Kenyan Travel Update

Kapkeringon

I'll be staying for two week in Kapkeringon Village which is where Justin Lagat has a house. It's about an hour from Eldoret and should be great for building up my notes for a book. Plus, I will get to go for runs with Justin. (Yes, I've already told him I'm slow - it will give us time to chat.) As a younger man, Justin worked with the tea farmers in the Nandi Hills area.

Justin still trains, but I think he might have made a bigger name for himself as a writer for RunBlogRun. During the Kenyan Championships, Justin posted a steady stream of info and pictures so that the rest of the world could get results almost real time. If you're interested in what's happening in Kenya with runners, Justin's your guy. You can follow him on twitter.

Simbolei Academy

After I leave Kapkeringon, I'll trek over to Iten. I've already booked the cottage at Simbolei Academy, just outside of the town. My understanding is that it's about a 1.5 mile walk into town and about 15 miles to Eldoret. Andrea Kaitany has been wonderfully helpful in getting me up to speed on what I can expect. An added benefit to me is that my rent for the cottage will help build the Academy.

A shameless plug: They're doing good work there at Simbolei Academy and small donations go a long, long way to delivering an education to girls who otherwise would stop after primary school. Unlike the US, a secondary education is not paid for out of public funds but by the families. This makes educating all the children out of reach for many of the families in the Rift Valley, where the commerce so prevalent in Nairobi has yet to appear. Consider sending a couple of dollars their way, please. Here is the link to their donation page.

Visas

Make a note for yourself - if you want the East African visa, don't send the application in five months before travel. I did, and the kind gentleman at the embassy is returning it to me. The Kenyan visa is good for six months. The East African is only valid for three. Oops.

I opted for the East African visa as it permits entry into not just Kenya, but also Rwanda and Uganda. While I don't currently have a plan to visit either, I like the flexibility of picking up and going on a whim, especially after reading Running the Rift.

My family will attest to my low impulse control when it comes to adventures. My wife gave up trying to rein me in. Instead, we reached an agreement that I can do all the truly stupid things I like provided I don't do anything tragically stupid.

I'll resubmit the application in November. The embassy official already gave me a heads-up that everything looks fine, so I should be good to go.