Another Red-Eye

The third red-eye in five days. Contrary to VSO’s policy we are Kilifi-bound aboard the overnight Malindi bus. The overnight buses are considered to be less safe than the daytime trips. We were, however, unable to locate any daytime time bus to destinations north of Mombasa and changing buses with the amount of luggage we are dragging around Kenya was out of the question. Also, having experienced the daytime driving in Nairobi and the volume of traffic on less than stellar roads, it was hard to imagine what ills might wait us for being foolhardy enough to travel overnight. The departure was totally uneventful with the bus, surprise-surprise, leaving on time.

For those on Elspeth’s e-mail list, sorry, no chickens. The bus was relatively new with some semblance of air conditioning, assigned seats and all of the baggage properly stowed. In other words quite civilized, as opposed to similar long distances buses in Central Asia and even the mutatus of East Africa. We were, however, about to experience the potential pitfalls of traveling at night.

Many highways are undergoing major restoration/upgrades. We encountered one such roadwork about an hour outside Nairobi. The detour consists of a roughly-graded track that is only passable at only the slowest of speeds. The resultant backups prompt drivers in the know to take alternative bypasses, usually through some part of the construction site. Our journey came to a sudden halt on one such “bypass”. ( Obviously since the bus driver had previously negotiated this particular autocross route a construction crew had been along and made modifications.) To avoid driving into the 50-foot pit that had suddenly appeared in its path the bus became wedged on concrete blocks and a huge pile of dirt resembling a large sand dune. The left-hand rear wheels were barely making contact with the ground while a large concrete block was wedged under the right side. It looked like a long night standing around in the middle of nowhere. Miraculously, about an hour later the bus was extracted and we continued on uneventfully to Kilifi.

We drove through a short downpour as we approached Kilifi. Hopefully the start of more rain to come.

Background

Three and a half years ago Anne and I informed our three girls (Hilary, Elspeth and Nellie) we were moving to France. Elspeth’s response to our announcement was to e-mail her distribution list with “can you believe it my parents are leaving the country, they are supposed to stay home so I have somewhere to come home to”. Those of you on her mailing list are familiar with her travels to Azerbaijan and Georgia. Little did she, or we, know that the assignment in Paris would stretch to 3 years and that just weeks later we would be headed to Kenya. March 22nd we celebrated granddaughter Bintou’s 5th birthday before saying our goodbyes.

My assignment was arranged through Volunteer Services Overseas (VSO). The relationship has had its ups and downs. But that is something for a separate posting someday. The organization we are engaged with, however, has been the epitome of an agile organization with a can-do attitude. After almost 30 years, during which time “we” meant Boeing, it will take some getting used to “we” denoting a completly different organization. Given the work being done it shouldn’t be difficult.

Working with some of the poorest farmers in one of the poorest districts in Kenya we provide the means to earn income from crops produced on land not currently utilized.