Day Eleven

We woke up at 7:30 this morning to have one last breakfast at the AA Lodge before piling back into the matatu for our 6-hour journey back to Kenyatta University’s main campus. As I was staring out the window observing the scenery while many of the others slept, I came to the realization that many parts of this drive remind me of the many years of my childhood in Western North Carolina (Shout out to Hendersonville!), of course with some pretty drastic differences. 

As we drove through the small, rural towns I noticed the color and variety of buildings. There were brightly colored stores lining the street, some even branded with M-Pesa (a mobile payment app that's prevalent here in Kenya). Buildings constructed from shipping containers, European-style multi-story homes, and acres of farmland lined the main roads, forming sporadic townships. I looked fondly out the window as I observed goats, cattle, and even a few donkeys. While the presence of farm animals and stretches of open land reminded me of NC, one thing I hadn't seen in such prevalence back in the States is the movement of the animals alongside, and even in, the road. I watched with crossed fingers as we passed by the animals with mere inches in between our matatu and them. Fortunately, no animals were harmed in the process. This is thanks to the expert driving of our guide, Linus, who navigated us through many near misses. Without a guide it's incredibly unlikely that any of us could have gotten anywhere on this trip, because of how different driving is here. 

After quick stops to stretch our legs and to give Dr. Jalloh an opportunity to catch up with a college friend he hadn't seen in 15 years, we broke for lunch. This consisted of the same packed lunch from our safari adventure the day before, but we had a new friend in the form of a stray orange tabby kitten. The team rallied together to pull pieces of chicken off our plates to give to the kitten, and we were thanked by being allowed to pet it. 

When we continued our journey, we once again passed through the Great Rift Valley. Many of us caught quick pictures of the amazing view and the baboons still hanging by the side of the road. To me the Great Rift Valley drive reminds me of the Blue Ridge Parkway, but much more terrifying in terms of driving. Drivers, including ours, go into the other lane on a narrow two-lane road with a steep dropoff on one side in order to pass other cars, scooters, and slow dump trucks. We had quite a few narrow misses, including one where we had to pull off the road to avoid a collision. 

The peaceful scenery quickly ended as we were abruptly dropped into an urban setting once again, where we had more near misses with traffic, massive potholes, and people trying to sell various items in the middle of the road. Upon our arrival back at KUCC, we shared our appreciation with Linus for the safe arrival and for putting up with us this weekend. We settled back into our rooms for some well-deserved rest ahead of the exciting week we have planned. 

Once again, a huge thank you to Linus for getting us back to our temporary home safely and keeping us protected from lions, hyenas, and any other cute but deadly animals in Maasai Mara.

By Izabelle