Oh Kenyan Internet

So, I had the goal of simply editing Sancha's last post, unfortunately, after waiting approximately 10 minutes with limited patience for the "editing" page to load, I gave up. Moral of the story, this post is a continuation of Sancha's last but it comes before.

Here goes the tale of the matatu madness...

The journey from Lake Naivasha to Kericho was quite the adventure taking a grand total of three matatu rides and covering a fair amount of distance, it was a full day affair. The first matatu of the day was a well worn vehicle that sounded as if it was on death's door the entire way from the lake into town (it did cross over at one point but the multi-talented driver hopped out and "fixed" the problem in a jiffy). Once in town we were coralled towards the booking office and successfully bargained to cut their proposed cost from 250Ksh to 120Ksh, go team, (so much for fixed matatu rates). The second ride wasn't so bad but did involve a couple of very adorable children crawling over me and ended with about half a blue lolipop (and gum) splattered down my pants. The third matatu ride was more remarkable for what ocurred before we even made it onto our transportation. Upon our arrival at the dreaded Nakuru matatu station we were immediately swarmed (as expected) by a number of men demanding where we were headed to. When we replied "Kericho" they all began trying to take us in different directions (towards their company's matatu) and shouting at each other and proposing ridiculously high prices. Eventually, Sanch and I decided that we couldn't deal with this at the moment and would take a breather for tea and as we attempted to walk away an all out yelling match commenced between these men (by this point numbering up to about 10). One green-shirted-one grabbed my arm and attempted to drag me and push me into a bus (at this point Kylie was not a happy camper and previous mild amusement vanished) and Sanch took the opportunity to run (literally booked it) away from the madness (unfortunately in the wrong direction and towards a dead end). Eventually the other men forced the green-shirted-one to let go and Sanch and I walked towards the exit (still followed by a boistrous swarm). At this point it was rather amusing, until, in their oblivion to anything around them, a little girl got caught up in the mess of men, was nearly hit by a matatu and then kneed in the face. Sanch and I escaped (though followed for three blocks), had a picana (mango juice!), and (with the help of a lovely server at the Charity Cafe) managed to catch a matatu without encountering any of the same men. Thank Goodness.

After the madness of the day of matatus Kericho and its lush green fields of tea did (and still does) seem like a haven of tranquility (for a city at least). The Tea Hotel, whose lawns we are camped on, is a fine old colonial establishment that is perhaps a little past it's glory days. The stone walls and terracotta roof tiles have aged graciously; however, the wallpaper is peeling and the green velour seating arrangements are quite faded. The pool is a questionable green colour and the pool-side furniture is showing signs of rust and neglect. Regardless, it appears to be an attraction for wealthy Kenyans and a number of wazungus. In addition to its faded charm the Tea Hotel is host to a number of interesting characters, which leads us on to the next story.

This morning, upon her return from showering, Sancha received her very first marriage proposal. Ever (congratulations are in order). It came from one Mr. LJ Simon, one of the workers at the hotel, and it came in the form of a very eloquent letter. Now the catch, Sanch has spent perhaps a grand total of 5 minutes talking with this man, but apparently that's of little concern, she would clearly make a suitable wife. And so, in response to this proposal, we crafted a letter of reply (with our morning tea and chapati) nicely explaining the impossibility of the situation. Oh dear, it appears that the question of marriage is appearing a little more frequently than we would wish and we may soon be crafting for ourselves a set of fictional husbands.

Alright, that's all for now, we shall see if I can attempt to post some videos but I have little faith in both my abilities and those of this computer/ internet connection! So this is taking ages, I think the video is a no go.

Muchlove Kylie