A WEEKEND OF CORRUPTION, GHOSTS AND SAND :: WATAMU ::
on Alejandra Barahona (Kenya), 12/Oct/2010 07:03, 34 days ago
So corruption is one of the biggest problems in developing countries, we have experienced it in Guatemala and now we are really experiencing it like never before here in Kenya. We as musungu (white people) experience it triple, just because we are white everybody assumes we have money so they charge us more for everything... bus rides, food, clothing, housing... absolutely everything you can think of they will increase the price just because you are white and we are a bit tired of that, can't they put signs to let you know what the real bus fare is? well no, because if there's a traffic jam then they will charge everybody more, not just musungus right? that is definitely not fair but it's for sure the way they do it in Kenya. Wait, wait, this post is not only to complain, or is it, maybe it is but we decided to write about it after our trip to Watamu...It all started with a matatu ride from Bombolulu, the area where we live, the ride to Watamu which is like 2 and a half hours from our place would cost us 200ksh, that's actually fair for a trip that long so we paid in full... for our surprise we had to change buses in the way and I heard our conductor say to the new driver that we had already paid the whole fare (that was in Kiswahili) so we left it like that and didn't say a thing... 15 minutes before arriving to our final stop the driver tried to charge us again.. in between arguing, yelling, angry faces and signals we told him we heard when the other driver told him we had paid already... surprised that we had understood Kiswahili he backed out of his scam and dropped us off in Gede...We love ruins so we headed to Gede Ruins close to Watamu, according to our guide book this site is spooky and some archeologists have heard voices and seen weird shadows here but we didn't hear or see anything out of the ordinary. Not so many tourists or locals find an interest in Swahili ruins so we were almost the only visitors here. What we love about these type of ruins is that they are built entirely out of coral, it seems like concrete blocks but if you come closer you can see the texture of the coral, pretty interesting material for construction.After the ruins we headed to where we were planning to stay, "Mida EcoLodge" which supposedly is a very nice place with hanging bridges, a view of the creek and some eco-fun... after a 15 min bus ride and a 30 min walk we arrived to the hidden Eco Lodge just to find out that it was closed because someone had been killed there!!! as quickly as we could we headed out of there, it was almost 6pm and it was getting dark... less than 30 min walk this time through a quiet road so you can imagine how spooked we were this time...By the time we got to Watamu again it was pretty dark, no street lights, just a few lights coming from restaurants and bars so we had no idea where to go or where to stay... A woman approached us offering to take us to a guest house...after hearing about the killing in the other Lodge we were hesitant of accepting but had no choice really, so we said yes and off we went with pepper spray in one hand and Swiss army knife in the other... We walked a bit and kept looking at each other not knowing what would happen until we finally got to a guest house "Tiki House", which looked ok from the outside but not so nice from the inside but there was no other choice at that time so we stayed...The woman probably got a commission out of that, one thing we've learned in this country is that almost no one will help you out for free... sad given that everyone wants to help this country but anyways...Next morning we headed to the Watamu Marine park which sounded pretty cool but once again felt disappointed when we understood that Marine Parks in Kenya are just beaches with coral reefs close by which you have to pay a boat to take you so we passed heading to the closest hotel to spend the day... Like most hotels they let us use the pool in exchange of buying something to eat and drink  so we had breakfast and then lunch spending a relaxing day. So after starting the weekend with a glimpse of Kenyan culture we ended it with a glimpse of Kenyan nature and after being ripped off day after day we are starting to wonder if it's really worth it to be here.  Aid is good if both sides of the coin are willing, if only one is committed to make a change then no change will be made, so far we haven't seen interest on improving from most people we work with, they just want someone to make the changes for them and when it's their turn then the wheel stops.  Our view of Africa now has changed, of course most countries in this continent need help but it has to start with the root of the problem and if people living here are not willing to change why should we try to help right? had to try though and we'll keep trying a bit more so stay close if you want to know more about these two volunteers in Kenya...