A Visit to Kisumu and Lake Victoria

One of the main places I wanted to go on this visit to Africa was Lake Victoria.  Sought by European explorers for years as the source of the Nile, which it is, Lake Victoria holds tremendous fascination.  It is the third largest freshwater lake in the world, behind only Lake Superior and Lake Michigan in terms of surface area, and is the largest lake in Africa.  It is not deep, because it in a depression associated with the rift valley, but it is big.  We visited Kisumu, the major Kenyan city on the lake on April 7 and 8, and my goal was to take a boat out on the lake and eat fish from the lake.  Evan and I went with our friend Faith Maina, the other Fulbrighter, who is from Kenya.  She was a good guide.  We took a matatu to Kisumu, and then proceeded to all the things that I had planned, which hardly ever happens!  It was a fun though short trip.

This is a big lake.  Actually, Kisumu is in a bay, so this is the lake at one of its narrower places.  The lake is much lower than where we are on the plateau, and it was much, much warmer than Eldoret.

Another view, this and the above are looking towards the west, towards Uganda.

Evan and Faith getting ready to get into the little boat behind us.  The wind really was picking up as we got out on the lake.

These are some of the fishing boats that ply the lake.

Lots of birds live around the edge of the lake, eating fish.

I'm not an ornithologist, but birds are pretty!

This is an African eagle, they nest along the shore of the lake as well.

One of the main problems facing Africa is deforestation, and one of the main causes is the making of charcoal.  This is charcoal from the forests of Uganda, brought across the lake into Kenya.  The people here use charcoal to cook everything, and use it in the house, which creates a tremendous amount of indoor pollution.  Alternatives are expensive and hard to come by.

One thing the lake is also famous for: its hippos!  Here is one near the boat.

They are strangely fascinating creatures, who spend all day in the water, and come on land during the day to feed.  They also kill a lot of people every year.

They stay in groups, and there were three together, and think two are visible in this picture.  The boat was rocking like crazy because of the wind.

They are definitely fascinating animals, particularly when they fix you with their glare.

 This is the hotel that we stayed in.  It is an older colonial hotel, the Kisumu Hotel, now managed by Maseno University.  There is nothing quite like this in Eldoret.

This is the dining room.  It was very nice, and it had a nice pool, but I didn't get a picture of that.

This is the bar area in the hotel.  Again, very nice!

One of the main streets in Kisumu.  So much cleaner than Eldoret, it was laid out by the British when the railroad arrived from Mombasa, connecting by ferry with Uganda.  We don't think of Uganda as being anything other than screwed up today, but 100 years ago it was the big prize, with a large functioning economy and well organized political systems.  My, how times change....

Another view of a street in Kisumu.  Very green and uncrowded.

Don't get me wrong, it's still Africa, but it is much calmer than Eldoret, though much larger.  Go figure!

Another street scene in Kisumu.

This is a tuk-tuk, basically a golf cart sized thing that is used to transport around three or four people.  It has  handlebars like on a motorcycle to steer,, and it has a small engine, almost like lawn mower engine.  They don't do well in hilly areas, so there are only a few in Eldoret.  There are apparently a lot in Mombasa and elsewhere on the coast, where its flat, as is Kisumu.

This was our destination, the lake as evening came on, going to what is called Railroad Beach (because you have to cross the tracks) for fish grilled right in front of you.

These are the fish houses.  Okay, its not Isle of Palms or Destin, but it was great fish!

Another view of Railroad Beach.

The lake has many environmental problems, one of which is water hyacynchs which are choking parts of the lake.  You can see this boat poling through the hyacynths to get out to open water.

We finally started to eat as the sun began to set.

Evan and Faith at the restaurant.  We each  picked out our tilapia, and they were huge.  Nothing like the little scraps you get in the US.  They cook it right there and serve it with ugali and sukuma wiki (greens).  Delicious.  The problem is, we really weren't supposed to be down there after sundown, not because of robbers (though that is a concern; on the way back to town--we took a tuk-tuk) but because of the mosquitoes.  Malaria is endemic in Kisumu, worse than Eldoret because it is so wet and warm.  I fear that this is where Evan caught malaria.  Still, the fish was good!

Evan and I at dinner.  I think I got some sun on the boat ride....

The beautiful sunset over Lake Victoria.  This was one of the things I really wanted to see, and it didn't disappoint.  We left early the next morning for the matatu ride back to Eldoret.  It was a nice little trip, I wish we had stayed longer, but I am definitely glad that we went.