1/9/10 Mukeu, Here we come!

We started out nice and early this morning…4 AM! We loaded up our bags and set out on our next adventure. I’ve really been looking forward to this! The drive started with rain…not a good sign of things to come! Tabitha, our hostess, called shortly after we left and said it was raining very hard in Mukeu and parts of the road were impassable. Things got pretty interesting! Most of the ride was pretty uneventful. It was a shame it was raining because as we went up in elevation, we had beautiful views of the Great Rift Valley. It was too foggy to see anything, but hopefully it will be clear on our way home so we can see it then. After we got off the main highway, it was like we took a step back in time. We did not see any cars. Instead, if people went anywhere, they rode their bikes or on top of a cart pulled by donkeys. We got to the road, “Keep Left” and some men were standing there motioning us to go another way. It had been raining so much that a few spots in the road were nothing but mud. There was no way we could pass through. So we had to find another longer, still dirt, road. We made it to the AIC Dispensary which was wonderful, but from there, we had no way to take the matatu to the home in which we were staying because the roads were so bad. We weren’t sure how to get our suitcases and groceries there. No fear, however, for they had already thought of that…we had a cart with 3 donkeys attached to it waiting for us. So we loaded up our stuff on this rickety old cart, donned on our ever-fashionable gum boots which we were able to find in the village and followed the donkeys 1-½ miles through the sticky mud to the Kibarita “shamba,” or homestead. J I’m not kidding. This really happened. The home in which we are staying is very nice. It is a concrete block home with several bedrooms and even a working toilet! We do have to pump water every day to a holding basin on the roof so we can use the toilet and shower. There is no hot water, though, so in the morning, we heat water in a big pot over a fire and spoon it over ourselves in the shower to bathe. It makes it really hard to shave your legs. Ha! There is no kitchen as we think of it. Instead, they have a smokehouse with a large stone in the center of the room with 2 holes cut into it where the flames come up and heat the pots. You stoke the fire with wood under the stone. It’s very smokey. They all complain of asthma and burning eyes. It is no wonder! I was in there for 5 minutes and I couldn’t breathe and my eyes were burning. These ladies are in there all day every day! They have my deepest respect. After getting settled in, we all took a nice long nap in our beds that are basically about a 1 inch mattress laying on top of a piece of wood. When we awoke, they had lunch for us…we are now eating the local fare…I did manage to get it down without gagging…I can’t say the same about dinner. J We went on a walk down to “Keep left” where we found a truck stuck in the mud. Chris and Dr. Sams helped the local drunks push it out of the mud. We grabbed a Fanta and walked back after receiving a very skewed history lesson. Did you know that the US gained it’s independence in 1948 and is not really independent at all but is owned by Africa? We enjoyed a beautiful view of the mountains as we walked back and even saw a rainbow. It is lovely here. So green, lush and fresh. The crops are plentiful, though I would imagine a lot of work. They do everything by hand here. When we got back to the shamba, we even got to watch Victor milk a cow! I’m determined to try it at least once before we leave here. What an experience! I will say, however, I’m not so sure about this whole no refrigeration thing. After milking the cow, he went in the barn to get the milk he’d gotten that morning and had set out all day for our dinner. Hmmm… I think we did not bring enough warm cloths. It is very cool up here, especially in the evenings. We both crawled into bed with long pants, long sleeve shrits, socks and 4 blankets tonight. Hopefully we’ll stay warm enough with each other’s body heat. Here’s hoping for a good night’s rest!