213/365

213/365, originally uploaded by britrosewhite.

These are the Taita hills. It took us about 4 hours from Nairobi to Voi, the city at the bottom of the hills. Then we began to climb for an hour. I took this picture about 3/4 of the way up.

Once we arrived I quickly realized there were only a few things to do: sit, stand, watch, or sleep. I chose sleep.

The house we were in was made of mud and stone. It had four small bedrooms, a seating area, and a room for setting out food. The kitchen was a separate building where they could keep a fire. There was also a rigged shower - a bucket hanging from the ceiling with a faucet underneath. To shower, you'd mix water boiled over the fire with cool water. I got to shower once and it was very nice. The bathroom was set up outside the house. It was indeed a long drop (or, a hole in the ground) but this one had a chair! A wooden chair with a cut out in the middle. Aye, aye, aye...

They operated off very dim solar power. The sun shone just enough to give them some light in the evening. Taita is starting to get electricity, though. In fact, they were setting up a pole at the house where the party was. They worked until 11 at night to finish on the day of the party...my goodness. But I'm getting ahead!

They day of our arrival, Faustin and Pastor Chola had to go back down the hill to retrieve all the food that we'd shipped ahead from the market. They left around 4 and when they got back we were going to hike to where we were supposed to sleep that evening. Well, after falling asleep nearly every where I sat, I found myself under the covers in a bed somewhere. It was like a magnet. I was just there! So they let us stay. We awoke to roosters and the sound of sweeping. it was cold (there is a roof but no ceiling), but the blankets were heavy and I wore leggings and a sweatshirt to sleep in. Despite the rock hard mattress, I slept like a baby.

Turns out that Faustin and Pastor Chola didn't get back until after 9. They'd had a flat tire on the hill! I can't imagine how difficult their evening was. When I say hill, I mean steep rocks. It was a really hard climb and the entire way up we were told stories about people they knew flying off and getting stuck. I was not ready to become one of those stories.

But rest assured, once your up the mountain...you stay.