Crater Lake in Naivasha
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| Rocking my new Zumba top.....oh yeah!!!!! But will I dance better? Unlikely |
Last week I joined a group hike at Crater Lake, Naivasha. The hike, an hour and a half outside the city, is a great "reset" for the senses. Geographically intense, it also offers up Acacia trees full of 5 kinds of Monkeys and in that little valley behind (we hiked that later) is a veritable cornucopia of Giraffes, Gazelle, Waterbuck, Buffalo, Zebra etc. Special about this hike is walking among the animals. With the exception of the Buffalo and cats, it's safe to get close to the animals as they coexist in this little park/not a park. The buffalo scare the shit out of me and the cats are generally not to be seen and anyways - have plenty to eat other than people. People would be easy to catch I'm guessing though...hmmmm
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| A big male Baboon thinks about pork for dinner..."when did I last have ribs"? I once had Ribs with my friend Mary that were absolutely to Die for!! |
The Italian Job!
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| It was super sunny that's why I squint.....oh and the fact it makes me look more like Clint Eastwood. A little...around the eyes? Does Clint do Zumba?? |
On the way to Crater Lake, the road travels north out of Nairobi via a teeth shaking, kidney torturing excuse for a highway that ultimately turns west and down off the Great Rift Valley shelf. It is very much like the Niagara escarpment I have thought though a bit warmer and with less potholes. Torontonians may beg to differ.
What is uniquely different though, is the road was built by Italians prisoners of war in 1942. I imagine that you if you're going to be a POW this was not a bad place to be!!! The road is steep and has stood the test of time, a testament to the quality work done when constructing. And speaking of testaments, once you reach the valley floor a small chapel sits beside the road that also was built by the POW's. The British must have found a bit of compassion in their frosty souls allowing their fascist friends the chance to bring a sense of shared spirituality to this remote little place. As I walk around the property, I marveled at the terraces and brick work that leave no doubt of the architects and builders,. Pausing for a moment I can imagine elderly Italian men and women puttering about the place well after the POW's were repatriated to Italy. Many Italians stayed in this little valley taking up farming and Kenyan wives or husbands. The church continues to be in use as a spiritual gathering place as well as many weddings and end of life celebrations. A great description and fascinating comment section can be found at the blog link: The Church Tony Built
From that blog I(The church that Tony built) learned more about the inside walls that are covered with Latin which reads, Venite Ad Memone (Come to me my people),
Haec Est Victoria Quae Vincit Mundum Fides Mustra (This is the victory
that has won the world by our faith), Benedicite Coeli Domino
Benedicite (Blessed be the sky and blessed again) and finally
Universa Germinatia In Terra Domino, which translates to, everything will germinate in the sky and also on the earth.( Source EA Standard)
The picture behind the altar is of baby Jesus and his parents Mary and Joseph surrounded by the angels drawn in early 1943 by Navitatis NDJC. The drawing symbolizes the victory achieved by the religion across the world.
Flowers from Naivasha
I do need to take moment and talk again about the flowers of Naivasha. The lake is surrounded by greenhouses full of these beautiful flowers. Roses grow with seeming unbridled enthusiasm and I'm amazed that unlike Canada where Rose blossoms are a summer treat, the one in front of my office as example, has been blooming continuously since my arrival. They are easily one of my top 5 flowers along with Hyacinths, Bougainvillea, Tulips and Lilacs. I really do appreciate Mother Nature's Bouquet. And here in Nairobi, they are a constant source of joy for me as cut flowers are cheap and plentiful. Twice weekly I visit Corrier outside Valley Arcade Plaza for another bunch of roses or something else similarly beautiful at about $2 per bunch. Of course they are seconds and don't last long but really beautiful with so many colors and sizes to chose from. A few hours in the sun on the back of a Boda Boda (below) ....and maybe they don't last long I really enjoy the smell of fresh flowers filing the room when you come home at the end of the day. |
| I think Clint Eastwood is a big fan of flowers as well. |
Lastly...I have discovered Simsim and Custard Apples this week. The Simsim are simply peanuts, sesame seeds and sugar in a golf ball shaped food unit that I am now happily addicted to. And the custard Apple is a culinary treasure I bought from a hawker while in a omnipresent traffic jam on Mombassa road. You treat is like an Avocado - that is to say that you leave it out until it is soft but then eat it a bit like a cocoa pod. It tastes just like custard. I did notice that the fruit is only good for about 2 days. Before its too hard and after getting brown and losing flavor. 
Thanks for reading - Layno
