Lake Turkana Day Six - Deja Vu

That night spent in the desert heat, cramped in the car, underneath the stars was really not that bad. The thought I kept having was how lucky we were. Had this happened on day 3, between Liongolani and Sibiloi, we might not have been found for weeks. Had it happened on Day One in Samburu, we might have been killed. So to be in this desert where occasionally cars pass through was the best of bad case scenarios.

The sun woke me up and Abdi's assurance that a car would be here by 6 was long lost. By 8 he just rolled over and said, "hmmm, they must be running late." He was so much calmer than we were. It is really pretty funny.

Finally a land rover drove up and Abdi and I loaded up the tire and hopped in the back. Since we couldn't risk our car being stolen or the stuff inside, Nathan stayed back and watched the car. I would ride 1 hour into town in the back of a truck with 7 other people, two tires, a 50 gallon container and tons of rice. Oh the things people go through in Africa as part of their daily lives.

In town I got the mzungu price for two tire repairs, about 20 dollars, and then got a ride back to Nathan. I asked the man how much it would cost for a ride and he insisted that we settle later. I told him that we settle it first but he would not. His loss.

We got back, put the tire on and then the guy, a real sleeze ball, called me over and said, "10,000." I laughed. That is 150 US dollars. Our car rental per day is 90. The petrol he used was about 7 dollars. I offered him 1,000 and he got pissed. I told him we should have settled it first. Finally we met in the middle, or at least at 2,000, way too much if you ask me but he was pissed off. I hate people that exploit other peoples problems like this.

I should note that Abdi opted to stick with us rather than take another ride to Nairobi. Partly because I think he is having fun with us but also because he is a good guy. And we are very happy to have him with us. He is a lot of fun and usually a good source of info. Usually.

We rolled into the tiny town of Marsabit where we would connect with the highway that runs from Cape Town to Cairo. However, it is not paved and it is quite a dodgy road. By 3 in the afternoon we took off en route for Isiolo, once again picking up a hitcher, a woman that Abdi knew. She gave him company and Nathan and I just listened to music. Nathan was pretty beat from driving and so I took over for the first time on the trip. I cruised us at a fast pace and soon it became dark. Abdi assured us that we would be in Isiolo by nightfall but by 6:30 (SUNDOWN) we were less than halfway. Usually he is good for info.

Keeping with tradition, about 40k's from Isiolo we heard another pop and another tire had gone. This was number 5. Fortunately, 5 minutes later a truck came, helmed by the governor of the region, accompanied by 10 men with assault rifles. He asked me how I found the country and I said I found it well. He told me not to worry and to let him know if we have any trouble ahead. Then his guys quickly and efficiently fixed our flat. The entire stop lasted less than 30 minutes.

We rolled into archers post, a small town 30k's from Isiolo and had our spare repaired by a drunk guy. We were watched by dozens more drunken guys. I met a really nice sober guy that really helped keep things okay. The drunk repair man did a horrible job and then requested 15 dollars. We offered him 4 which is the going rate, by this time we know how much a tire repair costs. He stumbled off without a fight.

Filthy, covered in dirt from head to toe, tired, and looking absolutely insane, we skidded into Isiolo and found lodging. We had a quick meal and crashed asleep. Before sleeping we all shared a laugh at the crazy adventure and our pathetic appearance. I wish we had a picture to offer. We looked like animals.

You are now caught up on the events of the last few days. I feel that I need to mention this feeling that I have that this is a sort of swan song for me. I only have one Turkana, one Africa adventure in me. And while it has been soooooo very sweet, it is the closing chapter of one life. I drove through the desert for 6 days and came out closing the chapter on a very fond set of memories. Memories that will ferment over time I am sure. In another life I would spend several years as a traveler but I really feel like this is it for me. I wish I would have come to traveling sooner. There is something great about going someplace dangerous, completely recklessly. I am sure that I will have many more adventures in my life but this is the end of this carefree, vagabond, caution to the wind of a journey.

In less than a week I will be back in the states and ready to start a new life. It is like a right of passage that could have come with graduation from college. Instead, for me, it came with 5,000 miles throughout Africa, culminating in a final trek through the desert. Although there will be more blogs ahead and more adventures, this trip is a capstone on a very interesting 10 weeks, and a very interesting 23 years.