Last Morning in Kenya

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Our last morning in Kenya dawned bright and gorgeous. I took a last walk around the lovely grounds of the Kericho Tea hotel, doing a little bit of bird-watching.

Casque hornbills jumped about in the trees above the swimming pool, hadaba ibises flew low overhead calling Bawk-ha-ha, and black and white pied crows pecked about as crows do.

Over breakfast, I did a bit of monkey-watching too. The vervet monkeys desperately wanted to share in our breakfasts, but we were quite careful not to encourage them. Although they did get a bit of burnt toast for their troubles, I believe.

We practically had a sleep-in morning today; we didn't have to be on the road till eight o'clock. I felt really well-rested today. The only animal sounds to keep one awake last night were cows and roosters. A bit of a wind kicked up last night and rattled a nearby tin-roof, but although it kept some people awake, it didn't bother me.

Our drive this morning towards the border with Tanzania took us through the hustle and dust of towns like Keroka, Kisii, and Migori. There was always something interesting to see.

In one town, a woman sat on a chair on a sidewalk. Four other women gathered around her to plait her long hair.

We saw amazing feats like three people sharing the same bicycle, and a woman who miracuously balanced a huge load of long wooden boards on her head. How does one walk balancing lumber on one's head?

We also passed many colourful outdoor markets with crowds of people gathered to buy and sell. We learned that "Sony" is a brand name for sugar here, and not for stereos.

At one place we passed the place where an oil tanker truck had over-turned and spilled a black stream of oil all down a long length of ditch and street. In places it was deep enough to wade into, although my only picture shows a place where the stream was no longer so big. All along the trail of the spill, a crowd of grown-ups and children alike scooped up the oily sludge with pails and cups and any sort of containers they had.

At another place along our way, the large black body of a snake lay squished on the road. It was over six feet long and was probably a cobra.

Between the dry, busy, and dusty towns the countryside was uncrowded, lush, and green. We saw many more tea plantations and also fields of banana trees.

We snacked on local nouma crisps (made from arrowroot) and matoke crisps (made from bananas, although they tasted nothing like bananas) as we watched the sights go by.

We made sure to keep our heads and limbs in the truck as the driving was pretty dodgy today. Our mirror was clipped twice as other trucks and cars barrelled by in the other direction on the narrow highway. Each time we were clipped there would be a high-pitched ping sound and the truck would rock. No worries, though. George is built like a tank and Anne-Dorte is a formidable driver in her own right!