Okay, so John brought a laptop with him so I still get to post. Yay! We said our goodbyes at the center and five of us women went with John and Peter in a matatu (small van for public transportation) to Kitale. The ride was relatively uneventful except we had to take our luggage off the roof when it started to rain, (didn't even know it was up there), Emily hit her head when we went over a bad bump (she quickly recovered), and we saw another matatu on the side of the road that had apparently rolled. Prayers for safety are never empty, the roads can be quite treachorous. While John finished paying the matatu, the rest of us had gathered by a building underneath an overhang to wait out of the rain which had decided to go to Kitale after us on the road. Emily and Marielka were just finishing putting on their ponchos when John came up the steps, saw them, and asked incredulously, "What are those? You look like the devil!" to which Emily responded, "You're just jealous!" Then we walked two doors down to the hotel. :) Later after we had dropped off our bags in our hotel rooms, John came by our room to make sure no on was putting on those "plastic dresses" before going out. We needed a relaxed evening, deeply needed a relaxed evening. It feels like we're in the lap of luxury despite the music with a deep base coming from somewhere down on the street and the sports game people are watching which is apparently going extremely well judging by the periodic shouts of jubilation. There is are beds and the promise of a hot shower in the morning.
I'm excited to be starting out on this portion of the journey. Turkana is not for the faint of heart Eden told us long ago. It is very hot, borders the Sudan, and is very dry. John loves it. I understand when you get there, people ask how Kenya is. They don't consider themselves part of Kenya, they are Turkanans. The drive alone will be an adventure I am sure which we start right after breakfast. As we were leaving, Eden told John and Peter to take care of her ducks. Back in Nairobi, she commented once, "Good, I have all my ducks in a row" after making sure we were all there. The name stuck and I rather like it. She mentioned snakes and scorpions there in Turkana and when we got curious for the stories behind that, she told the ones staying with her she would tell them after we left. Probably a good idea.
365-09 #351Labels: 365-09 Challenge, Africa