Mount Elgon and Sunflowers

Like I had stated in the pervious post, most of my holiday is spent taking care of Peace Corps business. But I did have a week or two to myself. So, another volunteer and I wanted to travel to parts unknown this holiday and we decided to go camping at Mount Elgon. One of Kenyas National parks, it lies in the north part of western province in between Kenya and Uganda, and is one of Kenyas hidden gems. Now when I say parts unknown, I mean unknown by fellow volunteers. We were the trailblazers this trip and we were going to find our way with the use of guide books since neither one of us had a clue where we were going. Sometimes I find traveling in Kenya an adventure by itself. The epic landscapes you pass by, the people you meet and the simplicity of it makes traveling on an overcrowded matatu, fighting for the local price with the conductor, squeezed between a lecherous 80 yr old man and a mama with a baby who looks dangerously close to barfing all over you worth it. On our way to Mount Elgon, we drove through endless sunflower fields, we assumed for the production of sunflower seed oil since I have never seen a Kenyans garden filled with flowers just for the beauty of them. Enormous, smooth, red boulders rose out of the ground. I wanted to stop the car so badly and climb to the top, just to see what the view would be like.

When we finally reached Kitale, the “base camp” for Mount Elgon, we went in search of a mama who could help us find our way up to the mountain. When I say Mount Elgon is a hidden gem, I mean hidden. It is not very commercialized which is a good thing, leaving the mountain and surrounding communities natural and free of tourists but the downside is transportation to the mountain is difficult to find. The gate to the mountain is some distance away from Kitale which leaves you little choice in transportation methods. Piki Piki(motorcycle) which is a big NO NO in Peace Corps, private car, which can cost you an arm and a leg, or your own 2 feet which should be in good shape to carry you the 2 hour walk to the gate. We chose the 2nd option.

We got to the Mountain, paid our fees and went in search of our camp site. It was a hike even to our camp sites. By the time we got there, we were huffing and puffing. As we rounded the corner and took full view of our site, we were surprised to see a herd of bush buck, large deer like animals. My friend thought they were cows. We were happy to discover that besides the bush bucks, we were completely alone. We set up our tent and went exploring. Our camp site was a large meadow surrounded by thick forests. Luckily we had running water, flush choos, and a fire pit. Exhausted from traveling, we decided to eat dinner ( PB &J and mangos) and go to bed. I remember later that night waking up freezing, moonlight streaming in through the tent and looking up through the tent at a night sky filled with stars. I had never seen that many stars. It was like someone poked holes in the black canvas but didn’t know when to stop.
The nexr day, we went hiking. Now, if you don’t have the money for a guide to take you to the top, there is a route you can take that takes you to 4 different caves. The first cave is where the elephants used to come and lick the walls. I still don’t understand how the elephants got into the cave with the trail being so narrow and rocky. The second cave was by far my favorite although we had to hike straight uphill to get to it. It was one of those moments I wished I had starbursts. But once we arrived at the top, we were stunned with the beauty to behold. The caves mouth was bigger then the first cave and a huge waterfall flowed over the mouth of the cave. My friend and I couldn’t resist and climb over the rocks to get under it. It was refreshing after such a long hike. After taking a bath in the waterfall, it was time to explore the cave. So, we got out bandanas ( for the smell and the bat poop) and our headlamps and went exploring. The second cave was wide and deep, bat poop littered the ground making it slippery, squishy. I eventually got scared and came out. I know 25 and still afraid of the dark. Haha. When we got back to our site, I wanted to cut off my feet. Instead, we pulled our mats out of the tent and took a 2 hour nap. We woke up for a bit, decided to make a campfire and then we went back to sleep. We were whipped. The next morning, we packed up our stuff and headed home. I can’t wait for the next adventure!