June 1 is Madaraka day here in Kenya. It commemorates internal self-rule from the British, preceding full independence. I took advantage of the afternoon to go on a ride. I took some video to help share with you what it is like here.
This is going through a part of Kawangware, a slum area heading out of Nairobi. The video is double speed (to scare my mother).
A little while back, I posted some zebra, this video is a sampling of some of the domesticated animals I passed on this single ride, and there were a lot more after the battery ran out. It is interesting because you can clearly see when I move from donkey carts to grazing herds, Kikuyu land to Masai land. I got to shift my greeting from “We mwega” to “Supa.” Near the end of the clip there is a sheep. Every time I interact with sheep, I feel ashamed that is the animal God so often used to describe us. They are really stupid and have no motivation to do anything on their own except eat. *looks in the mirror and sighs*
One more short clip of a guy on a motorcycle out in the middle of no where. This is very common, as these motorcycles are a main form of transportation. They move people and goods. Sometimes they are so loaded you would not believe it. When we were down in Lukenya we came across a guy who had over 130kgs (290lbs) of cargo, mostly unga (ground maize flour). He had put the bike down and unsurprisingly could not get it back up. We helped him. We thought about splitting up his load on the quads, but especially in Ukambani, you never know how far “just here” is.
I pulled up alongside this guy just to say “Hi.” He is doing the same road I am, on an air-cooled 125cc with about 3 inches of travel in the suspension and probably twice the weight I have. He is my hero.
Near the end of the ride, at a place called Kimuka below the Ngong Hills, I ran into Joel and David. Two Masai brothers who were looking for something to do on the holiday with no school. We talked for about 30 minutes as I tried to understand their life down there. They were quick to note they were half brothers. Their father had 5 wives, a sign of great wealth and status.
Here is the track from the ride. I finished by avoiding Ngong Road through the worst part of traffic, and instead went through Kibera. This is not recommended for cars.
You drive like an African! Even at double speed the first video scared me! What is the scale of the map? How long was that ride? Is there a quad I can borrow when I come to visit or do I have to bring my own?
The scale is 1:433,000(at 72 DPI) or 153m per pixel. The distance traveled was about 116 km (72 miles). There is a place to rent quads, check the “Wild Animal Park” post.
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I agree, Paul is really driving like a local!!