my Eat Pray Love Journey Part 2

I have been to a fair share of countries in my life and Kenya by far was the most breathtaking country I have seen. This trip to Kenya was a gift for my 30th birthday, however due to COVID we had to push it back a year which created this series of month to month traveling and after Peru, Kenya was our next stop. If I had to give this trip a word, I would say EAT. Not only because we ate the most incredible fresh organic food we have ever eaten but because eating to my husband and I is such an enjoyable experience for us. Our trip to Kenya was incredibly enjoyable and filled with so many once in a life time experiences. I felt so much happiness traveling through this country. I have never felt so grounded and like myself than when I was in Kenya. I’ve heard from a few people that when you go to Africa, you feel like your home. There is a reason they call this continent the motherland and when we were there we experienced just that.

I am not a person to stay in one place, so I made sure that we visited as many places as we could within the 17 days that we had over there. We hopped to 7 places in Kenya starting with Nairobi, however since we had a crazy start to the trip we only got to experience Nairobi for less than a day so our real first stop was Lake Naivasha. Oh boy was it great start to our trip! We stayed in a beautiful hotel on the actual lake and when we went down to the lake there was a family of Hippos laying on the coastline. When we saw them from a distance, I initially thought that they were statues and when we got closer we then realized that they were real! We were told that they lay in front of the hotel because the gardeners who cut the grass, leave piles of cut grass for the hippos to eat. Such a dangerous animal, that I found out kills 500 humans a year, and these people were feeding them! It was incredible to witness. In America, there would be electric fences and armed men at the hotel to kill the hippos if they laid on “their land” but here in Africa they have a different mentality. The natives dont believe the land is theirs, in fact they know its not. The natives coexist with the species around them because they believe they are no different. The natives decided to inhabit the land, using the resources of the land just like the hippos. They dont believe they are better or more deserving than these beautiful large creatures. I believe humanities number 1 fear is of the unknown and because wild animals are different than us we fear them rather than respect that they are just different.

As we continued our journey in Lake Naivasha we immersed ourselves with the ideals of the Natives. We went horseback riding through the reserves and were literally feet away from zebras, wildebeest, gazelles, hyenas, etc. Talk about immersing yourself in the culture! We immersed ourselves in nature! Because we were on the horses the animals didn’t pay any attention to us. They only saw the horses and so it was so easy to come close to the animals without spooking them. This was one of the most incredible experiences in my life. I’ve never felt so close with nature and my heart was expanding more and more for the beauty of this country. In this area we also experienced Hells Gate National Park, I recommend not skipping this part! This park is made of rock, shrubs and trees that survive in hot climates. You will see buffalos, zebras, wild boar, gazelles, waterbucks roaming wild here. I even spotted some giraffes. This day was so special because we did a walking tour through the park and as we were walking we came across a large mountainous rock called Viscous Tower. There was a man at the bottom of the rock with all this gear waiting for people to climb this rock. I looked at the rock and immediately said “there is no way I can climb this rock.” Right away my husband, our tour guide and the climbing instructor said “ You can do it, dont worry you will be guided.” That little voice in my head said, Danielle you told yourself you will say yes to anything that comes your way, so stop being scared and do it! So I put the gear on, strapped up and I climbed to the top of the mountain! I have to say this experience was very much life changing. It was one of those moments where you feel like you can do anything if you put your mind to, so why ever be afraid!? and again it falls back to my theory earlier, we are afraid of what we dont know. I didn’t know I could climb that mountain and the fear of not knowing almost prevented me from experiencing a memory I will never forget. And when I got to the top of that rock and looked out over the park and saw all of the animals grazing in the park, I thought to myself, “Your fears were about to prevent you from witnessing this view!” I then made a pact with myself that I would push myself even if it makes me feel uncomfortable, even if a part me thinks cant do it.

The rest of the trip was better than the next. We then went to the Masai Mara, where we met the tribe, went to their school to donate books, saw the Big 5, the great migration and all of these incredible animals in their habitat. We felt like we were in the Lion King every day we were out on the reserve. There was definitely sadness leaving the reserve but once we landed on the coast of the Kenya we knew we were in the right place! We stopped first at Manda Island and toured Lamu where we met such incredible people from all walks of life. Here we connected with friends that we know if we met again it would be like no time has passed. We got to see so much culture and tradition and the Beaches , WOW the beaches! Next we stopped at Klifi and the last stop we had was Diani Beach. Along the way we stopped off at the city of Mombasa where we did a walking tour of the ancient parts of the city. Every driver, tour guide and local we met was nicer than the next. In Kenya, every person matters. There was no discrimination or feeling of not belonging when we were there.

I felt like I was home, I felt so grounded, I felt so loved, I felt seen, I felt heard. Everything is possible there because you are not alone. That was one thing that really was so beautiful to see. The community helps out the people in need. If you are struggling with money, the community will make it their obligation to help that person out. Its not like here where its every man for himself. Over there everyone helps one another and this trip helped me understand what a community really is and what it feels like. I aim to find my community, to find my tribe, wherever I decide to plant my roots.

Kenya was an adventure of the purest joy one could feel.