A Uniquely 3rd World Experience...

Hey,

Today I wanted to get from one town to another. The normal way is to get on a matatu and wait for all the seats to be sold, then the bus goes. If even one seat is empty, they wait. The matatu I needed had only 3 ppl on it and the driver said it could take 2 hours to fill up. That's nuts. So I did the crazy.

I got a ride on a motorcycle. Yup, there are motorcycle taxis. "Driver" pulls up and you negotiate a price (mine was about $1 for a 15 km ride up the dirt road to Batian's View - probably could have done better, but it's not like he'd find another fare on the dirt road, so he'd have to ride back empty). If he's the helmet type (most are not, mine was), he hands you a helmet and you hop on. My helmet was probably an XXL from 1980 or so, all the liner inside was gone, and the styrofoam looked like it was falling apart. Also, there was no buckle or second side to the strap, so the helmet just sat on my head. Any bump in the road caused the helmet to rotate down and block my view. And the "driver"'s helmet was stapled together, looking like it had cracked in two places in a fall, and also had no strap. I dunno what kind of staples they were, but it made me laugh :D

So, we take off riding, down the road, turn onto the dirt road, and then... Monsoon season, remember? It started raining on us. At least that made the dust less terrible.

Wow. What an experience. Bike seemed to top out around 25-30 mph (tiny motor, struggling with the weight of two people), but still, with cars and matatus flying down the road at 60+ mph, wow, what a crazy place to ride a motorcycle. Without a helmet. With someone else in control. Wearing hiking pants and a cotton t-shirt. Probably more crazy than crossing a glacier without an ice axe... (speaking of which, my host here was very unhappy about my experience on Nelion and promises to pursue the matter of safety with the Park and the Search and Rescue folks... And not to use this guide, who he doesn't normally use.).

Aight, today was checking out a local town, tomorrow is hanging out with Mark at his house to see his small farm. Friday, I'll hike through the forest. Saturday, I'll explore Nairobi before flying out of here...

Joel