WinCatherine on IndieGoGO now accepting Tax-Deductible Donations!

I mentioned an announcement would be coming regarding the IndieGoGo campaign and now it is official: Our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas, has now  partnered with IndieGoGo which is great news for anyone making a donation to WinCatherine!  Now in addition to choosing a perk or incentive for your donation, your contribution is tax-deductible (to the extent of the law)! Click here to visit WinCatherine on IndieGoGoo;  check it out and be a part of making this film happen!    

Now on to other news:

I spoke to Catherine today for the first time since her return from the UK in conjunction with the Kenyan Community Bedford program (see previous post). She said it was an excellent trip! Along with a few other top elite athletes from Kenya,  they visited an elementary school, a high school and a university where they ran with the students.  They visited a hospital where Kenyan Community Bedford has been involved with raising money to support the children's ward, and they also did a run on Saturday with adults. The program was designed to  inspire both the British and Kenyan people in the communities.  The schedule was quite busy and there was not much time for training but Catherine said it was all a great experience!

Photo by Ken courtesy of Kenyan Community Bedford

Catherine is now back in Kenya again and continues to heal from the injury to her piriformis muscle which forced her to withdraw from the Boston Marathon back in April. At this time she is not in pain and has just begun to add speed work back into her training.  One of Catherine's many strengths is that she has always been able to listen to her body and progress as she sees fit. She's hoping to be fully healed soon so she can resume her racing! For now she is enjoying being back home with her family. Her daughter arrives home tomorrow for an extended weekend break from school and Catherine is very excited to spend time with her and celebrate Jane's belated 13th birthday!

Want to see footage from Catherine's visit to the UK and much more?  Please don't forget to check out the IndieGoGo campaign and our website and donate whatever you can to help us get this film finished; there is a lot of amazing footage and interviews waiting to be assembled!

Back to Roots II

Today we actually got to sleep in; 7am! We left our lovely *cough* Central Hotel after a decent breakfast that was included with the room. We arrived at Kahira Ini Primary School by 8:15 and there were already a lot of students there! Now remember, this is SATURDAY! Because of the track meet on Friday, the headmaster arranged for us to come in today and he also invited parents. Unfortunately there was also a church function today so many were not able to come. When we got there we started filming immediately but there were so many kids interested in the camera that we took some time first to let them check it out! It was cute how curious they all were. Jon had his camera and I had my little Canon and we would film a group of children and then play it back for them while they all giggled and vied for the best viewing position! We interviewed several teachers there and you could see how excited both parents and children were while waiting for Catherine to arrive. We scheduled to be there long before her so we could do all the other interviews and establishing shots. We did not know that they had planned an entire assembly and were expecting Catherine to speak formally to the children and parents. When we learned that she was only minutes away, the headmaster got all of the children and parents seated. When Catherine arrived there was such an excitement in the air you could hear the buzzing! The teachers all greeted her and Anthony and Charles Githii, the headmaster, walked the grounds with Catherine as she reminisced.

Finally the children were rewarded when first Anthony was introduced to speak and then Catherine.

They did not speak in English so I had to rely on the reactions of the children and later learned what they were told. Anthony warned them about staying away from the gangs that had been causing some trouble in the area lately and Catherine spoke to them about working hard in school and nurturing any talents they have that they should not be afraid to start small and not give up. She urged parents to let their children follow their dreams and to support them and she was very humbled that so many people came out to see her on a Saturday when they could be doing other things. She also announced that she was donating 100,000ksh to the school to use for things that they need most! There was a question and answer session after and the children seemed curious to know more. Once again, we were there longer than I had anticipated; I just underestimate the amount of time people want to spend with Catherine especially when it comes to kids!

Before leaving we were invited to have some drinks and a snack so of course we accepted (remember it is impolite not to anyway and we were very hungry by that time!) When I say drinks, it is not the kind of drinks you may be thinking but it also was not tea! It was soda which is very big in Kenya, especially all things Coke a Cola! Before leaving, Catherine wrote her donation check as promised and presented it to the headmaster. She said she would follow up and see what they use the funds for.

It was once again getting late and we needed to visit Catherine’s birth home so off we went. Catherine rode with us in the van so she could commentate and Anthony drove their 4 wheel vehicle. We made a stop at the little shopping strip so Catherine could buy some groceries to bring to her brother’s home as she never shows up empty handed. It is customary to bring basic needs to those who do not earn as much as you do. She got what she needed, I got drinks for everyone and then we continued on our way.

As we neared our destination the ground was soggy and muddy and lo and behold we got stuck! Anthony was driving ahead of us and didn’t notice so he kept going until he was out of site. We all got out of the van and Jon and Willy pushed while Michael (driver) tried to steer the way out. Catherine and I stood out of the way and watched the mud flying! She was on the phone so Anthony called me to ask where we were and I told him our predicament! He drove back but the guys were finally able to free the van and we continued to the birth home.

It was different from last year in the fact that the project her brother was working on that prevented us from driving up the hill was complete but we decided not to even try taking the van up the hill! Anthony drove up but we walked! It is a beautiful piece of land that sits up high and overlooks the countryside; just breathtaking. Catherine walked us around the property and showed us where she and her siblings lived, how they gathered water and where she grew food. The original structure she lived in as a child is still there but her brother, Anthony uses it for storage now and built another house on the land where he lives with his wife, Grace (also known as Mama Lillian) and two children, Hilda and Lillian. Word quickly spread that Catherine was visiting and soon a former neighbor showed up as well as Catherine’s uncle, one of her father’s brothers! Catherine gave her uncle some groceries and she gave the former neighbor some cash (again, custom to help those less fortunate). Then Mama Lillian prepared tea for all as well as sweet potatoes that she had roasted on the fireplace that is their stove. The house is in the same style as the one Catherine grew up in with the kitchen in a separate building. We enjoyed the healthy snack and then had to say our goodbyes so we could make our last stop of the day.

When we got back down to our car and were about to leave, we ran into Charity, Catherine’s Aunt that we ran into and interviewed on our first visit to her home town.

She asked me to come to her house (just up the road) for a visit and some tea and I felt horrible having to decline. I know it is not polite but we were on a very tight schedule and it would be getting dark soon and we still had to visit Anthony’s parents who had been waiting for us. I promised that the next time I come I will take her up on the generous offer.

We drove back through Karatina and on to Anthony’s parents who still live in the home where Anthony grew up. I still don’t know how people find their way around these places as there are no street signs and people just know which coffee field to turn at! I had not seen Anthony’s parents’ home in daylight and when we arrived it was very pretty! They have a little orchard/garden where they grow some vegetables and also have some passion fruit trees! They showed us down into the garden and I watched Anthony climb a passion fruit tree like a little kid (even though he was wearing dress clothes and shoes!)

He and Catherine knocked down a lot of fruit and I tasted my first passion fruit which was surprisingly good! We then interviewed Anthony’s parents, Jane and Kenneth and learned some interesting things from them. Anthony definitely gets his sense of humor from his father; in fact, they are almost one and the same person! His mother seems to be very practical and we learned that she used to be a runner as well! We shared some tea and biscuits and a little bit of time and then needed to head out so we could get back to Nairobi before it got too late. We left Catherine and Anthony there to spend a little “alone” time with the parents and Anthony said he would see us on the road as he passes us! I laughed and we got on the way :) Sure enough, about 40 minutes into the drive, we saw them pass our van! Kenyan drivers! :) We stayed our course and arrived back at Wasini at almost 10:30. It was a long day but well worth it!

Lions No Tigers and Bears

Sunday June 1, 2008

Today is the day! I got up at 7 and got the rest of my things packed and all my treated clothing packed in my overnight bag for Masai Mara! I got downstairs on time and went to check out. Unfortunately there were some discrepancies with the bill that took longer than expected to sort out but we did. It turns out that the EXCHANGE rate I had been given during my stay was 58.05-59. On my bill however the rate was calculated at 62.35. It turns out they have a rate for exchange and a rate they use to bill. I don’t get it! For comparison just to jump ahead a few hours, the hotel in Masai Mara uses 56.40! If you figure it out please let ME know!

Anyway it was time to head to Wilson airport to catch my Air Kenya flight. At almost 10am we boarded. There were around 30 people on the flight. When the pilot turned the propellers on we didn’t go anywhere. The pilot came over the intercom and told us that the ground crew spotted a hydraulic leak! We had to disembark and waited for another hour before they were able to board us onto another craft.

Finally we were airborne! I found out that the plane was like a bus and that I would be stop number 3. It was nice to watch out of the window for awhile but next thing I knew it 40 minutes had passed and we were making our first stop. When we arrived at the Mara Serena airstrip, those of us staying at Mara Serena Lodge got off the plane. We headed towards the parking lot and were told to choose a vehicle. I got into one with a nice young couple. There was a man outside with a video camera narrating his film: we are now at the landing strip for Mara Serena, here is our vehicle….” Blah blah blah! He made the entire jeep wait for him to finish. Thankfully, he chose the other van!

Our driver/guide’s name is Dickson. He is from Samburu and has been her for over two years. He is very knowledgeable and we found out that he would be our guide from here on in.

There was NOTHING along the road coming to the hotel/lodge. As we approached the Mara Serena Lodge however, it seemed like paradise! The hotel consists of small cottages built into the side of a mountain. One side overlooks the plains and the other side overlooks the pool and plains. We had lunch and then we were shown to our rooms. My room is SO lovely! It is a hundred times nicer that Panafric and I only wish I had more time here! There is a king size bed, very nice dresser, a beautiful bathroom with a shower and real flushing toilet! The bed has a mosquito net that you pull around when you got to sleep. Then there is a sitting area with two chairs and a table that overlooks a huge window that you can open to reveal the Mara. I saw a herd of elephants and a buffalo just with the naked eye! If you remember earlier in the post meant for yesterday I mentioned that the man who showed me to my room warned me never to leave the window open when not in the room because the baboons are known to come in and snatch things!

We had the afternoon free so I decided to sit by the pool for a bit and see if I could get any color that would show I had been in Africa! It was a lovely view out over the plains and I saw what is known as a Gamma Lizard. He was beautiful and the funniest little guy I hope I can figure out how to post videos on here because you have to see this creature’s mating ritual it is hysterical He bobs his head up and down a bunch of times trying to court the female. Just as in every living creature except man, the female is never as pretty as the male. (looks like superman!)

I relaxed until it was time for our game drive. I was SO excited! This is something I have always wanted to do and here I am! As I entered the lobby I saw Adam and Jennifer who I had shared the ride from the airport with. I asked Dickson, our guide, if it would just be the three of us that if the Indian man with the camcorder was on our vehicle I would not be happy! He said he is not because he had the manifest and we were only waiting for one more man and someone said the video guy was already in his car. We couldn’t find our last person so we headed out to the car, the while thinking “please don’t let him be in our car”. Well, sure enough he was in OUR car! The three of us just looked at each other; we had no choice. We get into the vehicle and the guide starts talking to us and all we can hear is the guy in the back self-narrating another video! We begin our journey to find big game!!!! We stop to see some impalas and Dickson is talking and all of a sudden mr videoman starts narrating: “here we have some impalas, they are….” We couldn’t hear the guide so both Adam and myself tell him we are trying to hear the guide!

We went on to see impalas, different varieties of antelope, hippo, cheetahs. Zebras, buffalo, and LIONS!!!!! We first saw a male who had just gotten his fill from a kill, possibly an Impala. He was gorgeous!!! After a few minutes he just rolled over and plopped down and was sound asleep as evidenced by his rib cage moving up and down rhythmically.

We moved on in search of more animals and all of us hoped for more lions. We finally saw some other vehicles congregated around an area and knew lions had been spotted! When we got there it was an amazing sight! There was a pride of lions that included lionesses and cubs. There were 14 total! They were magnificent!

They were lounging around, sometimes shifting positions, sometimes moving from the rocks to the grass. Again, hopefully I will be able to figure out why I can’t upload videos and be able to because the video is amazing. I even caught one of the lionesses bathing a cub! The game drive was from 4-6:30 and then we headed back and had some tea/cocoa with Dickson.

I went back to my room and changed into long pants and got a jacket to be as safe as possible from the mosquitoes.

Dinner was excellent! The hotel is first class all the way. It is buffet but everything is always cooked perfectly and hot with great selection of fish, meat and salad and deli items. There is a full dessert buffet as well as a coffee/tea bar. The service is also excellent. There are over 100 employees here and capacity of guests is only 120 so there is plenty of service. It’s also cool to see little gecko’s just running up and down the walls and ceiling!

When we were having tea before dinner there was a guitar player who sang with a lovely voice. After dinner there was another singer/guitarist and he had a beautiful voice as well. I went and sat by the fire which overlooked the pool and that is where I am typing my blog. It is so peaceful, the breeze is refreshing and there are stars everywhere. I wish I could stay here for a week!

Game drive starts at 6:30 am and I can’t wait!