And the wind starts to blow...

Too bad Toto wasn’t with me today, I didn’t have a chance to pass the rains in Africa, they were all around me! Luckily, the last few annoyingly stubborn wet socks had finally dried just as the first drops were falling.


Are you still there? Didn’t drop dead of shock? Yes, I did laundry today. Kenyan style. Though it has taken the better part of a week for me to prepare myself for the ordeal, I did do some pre-planning and bought the requisite plastic bucket and washing powder earlier in the week, knowing that I wanted to start before the Ukwala was open. What I didn’t examine carefully enough was the instructions on the packet of powder, which were in Swahili. Thankfully, following the pictograms, I was able to discern that I should let the clothes soak for an hour before hand scrubbing. What a great opportunity to work on my ever-browning skin! Now, I had watched many Kenyan women wash clothes – the relatives of the patients in the hospital that did laundry in the courtyard, the young women in the village, and the women at the guest house. Never did I anticipate how badly my lower back (which is far older than my chronological age, thank you, Walt Disney Entertainment!) would handle the bending over and scrubbing. But, what are ibuprofen and Tusker for, after all? ;)

A Kisumu washer/dryer combo...

Of course, because I couldn’t estimate the size of the bucket I would need, I ended up having to do two loads. More time up on the roof, reading in the sun. While I was up there, one of the young men of the guest house was washing the towels and sheets. Smart people that they are, they have a built in cement block sink, and they literally stomp around wine-press style to get all the sheets and things submerged in the soapy water! The wind really picked up, which meant a quicker drying time, but it also meant that after an hour of getting up and down to put things back on the line, I ran to the store to get pegs (clothes pins). Of course, I was in a tank top and shorts, so that necessitated changing into a T-shirt and pants. (No shoulders or knees showing, please). However, at the end of it all, I now have enough clothes to last the rest of the trip.

Beldina had agreed earlier in the week to take me out into the country today to get a picture at the Equator. So, of course, it turned out to be on the day of the only rain storm since I’ve been here. She picked me up when it was still “little bitty stinging rain”, and we made it out to the marker before the heavens opened up with “big ol' fat rain” [Forrest Gump, anyone?] The marker was placed by the Lions Club of Kisumu, probably when they got tired of all the tourists asking where it was.

If you look to the left behind me, there's a village kid wondering why the crazy Mzungu is getting her picture taken, and the Atlas pose was Beldina's idea ;-)

The area we went through was beautiful, something about the terrain, it’s very rocky and green, all at the same time. Beldina says there is a large stone area similar to Stonehenge nearby, but we didn’t have time to see it. All I have to say about the trip back is that Kenyan roads – frightening to begin with – are much scarier in blinding rain.

Scary clouds...

We stopped at the local “mall”, Mega City, the scene of a very recent true story of lost backpacks and check fraud that Beldina was telling me about. Was hopeful that this larger store would have a better selection of Kenyan wine, which was somewhat true. I shall continue my faithful tasting of Kenyan products, boxed or not…

After visiting Beldina’s childhood church last Sunday, she has invited me to attend her current church in Kisumu tomorrow morning. And then I’ll just have to see what the day brings… and write about it for all of you ;-)

Tutaonana!