After spending eight months in tiny little Karungu, I wanted to travel a bit through East Africa before heading home. There’s too much beauty in this part of the world to miss! So Van and I spent the week heading from one adventure to the next on wonderful Kenyan and Ugandan public transportation. Below are my High’s and Low’s for Week 34- my second to last week in Kenya. The High’s were super high and the Low’s were a bit too low. But that’s Africa right? What a great way to end my time in Kenya!
Sunday, May 23
High: Spending the afternoon with Emma and Calmax. Calmax is attending Nursing School in Kendu Bay thanks to a wonderful donation from friends back home. Van and I got to see his school, meet his teachers and roommates, and visit the hospital where Calmax is learning the wonderful art of nursing. What a blessing to be a part of that experience!
Low: Leaving Karungu. Enough said.
Monday, May 24
High: Crossing the border into Uganda. Uganda is clean, organized, and well paved (the roads that is!).
Low: Watching Van turn white, then green, after our delicious Indian food lunch. For some reason it didn’t sit well with him. Poor guy.
Tuesday, May 25
High: Flipping the raft TWICE while white water rafting down the Nile on some of the wildest Class 5 rapids in the world. There’s no feeling like being swept down a raging river hoping the safety kayaks are nearby to come pick you up. Don’t worry Mom, it was all perfectly safe!!
Low: Inhaling half the Nile the second time we flipped the raft. The racking cough the rest of the afternoon was a bit annoying, but it was totally worth it.
Wednesday, May 26
High: Eating dinner at Carnivore, the world famous unlimited grilled meat restaurant in Nairobi after getting off the bus after the ten hour trip from Jinja, Uganda to Nairobi, Kenya.
Low: The sinking “you’re getting sick” feeling I got halfway between Jinja and Nairobi. It didn’t help that Van was feeling nauseous again sitting next to me.
Thursday, May 27
Low 1: Spending the whole day in bed after being diagnosed with a bacterial respiratory infection. Turns out it’s not a good idea to inhale half the Nile. You will get sick. So my 100 degree fever and earthshaking coughing made for a long, painful, “this really sucks” day.
Low 2: Realizing that starting to climb Mount Kenya tomorrow with this fever and infection might not be a good idea. So Van and I decided to push back the climb two days so I could recover. Unfortunately that means we only have 4 days instead of 5 days on the mountain.
Friday, May 28
Low: Despite all the Coartem (Malaria medication- just in case I have malaria), Amoxicillin, Ibuprofen, and anti-histamines prescribed by the doctor in Nairobi, my fever still didn’t break and my coughing hadn’t subsided. So again, I spent the whole day in bed.
High: Having Van and the priests at the St. Camillus Seminary take good care of me. And feeling my fever break late in the evening.
Saturday, May 29
High: Waking up and knowing that the worst of the infection was over and that we could start our Mount Kenya climb tomorrow as we’d planned. We met up with Joseph the mountain guide and his younger brother Paul the porter in Nanyuki, the small town at the base of Mt. Kenya, to prepare everything so we could start the 4 day adventure first thing the next morning!
Low: Although I was finally feeling much better, poor Van had yet another bout of…something. So between my coughing and his barfing, we made for a well prepared, super-healthy, mountain climbing duo!
This is exciting to read. Thank you for sharing your last week with us. So glad you healed enough to go to Mt. Kenya. Your last sentence has me in hysterics - "a well prepared, super-healthy, mountain climbing duo!"
ReplyDeleteWhat a team!!! We are happy you are home and safe and sound! Hugs -