Rome Re-Visited - The Forum and the Colosseum

The visit to Rome last autumn was described in a post here (see December 8, 2009) , but there was no camera to record the visual experience (for the early part of the visit).

So there was obviously something missing in my reports, but then I got smart.

While in Rome, I purchased my first digital camera, and although I was still learning, there are some happy times and pretty special views recorded by the amateur beginner.

So just to have these available, I'm posting ('way out of sequence) some of the photos from my visit to the Forum and the Colosseum, which might be fun for someone else as well. And that's my partner Andrew in the last photo, looking a little frightened by the approach of the dangerous new photographer!

The ones here are just to tempt you to click over to the albums.

The Western Kenya Safari (5): Farewell to Kisii and Hello to the Maasai Countryside

We woke early to begin the long journey to Nairobi, going a different route than when we came to Kisii.

For the first drive, we came via Lake Naivasha, using much the same route we had used on some of our previous safaris, to Lake Nakuru and Hell's Gate, and taking us over the mountains of the eastern side of the Great Rift Valley, from which we again enjoyed the spectacular views (with the photos previously posted back at the end of December).

For this journey, we turned left from Nakuru to cross the Great Rift Valley, which we would cross again on the way back but on a more southern route, going through the Maasai country (which I'll visit again when I have my big safari in mid-May to the Masai Mara National Park, Kenya's largest - and full of all the animals I want to see).

Our day began early, with an early-morning farewell to Charles's and Jane's house in Nyanguru Village, seen here in the morning sunlight and the cool fog that seems every morning to cover the upper reaches of the mountains (high hills?) where the villagers make their homes. Charles took the photograph, and it is a lovely view of the beautiful house that he has built for his family.

Out of Kisii, we drove along a long highway, again going up and down the mountain road and, as I've commented before, the road often left much to be desired, especially when Charles had to compete with some of the big lorries (trailer trucks) coming up or going down the mountains. The matatus as well - those amazing privately owned but public transit vans used by just about everybody when the walk would be too far - give any driver tremendous competition and there are quick a few heart-stopping moments on the country roads (especially in the mountains) as the matatus weave in and out of the traffic, with no indicators blinking, and just pulling out or cutting in as the need arises. Worse in the cities, of course, but pretty dangerous out in the countryside as well. Scary!

And while we were unable to get to Lake Victoria this trip, we did have one spectacular view of this huge body of water, which I tried to capture in one of  the PHOTOGRAPHS. After a distance, we then turned on to the highway that would take us back to Nairobi and this was a totally different travelling experience. For one thing, it's a very good highway, much safer and much better kept up than the previous highway, and since it was now mid-morning, there was not a great deal of traffic. I tried to capture some of the views of the huge flatlands of the Maasai countryside, and I'll try to get some more of this sort of view when I have my next trip there. It's all farmland, with herds of cattle everywhere, plus amazing crops under cultivation. Lots of goats and sheep, all intermingled into the same herds (which I had not thought about before - I just assumed they would be separated, as the cattle are), and long, long distances to view.

The Western Kenya Safari (4): Kakamega Forest

The only tropical rainforest in Kenya and the last remnant of the great rainforest that once stretched across all of Central Africa, the Kakamega National Reserve is a very special treat. Just imagining what the great swath of rainforest across the continent must have been like is truly a mind-boggling exercise, and it's nice to think that one can get an idea of all that natural beauty and the eco-structure by wandering about in the Kakamega Forest.

Of course one doesn't just wander about. It's important to have a good guide (which we had) because there's just too much to see and observe. And to learn, if one isn't a naturalist by profession or inclination, for I was constantly hearing new terms and concepts and seeing things that I would never have thought to look for.

There's also another good reason to have a qualified guide along with you: Twenty-seven species of snakes live in the forest, most having slithered there over the ages from West Africa, emphasizing again the cross-continental nature of the reserve. We didn't actually "see" any snakes, but we were often told by the guide to avoid stepping in this or that spot. We were well protected, with safari boots and heavy socks and long trousers but still....

So for those who are curious about these things (I'm not, as I'm subject to bad dreams if I think too much about snakes), the snakes of Kakamega Forest include the Forest Cobra, the Black-lipped Cobra, Jameson's Mamba, the Bush Viper, the Rhinoceros-horned Viper (which I particularly did not want to encounter!), the Gaboon (or Gabon - it's spelled both ways) Viper, and the Gold's Cobra.

Monkeys again. The place is full of the Black and White Colobus Monkeys (like the ones we saw at Lake Naivasha), the De Brazza's Monkey, the Red-Tailed Monkey, and of course the ubiquitous baboons. Wonderful primates, and they give a whole new meaning to a visit to Kakamega. They were all over your head, and as you look up into the very far-away treetops, you can see them jumping from branch to branch, appearing to be watching the other primates down below.

Many, many birds, far too many for me to keep track of, but some beautiful species I had never seen before. After the time spent watching the bird watcheres in Hell's Gate and now in Kakamega (and observing the seeming innumerable birds in the collection at the Nairobi National Museum, perhaps the subject of another posting sometime in the future), one could be tempted to try to learn more about bird-watching.

Perhaps the most spectacular things one sees at Kakamega Forest are the "oldest tree" (pictured above) and the fantastic view from the top. This giant Elgon olive tree (which they say is the home to the "exceedingly rare" De Brazza's monkey, which we did not see, sadly) is an amazing site, and, if it really is an olive tree, so different what we've come to know as olive trees that it is almost too hard to believe.

From the top, the view is amazing. First of all, you're very high up, about 1500 to 1700 meters above sea level (that's about 4900 to 5600 feet, I guess) and the distances you can see are a little overwhelming. The place is pretty big (about 44 square kilometers, or about 17 square miles), and as you can see in the PHOTOGRAPHS, we had a beautiful day for our visit to Kakamega. One of the mountains we could see in the distance was some 45 miles away, so the experience was, indeed, pretty awesome.

Back down on the earth, and after a very long drive and an even longer walk, we got to the Isiukhu Falls, a beautiful site and one much appreciated at this particular time of the year, the long rainy season when the water is at its "fullest" and the foamy spilling over the rocks is a very special site. We were absolutely alone (which we were for most of the day) and the quietness of the place, broken only by the splendid noise of the rushing water, made this a very special experience.

Indeed, the quietness of the entire day was very enjoyable, but also a little sad. This safari had taken me far away from the metropolitan Nairobi area, and since the difficulties of the political upheavals and the riots following the election of 2007 and the general overall global financial crisis, tourists coming to Kenya are coming to the most popular and easy-to-get-to parts of the country, and the beauties of Western Kenya are being pretty much ignored by the visitors. It's too bad, and while the peacefulness of being practically alone as one travels is rewarding in a different kind of way, it's sad to see so much of the economy being reduced by the lack of tourists.

The Western Kenya Safari (3): Tabaka and the Soapstone Quarry

Saturday in Kisii began with a nice breakfast at the Mash Park Hotel, where I was staying. Another look back into the days of colonialism and the attraction these places had for European travellers (and of course the expatriates, who came to visit places like this and liked it so much they just stayed).

Very curious about the name but didn't have a chance to ask anyone about it - or kept forgetting. I suppose there was a Mr. (or Ms.) "Mash" and a park somewhere nearby was named for that person, but it still sounds funny, doesn't it?

Mash Park Hotel.

It's a lovely old hotel, and as you can see from the photograph, it's quite grand in design. It's glory days are over, although the outside and the grounds are kept up. But it's really not up to snuff. As I have a son in the hospitality industry, I've learned to judge these things pretty carefully and the Mash Park, well, if you're travelling alone and you don't mind looking in the other direction once in a while, it's OK. But don't take your mother-in-law or your latest girlfriend there. Or boyfriend. It's kinda sleazy in the rooms.

But it was nice to look at, and very picturesque. And it was a place to sleep.

Enough editorializing. Let's get on with the day. The First Family of Nyanguru Village came to pick me up and we all went off for the day to visit the soapstone quarry at Tabaka (and, as Charles says, "it's just a name" and has nothing to do with tobacco). Surprising, since everything else is grown in the area, thanks to that wonderful weather I was mentioned last time. Bananas, rice, every kind of fruit and vegetable you can think of (except peaches - I can find boxed peach juice at the supermarkets but peaches are not for sale in Kenya, at least as far as I can determine). Odd that the Kenyan farmers have never tried raising tobacco.

Of course I took some PHOTOGRAPHS as I'm doing most of the time now. The camera is a great boon to my travel, and when I'm with the Masese children, there's never any need to worry about entertaining them. Each has become a real expert with Mr. Guy's camera.

We travelled by car on the famous (or infamous) Kenyan roads. There has been much progress on the paved roads connecting the cities but once you're off the main roads (of which there aren't very many), you are back on to the unpaved, red clay lumpy roads that bounce you all over the place. And with the rains, we're talking major, MAJOR red mud, all over shoes, trousers, and even - after you've taken a couple of falls - on your jacket, shirt, and even in your hair (don't ask).

But travel we did, bumpy and all. Not fast. Traffic moves very slowly on these roads, and when they are crowded, well, you just sit and wait. And thank your lucky stars that your driver is taking care of things.

When we got to Tabaka and started asking around, we were delighted with what we found. First of all, the town is almost totally given over to soapstone carving (the Kenyans are famous for it, and Kenyan soapstone figurines are a popular export - and of course the wonderful funny animal carvings make delightful gifts for grandchildren). There are people all over the place, sitting on their front porches and carving away. If you ask, some of them will let you sit with them and watch them work, but we didn't do too much of that, as we wanted to get to the quarry and visit the source.

Again, one is so impressed with the gorgeous countryside surrounding the place. The quarry isn't too big (there are others in the area, but they're not too close together, probably several miles apart), and of course the place has houses all around. I was delighted with the friendliness of the family "grandfather" who came to greet us, speaking beautiful English (I'm still a little surprised at how well so many people in Kenya speak English, and I don't mean to be patronizing - it is after all required in the school system and has been for decades). He greeted us warmly, turned us over to two of his sons to be our guides, and off we went.

I probably learned more about soapstone carving than I ever need to know, but we had a splendid afternoon of it. The day was beautiful, and the rains held off until we were on our way home.

And this mining out of the soapstone truly is manual labour, in every sense of the word, as you can see from the photographs and how hard the men are working.

After our visit, we wound our way back to the old man's house, where he dutifully brought out some splendid treasures to show us and from which I dutifully made my selection (but the grandchildren presents were purchased later, as we made our way back through the little town of Tabaka). We really enjoyed getting to know the family, and learning about how much work goes into mining the soapstone pieces from the quarry. And then the carving. It's so delicate and it is such a splendid skill. I really admire these artists for the lovely work they do.

And so back to Nyanguru Village for another evening of good food, many, many visits from many villagers, and good conversation. And if at any time the conversation flagged and I wanted to get it moving again, all I had to say was, "And what do you think of our President?" and the faces would light up, even from the villagers who speak little or no English. The Kenyans are so proud of Mr. Obama. And why not? His grandmother still loves in Kisumu and her house has been opened for visitors to "drop by" (which I definitely would have done, had I had time to fit in a visit!). I was shown her photograph and what a lovely, lovely lady she is. She must be so proud. But then, aren't we all?

The Western Kenya Safari (2): Nyanguru Village - Welcome Guy

Anyone following these notes knows I'm very taken with the Kenyan people, and this safari provided a splendid  opportunity to really get to know my friends, and to learn more about how people live in this beautiful country.


My friend Charles invited me to Kisii for a visit, and to come to his house and visit his family who live in the compound. It was a wonderful experience, and I feel as if I have yet another new "family" (in that connection I was writing about a couple of weeks ago).


This was my first visit to an Africa village and to see something of village life, and it was a very enlightening and very pleasurable time for me. We arrived late in the afternoon, and the village school (we had to drive through the schoolyard to get to the house) was closed, but the children were playing football and many other games on the grounds, and they just couldn't believe it when they saw us drive up.


They all approached the car and as I got out, I was surrounded by little kids of all ages, all fascinated. In fact, many of the little ones just couldn't stop laughing at me, and they were fascinated to see a muzungu in their village. I guess to some of them I was something of a clown-like figure, because they just couldn't stop laughing.


During the course of my visit, in fact, I was told several times and by many different people that I was the first white man to ever visit Nyanguru Village, and I felt duly honored to be so singled out. We visited the house three times during the course of the week-end, and each time mobs of people descended on the house, all happy to see me and full of questions about my life in America. 


The photo above is of Charles's family, taken in the beautiful sunset time of the early evening (just to entice you to go to the album for this visit and see some more Nyanguru Village photos).


Many of the community speak English, and while the degree of proficiency varies (and many of the children - not yet proficient - were quiet and appeared to be shy, but they were just listening), we had plenty of conversation. It's country life, and these people live their lives with their own livestock, bringing water from the river (a long and rather tortuous climb, it looked to me), cooking their meals from what they grow, and it was all very basic and back-to-the-earth for this city dweller.


I was asked about New York and about where I live, and it soon became obvious that the concept of a big city with tall buildings was pretty remote to many of the people I met. We spoke about how I shop, and what I eat, and how I cook for myself (very strange that a man would make his own meals). They told me about the crops they grow and toured me about to see much of their livestock. One of their big crops is Napier Grass, and it was made clear that it is a very important part of their lives. Why? Because it is what they feed the cattle. In fact, I was asked several times by different visitors what I feed my cows, and I have to say the first time I was asked I was a little taken aback. It took me a while to figure it out.


The house is a lovely home, built by Charles. It's in several buildings, a big square room separated by a wall going almost to the roof, with the sitting/dining room in the front next to the entrance and the master bedroom next. A separate building houses the kitchen and two bedrooms for the children, and a third building houses Charles's aged parents (and, yes, at dusk the children help them round up the goats and the chickens and bring them into the parents' house for the night).


The house is made of timber with the cracks filled in with cow dung, and then the whole, inside and out, is covered over with mud, which dries to a hard, plaster-like finish. And to answer your question, the bathroom is a pit toilet, in its own building away from the houses, and there seems to be a separate shed-like building where there are some sort of showers and other washing gadgets, but I did not go there to explore. I didn't want to be rude.


Charles's wife Jane and aunts and neighbourhood ladies prepared wonderful meals for us, all the good things Charles has learned that I like (so he obviously prepped them) and we all ate sitting around the long coffee tables in the sitting room, using the long dining table as a sort of sideboard to hold all the things prepared for us to eat. I had brought loaves of bread and sugar and cooking oil and things like that, since that is the proper gift when visiting a Kenyan home, and it was very clear why they were appreciated, for the place was just always full of people, inside and out, and meals were shared (of course I also brought New York souvenirs - tea towels and potholders and lapel pins and the like but that was different - it s the "household" gifts - the food staples - that are most appreciated and customary).


We were blessed with so many good comments and conversations, and wonderful visits by many, many people, not just children. The adults wanted to know more about America, about President Obama (we had passed a home on the road that had been signpainted over the door "Senator Obama Estate"), and, curious to me, about my work for the United Nations. 


We were also blessed with a glorious sunset, since the compound is on top of a high hill, facing West (and apparently these sunsets are just part of the daily routine!). I tried to capture some of the colour in the pictures, and there is lots more about Charles's family and his home, too. As you look at the photos of this part of the country, with this post and with others, you can see that these houses and compounds rising up the hillsides is the common way of building for the Kenyan people in the hill country of Western Kenya.


I already knew before I arrived at Nyanguru Village that the Kenyans are very religious people. Most of the people in Nyanguru Village are Seventh Day Adventists, and when we arrived for Saturday night supper, people came to visit dressed in their church-going clothes, and all the young men in suits and neat shirts and ties. There were prayers, before the meals and whenever we would leave for the night (for Charles to take me back to the hotel). 


And even though I profess to being not very religious, I could not help but be touched by the devotion of these people to their God and their routine of bringing Him into their lives, not in any demanding or challenging way, but just as part of their lives. 
And when I had the opportunity, since we prayed before the evening ended, I told about how the Anglican service of Evensong and Evening Prayer was always one of my favorite services (still is) because it is so beautiful in thanking God for getting us through the day and asking for protection during the night. My Kisii friends understood immediately and loved hearing me speak about Evensong.

The Western Kenya Safari (1): Kericho and the Tea Fields

The longer I am in this beautiful country, the more impressed I am with what a wonderful place it is. My driver Charles and I had planned a safari to Western Kenya for some time (since long before I went away on that massive journey to Europe and America and South America). We chose the site for a couple of reasons. For one thing, I wanted to go in a different direction from some of my earlier travels, and it seemed like a good idea to head off across the Great Rift Valley and see if I couldn't see a part of the country that was a little different.

And a second reason for the journey was to visit Charles's home and his family in Kisii. I had heard much about this lovely place, both from Charles and from other Kenyans I know in Nairobi, so my curiosity was piqued.

So that's what we did. With Charles's son Justin accompanying us, we took off early of a Friday morning for the long drive. But first we had to stop at the Sopa Resort just outside Lake Naivasha for a quick meeting with some of my U.N. colleagues - who were on retreat there and had me come by for a brief presentation, since it was on our way anyway.

And why not? Little did I know that our brief stop at the Sopa (I'll be staying at the Sopa Resort in Masai Mara, when I take that safari in mid-May) that it would be a preliminary of the rest of our journey, for the first thing we saw as I got out of the car were the monkeys! They were all over the place, so while I did my presentation, Charles and Justin took the camera and had some fun, with this first picture a delightful way to open the album.

After a long drive over the mountains and across the Great Rift Valley, we came to one of Charles's favorite places, the great tea plantations of Kericha, where we spent a long afternoon, enjoying the views and a nice leisurely luncheon at the famous old Tea Hotel (another taste of the grand old colonial days).

What most impressed me, of course, was the scenery. The photos are unloaded here, and as you can see, tea is everywhere. I had done a little research, as I was wondering about the weather conditions and it's easy to understand why the Kisii area is such a huge part of the Kenya agricultural economy. The sun shines - often quite hot - for most of the morning and into the late afternoon or early evening, and then the heavens open up, with wonderful, earth-soaking downpours. It really is quite spectacular, the weather in that part of the country (and yes, you have plenty of opportunities to get wet and often, pretty muddy as well, depending on where you have to walk!).

As for the tea, well, it's a mainstay of the economy and in fact Kericho is sort of built around the tea. There's no real "season" (as we reckon these things in the West), and the tea plants just grow, getting trimmed back to the ground every so often. The tea leaves must be harvested at a very particular time - usually I understand after the leaves have been maturing for 7 to 14 days - and it's an amazing spectacle to see all the workers out in the field, picking the leaves.

So we stayed for a while enjoying the scenery and then headed on towards Kericho and the Tea Hotel. The photographs don't lie: the grounds really do look like this, and the flowering trees and plants and, well, just everything about the place was just beautiful to see. (OK, the food was pretty ordinary but we weren't there for the food, were we?) And after we had our lunched, we strolled about the grounds for a while and that's when Justin pointed out that our day had been sort of complete. We had started out with the monkeys at Sopa Resort and now the back garden of the hotel was just full of them. I hope they can be seen clearly in the photo album (I think it's best seen as a slide show, but that's just my choice).

Families, Weddings, and the Pleasures of Being Together

Families and the interactions within families have long been fascinating to me. Human relationships are so varied and so full of all those "ups-and-downs" we hear about in all the sermons, and yet as we go through life, we find the connections of family - whether genetically connected or not - bring us much pleasure and give us much to be thankful for.

Such ruminations are appropriate, I suppose, for someone who has traveled far - even building the visit into a work contract six months in advance - to participate in what can only be called a "family" event. In this case, the "family" is a marvelously extended family, going back some thirty or more years and bringing together people who - while not blood-related - think of themselves as very close, and think of each other often.

James Lafferty (above) and Guy St. Clair have known one another since James was about 11 months old. Our families were close, and over the years the bond between James and Guy has continued to flourish, as well as that between Guy and James's sister (Helen Lafferty Knudson) and with James's mother, Dellie Flanagan Johnson (shown here with James's son Julian leading the wedding procession). We've now been one big "family" for a long time, and we've delighted in the relationship, very comfortable with it. It's right up there alongside those other "families" we have, Guy with his sons and siblings and several family-like relationships with other groups, and James with his, and all stretching out over many years. 

So of course when James is getting married, his friend Guy is going to be at the wedding. And mightily honored to be asked to be part of the wedding, to do one of the readings. Could James and Anne have selected more beautiful readings than these two passages from Le Grande Meaulnes by Alain Fournier:

"Now and then my foot encounters a patch of fine sand. And in the silence I hear a bird – I imagine it to be a nightingale, but how can it be if they only sing at night? – a bird which repeats the same phrase over and over: the voice of the morning, a greeting  that comes down through the leaves, a charming invitation to roam through the alders. Invisible, persistent, it accompanies me on my promenade under a roof of foliage."       and 

"For the first time I too am on the path of adventure. For once it is not for shells left stranded by the tide that I am prospecting, with Monsieur Seurel close at hand, nor for specimens of orchis unknown to the schoolmaster; nor even, as so often in old Martin's field, for the deep but dried up spring protected by a grating and so overgrown with weeds that on each visit it took longer to find... I am looking for something still more mysterious: for the path you read about in books, the old lane choked with undergrowth whose entrance the weary prince could not discover. You'll only come upon it at some lost moment in the morning when you've long since forgotten that it will soon be eleven or twelve... Then, as you are awkwardly brushing aside a tangle of branches, your arms at the same time trying to protect your face, you suddenly catch a glimpse of a dark tunnel of green at the far end of which there is a tiny aperture of light."

So it was a wonderful occasion, this journey that Andrew and I made from New York to Santa Cruz in March (additional photos are captured here). As I mentioned, because of this important family event I had been able to negotiate time away from the current project in Nairobi, although I did combine the travel with project work in Brussels, Geneva, New York, and - following the California visit - Rio de Janeiro.

We had fun getting to know Anne Hopkins - James's beautiful bride better than we had known her before. We had met on several occasions and we knew and loved Anne long before the wedding, but to be with her and her family on this important occasion was a splendid treat for Andrew and me. And true to form, the lovely, funny vivacious woman was so composed that she was even able (as shown here) to maintain her composure as Mr. Guy read. I wonder if I would have been so composed and comfortable in her situation!

The reception pleased us all. The music, the food, the dancing, the toasts, all prepared with great attention and great specificity to this particular occasion and this special couple. And Anne and James themselves did their part, and the results were so evident of much special thought and careful planning. Far too many special touches to try to list but those of us who cherish and delight in our books cannot resist recording our pleasure at the selections of books arranged amongst the table decorations. Every table had two or three wonderful titles, each of which - with books ranging from the Harvard Classics to children's books that had been Anne's and James's favorites - had special meaning for Anne and James and for many of the guests.

And what a great party it was! As Andrew and I had come to know Anne's children as well as James's Julian, we enjoyed being the "older guys" with the young ones and, yes, there was plenty of romping about and laughing and chasing one another. We even achieved considerable success (as I had done with Charles's son in Kenya) in giving the boys full rein with the camera and they found themselves continually entertained both in the hotel where all the guests were staying and at the reception.

And the "family" theme? No question about it, weddings are a splendid opportunity to become a big, loving family, even for people who are not related by blood. Some would perhaps call it simply "friendship" or "bonding" or "sharing" but I think there's more to it than that, something that perhaps I cannot even articulate as clearly as I want to. As Andrew and I got to know many of the many people who had come together for Anne and James, it became clear that we were, indeed, one big family. We were all loving the many conversations, interactions, joking, story-telling, and even professional networking (yes, some of us even exchanged contact information, since it seemed an appropriate thing to do as we shared stories about working and living in different parts of the world).  Memories were evoked - happy, sad, life-changing, and even (sometimes) silly memories, all heightening our pleasure and our delight in Anne and James and the fact that they had found one another.

We are so grateful to James and Anne for bringing us all together and into their lives for this special time. Happy memories that will be with us forever.