Sunday, March 30, 2014

Nairobi to Bungoma

We woke bright and early after a good nights sleep at the guest house, to the warm Kenyan air and birds chirping. If you want to shower there is a light switch to activate the flow of hot water. Unfortunately the switch had been left on for sometime and wasn't working.  Hence we started the day with cold showers. Warm climates or cold, I still don't like cold showers, but a quick rinse and I was ready for the new day.

Lenny was waiting for us at 7:30 and we headed to the airport. Interestingly due to uprisings at the airport last year, every car is totally searched by security before entering the premises. While the line-up initially looked long, our taxi driver played cat and mouse with the other vehicles, moving us to the front of the line fairly quickly. Checking in for our flight we learned that all laptops had to be placed in your carry on luggage. Of course, Randy had backed his safely in the middle of his backpack so there we were unpacking to pull it out. Once our bags were checked he sat down to rearrange his carry on bag only to find out that we had another security gate to clear in which your laptop needed to go through separately.  While it seemed like a bit of a hassle we now know the rules and can plan accordingly next time.  50 minutes from leaving Kese Center we were already for our flight to Kisumu. 

The flight to Kisumu was only 30 minutes and the stewardesses hardly had time to offer everyone a refreshment before we were landing.  In Nairobi it had been 28 degrees but still felt quite cool. Landing in Kisumu we were hit by the heat. It was probably about 32 degrees. This is what I had expected. 

Donald would be our driver as we travel the rest of the way  to Bungoma by car.  Leaving the airport the road was filled with potholes and often Donald would drive down the dirt path on the side of the road rather than staying on the blacktop. It was certainly smoothIt maybe a long two hour ride.  However after a short while the road conditions improved and we were off. 

Taking in all the sights along the way we went from Nairobi, which appeared to be fairly modern and developed with a very diverse population to the communities along our route of very poor to poor dwellings with absolutely no diversity. We saw rows of homes made from corregated tin, adobe huts, to brick homes and everything in between. As it was Sunday, it appeared to me that lots of people were walking up and down the highway.  I learned later that it was a quiet day for foot traffic.

 Along the highway there are lots of major speed bumps. Official ones before schools and illegal ones placed in front of stores by the merchants to force traffic to slowdown and hopefully stop and shop. The speedbumps were so big that Donad would almost come to a complete stop to maneuver over them carefully. 

Finally we arrived in Bungoma and my imagination was going wild on where we were actually going to stay. Up and down a few dirt roads we came to a stop at a small gated courtyard. The gates opened to reveal a well kept area with 8 apartments, outdoor eating area and lounging deck. 

We were escorted to the "Big Banda", a very impressive appartment, that would be our home for the next five days. The pictures don't do it justice. A completely self contained room, with kitchen, sitting area and bedroom section. 
. We could live here easily. At least from an accommodation perspective. Tonight we sleep under the mosquito need.  So cool. 

The rest of the day was spent lounging and napping as we relaxed from two days of travel.  Plus we weren't sure that we should be wandering around on our own or even where to go? 


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