Half Way to Amboseli

Hello,

We probably rode on good highway for about half hour to an hour when we finally took a break. I was happy to scurry in to the toilet at this rather large gift shop that carried many locally made items. The toilet had no seat, but there was toilet paper and privacy so who was quibbling about any lacks.

Leroy and I did not buy anything here because Sarah and Stephen had said, “On Sunday we will take you to a big market where you can bargain. Then you do not have to haul the things around with you. Just look at things and get an idea of what you want.”

Amboseli is the name of the National Park that we were going to explore. There was a road sign that stated it was about 100 kilometers, however when we got back on the road we took off on a slightly different possibility. This was a very new looking road 45 degrees away from the direction the sign was pointing. Someone yelled something to our driver and he stopped and came back. Then another person yelled something else causing him to go down a steep incline to a dirt path next to this beautiful road. I think these people were probably speaking Kswahili at least we could not understand. Soon I could see why we were not on that new road as it became impassable with road workers. This path was not so hard packed, but a clearly discernible lane of parallel tire tracks. It did not take long until we left the road workers, other vehicles, homes, most plant life, and any sense of civilization behind us. We rode along in a sea of dust that threatened, from time to time, to suck us into its grip. At one point after we had struggled through a particularly loose spot, I said to the driver, “We could get stuck in that, couldn’t we?

“Yes,” he responded, “But those people I talked to told me they had come this way in the morning. This is supposed to be shorter.” I guess that was meant to be reassuring.

We could see the projected new road bed along side of us much of the way. Occasionally there would be a piece of large road working equipment parked on it. I would think it was deserted only to see, as we drew closer, that a guy was sleeping in there or just sitting. After a while the new road deteriorated to just surveyors stakes driven into the ground.

I have a length that I make these posts, and I am beginning to think we are never going to get to the game park, but it will happen, you just have to be patient. Surely tomorrow we will arrive.

Paula