Fri 10th..time to leave Diani. Left Frangipani at about 7. Stopped at Rongai, Ukunda junction for breakfast . You can’t get to the ferry before 8 because during the rush hour the footbridge up the Creek is used to cross to Mombasa island. Haven’t tried it as it seems a long way around. Speedy crossing..I ran down the slipway to ensure I caught the ferry.immediately . Tuk tuk to Mwembe Tayari, and by 9:00 I was on my way.
5 hours to Taveta. Only saw a couple of ostrich, a giraffe and gazelle along the way. Not much of note to report over the next 2 and a half weeks…except for a couple of interesting local excursions . Otherwise, it was the usual rounds of visiting friends; following the football on tv. I got into the habit of just one largeish meal per day, so I felt pretty healthy.
One Sunday I joined Joseph for mbege, just out of Taveta . I’m not repeating a mistake once when I mixed mbege with strong spirits. A pleasant few hours. Another day I walked (only 10 mins) to a local kiti moto place. Not the best, but a nice change. Unfortunately I suffered afterwards with the achy bones/muscles syndrome for a couple of days. It’s happened twice before ..Dar es Salaam , Nyali…urich acid from the goat or pig meat, or just from old oil in which it is cooked.
One day I went on a boda with Joseph to Chala. He had to finish off painting a floor for a client. I hung around and gave him useless advice… then we were invited for lunch. After which we walked half an hour in the heat to the shamba to visit Dad’s grave. Wr walked back into Chala village for some refreshment and by late afternoon we were on a boda back to Taveta .
The other excursion was very exciting . I called Julius who had offered to take me to Lake Jipe for 600ksh. I confirmed the return price which was very good for a trip of over 2 hours in total. I had been expecting 1,000. After the initial tarmac to Cess, it was rough road up to Grogans Castle and beyond to lake Jipe . Julius drove carefully, and the only awkward part was going through dust a few inches thick which made the boda boda slip and slide a bit.
We stopped at a fishing village first…nice panorama of boats and reeds and the lake. We then got the ok to go passed a checkpoint to near the gate of Tsavo West. It was here that we saw 2 herds of elephants. Such a thrill to be so close, and riding on the back of a motorbike. Going was easy as the herds passed after us. Coming back we had to judge things more carefully . Julius lifted/sprinkled a handful of dust to check the wind direction to determine when it was safe to go. So we left the little encampment which wad being renovated and drove passed the elephants who were still at the lake shore.
Well, that was an experience of a lifetime . We followed that by relaxing at L Jipe Safari Lodge/Lavender for a couple of hours. I had a swim in their pool…which cost me a couple of beers. Saw a huge herd of camels on the way back…with global warming, that’s certainly the way forward for the future. I bought us some beans and chapati in Cess and went the last 15 mins to Taveta. A memorable and exciting day out.
After 2 and a half weeks in Taveta I was getting itchy feet and I had planned to revisit Mombasa , Nairobi and Naivasha before needing to be back in Taveta for my second covid jab.