Today I am on the road from Nairobi to the wild plains of Kenya – from one world heritage site in Lamu to another in the Maasai Mara.
Sometimes I feel like an anthropologist, filled with wonder and delight at discovering the similarities and differences between the places I have travelled.
Some streetwise cultural learning from Nairobi:
If a plot of land or a vehicle has a sign on it that says “Not for sale” that does not mean (as this naïve European thought) that the owners are tired of getting enquiries from potential buyers. It means that people fake land title deeds and vehicle registration documents, and then “sell” something which is not theirs to sell. The “Not for sale” signs try to warn potential buyers from being conned out of their money by the fake “owners”.
This was explained to me by Nairobi-born George, who is the driver on this adventure until we get to the part tomorrow where it will be walking-only terrain. He also warned me not to take photos out of the car window, or someone would snatch the camera. That sounds a bit obvious in retrospect! I need to adapt from the relative calm of Lamu to these other types of urban and natural wildness that I am journeying through.
The Great Rift Valley that we are currently traversing – and yes, there is mobile data coverage here! – is absolutely immense, surrounded by volcanic peaks. Maasai herders drive their cattle down the roadsides, raising clouds of orange dust, and George manoeuvres the car round jagged speed bumps, well-like pot holes, transport trucks moving at a snail’s pace and blown-out tyres. Men stand at the roadside selling roasted corn-on-the-cob. My eyes almost sting with the brightness of the day, but I am too engrossed in these landscapes to even squint…
