointy bit at the top) is the most prized and flavorful, the first leaf slightly less so, the 3rd even less and the 4th part not usable at all. When making Black tea all is used (other than the 4th leaf) whereas white and green tea use the parts as described. And making it look like tea? Just a roll or crush and let heat and time do the rest.

Workers are paid around 10 cents a Kilo...and good picker can pick 80kg in a day....so $8... that's a relatively good wage here

 And generally speaking there are only a couple types of tea, the flavors are created by the way in which it is processed and any infusion after the fact. Like infused by Bergamot, a citrus fruit from Italy that is added to make Earl Grey...who knew!!! (Well Sam did actually...) There was a time when Coffee was it in Kenya....I'll do a coffee tour soon and talk about the extractive economics of the post colonial government.... but for now, Tea is for selling and coffee to be ignored. Pity that yeah?

South Sudan..... what a fucking mess.....

I'm curious about the view the rest of the world has on South Sudan and the happenings of the last week.  Nice, France was horrific as was the attempted military coup in Turkey.... but South Sudan I'm sure will see 1000's dead from what I can piece together...and the number of IDP's (Internally displaced people) remains at 14000 or more. I'm not attempting to diminish in anyway the tragedy of children massacred in Nice and democracy perhaps fatally wounded in Istanbul, but there are more dead, no sense of justice, safety or future for the South Sundanese people. It's immensely sad that an African tragedy has become so usual that the interest of the world is often attracted by other events, present and conspicuous events duly and respectfully noted.  The instrument of change is not democracy, not the despotic kleptocratic rule of the leaders, it's the worlds ability to impact relying on our vehicle of peace and reason -  the United Nations. We,....and they need to focus on these unfolding events to ensure that the Rwandan Genocide of '94 is not repeated here in South Sudan...as there is no doubt in my mind that it is very possible.

I chatted briefly with my good friend Rod Knox who happily runs his Hope bay Hop farm on Pender Island, Canada a world away. To his credit, and in additional to being a very good human, he is intensely aware of what is going on in this and most of the African conflicts that I have previously been painfully and naively unaware of. We discussed the similarities with "shake hands with the devil"where Romeo Dallaire details the UN participation in the Rwandan Genocide of 94. The possibility is very real indeed. Thanks Rod for sharing your thoughts and your continued interest in these and other events.

Sorry...wrong kind of pipe but you can still smoke through it.

Thanks for Reading -Layno

MSF heads in while others are leaving

Heavy Fighting in Juba...Happy Independence Day...

In the picture above a tank rolls down a main street in Juba, South Sudan. The world's newest country is again beset with tragedy as the fragile peace initiative shows signs of dissolving and throwing this country and its people back into familiar misery endured for generations. Confirmed dead are near 150 soldiers but I suspect there will be more as the days go by given that so many who are motivated to down play the tragedy and preserve the dysfunctional and fragile truce. The fighting included heavy artillery fire in the heart of the South Sudanese capital concentrated around the Presidential Palace though later spreading throughout the city according to reports. Juba Report

I'm very proud of our organization  and our people. I thought about the team hunkered down in the safe houses in Juba as the fighting went on in the evening. It was Friday night and I understand that most MSFers were on lock-down in the office unable to be transported the 200m to the guest houses...... and food and familiar things. I can imagine them huddled together in the building with only one another for company. And I have no doubt that they are back to work today...as they will be tomorrow and the day after that.

An evacuation may be inevitable if the situation cannot be stabilized but I can't help think about a senior executive from another organization I spoke with last week. He said that MSF is getting stuff done while others are still talking and often are heading into a country as many other NGO's head for the exits. As Margaret Mead said "Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

My thoughts are with the brave MSFers in Juba and my hope is that common sense prevails in a country where the very concept seems completely beyond their grasp. The people of South Sudan have suffered far too much already.

On a much lighter note.... 4 for 4

We had a 4 day work week this week because of the Eid celebrations ending the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Eid Mubarak!! And on this week I saw animals on the roadside on each of the 4 days as I traveled home from work. Pictured above (and while hard to see - and looking more like cows) are 5 black Rhinos. On the other days it was just ostrich and Giraffes.... how cool is that to see these animals in the city. Stevie Jake and I traveled 5 hours to a game park and didn't see a Rhino...huh!

I also want to give thanks to my friend Henry who brought Peppers and Avocados from his farm for me. From the peppers I made a chicken dish where I stuffed a breast with his peppers and banana...I then breaded the rolled breasts and baked with fresh pineapple and passion fruit juice. On the side, rice  cooked in Coconut milk and a whole fresh coconut grated in. On the side...a bit of broccoli. I would make this again. It was pretty good.

Hey who's that Hippie!!!!

Thanks for reading Layno!!!

Jake Grad, Goat & Ngong Hills

What changes a man.....

That's Jake on the left....

 Well this week marks an auspicious occasion indeed; the graduation of my son Jake. It's at a time like this, a clear milestone, that you can't help but remember your own "after school" beginnings. In retrospect - my high school friends and social scene were the whole world as far as I was concerned. Everything I needed was there, much like a chick in an egg; all the ingredients for life conveniently self-contained. At the end of high school the egg cracks and the first peak of the new world is revealed. You start pecking away at this and that to break out of your shell to have a better look. My own adventures started off pretty wobbly as I hobbled from one view to the next. As my mother is fond of saying... "it's the people you meet and the books in read that make life interesting". And I did a lot of both those things... eventually the legs get stronger, the wings stronger and you take flight....

Jake is a really an exceptional young man. His calm mature demeanor is, and always has been well beyond his years. Young or old, poor or wealthy, black or white, big or small... it matters little to Jake, as he's truly sees people as just that - people. His ability to relate well to others and find the very best in every situation is indeed an enviable and admirable quality. With his unshakable smile, I can see him going into whatever new adventure await him with a curiosity and an attitude of gratitude that belies his years. I am immensely proud of both Jake and Stevie and love watching them both taking flight. This is indeed what changes a man.... for my son has become a man...and a gentleman at that!! Congratulations my son, I love you and couldn't be more proud.

The Ngong hills

The Ngong hills are a series of 5 knuckles and a ridge running along the Great rift Valley just outside of Nairobi. It was re-settled by many British who established farms along the base. It's pretty and a really nice 7 km trek. Occasionally Lions are spotted here but more often it the 2-legged predators that have to be avoided. For that reason - a gun or two should be brought along.
The hills figure prominently in the 1985 film Out of Africa and in fact are the backdrop to the Karen Blixen farm. The hills are green most of the year but as you can see - they are particularly beautiful on the morning pictured above. The mist sat stubbornly on each knuckles  as sun flooded the countryside.... as if daring us to uncover the secrets..

My good friend Florence arranged this trip and it was a a great success as usual. I like trekking more than serious hiking as it presents the opportunity to chat and discuss. Along on the hike was a mixture of folks from all over the world. The conversation was lively and thoroughly enjoyable.

I'm honestly not sure how I feel about the wind farm on the Ngong hills. While I am at heart genuinely concerned and participative in environmental initiatives that lesson out dependence on fossil fuel... these are just pain fugly. Like Birkenstocks, they send all the right signals but just never look right regardless of how you look at them. I saw the same in Spain a few years ago...and thought it a shame that the wonderful views are interrupted so savagely with these breeze monsters. I like them in Amsterdam where they fit with the interesting architecture and cityscape....and I know I should ease up....but again they are fugly. Visual pollution will be a big deal soon...I'm sure of it!!

The town of Ngong located near the spring of the same name. A very Typical East Africa town

A couple of trekkers enjoying the view. Mostly - these are teachers volunteering.... from Belgium.

After the trek we joined a big group at a country club for Nyama Choma. Traditionally meat and beer, it's served on a board or platter just as shown below. This started out earlier in the day as a goat (Mbuzi) and now....a feast!!! I am developing an appetite to eat goat but as of yet, unable to gobble it up with sheer delight in the way my fellow Kenyans do. Maybe someday.... and then again maybe not.

Thanks for reading....Layno