Monday, April 09, 2007
Walk About
On my way home from taking some pictures, on Friday afternoon, I bumped into Maria who mentioned the possibility of going for a walk around Mount Haidom. This is something that I wanted to do but at the moment I didn’t really feel up to an hour and a half hike, but when we got to the house she said that she wanted to go right now. Nik and I discussed it briefly and decided that it was up to me to accompany Maria around the mountain. I figured what the heck, Nik and Abby could learn to sing, “he’ll be coming ‘round the mountain when he comes” rather quickly so I got changed and we headed out.
Maria let me know how nice it would be once we actually got to the mountain and how difficult it was to keep the desire to go around the mountain on the 2Km stretch before we would get there. We had to walk through a small part of town, past the church, some shops, a few houses and then along the entire length of the airstrip. She said that the airstrip is a full 2Km long but I have me doubts. But regardless, we reached the brush after a rather warm walk along the flat rutted road to the mountain.
If you are ever looking for the mountain trail it is easy to find. Walking along the airstrip you walk past a couple of rustic homes (my definition of rustic is a little more primitive than it was a few weeks ago) with bottle cap washers helping the nails hold the gates together. You will pick up a small entourage of between one and three children. These little stragglers will find it fascinating that you are walking for exercise and want to hold your hand as you walk or run. If you are on the right path the first entourage will drop off as the road narrows at a couple of three foot deep trenches caused by rain water. At this point, a small family of 4-5 children, who will smile and try to shake hands as you pass, should greet you. If you know some Swahili, this is a good time to pull out a friendly greeting – as we did – as these children are accompanied by a couple of mangy looking dogs who are menacing and timid at the same time.
Dogs are next trail marker. The timid, menacing dogs you just passed are now trumped by a strange looking pack of dogs seemingly led by a light brown and white mutt who growls and stares while backing away in fear through the low brush. There is no view yet other than marker number 3, which is a pastoralist pair of brothers, of about 8-10 years old, herding their thin and boney cows and goats to better grazing. You may not see them but you should hear their bovines and see the signs on the ground of their passing. At this point it would be difficult to loose the trail as it narrows and then opens up to a terrific view of the valley below and beyond to Mount Hanang. At this time of year the crops are a mix of yellow and vibrant greens. The sunflowers stretch to heights of 7 meters and the corn (maize) spreads through fields in all directions.
With the heavy rains this year the trail itself is at times hard to negotiate. There are mildly steep sections that have ravines running down the center as the rainwater had found the path of least resistance from top to bottom of the picturesque mountain. The ground has a thin covering of tiny rocks that have eroded into a slippery layer that resembles ball bearings. Walking on these on a down-slope is made easier if you have had dance lessons because it seems easier if you bounce from toe to toe in a somewhat random pattern of dance steps. The walking is easier once the trail levels around the backside and the foliage complies nicely to allow for views in all directions.
We passed a few people and buildings on our way around the mountain and all seemed as out of place to me as I am sure we did to them. As we were rounding a blind corner we could hear the noise of children ahead. I figured they would be doing some sort of work or playing by their home – though that was a long shot. We rounded the bend and came up behind a bicycle with a huge load of firewood on the rear rack. Firewood here is made up of thin branches that are as crooked as the trail. The method for attaching them to the bike rack is in this case tying them on with thin strips of rag. The two children moving this bike along the trail were about 8 and 9 years old, not much taller than Abby. I was amazed that they could make any headway pushing and riding this full-sized bike laden with a full load of wood along such a trail. We passed them quickly and did not see them behind us again.
We next passed a very new home of concrete with a small yard and a pair enormous spherical baskets (at least 4 feet across) that we speculated were for housing chickens or some other small critters. As we passed, the few children in the yard shouted, “Bye Bye” apparently the only English they know. We waved to them and their huge smiles signaled their appreciation. As we pressed on, strolled really, we bumped into an elderly man in the traditional wrap accompanied by a younger man in more western garb. They were very friendly, asking where we lived and where we were from. I didn’t catch much of the conversation as Maria handled the Swahili with relative ease. The older man had been to the hospital and was now on his way home. He used the hospital receipt to mime that he would like us to give him some money so he could return – the 3Km or so – to Haidom for a soda. We declined and said our friendly farewells and headed off around the mountain.
The strangest thing we past along the way was a store directly on the opposite side of the mountain from Haidom. The little shop had a colourful sign and a brightly painted door. It was closed now but we speculated that they probably sold the basic necessities from dingy shelves and a dusty glass counter. Maria had passed it many times but had never seen it open, however the path to the door was well worn and it all looked very current so it must be open regularly. I will look for it if I pass that way again.
We walked on some flat trails through sparse plant life and came into view of the outskirts of Haidom. It was at this point that I had wished I had brought some water but I knew it was only a few kilometers back to town and I could manage that. As we hit the road by the airstrip I knew we were on familiar ground again and it wasn’t long before we hit the shops and guzzled a soda each. Home was a welcome sight and relaxing felt good.
