Way back on July 22 I wrote that I missed receiving an e-mail from Jackson every few days. On July 26 he got off from work and made the trip from Oltorotua, his home village, to Nairobi. Like most Maasai in the Mara, Jackson does not have a car and the trip requires taking several buses and some walking, so it cannot be done in a single day. (He drives the Land Rover at Siana Springs, and seldom needs a car.) Needless to say, I was thrilled with the e-mail that he was back online. In an earlier post I wrote my thanks to Hellen for the generous donation that helped him avoid returning to the Mara and then back yet again with the money for repairs, but now here is the story in his words. (Note: The distance from Narok to Nairobi is 67 miles or 107.83 km and took him over 3 hours, slowed down by traffic — both vehicles and animals — and roads that don't become highways until close to the Kenyan capital city.) A picturesque but long trip! The photo is a typical scene along a road in Kenya. How would you like to make this trip if your computer needed repair? Still nothing definite on a grant for the well, so I can't say more. Hopefully in a few months!
TRIP TO NAIROBI. 26th July 2010.
A day that I have been waiting for has finally come. In the evening before the morning of travelling, I informed the public bus driver to pick me up from my village.
I woke up early at 4:00 a.m. to prepare for the journey. It was a chilly morning. Wife Susan prepared some hot tea for me as a warm up stimulant. Before I finished taking my tea, the bus was already at our house doorsteps. I snatched my backpack and jumped into the bus. I sat up front since I was the first customer of the bus for that day.
The bus picked up a few more people in the village and a good number at the local shopping centre, Aitong Trading Centre. It was about 6:00 a.m. The journey to Narok now starts! The bus was already full, hence no more stops on the way.
The route from the Mara to Narok is very familiar to me. I therefore need not to peep through the window much.
We arrived Narok at around 8:30a.m. After stepping down from the bus, I entered a barbershop to keep my hair neat and dust free. As usual, Spear Hotel is where I take my breakfast while I am at Narok. I had s