First thing this morning, Rod asked me, "How about going to the country this morning and coming back to Mombasa tonight?" So that's what we did. He says that my love for spontaneity and flexibility is the reason he loves me, but not the only reason. He said it would be an adventure, but we got more of that than we expected!
The plan was to take a bus or express matatu to Malindi, then another matatu or small bus from there to Kambi ya Waya (means Wire Camp). The bus stops to pick up and drop off, but the express matatu goes straight to Malindi. Then from there, the small bus stops closer to Rod's mom's place but only goes twice a day - around 10 am and 3 pm. The matatus run constantly, but there is a longer walk to the house.
We opted for the express to Malindi, and hoped we'd be in time for the small bus to Kambi ya Waya.
We were barely out of Mombasa when we stopped for gas, but the driver decided he didn't like the prices or something and drove off without filling up. We kept going...for about 50 feet. Then we ran out of gas. All of us boarded other matatus that stopped, but they were not express. They just go from Mombasa to Kilifi, with many stops along the way. In Kilifi, we got aboard a third matatu to take us to Malindi. Suddenly, it started overheating. Apparently, when they had filled the radiator reservoir, they didn't put the cap back on. So the fluid had been coming out the whole time we were driving. We waited on the side of the road for it to cool off and be filled with water, cap replaced this time. And then finally went all the way to Malindi. We were too late for the small bus so we took a matatu and then walked for about an hour. Part of the way was just dry red sand. But part of the way was standing water in muddy, slippery, sticky clay. Had we gone last week, the whole way would have been mud, and the water would have been much higher than ankle deep, as it was today. It might have been waist deep even.
The road to Mama's house
We finally got to the house and surprised Mama Esther and Janet (Wilson's wife). We gave Mama her dress from my mom and took pictures of her in it. Then they asked Rod to kill a chicken and made us lunch.
Mama Esther's house
Mama Esther in her new dress and me
Hoeing weeds in the corn field
Me and Rod
Chicken and ugali
In the mud
We had to go back soon, so after eating we walked through the mud for another hour, and took matatus back to Mombasa with no more incidents.
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