Jambo Kenya!

So we are back on the road well and truly now, and also back online.  With our crossing into Kenya we were reintroduced to internet, English speaking, driving on the left, fridges and branded chocolate.  I’ll try and recap the last 5 days or so.

Fri 23 Feb:  Bush Camp to Moyale

Despite there being no more rain overnight my tent was still more wet in the morning than when I had gone to bed. A taste of things to come, my sleeping bag was damp as were my clothes.  For this first time I packed my  inner tent and fly sheet separately.  The wet tent in itself if ok, the problem is more that when taking down the wet tent all the grit and dirt sticks to it - leaving you to pack a dirty and wet tent.  I decided to smuggle my inner tent into the lunch truck, because it was slightly damp and i didn’t have  way to keep it separate from the rest of the stuff in my bag.  I waited until the coast was clear, snuck around the back and opened the side door - staff Steph was looking right at me!  Oh well! I tried to pretend it was something i was collecting at lunch and carried on with it.

Today was a border crossing day. Normally the border crossing days are shorter cycles and alot of waiting.  There is also usually excitement and hype leading upto them.  Today we were with very little anticipation.  I’m not sure why.  Maybe we have been on the road long enough that border crossings are routine. I think actually it is because there has been little hype regarding Kenya - Sudan there was much talk of the teetotal couple of weeks, Ethiopia there was the concern about the stone throwing and sticks, Kenya hasn’t presented any ‘know before you go’s’.

I feel i have slowed down my cycle pace over the last week too.  Maybe it is fatigue, maybe it is settling into my natural rhythm.  A consequence is that we haven’t been riding as ‘The Party Bus’ as much.  Today Alistair and Jenna set off at speed; Steph, David and I settled in at about 24km/h.  All three of us were quite fidgety on our seats as we are suffering from saddle pains again.  It was a pleasant start to the day, a tail wind and slight downhill, the rain and taken the heat from the air.

The cycle to the border was an undulating road which curved around into a headwind after about 20km.  We passed through a village in which there were 1.5 meter wide, 2m deep trenches right across the road. We had obviously missed a diversion sign. Seeing tyre marks in the dust we knew we were on the right path.  There were multiple young local boys hanging around at these trenches, they kindly assisted us in portaging the bikes across the two crevasses. Once across one man (who had been little more than a observer in the escapade) firmly held my saddle, demanding money. 

Steph and I tackled the head wind and hills together, joined near lunch by Tom.  The rollers were a little to much work to be really fun,but the downhills were enjoyable.  

The optimum rolling hills would be ones that you can get most of the way up using the momentum of the previous downhill, pedal slightly the top, and then rolloff down again.  We passed through rural villages, with painted clay houses and many villagers out and about.  There were not the same coffee shops as there had been further north. 

Lunch came at 68km or so. 10km from the border.  There was the usual ‘border town’ to cycle through.  This one didn’t feel as transient or divergent as the town on the Sudanese/Ethiopian border.  It was positively busy, with mopeds, tuktuks and numerous stalls.  I stopped a few times on the hunt for chocolate bars from Don and I (Don supplies me with Snickers bars, and more recently Cadbury’s, when he is in stock). In true Ethiopian style,no chocolate was stocked, only chocolate biscuits/wafers. David still found his beverage selection. 

The border crossing was smooth and efficient. We arrived in dribs and drabs.  Checking out of Ethiopia, there were two men in an office (actually using their computers!).  They used their machines to scan or finger prints,take our pictures and then stamped us as having departed Ethiopia.  We then took out bikes down the hill, though the metal gate and into Kenya.  The border is a wire fence with a gate, but a very nice and smoothly surfaced tarmac road.

There were two woman standing at the gate to Kenya.  Their English was very good, they were smartly dressed in clean white shirts, tall and with darker skin than those in Ethiopia.  They even posed for pictures at the Kenya sign with me.  

Checking into Kenya was just as efficient of checking out of Kenya.  Two officials in their office would take out e-visa applications, entrance cards and passports.  They used their phones (which I can only assume were connected to the internet!) to process our documents, and then we were in.  There was quite a crowd of riders at this bottleneck simply because we were not allowed through until the Dinner Truck had been cleared from Customs.  Luckily for me it was cleared at about the same time as me, so I didn’t have to wait, but the faster riders had been there for at least 45mins.

It was now only 4km to camp.  We stopped at a small town on the way to camp to get some Kenyan shillings.  I had decided to get $100 US out, 100 shillings to the dollar = 10000shillings!  A wadge of notes came out of the ATM.

The bank was next-door to the phone store, naturally we all filed next-door to get simcards and make up for our 2 weeks without internet. The phone store was no more than a kiosk, painted green for Safaricom (the network they stocked) with simcards and various phone accessories (the origins of which are likely to be somewhat questionable) hanging behind the counter.   The men spoke English as fitted our phones with simcards, loaded them with credit and then activated data bundles for us.  It was a lengthy process, and towards the end, there was a call to prayer which emanated from the mosque.  Everyone had date apart from me.  They said it was because I had an iPhone and they didn’t know how to work it, but they needed to go to Paryer and therefore couldn’t platy around with it.  We turned it on and off at least 3 times, reset the network, put in all the network settings, took out the sim and put it in again.  Nothing.  It was hugely frustrating, and I was still charged for the sim and the credit. Only $14, but the principle burned -  especially because on the plastic that the sim was popped out of, someone had written 200 on it in pen - I can only assume that was the locals price for it.

Camp was at a wildlife reserve.  The only evidence of wildlife was numerous holes, allegedly snake holes!   Camp chores took a long time this afternoon - pitched tent to dry it, washing my clothes in a bucket with a hole in, airing my sleeping bag…The reward was a cold but powerful shower.  It has been so warm and dusty that any form of running water is appreciated, this was particularly great because the running water was more than just a trickle, and there was a private stall which didn’t smell of urine too.  The only reason I got out the shower was because someone got in the one next-door and I realised there were people waiting!

I had a bit of a sore stomach. A sharp pain under my rib cage, which was relieved by lying down, so while most people went up to the ‘Prison Cafe’ for a beer after dinner; Aedo, David and I stayed at camp.  Yes, the prison does have a ‘pub’ - apparently for staff not prisoners!

David and Aedo both tried to get the sim to work, to no avail.  I even tried it in another phone and it was unsuccessful.  I had managed so long without it, that actually I had quite enjoyed the freedom. It’s funny how that changes as soon as it becomes just out of reach.  I was no longer conent without connectivity.

Sat 24 Feb; Moyale to Lava Rock Camp and Jenna’s birthday

Appreciated packing my dry tent up this morning.  Alistair and Jenna were ready to go before David and I, which is pretty standard.  I don’t think I ma particularly inefficient, but I do like to clean my teeth after breakfast rather than before, which may make a difference.  This morning I wanted to go to the toilet before leaving, being sat a campsite we had an actual facility, however, due to heavy use, it was blocked.  This meant my toilet trip involved a trek into the bushes to find privacy, yet another delay.  By the time I got up to the road, they had left.    I was trying not the be miffed that they had said they would wait and they didn’t, it wasn’t going to ruin my ride.  Riding by myself doesn’t bother me at all, but fishing to minimise other peoples waiting, when they aren’t actually waiting, does bother me!David and I set off about 5 mins behind them.

First day in Kenya!

Meant to be an easy ride today.  Downhill. The initial downhill from Moyale onto the plateau was great.  Long enough and gradiented enough that you could get some good speed.  Initally there were the token donkeys to dodge, but as soon as we were out of town we were off.  Smooth tarmac of Kenya.

My stomach was still causing pain, no nausea or abnormality, but definite discomfort. And my right upper calf has been twanging since Konso.  I was enjoiying the Kenyan scenery.  Red dirt and hills,some greenery. The odd camel train, village and donkey.  The local here are incredibly tall, men and woman, and the woman dressed in potentially even bolder colours than in Ethiopia.  The dress style is different, the men mostly wear sarong type wraps around their waist, plus or minus at top.  They still carry sticks, but the sticks differ too.  They are shorter, and make a 90 degree bend for a handle rather than a hook.  Kids were cleaner and more expensive/less workout looking school uniforms. They stand out more in their identities than the Ethiopian school kids.

After stopping to take some pictures, I ended up cycling with Albert.  Albert joined us in Addis Ababa, and is coming as far as Nairobi.  It was really nice to cycle with him.  He is a strong cyclist, mountain biker in particular.  He lives in Germany, in a big MTBing area.  He has cycled a MTB tour in Kathmandu,and also raced in Italy (84km off road with 4800m of climbing!).  He was relaxed to cycle with, and set a good pace, but it is here to enjoy rather than push it.  Downhill, in conjunction with tail winds took us into lunch 2 hours after starting.  I really ma eating for the sake of eating,and fear of not having food for a long time subsequently.

Lunch was busy, all riders had made good time due to the conditions.  I took a long lunch today -1.5hours.    have been reflecting over the last few days - If I was to go home now, would I be disappointed and why? Would Ib have any regrets?  My main conclusion was that I would be disappointed, and it would be because I feel I haven’t made the most of the opportunity to get to know people.  It is very easy to get on your bike, ride with people who are similar pace, get to camp, sit with people who you ride with/have become familiar with, and miss all the other people who are there.  I thought today was a good opportunity to hang bike and ride swept/cycling with Agnes and Catherine,and some of the new girls on the tour.  Tom decided to ride sweep for a bit too.

Jordan, Tom and I set out about 30mins after the last riders.   We were cranking along at about 30km an hour, I had a slight concern than being at the back meant I had to keep up with everyone else at the back.  There was no buffer if I slowed down!  Luckily we came across Jacqui, Catherine and Agnes within about half an hour.  Jaqui wasn’t feeling well and so we stopped and waited until the lunch truck arrived, and she hopped on there.

It was a nice afternoon.  Jordan bunny hopped some speed bumps and landed on an acacia branch…flat tyre.  Being the bike mechanic, it was repaired in no time. The wind increased over the day, as did the temperature. When we got to the coke stop, 4km before camp we were all keen for a stop.  We picked somewhere that said ‘cold drinks and phone charging’.  Slight false advertising.  They had a chest fridge but it was off.  I had an enjoyable fanta blackcurrent though. There were no bins and we returned the bottles to the shopkeeper, all three of them were thrown out the window right beside where we were standing, on to the ground.

Arriving in camp last is a bizarre feeling.  It was really calm cycling at the back.  Cycling closer to the front feels more frenzied, and pressured (this could simply be my susceptibility to such feelings) where as cycling at the back is just about you and your ride.  Maybe it’s like living in a city with a high population desifty, it feels more frenzied than low population density rural areas.  Arriving at camp however,  everyone else is sitting around in the circle, already discussed the day and developed the jokes about things that have happened.   I’m sure there isn’t a judgement as to your arriving last, but the option is there.  I will ride sweep again, but not all the time.  I like jumping around.

The desert camp was windy, and sandy. Not as bad as the day in Sudan, but not pleasant.  I put up my tent, and made the mistake of laving the vents open. Catherine used my tent a little later to get changed, and informed me it was becoming a sandpit. Great!

Being Jenna’s birthday Errol and Mark produced an amazing chocolate cake.  We don’t usually get any afters, just dinner, so it was a real treat. Rider briefing before dinner informed us there would be strong winds tomorrow, and a big climb at the end of the day.

A poor nights sleep, I don’t like being dirty, so was feeling uncomfortable already, my tent was a sandpit, and there were ants in it. 

Sunday 25th Feb; Desert Camp to Marsabit.

I was up  by 5 and ready to leave by 6.  Breakfast wasn’t until 6.30 but I wasn’t hungry after much food yesterday.  Still i had to wait half an hour until sunrise.  In just that 30mins, the wind went from negligible to noticeable.

I set off first, and alone.  Determined to beat the wind.  The wind got stronger and I got slower.  Lunch was at 65km. I started at about 30km/h, by 9am I crawled into lunch at 16km/h.  The road was flat and smooth, it was flanked by the old track (a rutted dirt track called the Lava Rock Road) this is where the tour used to run.  I am grateful with have a smooth surface, especially given the wind and heat.  The road would still taunt and tease, turning right for 200m to provide a tailwind, before gradually sweeping left again to a cross/headwind.

I hung around at lunch hoping to pick up some people to cycle with and ease the load after lunch. Most people who had been in a group in the morning discussed it’s notable benefit.  Steph, Jenna and i formed a three, and Alistair, David and Anton another 3. We cycled in close proximity, but not together.  It was a very long slog.  60km of uphill into a strong wind.  With no coke stops.

I twice had to flag down the Hilux to refill my water bottles.  We continued until 91km and had an impromptu pee stop, 4km later the Hilux overtook us again asking if we wanted cold drinks.  Of course!    ‘Too bad’,Jordan replied.  It felt like salt in the wound.  But, it turned out he was joking :) They pulled over and provided bottles of cold coke and Fanta. I don’t know if it’s the circumstance or a genuine finding but Passionfruit Fants was sp so good.  We pushed on until 105km. i was getting grumpy, and at numerous times thought I wasn’t going to make it to camp, and have to get on the lunch truck.  I was sweating profusely, and constantly thirsty, I could feel y shoulders and my cheeks burning, despite having applied factor 50 sunscreen about 2 hours before.  I had taken my sunglasses and sunscreen out my frame bag at the Hilux coke stop in order to fit more fluids on board,  105km was by an impressive volcano crater,which made some interest.  The best thing about 105kmwas that I reapplied we were only doing 122.5km today, not the 127km I had been expecting.

The last 20km was easier, probably just because the mental challenge was lessened, we were on the home straight. I;m sure the sugar rush from the second half of my fanta and the banana contributed too.   We made it to Marsabit, Jenna managed to fall off right at the gate to the accommodation.

We were sayting at a convent at the top of the hill, just on the outskirts of town. Very peaceful, and with wifi, beer, Cadburys chocolate and lollys!  I took a room, paid for $5 for them to do my washing, and enjoyed a myfirstshower in 2 days.  It is amazing how much dirt accumulates in 2 days of riding through a desert. What I thought was a nice tan line, was actually a line of dirt!

One of the nuns drove us into town for tea - sausage, chips and chapati!  only missing ice cream, and Heinz tomato ketchup. Very ready for a rest day tomorrow.

#TDA #Africa #Bike #TourdAfrique #Kenya