6 Meals I Didn't Cook

In March I visited the Kakamega Forest with some anxiety. I had googled "KAKAMEGA" before I left home and found the description featured the mambas and adders that filled the forest. But the forest is well-known and also the only rainforest in Kenya. So when our Salvation Army friend Justin was about to return to the US, we decided to take him to visit the only hotspot in Kakamega. I planned a day that included a 20 km taxi ride, a 3 hour hike with a visit to the bat cave (ohboy), lunch at Rondo, and a ride home (once a travel agent.....). It was a beautiful day with no snake sightings , but Rondo was a little gem. Carved out of the forest is a respite with overstuffed chintz furnishings that fill clapboard cottages with generous porches. The cottages have bedrooms with adjoining baths and a shared living room with a fireplace. I vowed to myself that I would return.

To celebrate the mid-term, I ran away from home. My driver friend Patrick took me to Rondo! I spent two nights there, meeting lots of nice people. It had a colonial feeling as most of the guests were white and the staff is black. I met a girl from Tennessee who with her family supports a children's home in town and stays at Rondo for a month each year. I was in a 5-bedroom cottage with seven young people who are doing internships for NGOs. The staff were wonderfully warm and friendly.

I took a walk to check out the birds first thing Saturday morning (for me 8:30am); being a novice bird-watcher I decided I would have had more success with tired birds later in the day. Against the very dense rain forest canopy, I mostly enjoyed the morning walk, complete with ants in my pants. I returned to a day of reading, prowling the gardens, and watching the pounding rain. Just before tea in the cottage at 4:30pm, someone came to build a roaring fire-very welcome as the rain was cold and there was no heat. Sunday there was a short service of hymns and preaching by a member of the staff. Rondo is featured as a retreat center and has a small chapel set in the garden with a view of the forest.

One of the highlights for me was 6 meals that I ate in the intimate dining room. You might not think that is such a big deal, but since there is a dearth of any food worth walking to town to eat, we have been reduced to eating at home. We do an OK job, but let's face it: eating at home exclusively is a drag. So I maxxed out my eating experience with 6 meals at Rondo and was a very happy camper!

check it out: www.rondoretreat.com