Trip To Mekete - Day 3:

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Woke up at 630AM. I suppose it was because I went to bed so early. I went out to see the village and what a gorgeous sight. With the sun rising and the mist settled in between the green hills, it added a sort of beauty to the poverty stricken area.

I took a few pictures and headed back to my room to have a shower... only to find no running water. It would have to be a bucket shower of cold water and this very cold morning in Mseketwa. That wasn't going to happen. Besides, there is no toilet paper or towels in the room, so I would have to use an old dirty shirt to dry off. I decided to lay on the deodorant and cologne and make the best of it.... No wonder why this place is only 10,000 Tsh per night! No worries. The shower, shave, and personal time can wait until later. I could get upset by why bother?

We drove 30 km down a dirt road to the town of Mekete to do our courtesy call to the Dictrict Commissioner. Usually, the people are stuffy and full of themselves, but today we got a pleasant surprise. This District Commissioner was a woman who had a great sense of humour. She was warm, funny, and very personal. I liked her immediately. I didn’t get a picture of her but will do so when we interview her in three days. I will share that with you then. When I told her I was from Canada, she stroked my arm and told me that I sounded and looked Swahili... a very cool woman. She didn’t leave me out of any conversation. She asked everyone in the room to speak English so that I could be a part of the conversation.

We bounced back along the dirt road to Mseketwa, and I do mean bounced. The roads are rough and we were thrown around in the back of the Range Rover. On our way, we stopped to see the remains of a landslide that occurred back in April. Apparently, at the top of the hill was a water table that eventually burst and sent the sandy soil down onto the road, wiping everything in its path. The road was closed for 2 weeks until the equipment could get to the site. The town of Mekete was isolated from the rest of the country because there is only the one road.

They tell me that it snows up here in this region in June. Nothing like at home, but it is not surprising to wake-up in the morning to find a covering of snow and the water taps frozen. Everyone has to wait until the sun comes out and thaws everything.

Also in this area they grow Irish potatoes (Aoife, did you hear that???), maize, onions and some tomatos. In fact, there is a maize mill across the road from the hotel. I went to have a look at it yesterday and they told me to come back anytime to take pictures. It is quite interesting to see how they do it. The machinery is quite primitive.

More tomorrow, my friends!

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