Africa DAY 3

Day 3

This morning we piled into Daniel’s vans for our trip from Nairobi to the little village of Maua. It was a journey over very bumpy, dusty roads, dodging large potholes a lot of the time. There were lots of people walking along the road or on dusty paths through the fields. Most people have no transportation, especially in the little villages, other than, if they can afford it, to catch a ride on the vans that traverse the main road.

We passed very large coffee & pineapple plantations, and our driver explained that these were owned by foreigners. They have very rich soil through this area and also grow many other crops such as bananas, mangos, avocados, maize, collard greens, coffee and tea. As we passed through little villages, you could see goats eating some of the trash in the towns. Also chickens and cows and lots of produce spread on blankets on the ground for sale. We saw many schools, trade schools and colleges along the road. I guess these have to be accessible and on the main road for the children to get to from the rural areas.

There were people also on bicycles or often walking the bicycles with stacks of goods piled high. I even saw one young boy who was too small to ride the bike, but e was walking it with a small child on the seat. The amazing thing is that there are small children walking alone, although sometimes with a sibling just a little older.

We stopped at the equator on the way, which was fun to see. This confirmed what I’ve always heard – that the water runs clockwise on one side of it and counter clockwise on the other side. And right on the equator it runs straight. There were lots of shops here, but the “hawkers” were so bad it was hard to shop – even for a veteran like me. Interestingly, they all had biblical names and claimed to have “made” the items.

We stopped for lunch in one little village and then another stop at the Methodist Farm where we will return later to stay one night. They teach people to farm here. Then we were on our way on the final leg of the trip to Maua. When we drove into town, to be honest, I began to wonder what I had gotten into. And when we arrived at the hotel, I really had concern. The rooms were so small I didn’t know how to even begin to unpack. No closet or drawers and no room for luggage. We got organized as best we could, but had to put our bags under our beds and pull them out whenever we needed clothes. There are two small beds with mosquito nets and about two feet, or less, between the beds. There is maybe 18” between the bed and the shower. The shower is in with the toilet and sink, so everything stays wet and you have to wear flip flops for sanitary reasons. The water is tepid at best. You actually can sit on the toilet, brush your teeth and shower at the same time!