肯亞所見系列 (3)

Monday, December 27, 2005

Christmas Day and Beyond (聖誕節與之後)

Christmas morning we made our way back to Wagai and had a fantastic lunch with the 6 orphans. It was amazing to hear their stories and how much abuse they had suffered before they arrived. They ranged from 6 - 9 years of age. Lunch was fantastic and the chicken was freshly killed. Kids loved the presents from Sue and Keith and played with the toys for hours. The chief was also there and was a jolly man (think lord mayor). We had a kick of the soccer ball and headed back to Wagai for some festivities on the field.

We arrived with the kids onto the field and it was a mess. There were so many people and most of them were amazed to see muzungu's with a wheelchair (one of the girl was Sharon whose story is particularly sad and she was confined to a wheelchair). Needless to say, none of the locals had seen this many foreigners or a wheelchair and they must have thought we were about to put on a show because literally hundreds of kids and adults swarmed around us and it was very claustro... We quickly left the field and returned home.The evening was spent just sipping some red wine and listening to Damien Rice. Perfect way to end an evening.Boxing day was spent back at Dophil clinic with nothing to report. Spent the afternoon playing football with the children and the small goals in the pouring rain. IT was fantastic ! We ran around for at least 3 hours.Eventually we finished the night with a small stew from the local pub and went to sleep. Sunset in Wagai is always amazing...Dr Ochieng was stuck in Nairobi so theatre was cancelled. found a little internet post at Siaya so I could fill in the details. Not much else to report. Just thought I'd post what it was like to sleep here in Wagai under the nets. A bit freaky really. My bed has also been broken because of my sudden weight increase I think... (posted by Phil Huang @ 5:57 PM)

聖誕節的早上 [註: 應是當地 25/Dec], 我們回到 Wagai, 和 6 位孤兒院院童共度一個很棒的午餐. 我很驚訝的聽著他們所敘述的生平與到孤兒院之前所遭受到的各種虐待. 他們大概都是在 6 ~9 歲的年齡層. 午餐很棒, 雞肉是現宰的. 院童們很喜歡 Sue 和 Keith [註: Philip 女朋友 Karen 的父母] 從雪梨所寄包裹中的玩具禮物, 還一玩就是幾個小時. 鎮長是一個很樂天的人, 也和我們在一起. 我們玩了幾下足球後, 大家就一起回到 Wagai 的運動場上, 去看看正在那裡舉行的聖誕節慶典活動.

我們和院童們一起進入運動場內, 那裡的情況真是一團亂. 不用說你也可以想到, 因為大部份的本地人從來都沒有看過有這麼多位的外國人, 也從來都沒有見過輪椅是長得什麼樣, 所以一大堆人在那裡, 而大部份的人對於幾個 Muzungu (白人) 為什麼會伴隨著一個坐輪椅的 (有一個女院童叫 Sharon, 她的生平故事尤其悲慘, 因而需要終生坐在輪椅上) 都感到很好奇. 他們大概是認為我們是要到那裡去表演有關聖誕節故事的節目, 所以一下子就有好幾百個大人和小孩蜂擁過來, 把我們圍在中間. 這種不斷逼近過來的情景, 看起來實在是有點恐怖, 所以我們馬上就迅速地離開那裡, 各自回家了.

這個聖誕節的晚上, 我就在一面啜飲著一些紅酒, 一面聽著 Damien Rice的音樂中度過. 這真是一個完美的方式來結束今晚. [註: Damien Rice 是愛爾蘭的一位歌手, 他是Philip 的朋友. 2005.04.28 在雪梨的巡迴演唱會結束後, 當晚Damien 還曾到 Philip 在雪梨的住處, 兩人一夜暢談人生到天亮. 英國的國家廣播公司 BBC 在 2005 年還曾專訪過他: 對訪談片段有興趣者, 可到: http://switchboard.real.com/player/email.html?PV=6.0.12&&title=damien%5Frice%5Fint1%5Fb&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fbbcfour%2Fmusic%2Fram%2Fdamien%5Frice%5Fint1%5Fb.ram , 進入網址後在 Real player 上…. ]

按一下滑鼠可啟動 RealPlayer並播放個人媒體。

聖誕節隔天的 boxing day開禮物日 [註: 應是當地 26/Dec], 我是回到 Dophil 多費樂診所醫院中過的, 沒有什麼特別的事可以向大家報告的. 下午我則去和一些小孩子玩橄欖球, 還在傾盆大雨中踢進去了幾球. 很棒! 我們又跑又玩的至少有 3 個小時以上.

晚上吃完從本地酒館中買回的外帶 stew 小盤燉肉湯後, 我們就上床去睡了 [註: 宿舍裡禮拜一這天, 可能是依然還沒有電力吧!]. 不過, 說真的, Wagai天空日落的美景, 總是讓我著迷.

Dr. Ochieng [註: 長得很像艾迪墨菲的那位 Siaya 區域醫院中的外科醫生] 因為有事在奈羅比趕不回來, 所以原訂今天 [註: 應是當地 27/Dec] 打算要對病房裡那些骨頭變形病患所開的刀, 勢必得要延期了. 由於在這間區域醫院旁的郵局內找到一處可以連接網路的插座點, 因此我今天可以在此寫這篇 blog 文章. 除了我現在附上的這張有我睡在蚊帳內的照片以外, 其他倒沒有什麼可以向大家好報告的. 我讓大家看看我為什麼會說睡在這頂蚊帳內, 使我覺得好像是被困住似的難以呼吸 [註: Philip在肯亞所見系列 (1) 的 16/Dec “Speechless (說不出話來…)” Blog 文章中曾提及此事]. 看起來讓人覺得有點毛骨悚然, 是吧! 喔, 對了, 還有一件事我想順便提一下, 那就是我床的床腳幾天前突然斷掉了. 我想, 這大概是跟我突然增加的體重有關吧!.......... (Posted by Phil Huang @ 5:57 PM)

Saturday, December 31, 2005

The Strangest thing... (最奇怪的事….)

The week has been quite a mind blowing experience. After leaving siaya because Dr Ochieng was stuck in Nairobi I headed off back to Dolphil. Dr Philip was very keen for us to meet these Kenyans who were studying medicine in Australia. I happily agreed and was quite surprised to find a few GMP2's here in Kenya. Aman was visiting Renee who was a local here in Kenya. I discovered a different side to Kenya as Renee was obviously quite well off and living a different life here than most of the locals. She had a country house in western Kenya and her dad was a big lawyer here in Kenya. They drove around most places and was quite surprised when I informed them that Kibera was the only place I have visited in Kenya. Anyhow, they drove off in their red merc and it was a huge head spin to see some people from home here in the remote area of western Kenya.

The afternoon was so quiet and I decided to head home and continue playing football with the kids. It was great to spend time playing football and I don't think I could get sick of it ever... I was however so sick of eating beans and rice at hospital. Lunch was reasonably bland and I begged the lady to cook some additional sukuma and she obliged. Steven went and got some ugali and stew for dinner and I had a great meal for dinner.

The next morning I spent going through the inventory at Siaya Hospital. I had discovered some old orthopedic tools and bone traction devices as well as a plate and some screws that was removed from a patient a long time ago. They also had a manual operated drill which was hilarious to use. The day was spent in theatre performing various operations including caesarians and the like. Eventually the doctors performed the osteotomy but we could not perform the closed reduction. Therefore it appeared as if bone traction was the only option left. Through the day I sat with Kodada (the anaesthetist) and spoke at length about life and religion in Kenya. Unemployment is supposed to around 80% he said although I am unsure as to the validity of his statement. One of the nurses had also died today from HIV and all the sisters were attending her funeral. Just before the osteotomy the Physio had arrived and was trying to convince the team that the patient was fine and just needed a plaster for 4 weeks. He believed that the union was acceptable (see x ray) and was frustrated that we were about to change the protocol and routine for managing fractures. He said he had been doing this for 10 years. In an area of so much trauma only 7 patients were admitted. Siaya had developed a reputation for doing absolutely nothing for patients with fractures. Local villagers believed it to be the same outcome if they just sat home for 7 weeks and walked with permanent deformities as opposed to coming to hospital and paying for the same result. Either way, the physio was overturned and we continued with our plan. Dr Ochieng would later inform me that the Physio has an alcohol problem and so has the one of the other doctors (who never turns up) and that is why we are so busy every day. He stressed that Kenyans consider many factors in life and to dismiss the doctor and physio would be damaging for their families. Therefore, he was trying to get these people transferred which irked me to think that these people would continue practicising.

Thursday was a large day. So many emergencies including delivering a foetus which had died in utero. It was sad to see the baby delivered dead. When it was delivered I laughed uncontrollably. It was such a strange moment. Dr Ochieng laughed a few seconds later. It was laughter that was uncomfortable. I felt like vomiting or crying yet all I could do was laugh. We sat down later and discussed this over tea. To see so much death and so much suffering was overwhelming and at times all you can do is laugh and continue. We operated until 10pm with the insertion of the bone traction being last. It was extremely difficult to drill a pin through the bone manually and I got some nasty blisters on my hands from the process. But it was a good feeling to see it go in and the subsequent x-ray showed the bones being aligned in the same plane. Union might not be perfect but at least the bones were not overlaping each other any more. We drove off to the hotel in Siaya and had some dinner where I tried Kenya Spaghetti. I also tried some Redd (apple beer) which was pretty decent. Eventually went home and crashed at around 11:30.

Friday was the most draining of all. Because the doctor who had an alcohol problem (changa, which is metho) had not come in for days and Dr Ochieng was left with doing the ward duties. Most of the patients had been neglected for days and some were at the brink of death. We also performed minor dressing changes and other minor procedures. IT was insane to see how much the doctors had to perform in a day. We also had to perform an autopsy which was quite an eye-opener. The morgue here holds only 15 bodies yet there were 57 bodies packed into it. Some from as far back as 2002. The police were not willing to sign off on the bodies and many of them were unidentified. Today's victim had been the target of mob justice. Mob rules here in Kenya and even petty crime are not tolerated. On TV they showed a pickpocket which was beaten to a pulp by a mob around Christmas. Police shot at a man they felt was a car jacker in the leg yesterday. Our dead body was a man who was carrying a plastic toy gun. He had not committed a crime but the fact he was carrying a weapon was enough for the mob. They beat him to a literal pulp and set his body on fire. We had to sit through the autopsy while the relatives sat in for legal reasons. Dr Ochieng spoke of his experience being car jacked which sounded so brutal and violent that I shall not repeat it here. Both him and Kodada justified the mob behaviour inciting the get them before they get you attitude as a reason why it is accepted to murder this man. It was horrific to hear this...Dr Ochieng even spoke of a recent man who stole a chicken (about 150 shillings or 3 Australian dollars) and was beaten to death. It made me extremely sad for the rest of the day. Eventually Dr Ochieng and Kodada made their way to Kisumu and it was a great road trip for us as Kodada traveled with us while Ochieng had a meeting with the minister of health and the local hospital admin people.

We spent the evening watching the most amazing sunset at Sunset hotel in Kisumu which far surpassed Imperial in both price and quality. I felt truly relaxed

In the late evening I spoke at lengths with my parents about the upcoming plans to tackle Mt Kenya and Kilimanjaro. Dad was quite annoyed that I was to spend time holidaying here and wished me to return to Taiwan. It was difficult trying to express the need for me to complete this hike and I almost regret telling my parents about it. Hopefully they will understand when they see the video and the photos... (posted by Phil Huang @ 10:15 PM)

這個禮拜對我來說, 真的是讓我的頭腦都快要爆掉了. 由於 Dr. Ochieng 因為有事在奈羅比趕不回來, 所以我就離開 Siaya 區域醫院回到 Dolphil 多費樂診所醫院去 [註: 應是當地 27/Dec]. Dr. Philip [註: 多費樂診所唯一的駐院醫生] 非常希望我們能夠見見正在澳洲唸醫學院的幾位肯亞人. 我很高興的同意了, 卻很驚訝的發現, 原來也有幾位我們大學 [註: 雪梨大學] 學士後醫學院二年級的學生是在肯亞這裡. Aman 阿曼是來找他同學肯亞本地人 Renee .的. Renee 很顯然的是一個有錢人家的女兒, 過得是和其他絕大部份本地人完全不同的生活, 所以讓我也看到了肯亞人不同生活型態的另一面. 由於她父親是肯亞這裡有名的一位大律師, 她本人在西肯亞擁有自己的房子. 這些學弟和學妹們開著車已玩遍大部份肯亞有名的風景區和景點, 他們很驚訝我在肯亞已經半個多月了, 然而卻只有去過Kibera 玩. 總而言之, 看到一些來自雪梨家鄉的人, 在西肯亞的偏僻鄉下地區開著紅色賓士汽車離去, 對我來說, 實在是一件讓我暈頭轉向而且是感覺錯亂的大事情.

這個下午的診所醫院很靜, 沒有什麼病人上門, 所以我就先行回家, 繼續和幾個小孩子們玩了一場橄攬球. 玩橄攬球的感覺真的是很棒, 我想我永遠也不會厭倦玩它. 可是我卻很厭倦在醫院裡的那些午餐, 永遠都是令人乏味一成不變的豆子和米飯. 所以我就拜託幫我們煮飯的那位阿姨, 看是不是可以多煮一些蔬菜, 她也欣然照做了. Steven 出去買了些外帶的 Ugali 玉蜀黍粉麵團和燉肉湯, 因此這個晚上的晚餐, 我吃得還不錯. [註: 可以煮菜的話, 看來宿舍裡禮拜二這天, 可能是又有基本的電力了.]

隔天早上 [註: 應是當地 28/Dec], 我在 Siaya 區域醫院儲藏室清點存貨. 我發現在其中有一些非常老舊的骨科專用工具器材, 一些 bone traction devices骨骼牽引器 和好久以前從一些病人身上取下來的 screws不鏽鋼螺絲釘與鋼板, 還有一支在現代醫學看起來是落伍好笑的manual operated drill 手動手術用鑿骨器. 這天我幾乎 一整天都是待在手術房裡進行各式各樣的剖腹和其他類似的一些手術. 最後當那些醫生們要做 Osteotomies截骨手術 [註: 先將骨頭打斷再復位的一種骨科整形技術] 時, 我們卻無法把把骨頭拉近到比較正常的位置上; 因此看起來使用 bone traction 骨骼牽引器確實是唯一能做的選擇. 我坐在手術檯旁, 和麻醉醫師 Dr. Kodada 一面做手術, 一面長聊著肯亞人的生活情形和宗教信仰. 據他說, 肯亞的失業率是高達 80%, 但是我卻懷疑他這個數據的可靠性 [註: 根據肯亞政府在 2002 年年底所公佈的官方經濟資料顯示, 它全國的貧窮率為 56%, 失業率 21.7%, 平均壽命是 52 歲.]. 有一個護士因感染到 HIV 不幸去世了, 因此所有的護士今天都跑去參加她的喪禮. 在要進行截骨手術之前, 復健醫師也來了. 他想要說服手術小組說病人的情況是一切都良好, 只需包裹石膏再 4 個禮拜就可以痊癒, 根本就不需要動到刀做手術矯正. 他認為 X 光片上骨骼接合的情況是可以被接受的. 他深感挫折說我們居然會想要去改變醫院裡處理骨折病患的慣例與規範 [註: 這間醫院所有的骨折病例都只是交由復健醫師去處理而已]. 他也說他做復健這一行已經有 10 年之久. 在一個發生意外傷害機率是如此高的地區, 為什麼只有 7 個骨折住院病患, 那是因為這間Siaya 區域醫院早已因從來都不會替骨折病患做好任何事而惡名昭彰在外. 很多附近有骨折的村民都認為, 在家坐著休息 7 個禮拜後帶著癒合後變形的骨骼到處走的結果, 和付錢給醫院請他們處理骨折的下場, 都是一樣的. 不過復健醫師的打石膏即可建議和我們不信任他處理骨折病患慣例方式的抗議, 都被我們推翻了, 我們還是照著原定的計劃繼續進行手術. 事後, Dr. Ochieng 告訴我說, 這位復健醫師和另一位原本也應該進手術房的醫生, 都有長期酗酒的問題. 而這也就是為什麼我們每天都會這麼忙碌的原因. 他也說, 肯亞人在人生中要不要做一件事情時, 都會考慮到很多的因素, 他如果把這位今天沒有出現的醫師和這位不專業的復健醫師都辭退的話, 這將會對他們的家庭帶來很大的傷害, 因此他早就想盡辦法要把他們調走到其他醫院去. 但是, 我一想到只是要把這兩位醫師調到另一間醫院去讓他們繼續如此不專業的執業, 這種解決事情的方式, 就讓我苦惱不已.

禮拜四 [註: 應是當地 29/Dec] 我們非常忙, 有很多送來急診的病患, 包括接生一位已胎死腹中的嬰兒. 看到自己幫忙接生, 出來的卻是一個死嬰時的那種感覺, 實在是很令人感到悲傷. 可是當我把那位死嬰接生出來時, 我卻開始無法控制的大笑; 那種時刻真的是很奇特. 幾秒鐘過後, Dr. Ochieng 也開始大笑起來了. 可是我們這兩位大笑者, 才是真正感覺到不舒服的人. 此時的我很想吐或是放聲大哭, 但發現唯一能做得出來的, 卻是只有放聲大笑而已. 稍後, 我們兩人坐下來喝杯熱茶, 並且討論這種狀況. 看到這麼多的病人死亡或受到這麼多的病痛折磨, 是讓人非常感傷的; 可是我們做醫生的人, 有很多時候你唯一所能做的, 就是大笑然後繼續做我們的工作而已. 我們當晚在手術房裡排的最後一刀, 是要把一具骨骼牽引器插入病患的身體裡面去. 因為很難用手把一枚鋼釘鑿進骨頭裡, 我們一直做到晚上 10 點鐘才完成, 而我的雙手也因此起了好幾個很大的水泡. 但當我看到鋼釘終於被鑿進去, 而且在X 光片上顯示因這枚鑿進去的鋼釘有讓骨骼水平 plane形成一條直線時, 我覺得很開心. 骨骼接合處或許不是很完美, 但至少骨頭和骨頭中間, 不會再有彼此相疊的情況發生了. 我們開車到 Siaya 的一間旅館飯店中用晚餐. 我在那裡嚐到了肯亞的義大利肉醬麵, 也喝到了 Redd (肯亞的一種蘋果啤酒, 味道還不錯). 最後, 當我終於回到家一頭栽進床上時, 已經是晚上 11:30 了..

禮拜五 [註: 應是當地 30/Dec] 是我最累慘的一天. 由於那位有長期酗酒問題的醫師, 已經有好幾天都沒有在醫院中出現, Dr. Ochieng 變成就要替自己的病人巡房, 也要替那位醫師做他應該要做的巡房工作. 那位醫師的病人因為多天被疏忽沒有被巡房到, 有好幾個已經瀕臨死亡的狀況. 我們同時也趕快替他的一些病人做傷口紗布的更換, 或是一些小的傷口感染化膿處理. 看到這些盡責的醫生們, 在一天裡面居然必須要處理這麼多的狀況, 實在是會讓人為之發狂. 這天我們也必須要做一個大體解剖, 這個解剖讓我也真是大開了眼界.

這間醫院裡的停屍間只能存放 15 具屍體, 可是他們卻置放了 57 具屍體, 有一些甚至於是從 2002 年就被停放在這裡. 由於當地的警方人員不願意簽字, 很多具都是被當做是無名屍體來處理. 今天要被解剖的這具大體, 是一位被認為是在施行 mob justice 暴民正義下的犧牲品. 在肯亞,, 所謂對偷搶嫌犯甚或是一件很小的罪行, 都是不會被容忍的. 在聖誕節那幾天的電視上, 他們甚至還公開播放著有一個扒手失風被民眾逮到以後, 是如何的當街被一位暴民活活揍死. 當地的警察昨天才開槍直接射穿一位他們 “覺得” 是劫持汽車的嫌疑犯大腿. 這位大體的主人, 則是因為他隨身攜帶著一把塑膠玩具手槍. 他並沒有用這把塑膠玩具手槍犯下任何一件罪行, 可是攜帶著它就已足夠會被人認為是想要偸搶的罪犯了. 那些暴民們把他活活揍成是真的就像肉醬一樣, 再放火燒了他的屍體. 我們整個解剖時間都是坐在解剖室裡不敢動手, 因為他的家屬們就在房間內, 為了法律問題而靜坐. Dr. Ochieng 告訴我說, 他有一次開車被劫持的經驗, 過程聽起來是那麼的殘忍與暴力, 我告訴自己說我希望在這裡, 這種事永遠都不要發生在我的身上. 他和 Dr. Kodada [註: 麻醉醫師] 兩人都認為, 暴民加諸於這個大體主人身上的行為和舉動, 都是可以被接受的, 因為它代表著先發制人與防患於未然. 聽到他們這種的說法, 讓我覺得真是可怕…. Dr. Ochieng 甚至還提到, 最近有一個人, 只因為被人發現偷了一隻雞 (大概是價值 肯亞貨幣 150 先令, 約合澳幣 3 元) [註: 約合台幣 70 元] 後, 就被活活揍死. 這件事讓我整天剩下來的時間裡, 都感到很悲哀. 直到最後, Ocheing 和 Kodada 因為有事要到 Kisumu 去辦, 所以就開車帶我同行. Ochieng 去和衛生局局長及一些本地的醫院行政人員會面, Kodada 則全程陪我到處閒逛解愁.

當晚, 我們就夜宿在 Kisimu 的 Sunset Hotel日落旅館裡面, 也一起觀賞了最漂亮的日落景色. 這間旅館, 無論是在價格 [註: 據 Philip 當晚在電話中告知我們說, 房間是 AS$ 70/晚, 約合台幣 1,700 元]. 或是服務的品質上, 都遠遠超過了我在上個禮拜週末所居住的 Imperial Hotel 帝王旅館 [註: 也是位於全世界第二大淡水湖 Lake Victoria 旁, 但房間每晚是 US$ 100, 約合台幣 3,300 元]. 這時的我, 才覺得全身開始是真正的放輕鬆起來.

過後, 我和我的父母在國際長途電話中, 談了很久有關我要在下星期六開始做為期 3 個禮拜的攀登肯亞山和 Kilimanjoro 之旅. 老爸很不高興我居然想要花時間繼續待在這裡渡假旅遊, 他希望我能夠飛回台灣去多陪陪他. 我很難向他表達清楚為什麼我需要去完成爬這兩座山的原因. 我幾乎後悔起來我為什麼要告訴他們這件事了. 我只希望日後當他們看到我製作完成的錄影帶和相片專輯時, 就會了解是為什麼了…… (posted by Phil Huang @ 10:15 PM)


[後記]

當兒子 Philip 在 30/Dec 的國際長途電話中告訴我們說, 其實他留在肯亞的醫院裡實習的時間只是到 6/Jan 而已時, 老實說, 我並沒有感到很意外. 我知道他需要在校外見習或實習 12 個禮拜; 扣掉他去年待在越南河內國家醫院的 4 個禮拜, 和即將在 30/Jan ~ 26/Feb/2005 於 Harvard Medical School 哈佛大學醫學院的 4 個禮拜, 我本來就覺得很奇怪他為什麼需要待在肯亞長達 8 個禮拜之久呢? 現在總算真相大白, 原來他是想要在肯亞一面工作一面玩. 對於他在之前的知情不報讓我們為他的安全每天都在提心吊膽, 我是已經沒有力氣去生他的氣了, 但是對於他只需要待在醫療設備不足情況又簡陋雜亂的醫院裡到 6/Jan 時, 我是如釋重負, 心中的那塊石頭總算落下了 3/4.

時間是過得真快, 一轉眼, 他已經在肯亞有 3 個禮拜之久了. 他看到了很多, 我相信也思考了很多. 再不到 4 個月, 他就會年滿 26 足歲. 他媽當年在 26 足歲時是手忙腳亂的正在學習要如何做好一個媽媽和妻子的角色; 他則是剛出生幾個月大. 如今的他卻是橫越大洋洲非洲和美洲正在學習要如何做好一個骨科醫生的角色, 而我則是縮在廚房裡. 人世間的變化真是難測呀! 身為他媽的我, 只能每天依然為他祈禱, 希望他一切都平安順事, 並期待他能早日畢業行醫, 看是否我在他身上所投下的長期精力投資, 能夠有回收的那麼一天吧!

[附註]

觀光熱門城市或區域: Mt. Kenya National Park 肯亞山國家公園

肯亞山並不是一座難以攀登的高山, 唯主峰Batian及第二高峰Nelion常年積雪, 攀登需要藉助輔助器材, 因此一般登山者大都選擇位於東側5000公尺高的第三高峰Lenana. 這是一條大多數人都可以勝任的登山途徑, 此地有極佳的視野, 可以遠眺周邊的村落以及兩座主峰.

有人說, 肯亞觀光有三寶, 那就是: Masai-Mara Game Reserve 馬賽－馬拉國家動物保護區, Lake Victoria 維多利亞湖, 與 Mt. Kenya 肯亞山.

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而非洲的第一高山 Mt. Kilimanjoro [註: 肯亞 Swahili 斯瓦希里語 Kilima Njoro 意為 shining mountain 閃亮發光的山], 是一座成層 extinct vocano 熄火山, 也是 East African Rift Valley 東非大縱谷南方末端近 20 座火山中最大者. 它在 Tanzania 坦桑尼亞境內東北方, 離肯亞邊界很近. 2 1/4公里寬仍會發出蒸氣與硫磺的Kibo是Kilimanjoro 火山最高最年輕的 crater 火山噴口, Shira 噴口在它西邊, Mawenza噴口在它東邊. 此山雖在赤道南方 3ﾟ [註: 約 310 公里], 但峯頂是終年 ice cap 冰帽覆蓋, 很多人為什麼會對這座山這麼著迷, 就是因為在此山, 從赤道叢林到冰天雪地, 全都涵蓋. 主峰為海拔 19, 340 英尺 (5,890 M) 的 Uhura, 不易攀登, 很多人都因高山症只好中途放棄登峰挑戰..

美國文豪 Ernest Hemingway海明威曾寫過 “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”(1938), 很多電影或電視節目, 甚至卡通影片只要與非洲有關, 也都會提到 Kilimanjoro 山.

肯亞所見系列 (2) [Feedback: 回響]

1) 當新鮮感過去時, 接下來就是毅力與堅持, 謹此為Philip 加油! ................

2) So moved. Tears in my eyes. In such a holiday season, I can see him sitting in the dark. I can see him push the car. The way he put it is so soft and so gentle .....