Days 3-5: Tree House

So, just a quick recap on Friday night before relating what we did this weekend.

After we got settled in, Ruthie, her mom, and I headed over to a place called Windsor which is a local Country Club the Lowenbergs have a membership with. It's a cool place with a pool, nature trails, a restaurant, workout room, and beauty salon. We sat by the pool for a while and soaked in the equatorial sun, then we went for a 1K walk (just over a mile). It was certainly refreshing. Along the trail we saw monkeys in the treetops!!! I definitely felt like I was in Africa after that experience.

That evening, Ruthie and I joined several other girls at the Nelson's house to have a girl night with making pizzas and watching Sense and Sensibility. We were officially on Kenyan time and arrived in style 30 minutes late. I loved hanging out with the missionary families and enjoying their crazy personalities. We made the pizzas, which were delicious, then we watched the movie. However, jet lag had finally caught up, and about 20 minutes in, both Ruthie and I were asleep. We didn't feel bad though because we had made it to 8 p.m. When we woke up around 9 p.m. we headed back to their house and slept soundly for the next 12 hours :)

Day 3 - Weekend Get-Away

Saturday morning we headed out to Malu along with the Pennington family for a weekend of relaxing. On our way out, we stopped on the side of the road for one of Ruthie's favorite treats: grilled corn. It was an ear of corn roasted so that it was not quite crunchy, but also not quite popped. It also had a slight chewy texture, but overall it was extremely tasty. We stopped off at a missionary friend's house on the way to our destination to see their gorgeous home. We honestly were in the middle of no-where, on the bumpy back roads covered in dust and cacti. Their house was amazing though. Half of it was a huge porch, open to the outside, which is totally ok here because the temperature is mild year-round. Their porch overlooked a river, which according to them was the home to several hippos. Just the other day, the man of the family had almost died by being charged by a buffalo. The head was still on their property to prove the story true.

After visiting the Smith family, we continued on to Malu and the Tree House.
(For pictures and information, check out the following link:
http://www.malu-kenya.com/accommodation/tree_house/index.php) Once we arrived, we toured our home away from home, unpacked, and just chilled. The whole weekend was wonderful because we had no schedule, no tv/internet/phone/etc. and just each other for company. The Pennington family consists of: Uncle Steve, Aunt Trina, Josiah (19), Priscilla (17), and Micah (13). We played card games, worked on puzzles, read, and sat out in the sun. Jet lag was still an issue and we fought it until about 9 p.m. when we all headed to bed.

Day 4: The Killer Walk and Barbeque

I awoke to a suicidal bird ramming itself into our upstairs window. It was freezing outside of the covers, but since the sun was up and I had slept 10 hours, I decided it was best to start the day. We slept with mosquito nets, which was a first for me, but definitely appreciated. Although we were in the middle of no-where, we still had hot water (warmed by burning wood) and electricity at night (run by the generator), so it could hardly be considered "roughing it." After everyone else was up and about, we had breakfast, then we drove up to the guest center to retrieve a guide for a "forrest walk." Apparently, there are wild animals and we should never walk alone - I'm all about being safe and not lost, so it was wonderful to have a native show the way.

We started out on the 2-hour trek and continued to climb up, up, up. For an out-of-shape, never-lived-in-high-altitude, been-sick-for-the-last-week type of girl, it was a little difficult. At one point, I really did think I was going to pass out from lack of oxygen, but we rested as we climbed, and we made it to the top. Fortunately, it wasn't just me. Josiah and Ruthie were also struggling with the altitude. Once at the top, the view was spectacular. We could see the mountains and all kinds of awesome plants. As we walked, I kept seeing cacti and dessert-like plants - kept bringing back memories of botany and C4 carbon cycles we studied in chemistry. I had Ruthie take several pictures to show Lauren back home because I know she'll appreciate them as much as I did :) At the top of the cliff, there was an electric fence which we followed for some time. That was a little unnerving just because the path was so narrow and if you slipped at all you could fall into the fence. Yikes!!! But we were all ok. As we continued on, we reached a plunge pool where we took a few minutes to soak our feet and relax in the shade. Then we had a short hike back to the guest center before the trail was complete. It honestly was so much fun once the dizziness had left.

That afternoon we did more of the same - some napped, others read or played games. Then we drove back to the Smith's awesome house for a barbeque. It was wonderful and the food was delicious. It's kind of interesting to see the different types of food eaten in Africa. For instance, their juices are all made with concentrate and are tropical: mango, passion, papaya. Diet Coke is called Coke Light. They have Blue Band margarine and Doorman's coffee which are supposedly the best in the world :) The cheese is never purchased sliced. They have currant soda instead of a grape soda. They also have different terms for certain items such as napkins - if you say napkins here, you're referring to feminine hygiene products; instead they're called serviettes. Definitely something I am trying to keep in mind.

But back to the barbeque. While we were there, there was a huge splash. The Smiths knew right away it was a hippo and they tried to grab a flashlight so we could see for ourselves, but we missed it. It would have been so cool to have seen! Once again, we fought jet lag until about 8 p.m. then crashed. By 9 p.m. we had made it back to our tree house and in bed.

(Blog will be continued later this evening for Day 5. Now it's time to eat Mama Ruthie's famous pizza!)