Kericho

What a beautiful morning!  I find I am saying that a lot here!  It was bittersweet to leave our cozy cabins in the Mara.  Sad to know that we would not see this beautiful place again in the near future but exciting to know that new adventures await!  Our team left the Mara after breakfast and headed back to the main road.  Along the way we saw many zebra, goats, impala, gazelles, cows, sheep and even cheetahs.  It is amazing how all of these animals coexist with the Masai.  The drive was bumpy at first but when we hit the main road a loud cheer came from the bus.  How we appreciate tarmac now!  Our roads in Canada, those routes that we take for granted, will seem like luxuries when we return home!

Last morning in the Mara!

Another interesting hotel!

Our first stop was at a lunch area.  The facility had clean flush toilets, outdoor gazebos for eating and a gift shop featuring Kenyan wooden carvings.  A few purchases were made by members of our group.  A few brave souls even tried their hand at bartering, something that we are unaccustomed to at home.  An item might be quoted at 1000 shillings but with a bit of negotiation you can walk away with it for several hundred shillings less.  Further down the road we stopped to buy gas.  Hugh had been looking to buy corn for some time and was quick to spot the local vendor.  One order quickly turned into 9 and very soon many of us were happily munching on a common Kenyan snack.  The corn is cooked on an open fire, over locally made charcoal.  No oil is used and the corn starts to snap as the kernels heat and the liquid within evaporates.  The finished product is quite delicious, mildly sweet and chewy.

Hugh checks out the local vendor!

Snack time!

Delicious bbq corn.

Our next stop was our final destination for the day, Kericho.  On our way there we left the dry Masai savanah.  The landscape began to change.  We slowly but steadily (on paved roads) drove higher into lush green hills where the locals farm.  Some people do subsistence gardening, while many more are cash crop farmers.  The main crop grown in these highlands is tea.  There are lots of small farms and many large operations as well.  For example, we passed many tea plantations on our way to Jericho.  Our final destination was the Sunshine Hotel.  We were greeted with Kenyan tea and sat outside in a courtyard until the checking process was completed.  While waiting for check-in we discovered that our hotel was a Christian hotel and dry.  That means that they do not serve alcohol.  I joked that perhaps a message was being sent.  After all we had just left the AA Hotel in the Mara and arrived at a dry hotel in Kericho!  :)  We wandered, in two groups, into the town, went to a Barclay's ATM for more Kenyan shillings and then hit the Nakumat.  This was a new facility and not all of the shops were open.  Again we had to go through security.  Several of us bought tea marsala, a spice mix used in Kenya to make delicious Kenyan Masala tea.  To make this delicious beverage you boil tea leaves with milk, strain it and add spices.  It is very refreshing.  Tomorrow our trip will include a visit to the local tea plantation.  We will be tea experts by then!

Tea plantation outside of Kericho!