It's low season and tourism has been especially low this year due to the violence after Kenya's recent election. Our lodge is empty - we counted 12 people staying here, including us. After the game drive we shower and head to the bar for a drink. It's empty. Rich and I sit alone drinking Tuskers (a Kenyan lager beer). Dinner is soon served, buffet style and we're joined by Bobbi and Aziz. After dinner we head off to bed, another morning drive tomorrow and this time we leave at 6:30am.
Upon getting back to our room, I start looking for my small backpack and can't find it anywhere. Rich helps me in my search and we come up with nothing. Then I remembered the broken window. My large backpack had been put on a table in front of this window and I noticed last night that a small part of the glass had been broken. It was dark (because they turned the power off) and I thought that perhaps is was broken by my bag being thrown against it. Now we take a closer look at the broken window and realize it's been broken from the outside and the screen has been cut. The space is just large enough to pull a small backpack through.
Last night 3 Masai "security guards" helped Rich put the bags in the room while I was talking with Bobbi and Aziz. Neither of us thought anything of this, as lots of hotels have people that help with your bags. We're guessing that one of the guys placed my little bag on top of my big backpack and then broke in when Rich left the room. Those 3 guards were the only ones who would've known exactly where our bags had been placed.
We report the theft immediatly to the lodge manager, John, who insists on looking in our room again, even after we assure him its not there. I'm fuming! But we all tromp back to the room and have another look. No bag. No surprise! We explain about the 3 guards helping us and how it was most likely one of them who stole the bag. I tell John there is nothing of real value to anyone in the bag; just all our books, my journals, and a few video games. Nothing that would be of interest to the thieves, who were obviously looking for valuable items or money. John says he'll speak to the 3 guards and find out what he can. It's now after 11pm and its obvious that nothing is going to be accomplished tonight, so we go to bed, angry.
