Hike to Motigo. . . . .

Yesterday a bunch of us visitors took a hike up to the local high point, Motigo.  It's about a 3.5 mile hike one way with a vertical climb of 1000 ft.  It was quite a hike and an amazing experience.  Along the way, we had children join us for a few hundred feet, running along side us in amazement of the "white people."

The views from the top were breathtaking.  Tenwek is nestled down in a river valley and you can see mountains all around, but it's hard to get a good vista.  After climbing 1000 ft we really could see all around.

Here's a pic from the top of the mountain, overlooking the valleys and other peaks around.  It was beautiful.  This area of Kenya is only .7 degrees south of the equator so the climate is almost tropical.  It's very lush and green.  The only thing that keeps it from being more so is the elevation which is roughly 6500 ft.

While the hike was a lot of fun, nothing could top the cultural experiences we had at the top.  Near the top of the mountain there is a school, and on this particular day, they were having a church service for their graduates (kind of like our Baccalaureate).  We just happened upon this and walked in.  You can imagine the response when 5 Americans randomly walked into a service full of probably 100 locals!  They were thrilled to have us and in fact, had us all come up to the front and introduce ourselves and offer words of encouragement to the graduates.  It was very cool.

We then pressed on to the peak and strangely enough, found that a man who works at Tenwek lives there in the house below.  He greeted us and invited us in for Chai, the local staple of tea (Kenya' version of sweet tea!).

We accepted his invitation and went in.  The Chai is great here in Kenya.  In fact, they are famous for it.  It's also called black gold as it is a profitable crop.  It's boiled so it's safe to drink.  We have it everyday at Tenwek and this tea was just as good.  We sat in his hut with ESPN magazines for wallpaper and dirt for floors for nearly an hour as a shower passed through sipping Chai, talking about things and just marveling in the uniqueness of the cultural experience we were having.  It occurred to me that while my friends and family were asleep on the other side of the world in their nice homes with soft beds and AC, I was in some random hut on a mountain top in Kenya, drinking Chai with a local, enjoying the beautiful mountaintop vista and having great and stimulating conversation with some new friends.  While it certainly doesn't replace home, it was quite a moment.

This is Anette, Nathan and Stephanie, some visitors from the US that live in the guesthouse with me.  This is a picture of David's (the local who served us tea) "living room."