Bus Ride to Homabay
I previously wrote:
“By the time Sunday [last day in shop] came, we were all so exhausted that the idea of spending 6 or 7 hrs on a bus, doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING seemed heavenly, and we all relished the thought. A WHOLE day (well, minus the 7am to 12pm we had already spent in the shop) of not assembling, drilling, or lugging steel around.
Nairobi to to Homabay is only about 200km by way the crow flies. We left at noon and arrived just before midnight—and we did NOT get lost and we did NOT hit traffic.
Keep in mind, the school bus was loaded not only the six of us plus Mr. Masango (a Uni. Of Nairobi professor that was helping with the project) but also with over a 1000 pounds of steel and ten bags of cement. Now add some bumpy roads into the equation.
Immediately outside of Nairobi, the landscape is littered with a beautiful park, and quaint neighborhoods. The houses actually look like homes you’d find at the beach or in a tropical setting. But then, before you even have a chance to fully take in the first scene, there are small huts, made up of sheet metal, lining the road. Goats, chicken and cattle littered the yards, streets, even main road. On more than one occasion we had to stop until the cow got out of the road. I’m in Kenya….
Oh, you know the saying “never trust a skinny chef?” I have a knew one for you:
Never trust a one-eyed bus driver in East Africa.
Well, Lynos wasn’t one eyed, just had one working one and one was very lazy.
Anyways, within an hour of being outside of Nairobi the roads drastically changed. Potholes would have been a blessing. I’m talking craters. In fact, the roads were so bad that Lyons drove on the dirt shoulder because it was easier than the road. However, driving on the shoulder also meant we were angled, in turn, I continually found myself gripping the storage racks above in anticipation for the bus to flip onto it’s side. Lyons was a warrior driver and I have great respect for him.
The trip in general was anything but relaxing. It was more like having seizures for twelve hours straight. You hit a minor straight stretch. You relax. CRATER AHEAD ZIP TO THE LEFT SHOULDER (and still slightly hit it as the crater stretched the entire road, we just hit the nicer part of it). BRACE YOURSELF…. Phew…oh wait here comes another, but this one we have to get to the RIGHT shoulder. And then, errr, slam on the brakes because there are baboons in the road.
Theoretically, Kenya drives on the left side of road. How often to do theories play out? Exactly. One drove wherever the road was best. Or where wasn’t a car coming straight at you. If the car in front of you was going a little to slow, and you were on sharp curve on the side of a cliff. Hakuna matata, my friend, we we’re still going to pass that car. If a car was coming in the other direction, well he had better have good breaks! I’m in Kenya…
To be fair, every once in a while we did hit a stretch of main road that was new and in good condition. But then, there were police checks and/or speed bumps every 100 yds or so. We had no hope.
At one point in started to rain. We had finally just hit one of the nicer bits of road and so Lyons sped up past his 15mph pace he had been forced to stay at. The speed bump came out of no where. He tried to stop in time, but it was too late. We hit it head on. All 1000lbs of steel lifted up and slammed back down, as did each on of us. Lyons stopped completely and turned on the lights to make sure we were all OK. But no one was to be seen. The hit had also elevated the 10 bags of cement and now there was so much cement dust in the air that we couldn’t see a thing.
Somehow, Jason slept this entire thing. Everyone else had about 4 to 14 heart attacks. Maybe he got knocked out from one of the potholes hits and no one realized it…
Anyways,
You know my tid bit I added about the toilets in the Nairobi? Yeah, I spoke too soon.
At one of the stops for gas I asked if they had a bathroom. No bathroom. You know how when you hold it in for so long, the urge to go kind of goes away? Well, that’s what happened but an hour later Mr. Masango had us pull over again because he insisted on finding a bathroom for me. When one was found, I really had no choice but to say “sante sana (thank you) and use the bathroom. Keep in mind it’s still torrentially down pouring outside. I’m talking the rain that soaks you to the bone after 3 seconds. We are also in the middle of no where; we had been seeing wild Zebra and Giraffe til it got dark out. This bathroom Mr. Masango had found for me was about 150 yrds from the gas station, down a dirt (now mud) path in middle of no where (don’t worry mom, I was escorted by Khanjan). When I got there, it was just a lean-to shack with a hole in the mud ground. With no lights, obviously. So I had just walked 150yrds, in the pouring down rain, in the dark, in the middle of nowhere, down a mud soaked path, to pee in the pitch black down hole. AND I DIDN’T EVEN HAVE TO GO ANYMORE!! I’m in Kenya…
Anyways, we finally made it to Homabay. Our hotel is about a half of km outside of the village—which we are actually happy for because Homabay is more so the slums than a town. The hotel is quite nice. Fully served breakfast, electricity, large mosquito nets, hot water and decently comfortable beds. Paradise!!
I previously wrote:
“By the time Sunday [last day in shop] came, we were all so exhausted that the idea of spending 6 or 7 hrs on a bus, doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING seemed heavenly, and we all relished the thought. A WHOLE day (well, minus the 7am to 12pm we had already spent in the shop) of not assembling, drilling, or lugging steel around.
Nairobi to to Homabay is only about 200km by way the crow flies. We left at noon and arrived just before midnight—and we did NOT get lost and we did NOT hit traffic.
Keep in mind, the school bus was loaded not only the six of us plus Mr. Masango (a Uni. Of Nairobi professor that was helping with the project) but also with over a 1000 pounds of steel and ten bags of cement. Now add some bumpy roads into the equation.
Immediately outside of Nairobi, the landscape is littered with a beautiful park, and quaint neighborhoods. The houses actually look like homes you’d find at the beach or in a tropical setting. But then, before you even have a chance to fully take in the first scene, there are small huts, made up of sheet metal, lining the road. Goats, chicken and cattle littered the yards, streets, even main road. On more than one occasion we had to stop until the cow got out of the road. I’m in Kenya….
Oh, you know the saying “never trust a skinny chef?” I have a knew one for you:
Never trust a one-eyed bus driver in East Africa.
Well, Lynos wasn’t one eyed, just had one working one and one was very lazy.
Anyways, within an hour of being outside of Nairobi the roads drastically changed. Potholes would have been a blessing. I’m talking craters. In fact, the roads were so bad that Lyons drove on the dirt shoulder because it was easier than the road. However, driving on the shoulder also meant we were angled, in turn, I continually found myself gripping the storage racks above in anticipation for the bus to flip onto it’s side. Lyons was a warrior driver and I have great respect for him.
The trip in general was anything but relaxing. It was more like having seizures for twelve hours straight. You hit a minor straight stretch. You relax. CRATER AHEAD ZIP TO THE LEFT SHOULDER (and still slightly hit it as the crater stretched the entire road, we just hit the nicer part of it). BRACE YOURSELF…. Phew…oh wait here comes another, but this one we have to get to the RIGHT shoulder. And then, errr, slam on the brakes because there are baboons in the road.
Theoretically, Kenya drives on the left side of road. How often to do theories play out? Exactly. One drove wherever the road was best. Or where wasn’t a car coming straight at you. If the car in front of you was going a little to slow, and you were on sharp curve on the side of a cliff. Hakuna matata, my friend, we we’re still going to pass that car. If a car was coming in the other direction, well he had better have good breaks! I’m in Kenya…
To be fair, every once in a while we did hit a stretch of main road that was new and in good condition. But then, there were police checks and/or speed bumps every 100 yds or so. We had no hope.
At one point in started to rain. We had finally just hit one of the nicer bits of road and so Lyons sped up past his 15mph pace he had been forced to stay at. The speed bump came out of no where. He tried to stop in time, but it was too late. We hit it head on. All 1000lbs of steel lifted up and slammed back down, as did each on of us. Lyons stopped completely and turned on the lights to make sure we were all OK. But no one was to be seen. The hit had also elevated the 10 bags of cement and now there was so much cement dust in the air that we couldn’t see a thing.
Somehow, Jason slept this entire thing. Everyone else had about 4 to 14 heart attacks. Maybe he got knocked out from one of the potholes hits and no one realized it…
Anyways,
You know my tid bit I added about the toilets in the Nairobi? Yeah, I spoke too soon.
At one of the stops for gas I asked if they had a bathroom. No bathroom. You know how when you hold it in for so long, the urge to go kind of goes away? Well, that’s what happened but an hour later Mr. Masango had us pull over again because he insisted on finding a bathroom for me. When one was found, I really had no choice but to say “sante sana (thank you) and use the bathroom. Keep in mind it’s still torrentially down pouring outside. I’m talking the rain that soaks you to the bone after 3 seconds. We are also in the middle of no where; we had been seeing wild Zebra and Giraffe til it got dark out. This bathroom Mr. Masango had found for me was about 150 yrds from the gas station, down a dirt (now mud) path in middle of no where (don’t worry mom, I was escorted by Khanjan). When I got there, it was just a lean-to shack with a hole in the mud ground. With no lights, obviously. So I had just walked 150yrds, in the pouring down rain, in the dark, in the middle of nowhere, down a mud soaked path, to pee in the pitch black down hole. AND I DIDN’T EVEN HAVE TO GO ANYMORE!! I’m in Kenya…
Anyways, we finally made it to Homabay. Our hotel is about a half of km outside of the village—which we are actually happy for because Homabay is more so the slums than a town. The hotel is quite nice. Fully served breakfast, electricity, large mosquito nets, hot water and decently comfortable beds. Paradise!!
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