WOW, another couple of weeks elapsed, and the whole gang is still alive and kicking! Even though it is the rainy season, we have not seen a lot of rain. Most days it does rain, but not very much, although it is sufficient for the immediate vicinity of Marimba. The problem is that there is the possibility of drought in other areas, which can be devastating in this part of the world. As usual most days I go for a walk for some exercise, and that is when I take most of the photographs. The walks tend to last from ½ hour to as long as 3 hours. I wish it wasn’t so laborious and time consuming to download the photographs on this blog site. We have a slow and sporadic wireless connection in Marimba, so I have to be selective as to which photos are presented on the blog, which may be a blessing, otherwise you would have to suffer through a lot more of them!
I’m not sure if I have already mentioned this, but it is very cold in the morning because of the huge temperature change from day to night. Imagine being in Africa with the stereotypical preconception of a very hot climate, only to discover that you have to put a thick sweater, or jacket, or both on as soon as you get up in the morning! The sun rises and sets at more or less the same time every day, and is directly overhead at noon. This is an observation and not necessarily a bad thing, but I find myself subconsciously anticipating a change, and thus wonder what’s askew. I continue to be pleasantly surprised at the kindness and gentleness that the Kenyans express, and coupled with their keen sense of rhythm and song, these qualities endear them to others. It seems everyone from about the age of four and older are proficient in singing, dancing and playing the drums.
Father, Michael and I were at the retreat center for a youth retreat from April 11th to April 15th. Father Jules was there to say mass, hear confessions, etc. Michael was there to give one talk. I guess my reason to be there was to go on walks, and perhaps be company for Father. More than half of the pictures included in this blog were taken during this retreat. I was looking for elephants, but only found some evidence of their existence. I did manage to see birds, mules and monkeys. These monkeys were different than the ones that we saw in Marimba. This reminds me that I did not mention it in the last blog. Father and I were sitting outside the new house when we discovered some monkeys playing and foraging in the trees, approximately 300m away, on the other side of the creek. We watched them for about an hour, and enjoyed every minute. Anyhow, back to the walk! What struck me the most is cacophony of sound coming from the forest, even though I was walking down a sparsely used highway, which seemed to have as many mules as cars. The sounds were produced mostly from birds, and it very reminiscent of what one would hear in a movie or documentary about Africa. Perhaps I really am there, after all!
Watch out for runaway mules and lawnmowers!
What came down the 9' bank? A car? An elephant? You? You trumpeting like an elephant?
ReplyDeleteI like your comments with the pictures. You are funny. xo Boss