27, 27.1 January 4 and January 19, 1968: About trip to Malindi and Christmas vacation trip-Letters to folks Barbara's folks

 27. January 4, 1968

Dear Mom and Dad (Line, from Barb)

Can’t remember when I wrote but know it’s been a long time. We came home from Melindi December 26 and had Christmas the 27th, as we had left our presents for each other at home. It was just as much fun as having it on the 25th.

On Friday, Frank and I left the kids at home and went to Nairobi to get the car license and permission to go to Uganda. We got the permit to go to Uganda, and the re-entry to Kenya in good time, but the car license really got involved. Our bus was used as a school bus before we got it, so it had a commercial license, which means it had to have an inspection costing forty shillings and an extra sixty shillings for the license. We spent three hours trying to find out how to get the license changed to private status. Most of that time was spent standing in lines. Finally we went back to the dealer, as he had to write a letter saying he had sold it for private purposes. So he said he’d take care of it and mail it to us. We were greatly relieved and went on home. 

They handle the plates a little different here. Each car has a plate that is the permanent identification plate of the car. It stays on until it is junked. The yearly license is a little piece of paper that you stick on your windshield under a plastic sticker. Our fee was 320 shillings. Divided that by seven and you can tell how many dollars! It seemed a lot comparing it to Idaho’s system for determining the fee. If we hadn’t been able to change to a private license, it would have cost 40 shillings for an inspection fee.

We also shopped that day for material for our tent. We bought some pretty brown plaid orlon for the walls and some green canvas for the floor. The next four days we spent building a tent. It really looks neat. It has a door and windows with mosquito netting and flaps and an open side that hooks onto the car at the side door. The tent poles are made of wood, one inch square, as we couldn’t find metal poles. The floor measures seven feet by eleven. It is one thing we are going to bring home. Frank built a table to set inside between the seats. We found we really needed one on our last trip.

Tuesday and Thursday went by and no license came. Frank called the dealer and he said it had all been taken care of, so today, Friday, we packed up and are heading for Nairobi. It was getting everyone down… too much waiting! We are hoping to get the license and continue on west from Nairobi.

I had noticed that a full-time Home Ec teacher has been hired by the teachers’ organization for St. Mark’s. It’s a relief to me, for I hadn’t been able to get much help for the cooking class. It’s a real good deal for the school. They need it! All for now. Love, Barb and all

27.1. January 19

Dear Mom and Dad (Line, from Barb)

Today the students are back. I hadn’t realized how quiet it had been without them! Classes have sort of begun. It seems it takes a few days to get going. Then on top of that, some of the first year students won’t even arrive until the first of March, after half the term is gone, because they are the ones that have the Kenya Primary Exam, and the results won’t be out until then. Just think. They took the test in November! Ah well, you learn to move slowly here! It sure is exasperating most of the time! So much time spent and so little accomplished.

This morning, I met the lady who is taking my place. She is to have sixteen classes of Domestic Science. That’s one more than I had. She’ll also have some Swahili and History. She’s an African, has five children, and is very nice. I don’t imagine she’ll accept my offer of help, but I gave it anyway! We both agreed that European (or American) style of cooking would not be much use. Frank figures that the cooking will be little or none. Of course he is still convinced that I’d do a better job, but I’m not so sure, or sure that I was!

The kids started their lessons again this morning, and I’ve organized things so it’s more like school. It worked better. Milt especially needed more break time more often. I think his reading will come along better now. That was one thing that really got to be a pain in the neck. We’ve found a more difficult Math book for Amy, so she’ll have to work a bit, and a harder Math book for Vicki too. Both of them had just been repeating last year’s work more or less. We found two little frogs and some bugs and caterpillars and put them in a wire cage from Frank’s science room. I hope we can make things a bit more interesting. Seems like now Diane is gone, things get awfully quiet.

We took her to school last Monday. For a time I thought the leaving would be pretty bad, but another girl from our group is going there too, and she arrived just in time. She is not in the same dorm as Diane, but the important fact is that she is there. They are the Fergusons and lived right next door to us in New York. They were assigned to Uganda.

The school is the Nairobi Girls’ School and is run in the English manner, which means there are countless rules. You must say “Yes ma’am” and stand when the teacher comes into the room. Also no visitors for the first three weeks. We had a letter from her today, and either she made an excellent attempt at not letting us know she doesn’t like it, or it isn’t as bad as she was led to believe. At any rate, I’m sure she will enjoy parts of it, and I know it will be more interesting than just being here all the time. She will get to come home at mid term which is the last weekend in February.

Diane got a guitar for Christmas. She’d saved half of the money for it. She has taught herself how to play and does very well with it.

After we left the girls at school that day, we went out to Kenyatta College and found several more families there from various places who’d brought their children to school. It was not a very cheerful group, as it was the first time most of the parents had had children go away to school. We all had hamburgers and visited a while before starting home.

As a result we were on the road after dark. It is about the second time we’ve driven at night and it is a little scary. Especially when you start remembering all the stories that have been told about people being stopped and robbed, and I guess it isn’t all just stories, although it was worse in the years back. The most exciting thing that happened all the way home was a big mongoose crossed the road in front of us. It looks something like a weasel.

Our trip to Malindi was very enjoyable and about the most restful of the whole vacation. We spent three days just eating, sleeping, and playing. We all got thoroughly burned the first day so spent most of the rest of the time covered up. I even made the kids wear shirts and shorts when they went in swimming. We camped just a stone’s throw from the water at high tide and enjoyed every minute of it. The weather was bright and clear and very humid, but the wind came up every afternoon and kept us quite comfortable. It blew until about the middle of the night and then was quiet until the next day around noon. I had a bad case of sinus when we arrived here, at the start of vacation, but one afternoon on the beach and it was gone! I’ll know where to head next time I get an attack.

At low tide the water goes way out and leaves pools and puddles and you can walk out about half a mile to where the waves are breaking. We walked to look for things but didn’t find much. Now we have found out from some others where to go for the pretty shells, so can do that next time. We won’t bother to reserve a house, as the new tent will make it quite comfortable to camp.

We had fish almost every meal. We bought rod cod for ten shillings that weighed around ten pounds. It was delicious. We had crab but no lobster, as it was pretty expensive, and besides, the fisherman didn’t have any while we were there. There are all kinds of people selling shells and other things, but we decided not to load up on souvenirs yet. 

On Christmas Eve Father Christmas was at the lodge, and we arranged to have him give a present to each of the kids. They were real tickled. I fixed up a stocking with candy and balloons in it for each of them.

There were so many people at the beach by then that you could barely move. When we arrived there were three people camped in one little area counting us, and by Christmas Eve two more had moved in beside us. When two more came Christmas morning, we decided that was just too much togetherness and pack up and started home. There were a very few African families, about one third European (that’s everyone who is white!) and the rest were Asians and boy are they noisy! I’m afraid I don’t like them any more than the Africans do! They stick to their national dress more than any of the other groups. The women wear soirees even on the beach. Some of the men let their hair grow long and wear a turban to cover it. The women wear long hair braided in one long braid down the back. The funniest are the boys when they are around 8 or 9 years. They wear their hair long in pigtails tied with black ribbons and short shorts, and their faces look so delicate and feminine that it is hard to tell whether they are boys or girls. When there are girls present it is easy because the girls always wear fancy dresses and have colored ribbons on their pigtails. Most of them have pierced ears and sometimes a hole pierced with a jewel in it in the side of their nose. 

There is more to tell, will continue on to the next air letter!

We got off to a bad start this morning. Frank had a migraine and Milt balked at his reading lesson, and I missed the mailman. Guess you have to expect days like that, but I hate them.

Anyhow, back to the vacation. After we came back from Malindi and built the tent, we decided to head for Uganda. You recall I told you about getting the license for the car. After calling to check on it, we packed up all our gear and drove to Nairobi, only to find out that he had put it in the mail! We rushed back to Embu and got it out of the post office just before it closed! Now we had all the documents in order, so even if it was late afternoon, the vote was to go anywhere but home!

We went about half way around Mt. Kenya to Nyeri where we spent the first night. Our guide book showed no campground there, so we drove up through the grounds of a fancy hotel called the Outspan, and Frank asked the manager if there was a place nearby where we could camp. The manager turned out to be the Boy Scout Commissioner of the area, and gave us written permission to camp for the night in the Boy Scout Campground, which was about four miles away. It was a real nice place with great big trees, a river on each side, an assembly hall and outdoor toilets. Frank donated 10 shillings to the Scouts, and we had an enjoyable night. It was colder than the dickens though, probably all of 40° but seemed colder. Later we discovered this place was about 7000 feet elevation. No wonder it was cold! That morning as we were cleaning up from breakfast, a bunch of monkeys came swinging through the trees!

We traveled on up to Thompson Falls and got there about noon. It is a very high falls. You cross the river about twenty feet from the waterfalls and you can’t see it. Then you drive up to the parking lot of the lodge by the river and looking back towards the bridge, there are the falls streaming out in a long thin stream that is almost a mist before it hits the bottom!

We camped on down the road at Nakuru that night. The campground is the fair grounds and there are a lot of permanent booths, buildings, horse stalls and barns. The kids had a lot of fun wandering around the grounds. There were a few race horses being kept in the stalls. We saw the grooms walking them the next morning. The town charged fifteen shillings to stay there, which was reasonable considering that there was running water and flush toilets. There were several other people camping there too.

Lake Nakuru has a large bird sanctuary around it, and for 25 shillings you can drive through and look at the birds. There are lots of flamingos as well as lots of others we didn’t know.

Earlier in the day we had driven out to a hillside where Dr. Leake had found some prehistoric villages, a fort, and burial ground. They had excavated parts of it and just left the rest where they had found it. It was really interesting how they figured out just what it was. It looked like just a pile of stone to me! They had uncovered one of the burial mounds and the skeleton was laying as they had found him, sort of curled up on his side. They had put a roof over him and screened it in to protect it from the weather. There was also a museum with a lot of bowls, axes, and tools that had been found in the same area.

Next day we drove all the way to Iganaga, near Kampala, in Uganda. It really is a long trek and some of the worst roads I’ve ever seen. It was paved with rocks the size of your double fist, and so rough, you felt like your teeth were being shaken out, and the dust was thick. It was the worst the last few miles before crossing the border. The joke is that the Kenya government purposely keeps it that bad to discourage people from going out. I guess they don't care much about people coming in either. They just double all fees to National Parks, etc., to non Kenyans. When we reached the border we had to fill out a form for Kenya, even though our passports were stamped that we had permission to leave. There is no-man’s land for about half a mile between the border stations. Upon entering Uganda you have to fill out another form and have a customs search. If you stay longer than ninety days or don’t come back within ninety days, you have to buy a Uganda License for your car! We were so thankful we had managed to get our license changed to a private vehicle. We would have to pay thirty shillings if it had still been commercial.

Further down the road, was a police check where they checked your passport, the paper the Uganda border people had given us, and the log book of the car, just to make sure we were a private vehicle. The police here in Kenya are always stopping you for something or other too. One time it will be your driving license (three times on one trip to Nairobi), the next time to see if you have a working horn (“speak the horn”), or wipers, or license plate light, or maybe they’d like a little lift up the road a bit! 

Back to the trip. We stayed that night, Sunday, in Iganga with the Hices, the ones who went to Malindi with us. The next morning, we drove into Kampala with them to guide us. The weather there was almost as hot and humid as it was at the coast but without the cool breeze. We checked at the railroad station to find the Springers, more TEEA people. They were on their way from Dar esSalam by train  to Lake Victoria and going across the lake by steamer to Kampala.  (That is a trip we hope to take.) They were heading to Nairobi by train and then on up to our house, and we knew we wouldn’t be back in time to see them. We finally found them at another TEEA person’s house and spent the morning visiting them there instead of here!

Then we headed for Fort Portal to spend the night with another TEEA person. That was one heck of a road, 200 miles of dirt road, dusty and winding, and not much to see but hills and brush, not even many people. We made it by 8 pm and were really weary. Two of the single ladies of the group live there. One was out traveling, so we stayed in her house, and the other one got supper for us. Her shamba boy loaded us up with fresh vegetables before we left the next morning for Queen Elizabeth National Park. 

Uganda seems much different than Kenya. The trees and undergrowth are more tropical. They have more moisture without such long dry spells, and the part where we were was close enough to Lake Victoria to have a very humid climate. The people seem more prosperous, happier and more leisurely. It would seem they don’t have to work as hard for a living.

Queen Elizabeth Park is a beautiful place with two large lakes, Lake Edward and Lake George, connected with a long channel. We took a launch trip around the connecting channel and saw lots of animals. It was really fun, for they paid even less attention to us in the boat than they had when we were in the car. There were elephants that stayed close to the water as we went by, two big lizards about four feet long, and hundreds of hippos.

That night we camped on a hill overlooking Lake Edward. All night you could hear the hippos grunting close by. When we first arrived at the campground there was a water buffalo standing at the edge of the clearing, and there were lots of antelope and gazelle. Later, while we were eating a hyena trotted by.

The next morning we drove out along some of the tracks of the park, and ended up by a hippo pool where a lot of them were grazing. We discovered that the big footprints we’d seen near camp were hippo. They look like a fat paw print with four toes about the size of the top of a gallon can. They can run pretty fast and don’t look at all clumsy. When they are in the water all you can see is a small part of the top of their back and maybe an ear!

That same morning not far from the hippos, we came upon six lions laying on the ground. We drove up to within six feet of them and all they did was yawn at us. Then we went back to the tent and had breakfast, packed up after gassing up at the lodge, and drove to the southernmost part of Uganda called Ishaha. From the edge of the river you can look over into the Congo. Then we decided to take a road across to somewhere, I’ve forgotten the name, and it was a really wild road; two tracks with a grassy hump in the middle and tall grass on both sides, and it was very windy. We were sailing along wondering if we’d ever get anywhere when we came around a bend and were face to face with a Land Rover. We both ground to a halt so close you couldn’t walk between the two cars. The other man in the Land Rover was a police officer and he really lit into Frank. He was really shaken up, as were we! I still wonder why he didn’t fine Frank or something. I suppose because there wasn’t any other side of the road for Frank to be on! In the end we went on a little farther, came to a town and asked for the road to Kabale (where we were going) and the whole bunch of the people just laughed and laughed and pointed down a way that hardly looked like a path. So we turned around and came back to the main road and stayed at the campground where we were the night before, and started back toward Kampala the next day. 

The road from the park to Kampala went through some interesting country with a big group of volcanic craters and little lakes here and there. It was a dirt road, fairly smooth, and not too winding. There were lots of big tea fields as well as coffee and cotton. Everything was very well kept and we saw men cutting the roadside brush with pangas (four foot long knives).

About noon we stopped in a town called Mbarara which is about the size of Embu. I bought the freshest baker’s bread there that we’ve had in Africa! From there to Kampala the road is paved and smooth! We stayed the night at Hices again.

The next day we stopped at Jinja to see the dam and the place where the Victoria Nile leaves Lake Victoria. The dam is real pretty, not high or long but pretty and white and beautifully landscaped. The mist and spray from the spillway keeps everything green.

Friday we came all the way back to Naivasha and stayed in a real nice campground. It is on a lake and has a fancy boating club and a clubhouse. You can even rent tents already put up to stay in. And there are bathhouses with hot water showers. It costs about 45 shillings and was well worth it! The next morning we just rested and didn’t start out until nearly lunch. It was just 60 miles to Nairobi. We stopped at Kenyatta College, found some other TEEA people who were coming or going, or staying for a while, so we bought some wieners and joined in the barbecue they were setting up. I think we saw all but four families of the TEEA people one place or another.

I think we went through some of the country that you saw on the TV show. Around Nyeri there are great big fields of grain and lots of pasture with good looking cattle and sheep. I think that must be part of the White Highlands. It sure makes this part of the country look run down and raggedy. In fact it seems like this part was the worst looking farmland of the whole trip. The women in Uganda wear bright long dresses and carry things on their heads instead of on their backs. Maybe that’s why they look prettier. And the men’s clothes are not so heavily patched as they are here, but then it’s hard to tell details just driving by.

We got back here Saturday night. I couldn’t decide if I was sad or glad. I think it was the most enjoyable camping trip we’ve ever taken. Thank you for your part in it. I wanted to count your money as that we spent for the camp stove, but Frank said he thought you’d rather see it go for gas for the actual traveling. You take your choice. We sure couldn’t have done all that traveling without your help!

Sunday we spent getting clothes clean for Diane and marking things. And Monday we left early to shop for some shoes for her and other last minute things. We probably won’t hear for a while from her. I just hope things go all right. None of us were very crazy about the idea, but felt she needed a little more to keep things interesting than there was here. 

I think the kids were glad to be home. Kiva went right in and sat on her bed and played with her doll. We traveled 1860 miles in eight days and most of it was over dirt roads. And we crossed the equator eight times during the course of the trip. One crossing was at 9130 feet. It was cool there even in the sun. The only place we didn’t go that was on our itinerary was Murchison Park. We had to cut that out because we ran out of time. 

The cakes are improving somewhat! Love from us all. Barb