Final Thoughts

As you have all surmised by now, my experiment to keep this blog updated while traveling around Kenya was a bit of a flop, thus necessitating that I finish many of these posts long after having returned to Vancouver. The biggest problem was not finding access to the internet, it was readily available even in some of the smallest towns. No, our biggest problem stemmed from the website that hosts this blog. "Bloggers" is a very easy site to use for publishing blogs... if you have a fast internet connection. The script and graphics intensive nature of "Bloggers" makes this site of limited use while traveling in the developing world. This is something for all website designers to keep in mind when they build their sites. In our race to make things bigger and better I think we have lost sight of the fact that much of the world does not possess state-of-the-art technology to take advantage of sites like this and I for one think that is a damn shame (OK I will get off my soap-box now).

So what will I take away from our time in Kenya? I will remember the uncomfortable, dangerous, yet always entertaining matatu rides. I will remember the gorgeous vistas that lay before us almost daily. I will remember the wonderful people that we met, both fellow travellers and locals alike. I will remember the altitude sickness and the feeling of being 5 km high. I will remember the Cherangani hills for their beauty and their challenges. I will remember the great kids that my cousin was teaching at an orphanage just outside Nairobi. I will remember our close encounters with wildlife I have only ever seen on TV or in zoos. I will remember the food poisoning in Lamu that had me eating only fruits for 5 solid days. I will remember it all fondly.

But I will remember this trip for more than just the wonderful experiences it has afforded me. The past year has provided me with many "challenges": the break-up with my girlfriend of almost 4 years; the loss of my father to cancer; and a long-overdue change in career from lab scientist to (?). At times the burden has been almost too much to bear. This trip was a much needed break from these worries, even if only for a couple of short months. It has contributed in no small way with restoring a small part of my long departed sanity. It also let me reconnect with a old friend I had not seen in years. Barry is many things, but a bad travel partner is not one of them ;) In many ways, this trip was also the fulfillment of a dream. Not mine, although it was, but my dad's. As a lifelong lover of nature he had always dreamed of visiting the African savanna to see the animals. There were several near misses over the years, but alas it was a dream he did not manage to realize in his lifetime. I felt that it was only appropriate that I used some of the money he left me to complete that journey on his behalf. This one was for you dad!