The camp site in Loiyangalani is rather grim. It has few facilities, but what it does have in annoying abundance is flies. Sitting around the campsite in the morning attempting to eat breakfast is a challenge as the damn bugs seek out every orifice and an open mouth is just fly heaven. Our Dragoman driver / guides do their best to explain the plan for the day. They fully admit that neither of them have actually done this trip before so they are not sure what to expect. All they have to go on are the Dragoman trip notes, which are 5 years old! Well the plan is to visit Crocodile Island, a short boat ride away, and then a village of the El Molo people who eke out a living on the shores of Lake Turkana.
The El Molo are believed to have migrated into Northern Kenya from Ethiopia around 1000 BC. And owing to the arid environment in Northern Kenya, they were forced to abandon the agro-pastoralist activities so common in the Omo Valley area of Southern Ethiopia in favor of lakeside fishing. The El Molo are the smallest tribe in Kenya with less than 1000 members. Having said that many have inter-married with the larger Samburu and Turkana tribes and the number of ‘pure’ El Molo remaining could be less than 50. Their culture has been further eroded by the disappearance of the El Molo language. Indeed, the language may already be extinct, as most of the El Molo have adopted the language of the Samburu and Turkana people.
Crocodile Island is quite beautiful with its rugged / barren / end of the world feel. The views of the lake and the surrounding stark volcanic wasteland emphasize the remoteness of our location. The crocodiles, which are supposedly abundant hereabouts, must all be on vacation because we don’t see any.
Although we, the Dragoman passengers, enjoy the impression of solitude and isolation here at Lake Turkana, we quickly realize that the El Molo village we visit next is quite accustomed to tourists. The vast majority of the tourists arrive by air, however, and stay at the swanky Oasis Lodge. The main attraction for visitors is lake fishing, but visiting the smallest tribe in Kenya – perhaps one on the verge of extinction – is also an attractive proposition. And with money apparently no object to these rich fishermen, the El Molo have become surprisingly mercenary in their interactions with the outside world. We have to pay to enter the village; we have to pay to take photographs; and the trinkets the El Molo attempt to sell us have prices that Tiffany might ask. It is a difficult situation for everyone. Money is the focus of this visit, not cultural exchange.
Christi and I and the rest of the Dragoman passengers return disappointed to our miserable campsite where we endure oppressive temperatures. To save the day, our Dragoman drivers negotiate a deal with the owners of the Oasis Lodge to at least allow us to use their pool, which is quite wonderful.
As night descends, we walk into Loiyangalani for traditional Turkana dancing by the light of a fire. Only the fire is so minimal that we can barely see the figures shuffling unenthusiastically in the shadows.
Our visit to Lake Turkana might just be one of those cases where the journey was more exciting than the destination.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching tale of love and test tubes.
Speak Your Mind