hands down, best 24 hours in Africa

       We finally reached a point where CCS was no longer consuming every single waking moment of our time, and we had a weekend off to ourselves. Several of us decided we'd like to get away from the emotions and complicated difficulties of our current situation, take a break and have a little R&R so to speak. We talked to Pristine, the group that took us on safari, and they said they could take us overnight to camp at some hot springs.  The thought of leisurely soaking our bones in the warm water, napping, reading, and sitting by the campfire at night, sounded like just what we needed. We signed up immediately. Friday afternoon we loaded our backpacks into a van that had seen better days, and squeezed ourselves in among the gear to find a seat. Along with us for the trip were two guides; Evans and Living, a driver named Deo, and Omar, our cook.

Evans makes sure we have everything we need.

where do we sit?

 

 About thirty minutes down the road, we pulled off to stop.
 "We forgot someone."
"What? How do you forget someone?", we laughed.
"Belle decided to come at the last minute. Mussa is bringing her to meet us."
     We were excited to see Belle again, as she wasn't a part of CCS, but went on safari with us.  While we waited for her to arrive it began to rain. Pour actually.  Really, really pour down rain. Belle climbed in soaked to the skin, and we quickly slid over making room in the already cramped quarters. We turned off the main road onto a dirt one which headed out towards the plains.  It was raining so hard our driver could only see several feet in front of the van.  We began to swoop up and down in large puddles in the road, and we held on, trying not to bang our heads on the windows or the ceiling.  It was pounding down so hard on the roof we found ourselves shouting to be heard.
"It's raining inside the van!" Alexa yelled.
      Water was gushing down the sides, in through the tops of the windows.  We all bunched towards the middle with people sitting on top of each other trying to stay dry.

        The plain began filling up with water and we watched sympathetically as people caught out in the storm tried to make their way home.  The going was slow and several times we were almost stuck in the road. We bounced through what may not have even been roads, until one big bump caused the back door to fly up and all of our sleeping bags tumbled out into the rain.  We stopped and the boys ran out to retrieve them  and shove them in the back. Then the roads themselves began to disappear as the entire plain became a flood.  Another bump and  the back door popped open again. Out go the sleeping bags again, and out go the boys in the rain to get them.  This time the sleeping bags came up front with us, and Omar held the back door closed for the rest of the drive. Against the thundering noise of the rain, we were shout whispering in the back so Deo could not hear us,
       "Are we still on a road?"
       "We're in the middle of nowhere, what if the van stalls, or we get stuck in the mud?"
       "Or floats down the plain like a river."
       Darkness began to fold over the area, and our new concern was finding our way.
       "Does the driver even know where we are?  How can he identify any landmarks?" The possibility of sitting in the damp van all night was looking more and more like reality.

         We inched our way along until the boys saw a building.  We headed in that direction, and the driver decided we would stop there and wait out the storm.  He pulled up beside the porch and went back and forth, again and again, trying to park as close as he possibly could to keep us from getting wet.

        Several other people were taking refuge on the porch, including two women.  I went over and introduced myself.  Through their broken english and my broken swahili, I learned they had been at the market and were on their way home when the storm hit.  This was their village, and the building we were sitting in front of was a community center.  We all sat on the porch for several hours talking and getting to know each other. The rain was not slowing and water was not going to subside any time soon.  We would have to sleep on the porch.  The African women would not hear of it.
        "We cannot have you visit our village and sleep on the porch! We will speak to the Chief. At least you should be able to get into one of the rooms."
        They took Living by the arm, hiked up their skirts, and the three of them went out into the very storm they were seeking shelter from.

Omar and Deo peel potatoes

       The women and Living came back to report the Chief was not at home, but they left him a message. Omar began preparing food.
       "Omar, you don't have to cook, we can just eat these carrots and fruits."
       "Oh no, you must have a proper dinner."
       He put potatoes on to boil over a gas stove he'd brought with him.  The rain began to slow down making it easier for us to hear each other. Belle dug through her bag and pulled out her ipod, along with some small battery operated speakers! She was our DJ, shuffling through all kinds of American music even though she is from Singapore (?)  We opened a bottle of wine and our tragic event turned into a porch party.

we danced

we sang - very badly

and we... ?  broke it down?

        The Chief of the village waded through the water and welcomed us.  He brought a set of keys, and opened the door to one of the small rooms so we could stay inside. He said, for our protection, he had also called a night security guard to come watch over us as we slept.  Evans disappeared from the dance party for a very long time and Jen found him in the small room on his hands and knees scrubbing the floor.
         "Why are you doing that?"
         "Because I don't want anyone to wake up sick tomorrow.  You cannot get sick.  This floor must be cleaned for you."
         She could not convince him otherwise so she came back out to the porch, and the smell of delicious aroma's reminded us that it had been a long time since we'd last eaten.  Omar was making mashed potatoes and he stirred and mashed for almost 45 minutes to remove every single lump.  Finally they called us to dinner in the small room.  As I came through the door, I saw the most beautiful table had been set up with a table cloth, utensils, tin plates and beautiful serving dishes.  A sob welled up in my chest, which erupted into a cry. I fell into my seat with face in my hands, tears pouring down my cheeks. I was overcome with gratitude for every African I had met since landing on their soil.
        "Their hospitality is too much. I don't know how to accept it.  They give everything. I am so humbled by their graciousness. I don't know how to take being cared for with this intensity."
        My friends agreed, and we had a solemn moment as they gathered around to comfort me.

       After dinner, the table was removed and mats were laid out on the floor.  There was barely enough room for all of us, wedged together spooning on the floor.  As soon as the door was closed, with so many bodies in the tiny room it became incredibly hot. Someone was coughing all night, another snoring.  My sleeping bag was wet. I didn't sleep at all.

Craig couldn't wait any longer for the sleeping bags to dry

         At first light of day we rose, packed up, and cleaned up the area. The boys worked on the back door of the van, and we tried to find places inside the van to lay out our wet clothes.  Jen draped her shorts over the sleeping bags in the back. The rain had stopped during the night and the water receded to a manageable level, so we went on our way.

dawn

        We bounced along the road again.  Before each large puddle Deo would stop the van. Living, with the legs of his pants rolled up and leaving his shoes in the van, would walk through the puddle to determine if we could make it across.  We picked up a little speed, but went over another large bump and up flew the back door again spewing all the sleeping bags and Jen's shorts in a huge puddle of brown mud. By now it was just comical.  The sleeping bags were moved up front, and this time Craig held the door closed. We almost got stuck as we banged and scraped with a large bang, on top of a huge rock.  I looked out the back window,
       "Um guys, we lost the spare tire."
       The boys got out, retrieved the tire, and after examining the under carriage decided the only place for the tire, was of course, in with us.

        Finally, out of nowhere, large trees appeared, an oasis in the middle of the plain.  We had arrived at the hot springs. The springs were serene and beautiful, but it was too cold to swim.  It was still early in the morning and we would have to wait for the clouds to part and the sun to come out.  We wanted nothing more than to curl up into our sleeping bags and take a nap, but they were hung out on the trees to dry.

Omar works on the next meal

Jen's 'red' shorts

With just a two litre bottle as a scoop, Deo washed the van inside and out

        I took a walk to explore the area, and discovered a stream full of warm water as well.  We soaked our feet and gave ourselves pedicures.  We cleaned weeks and weeks of red dirt off our feet. At CCS we'd have to wash our feet before we went to bed every night, because we couldn't put those dusty feet in our beds.  We used rocks to exfoliate the dead skin. It was pure joy to have truly clean feet, and we began to feel rejuvenated.

Jen tries to decide if this is a dirt line, or a tan line on her foot

finally

Omar takes a break

Ahh... nothing like a relaxing trip to the hot springs

        Our trip had not turned out exactly like we'd planned, but each of us was moved by the events that unfolded, and we decided we would not have wanted it any other way. We were different when we arrived back at home base.  We had experienced Africa.


Thanks to Jen and Seri for some of these photos