Once back in Nairobi we made our way to the Flora
Catholic Guest House, which offered hot showers and a real bed to sleep
in. Neal Wreford noted how neat and tidy the nuns were, Rob told him
not to make a habit of it. That night we enjoyed each others company,
a good meal and plenty of cold beers too. The next day started early
as usual. Harmon’s forecourt was once again a hive of activity
loading trailers, checking tools, food and water. Sam had his irrigation
plant to install and Harmon had his business to attend to, so there would
be 6 of us on this trip, but we would meet with Freddie and Sylvester
up-country, this time on their home territory. Sylvester is of the Nyrot
originally hailing from Lake Victoria and Freddie is Sabai, a tribe from
the Kenyan Ugandan border, but these two have been friends since adolescence
and both now live up North with their families. Once more we drove from
Nairobi to ascend the Ngong Hills, this time carrying on past Mt Longenot
for many hours until we reached Kitale and Paul’s hideaway home.
We spent the night there and picked Freddie up the next morning.
Cheptot
We travelled a further 80km or so to meet Sylvester at his home in
Ortum. Here we would carry out maintenance on the bridge which Project
Albert had planned to construct a year earlier. After a bit of a
hike we came upon the Cheptot Bridge. No stopping Dave Hammond’s enthusiasm,
he scaled the ladder immediately and single-handedly began to walk
the bridge testing each board’s integrity meticulously. Out came
the drill, bolts and fittings, “whip this one out!” he
would exclaim as Paul and I sat and listened wryly whilst we smoked
cigarettes, enjoyed the sunshine and the view. “He’s a
Corporal you know” I said, “Yep, that figures” responded
Paul with a smile. After only a couple of hours we were done and it
was time to hit the road. |
