WE HAVE LIMITED WIFI. PICTURES WILL BE ADDED LATER.
The second night was worse for me. My left hip was tender from the previous night without a sleep pad, so I had limited positions, especially as Anya and I were somewhat sharing her rectangular but lighter sleeping bag while we put our feet in my heavier mummy bag, covering us both with it. However, it was another glorious morning as the sun rose, shining into our tent with a view of the valley 5000 feet below.
We had a later start, as Steve didn’t plan any more buffalo viewing and we shared a Sabbath time of reflection and prayer. He did have a “short” hike planned, and amazingly Anya was game to go along. I thought she would prefer to stay, but she repeated Steve’s plan of half hour out and back without any stinging nettles. And that is what we did, hiking along buffalo trails on the top of a narrow ridge at the highest point of the mountain. We could see over the valley and toward Gelai mountain, also at about 9,000 feet. It was a bit longer than the half hour, and the nettles were minimal, but still, it was not Anya’s preferred morning. Again, she did it and made it work.
We returned to get our gear hidden in the bushes and hiked through the waist-high grass to the top of the descent trail. It seemed steeper going down, but we made it to the village where the pipe from the mountain spring feeds a spigot and a livestock watering trough. We filled our water bottles and drove off.
Because we left the house without water, we figured that we should at least wash our feet and lower legs at one of the water spigots. So, down the mountain, we stopped by where all the young women were filling buckets with water. They were kind to share a bucket with us. I dunked my head in the bucket and then proceeded to cup water out of it to wash my filthy legs.
Steve helped a few people out with a ride for an old Maasai man and hauling bags of maize (corn) for a couple people. Having a vehicle in a rural area can be a huge blessing, but it also is a challenge to know how to help. We also gave cups of water to shepherd boys out in the dry, dusty land.
When we returned home, we were glad to see that there was water in the pipes, so we each showered, but with one layer of dirt removed from our hair and legs.
Bethany suggested that I wash anything that we need for the next few days, but I said let’s first get people through the showers to make sure there is enough water, and there was. So, I washed a few things, and Bethany showed me how she washes shoes to get the layers of grime and buffalo poop off. I think she was concerned that we’d look like vagabonds on the bus the day after tomorrow.
We had a tasty dinner of rice and lentils with a tomato and avocado salad, before I worked to repack things into two groups: 1) needed for beach and travel and 2) not needed.
I fell asleep after realizing that I needed to make a couple adjustments on the packing. I’ll need my PacSafe security bag for Pangani (a bag that has embedded steel wire and lockable to an object with a stainless steel cable, which isn’t totally secure, but will deter opportunistic thieves).