orienteering without borders

english version:

Finally a few photos: Ursi rolling Chapatti, Nairobi Marathon, Maasai (Start number is stuck on the bum), a special tree and bare rock in Singore forest.
In order to see zebras you don’t actually have to go on a safari in the tourist sense of the word, but simply go on a safari in a literal sense (safari = journey in Kiswahili). That was what happened at least on our home journey from Eldoret – and not only zebras, but also baboons were sitting at the edge of the road and watching the passing vehicles ….
But to begin at the beginning: Last weekend Sammy, Esther and I travelled to Eldoret, or more precisely to take a look at Iten, where we will have our training camp in February. After one of the not infrequent power cuts the previous evening and consequent packing of rucksacks by the light of the storm lamp, which meant it was late before we went to bed, we started off on Friday later than intended. As usual we travelled first by Matatu to Nairobi, where the overland bus leaves for “up country”. Boarding the desired bus was though made significantly more difficult by the ‘half-criminal’ conductors who resort to all kinds of tricks in the battle for customers – keep a good eye on your luggage!
The real journey started at around 9 am. The condition of the bus and the road seemed to be well-matched – in particular if (as we did) you are sitting on the back row of seats, where you have to cope with being bounced or thrown into the air so many times. At least in the buss there is no danger of banging your head on the roof – which is often the case in a Matatu :o) Soon after leaving Nairobi a fantastic view of the Great Rift Valley opened up and the landscape became increasingly rural the further we travelled; you could see more frequently the traditional Rand huts made of clay and cow dung and with a thatched roof.... after 4 hours we stopped for the first (and only) piss stop – somewhere at the side of a mountain road the passengers disappeared in the bushes for a short while– and after a good 6 hours we finally arrive at Eldoret. After a somewhat late lunch we travelled on by Matatu to Iten, which took us quite a few more hours so that we finally arrived at our destination as dusk was falling.
In Iten (2400 m), we stayed at the intended accommodation for February; a nice hotel, although it was noticeable that catering for tourists was not something that they had much experience of. I had to smile as our friendly waiter (also Sammy) apologised that we would have to wait a while as it was only after guests ordered that the kitchen staff started cooking. (I was surprised even in Eldoret to read the message on the menu: Please give us 5-10 minutes for preparation of special dishes! – which was why our Chapatti was also cold when it was served...)
There is of course no heating – and it is normally not necessary either: in the day it is usually warm to hot; though towards the evening, in the night and of course in the morning it is noticeably cold. Not of course comparable to an Austrian Winter, but I am not so used any more to freeze despite a Pullover :o)
On Saturday, we made a trip to the nearby Singore Forest – with an orienteering map. You can get to the forest in half an hour by jogging there, but we took a Matatu – and here in the countryside they are again something very special: like a minivan (quite a bit smaller than a normal minibus), but in which around 15 passengers can be crammed in; and there is no place left for the conductor who has to stand on the running board while hanging on to outside of the vehicle!
The forest is (as opposed to the forests north of Nairobi) is extremely orienteering-friendly, for the most part very European, the only difference being that in Europe it is very rare that we meet monkeys or really big snakes... However the map is 14 years old – but despite this I managed, thanks to the contour lines, to navigate us to the big bare rock on the west edge of the map, where there is a fantastic view.
On Sunday we visited (the first time for me) a church. It was a Catholic mass and with the normal mass rituals, which are widely know throughout the world, relatively “conservative” – but despite that still a lot merrier and livelier than in Austria! And I am very curious about my first “real” African church service, where it usual to have not only singing and clapping, but also dancing and jumping!
On our afternoon walk to the High Altitude Training Centre in Iten we met one of Sammy’s old acquaintances or training partners. A very chatty and nice girl who is a successful athlete – but with such a toothpick-like figure that Esther and I decided that if you have to look like that to win a marathon, then that will never be a goal for us :o)
As we left Iten on Monday morning at 06:30 (the sun rises slowly) towards Eldoret, we saw – not only in Iten but also the whole way to Eldoret – a whole crowd of runners; alone, in small or also large groups, out on their morning long run. At this time of day most of them were almost finished with their training! A group of runners were accompanied by a Land Rover – presumably quite professional.
The journey home was just as tiring, dusty and sweaty as the outward trip, but also broken up at least by the aforementioned “highway robbers” – and after almost 10 hours we finally arrived back home.